Jared Justen  Indie singer-songwriter Jared Justen is not an artist one can easily pigeonhole. He’s known for the refreshing variety and unique intricacy of his songwriting, exploring his own mind and emotional spectrum in carefully crafted, lyrical reflections. An idiosyncratic, highly introspective artist, Justen was raised on a broad mix of late-90s music, ranging from gangsta rap to underground indie rock and everything in between. That diversity still informs his stripped-down, emotionally complex sound, characterized by expansive exploration of mental and musical possibilities. Weaving together elements from a wide range of genres, his genre-defiant boldness evokes pioneering acts like Ben Harper, while his intimate vocal style draws comparisons to folk icons like Devendra Banhart, José González, and Pete Seeger. Nikki Lemire Nikki Lemire spins her life around her music, making space to perform in multiple fields and genres. Her songwriting features her expressive vocals over layered and hypnotic accompaniment. She dives deep into moving themes surrounding motherhood, love and loss. Employing modern harp techniques, loop and electric pedals, her songs sit somewhere between the old folk bedrock of Joan Baez, the musical innovation of Joni Mitchell, and the influential pop stylings of Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. Nikki artfully shapes the music to her words, creating a sound that refuses to adhere to any one particular genre, somehow feeling old and new at the same time. Nikki performs as a solo artist and with her four piece all-female band of fiddle, upright bass and hand drums weaving intricate textures and harmonies within her luscious soundscape. An accomplished harpist and vocalist, Nikki has spent the past few years diving into the world of songwriting, emerging with songs that delve into her experiences with love, loss, and motherhood. With her classical mastery of the harp, combined with a modern sense of exploration through loops and electric pedals, Lemire has garnered widespread praise and radio play, solidifying her as a rising star in the indie-folk scene.

Found Creature: Found Creature is a St Paul based duo that makes harmony driven theater-folk with punk roots. They make music we can all relate to, with songs about space trucking, falling in love with Death, AI becoming conscious, and theme songs for cartoons that don’t exist. For fans of the Bengsons, Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Mountain Goats.   One Big Quilt: One Big Quilt is the duo project of Joel Campbell (He/They, drums) and Owen McGreevy (They/Them, guitar, vocals). Combining the frantic rhythmic pace of Black Midi and KNOWER with lyrical inspiration from Adrianne Lenker and Sun Kil Moon, One Big Quilt’s sound is not easily categorized. The duo formed in October of 2024 when Joel put up a poster in the University of Minnesota’s Music Building seeking a band. Owen (who studies classical guitar at UofM) saw the poster and decided to reach out. The two play original sets of Math-Rock adjacent Alternative Indie.   Big Big Brain!: Equal parts outsider folk and folk punk, Big Big Brain! sounds, you know, big, with a style that ranges from scream-at-the-sky to stare-at-the-wall. As a duo, Lucas Kurmis and Sofie Riley write lyrics that are deeply queer and questioning, never content to let a moment or a feeling pass by without examining it. They may be big big brainiacs, but they lead with their big, dumb hearts.   Penitent Echoes: Penitent Echoes is an acoustic duo; Jae plays cello and Joey plays guitar and banjo. They take turns singing and the music ranges between gothic-folk, shanty-songs, acoustic-punk, and ambient-instrumental.