Tantamount to a smooth romantic play to make Twin Cities music fans fall in love with its new Fillmore Minneapolis, concert giant Live Nation has lined up Grammy winner Brandi Carlile for a three-night grand-opening celebration over Valentine's Day.
Carlile's trio of concerts Feb. 12-14 are the biggest in the initial batch of shows announced Tuesday for the 1,850-capacity downtown nightclub.
Other acts slated to perform in the opening months include hometown favorites Motion City Soundtrack and Jonny Lang; blues legend Buddy Guy; electronic dance music stars Rüfüs Du Sol and Dillon Francis; rappers Three 6 Mafia, Ty Dolla $ign and Yung Gravy, and rock acts the Disco Biscuits, the Revivalists, Evanescence and Citizen Cope.
Built in the shadow of Target Field under an adjoining Element by Westin hotel — all newly developed by the Minnesota Twins' owners, the Pohlad family — the Fillmore Minneapolis has a guaranteed grand-slam opener in Carlile, a sign that the international conglomerate has studied the local concert scene.
The Twin Cities have long been cited as Carlile's No. 1 concert market. The Seattle-based singer, who headlined the State Fair Grandstand in August, sold out a three-night stand in 2018 at the State Theatre — a larger venue than the Fillmore — and that was before she led the Grammy nominations this past February.
In a special twist, Carlile will change up her Fillmore sets each night, starting with a trio gig Feb. 12 (presumably with longtime bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth), followed by a regular full-band show Feb. 13 and a performance of her Valentine's-themed 2010 EP "XOBC" with her band Feb. 14.
Tickets for those shows and the others announced Tuesday go on sale at 10 a.m Friday via Ticketmaster. Ticket prices were not made public, a common practice by Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster and often enlists "dynamic pricing" for its shows — a common complaint fans have against the concert industry behemoth.
Pre-sale options for the Carlile shows are now up on Ticketmaster's site and list "official platinum" tickets at $398-$448 plus fees.
"We're proud to announce an exciting and diverse list of artists for our opening lineup to the music-loving community of Minneapolis," Fillmore Minneapolis senior promoter Tamsen Preston said in a press release. Preston previously worked with Sue McLean & Associates, which put on many of Carlile's earliest Twin Cities performances.
Part of the trendy North Loop section of downtown — with the Target Field light-rail station just steps away — Live Nation's new Minneapolis outlet will be the ninth in the nation to bear the Fillmore name. The original Fillmore in San Francisco famously hosted Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin and many other greats a half-century ago.
The Minneapolis Fillmore will feature VIP boxes and a private bar for VIP ticketholders, named B.G.'s (after late Fillmore promoter Bill Graham). There will also be an adjoining bar and grill open to everyone named Trax.
In a hard-hat tour of the Fillmore construction site in August, the president of Live Nation's clubs and theaters division Ron Bension promised it will not be "just a black box with people in it," a comment that many viewed as a swipe at independently owned competitor First Avenue.
The full schedule: Here's a list of the rest of the concerts announced Tuesday by the Fillmore Minneapolis, all of which are due on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Ticketmaster listed "official platinum" prices for a few of the concerts, which are added here.
Brandi Carlile: Feb. 12, 13 & 14 ($398-$448; general-admission price TBA)
Motion City Soundtrack: Feb. 15 & 16 ($143-$168)
Ty Dolla $ign: Feb. 17 ($133-$143)
Yung Gravy: Feb. 21 ($75-$99)
$uicideboy$: Feb. 22
Buddy Guy: Feb. 27 ($188-$208)
Rüfüs Du Sol: Feb. 28 ($113-$128)
Hayley Kiyoko: March 3
Sublime with Rome, Jon Wayne & the Pain: March 4
Three 6 Mafia: March 7
Lanco: March 12
The Revivalists: March 13
The Floozies w/ SunSquabi: March 20
Dillon Francis: March 21
Yultron presents "Rave Prom" with special guests: March 27
Hippie Sabotag: March 28
Disco Biscuits: April 10 & 11
Jonny Lang: April 17 ($45-198)
Citizen Cope: April 29
Evanescence: May 14 ($70-$219)
612-673-4658 • @ChrisRstrib
