While the Twins front office and Major League Baseball officials are still talking in codes about it like third-base coach Joe Vavra signaling a steal, the performer for the long-rumored July 12 charity concert at TCF Bank Stadium to accompany the July 15 All-Star Game at Target Field was named in an MLB-related online charity auction.
Las Vegas rock quartet Imagine Dragons -- which recently broke the record for the longest-running single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with its aptly named hit "Radioactive" -- was listed as the performer on the Saturday concert, per an "Ultimate All-Star Experience for Two" package available at Charitybuzz.com (estimated value: $3,000). The reference to the concert was later removed. Despite that very public notification, Twins representatives are still saying the concert is not 100 percent confirmed.
Known for singer Dan Reynold's nifty use of big drums in concert, Imagine Dragons would be a current, safe, middle-of-the-road choice for the concert, especially if MLB is trying to target a more youthful audience. The band just won several awards including one for top group at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards and packed Xcel Energy Center in March. However, older baseball lovers – as in: the bulk of the crowd able and willing to shell out big bucks to attend the All-Star Game – probably don't know them from Imagination Movers.
Not counting homecoming parties and other smaller events, this will only be the second major concert at the five-year-old Gophers football stadium after U2's rain-soaked but widely praised show there in July 2011.
Stay tuned for the formal concert announcement and ticket info. Past All-Star Game concerts, including last year's Mariah Carey show in New York's Central Park, have been free but still required a ticket, and are meant to encourage charitable donations to a designated cause. Last year's charity was Hurricane Sandy relief, for which MLB alone donated $1 million off the event.
