Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday October 04, 2025 - Minneapolis, MN

Road Blog
October 4, 2025
Minneapolis, Minnesota

I left the ill-appointed and foul-smelling truck stop motel in Fargo around 10am, filled the tank, cleaned the North Dakota bugs off the windshield, and headed southeast on I-94. The speed limit in Minnesota is 70 tops, so travel was a little slower, but fairly pleasant as I finished off SKID ROW’s greatest hits from the drive back from Grand Forks the night before, then played Soul Asylum’s …and the Horse They Rode in On (after the Soul Asylum talk with Bubba at Half Brothers Brewing Company ), and the new one by The Beths, which is mostly really great.

Just as I thought my chances to see a bald eagle on this run were behind me, a big ol’ fella flew over my car just west of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. If you’re a regular reader, you know that’s generally a good tour omen, so I cracked a smile, pumped my fist. and gave an “eff yes” as he disappeared in my rear-view mirror. As I got close to Minneapolis, I made a stop to get rid of my day-old truck stop coffee at the Elm Creek Rest Area in Maple Grove, Minnesota. They had a nice little nature trail that overlooks a big pond behind so I stretched my legs and walked down there and watched a whole bunch of turtles sunning, swimming, climbing on logs, flopping off logs… goofy little fellers (they were actually pretty big!). It was a nice stretch and a nice break from the drive. Good job on that one Minnesota Department of Transportation!

My first and only stop in the city was at Electric Fetus records, one of my fav record stores in the country. I wasn’t in much of a shopping mood, being road-worn and weary, and had limited space for acquisitions, but I thumbed through some bins and came across a well-priced used copy of Whitesnake/David Coverdale’s Saints & Sinners album. I put it down, walked around for bit, came back, put it down, walked around some more, then came back and looked a little closer and it’s pretty pristine, though an early-remaster/repress I think, so I grabbed it `cuz why not?

From there I drove down to Bloomington, near the Mall of America and the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, where my Hotwire ?? Hot Rates motel was. It was a decent deal for a really super nice place, and maybe a couple extra bucks more than I wanted to spend, but I needed some space to pack for my flight (a whole production) and wanted something a little nicer as I knew I’d be spending some time in there. I watched some football, texted friends locally and back home, took a little nappy, then got to catch the first couple innings of the Detroit Tigers game before I headed back into the city.

I met up with pals Luke (from The Right Here) and Erin at the Spring Street Bar, one their fav local joints for beers and a sandwich. I haven’t seen TRH dudes since I booked and promoted a show for them in Ypsi a couple years before the pandemic, and there was talk of that, and the band The Butts that none of could really figure out, but mostly about Bruce Springsteen, which they’re both pretty we’ll rooted in. We headed over to 331 Club for our 9:30 load-in and it brought back memories of playing the Bearded Lady Motorcycle Freakshow with The Tucos a couple times in the 2010s. I got caught up with pal Adam, also from TRH (formerly bass, now drums), and drummer for the third band last night, The Hilltop Pines. Also in attendance was my buddy and everything-Minneapolis-music-junkie/archivist/best-dude Jon, who I hadn’t seen in forever. It was great to get caught up and we both agreed I needed a haircut from his Hifi Hair and Records joint if I’d had the time.

Luke went on around 10pm to a good, rowdy crowd and played a fantastic set. Love this guy’s songs and he can pick like nobody’s business. My fav was the closer about a relationship ending and the difficulties of sharing custody of a dog that just doesn’t understand what’s going on. It reminds me of “Aw Bruiser” by P.W. Long (ex Mule) – another great song about a dog lost in a breakup. I went on after Luke to a great room and played ok, but he was a tough act to follow, and I never felt like I totally found my groove. Not that it was terrible and I was bummed, just sometimes ya can settle in and sometimes ya can’t as much. Regardless, after 2 breweries and a bookstore the previous 3 nights it felt so good to be back on stage in a legit dive bar with a great crowd and all that comes with that – it is most definitely my comfort zone type of venue. The Hilltop Pines went on after me and they were awesome. Great songs and the front dude is a solid singer. I got some on-and-off David Lowery / Cracker (at their most country) vibes throughout the set, and some Old 97's at times too.

I hung out with Jon and Luke for a bit, sold a little merch, talked to some locals, said my goodbyes, loaded out, cranked Pyromania, and headed back towards the Hotwire ?? Hot Rate motel. I can’t thank Lewis (who sadly wasn’t able to play) and Luke enough for helping me out with the great gig, the `Pines, and the 331 for a fun night in one of my favorite cities.

Back at the hotel I had a nightcap while I strategically fit a 4-night-run’s worth of gear, luggage, purchased albums, brewpub beer glass, laptop, and whatever merch I didn’t sell, into a suitcase, backpack, and guitar case. That’s no easy feat, but I got it done around 2:30, which gave me about 3 hours to chill out and maybe sleep a little before I had to head to the airport for my early flight.

5:45am hit pretty hard, but the late-night prep helped as I took a quick shower, tried to navigate the piece of shit in-room Keurig that spewed clear water not once, but twice all over the place, ate some leftover yogurt from the Fargo truck stop (that had warmed up during the drive to MPLS - is that ok?), and headed out to the car, still good and pissed off about the coffee maker. I listened to the new Metallica channel on SiriusXM on my drive, which totally rules by the way, returned the car, and carried my 75lbs worth of shit into the terminal. My suitcase came in at 48lbs, so I had 2 to spare before getting charged (winning!) but I still had to lug my ridiculously heavy and overstuffed backpack and guitar around as I searched for a decent coffee that was anything but Starbucks. Once again, Delta Air was awesome with the guitar, going out of their way to stow it carefully in the cabin, and being super friendly about it. It’s a stressful thing, and I appreciate the care they take.

I landed in Detroit around 11:30am, tired and feeling the effects of the possibly/probably spoiled yogurt I had before I left, grabbed a Lyft, and had to listen to my driver Arsalan tell me about 4 times about the cop who threatened to banish him from the airport if he didn’t start following the rules. Then, since I am a musician, he cranked some Indian pop music that he was sure I would love and was kinda fun but not what I felt like hearing at the moment, before dropping me off at home. Next thing I need to do is shoot him a good review and tip. Dude is having a worse day than me.

BIG thanks to everyone who was a part of these 4 shows in South and North Dakota and Minneapolis. It was a decent run, and it’s great to be home for a month before I tackle the east coast and southeast with The Wild Honey Collective in November. Lions at 4 and Tigers at 8, TrooperGirl22 should be home from girl’s weekend up north by then, so it should be a great Sunday evening.

Cheers to you for reading, throw a like or a share if you’re inclined, and we’ll see ya next month. And remember, all blogs dating back to 2013 are available at https://www.blog.jeremyportermusic.com/. Eat `em up Tigers!

xx