Music @ Franconia
Franconia’s longstanding
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the East Central Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Wathéča Records with Justis Brokenrope
Justis Brokenrope (Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta) is a musician and educator currently residing in Bdé Óta Othúŋwe, Mní Sóta (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Wathéča Records is a label, archival project, and curatorial effort that focuses on indigenous artists from Turtle Island who are often underrepresented in the canons of rock, folk, and country music.
Jeremy Messersmith
Jeremy Messersmith is an indie pop singer-songwriter and one of Minnesota’s most recognized and celebrated artists, praised by The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, Paste Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Spin, and Rolling Stone among many others. A thoughtful, clever lyricist with a tender voice, the Minneapolis-based troubadour crafts songs that are catchy and relatable, and span the emotional gamut from poignancy to whimsy. jeremy is one of those rare artists who can break your heart one minute, and then put those fragile pieces back together again the next.
Mike Kota
Mike Kota is a twenty-five-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Minneapolis. Her thoughtful lyrics and soulful melodies bring strangers together in a room filled with similarities. Aided by her rock-influenced guitar melodies, Mike’s songs voice a dark and mysterious truth about reality.
she’s green
she’s green is a Minneapolis-based dream-inducer comprised of vocalist Zofia Smith, guitarists Liam Armstrong and Raines Lucas, bassist Teddy Nordvold, and drummer Kevin Seebeck. The band has played many shows throughout the Midwest, filling rooms with droning fuzz and reverberating screams. They’ve shared bills with acts such as Hotline TNT, Milly, Friko, Jesse Jo Stark, and more. They received recognition through their first two released singles, “river” and “smile again”, both recorded and mixed at home. A raw emotional intensity shines through their honest and explorative songwriting process. After the success of their debut EP Wisteria, they’re now working on recording more music and it’s clear they’re only scratching the surface of their assemblance of influences.
Daphne Jane
Daphne Jane is a queer indie pop artist originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Known for her story-telling lyrics and dreamy sound, Daphne has been writing music in her bedroom and playing gigs in her small town since she was 12 years old.
Recently Daphne Jane has added a full band to the mix, playing at local twin cities music venues. In 2021, she released her album, I Wish I Was in the Clouds, followed by her EP, Dreamland, later that same year. In 2022, Daphne Jane released two singles, “Green” and “February”, followed by “Months” and “sleepyhead” in summer of 2023.
More recently, she released lead single “Months” with local musician and bandmate Nate Walker to begin sharing her new project. Following the release, she has kept successful singles flowing with “sleepyhead” getting featured on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds” editorial playlist, and the release of “clementines” in early October.
Daphne Jane shares her music through dreamy, poetic diary entry-like songs, that embody the unique & full power of music connection.
Saturday, September 21, 2024
28th Annual Art & Artists Celebration at Franconia Sculpture Park
Oshkii Giizhik Singers
Oshkii Giizhik Singers (OGS) are a group of women from the Fond du Lac/Duluth area Native American community who sing traditional and contemporary Anishinaabe songs while hand drumming. OGS were founded in 2006 and have recorded three albums, the first of which, “It is a New Day” was awarded a Native American Music Award for best traditional recording in 2009. The group roster has had over 50 different singers over the 16 years OGS has been together with the average number of singers on a given date being anywhere from 4 to 8.