Minnesota Music Hall of Fame

08/24/2026

TWO EVENTS THIS WEEK

A STORYTELLING Event about MANKATO MUSIC by Bobby Drengler 11am-2pm Thursday, August 27. Mankato is a music town, and August 2026 is when we pay tribute to the MMHF Inductees who originated and were based there: Dale Menten, Steve Murphy, and Billy Steiner. Mankato music expert and MMHF member/volunteer Bobby Drengler will be lecturing about these Southern Minnesota music legends, and he can also tell a tale or two about the origins of John Denver’s solo career.

LECTURE about Country Music Pioneer “TEXAS” BILL STRENGTH 11am-2pm Friday, August 28th, 2026. The story of Minnesota Music Hall of Fame Nominee “TEXAS” BILL STRENGTH, the creator of our state’s Country Music Scene in the 1960s, will be presented this month at the museum. Bill’s son Dale Strength (himself a MMHF nominee and also a volunteer) will unfold how Country Music was updated from hillbilly origins to professional and well-presented performances that settled at legendary South Minneapolis Nightclub, The Flame Cafe’. “Texas” Bill was the emcee, a broadcaster, record store owner, and as a musician recorded for Sun Records (Elvis Presley’s starting place) AND Capitol Records (home of The Beatles).

BOTH EVENTS are a storytelling lecture, seminar, and meet & greet. Share your own stories with the speaker and other visitors. $7.00 admission, FREE FOR MEMBERS (please become a member) at The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, 27 N. Broadway St., New Ulm, Minnesota.

Thanks!

John Kass 612-735-1643 call or text

08/20/2026

Songwriter Doug Noble presented Legends, Heroes, Ghosts and Gangsters: The History of Minnesota in Music at the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame last month.

Noble created the project with hall of fame board member Neal Bond to bring Minnesota’s rich history to life in a musical anthology. The two have written together for 50 years, since college when they performed as the band Braxton Bragg during the Vietnam era.

Link to story in comments

08/17/2026

Jim Donna and The Castaways were inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2025.

08/11/2026

This weekend in DULUTH.

www.bayfrontblues.com

08/10/2026

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were inducted to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

08/10/2026

Wanda Davis is the very first woman from Minnesota to record a soul record in the late 1960s. She recently returned to the recording studio and leads up Minnesota’s recent vintage “Soul-Rhythm & Blues-Funk” revival for the Secret Stash Records label. Wanda is Minnesota’s very first Soul Sister!

Wanda (she now goes by Wanda Riley) will be traveling with her husband Samuel all the way from Dallas, Texas to meet with us. Don’t miss this appearance!

A storytelling lecture, seminar, and meet & greet. Share your own stories with the speaker and other visitors.

$7.00 admission, FREE FOR MEMBERS (please become a member).11:00am Saturday, August 15th, 2026 at The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, 27 N. Broadway St., New Ulm, Minnesota.

08/08/2026

Trampled by Turtles were nominated to The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2021, and are up for future induction.

State Street Theater has corrected their software issue, and we will be opening up tickets for public sale on Tuesday, August 11th.

If you are a current member of The Grand and have not purchased tickets yet, you can buy them by calling the Box Office at 507.359.9990 Monday-Friday from 9am-12pm. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this!