Fall Concerts & Events

As pandemic restrictions relax, Swedish touring artists are reigniting their travel plans. Minnesota artists whose performance schedules went dark are returning to the spotlight.

From the region’s most anticipated museum party to conversations and performances by cultural icons and musicians, explore diverse perspectives and discover something new at these exciting fall events.

Happy hour 3–8pm, live music at 6 pm Head to ASI the first Thursday of every month for live music from Minnesota artists in the gorgeous Turnblad Mansion courtyard, and unbeatable happy hour specials at FIKA Café. Concert admission is included with museum admission so be sure to catch the exhibitions on view when you’re here.

September 1: Award-winning guitarist Scott Keever October 6: Art Bjorngjeld & Ross Sutter.

Fri, September 9, 7 pm–midnight The region’s most anticipated museum party returns! Art, demos, interactives, pop-up performances, and more, bring the entire ASI campus to life at this late night party and kickoff to the fall season. Performances by Annie Mack and Little Fevers set the soundtrack to a night under the glow of the historic Turnblad Mansion, with unexpected surprises around every corner, and activities both indoors and out.

Let’s face it, it’s been a long few years away and not all of us have updated our party clothes wardrobe since 2019. So let’s meet half way. Inspired by ASI’s exhibition The Morning Dip, suggested party attire at this year’s Cocktails at the Castle is bathrobes and clogs.

Museum galleries will be open late, and FIKA Café will serve a unique menu of exhibition-themed foods and drinks. $30 ($27 ASI member)

Learn more about the optional Cocktails at the Castle Pre-Party Sauna experience at asimn.org.

Sun, September 25, 2 pm “One of the most distinctive groups in the environs of folk music in recent years.” - LIRA Music Magazine. Regarded as one of the most prominent new bands from the Swedish Folk & World music scene, this powerhouse duo takes audiences on a moving, dreamy, musical journey where folk, minimalist art music, and electronic dance music meet. Symbio was chosen as an official showcase artist at the Folk Alliance International USA 2020— the world's largest gathering of folk & roots music industry—and were awarded "Best Newcomer of the Year” at the Swedish Folk & World Music awards in 2016. $35 ($30 ASI member)

Sat, October 1, 2 pm Fans of folk music and poetry should not miss this unique performance by Swedish musicians Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström, who have set, IRRBLOSS, the metrically perfect and lyrically powerful poetry of Swedish immigrant Signe Aurelle, to music. Heurling and Sandström blend folk stylings and the Swedish vista tradition together to underscore the continued relevance and impact of Signe's words, which explore feelings of homesickness and the struggle for a brighter future. These songs will be performed live at ASI for the first time this October. $25 ($20 ASI member)

Fri, October 7, 7 pm On the heels of their joint Swedish tour in the summer of 2021, local string duo The OK Factor and Swedish folk quintet JAERV return to ASI in support of their program, Traditions. Unique instrumentation, deep musical talent, and a camaraderie born from the bands' joint Scandinavian adventure combine to offer a unique night of folk music grounded in pure, palpable joy. $35 ($30 ASI member)

Wed, October 19, 6–7:30 pm Join author Ryan Skinner and eight-time Swedish Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist Jason 'Timbuktu' Diakité for a conversation about Afro Sweden: Becoming Black in a Color-Blind Country, Skinner's new book and the first scholarly monograph in English to focus on the African and Black diaspora in Sweden. Diakité, who wrote a preface to Skinner’s book, was born to interracial American parents in Sweden, and is the author of acclaimed memoir A Drop of Midnight, which has sold more than one hundred thousand copies in Sweden. $15 ($10 ASI member)