The Cedar Cultural Center presents the fourteenth annual Cedar Commissions!

Each evening, three artists of the 2024-25 cohort will present their commissioned work on The Cedar stage:

Friday, January 31 features A.P. Looze, Hibah Hassan, and Phillip Saint John.

The Cedar Cultural Center presents the fourteenth annual Cedar Commissions!

Each evening, three artists of the 2024-25 cohort will present their commissioned work on The Cedar stage:

Saturday, February 1 features John Jamison ll, May Klug, and YEEJ.

The Qalanjo Project Presents: Echoes from the Horn: Somali Lives in Cinema - a special program of the Black Europe Film Festival of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

The Qalanjo Project is an arts education focused, Somali community organization located in Minneapolis. This special Sunday program will feature films and discussions that highlight Somali filmmakers' contributions and explore the Somali diaspora's diverse narratives from The Cedar screen!

"Rag tashaday cir tararay wey toli karaan taako labadeede. / If people come together, they can even mend a crack in the sky." - Somali Proverb

The multi award winning Lena Jonsson Trio continues to break new grounds around the world with their unique mix of deeply rooted Swedish folk, jazz, American old-time and electro acoustic sounds.

"a magical being" - Forbes

The Cedar is honored to present Samora Pinderhughes, founder of The Healing Project, with his Venus Smiles Not in the House of Tears Tour.

A composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist known for examining sociopolitical issues and fighting for change through his art.

The duo of Joropo maestro Larry Bellorín (Monagas, Venezuela) and GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime star Joe Troop (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) returns. The fusion of their respective Venezuelan and Appalachian folk traditions on the harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, upright bass, guitar, and maracas prove that music has no borders. Their engaging bilingual (esp / eng) program includes storytelling, humor, singalongs, and dancing.

Guy Davis is a two-time Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, Actor, Author, and Songwriter. Guy uses a blend of roots, blues, folk, rock, rap, spoken word, and global music to comment on and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching topics of politics, historical events, and common life struggles.

Fans around the world recognize Eivør for her thunderous Nordic drumming and operatic throat singing. Her recent twelfth album, ENN, marks a bold new venture in her two decades-long musical journey.

First Avenue Presents: Mustafa — Lost in The Dunya Tour. 

"With subtly shifting production and incisive writing, the Toronto singer adapts intimate stories of pain and devotion to his worldly folk palette."- Pitchfork

The Cedar is honored to welcome back our favorite family friendly duo, The Okee Dokee Brothers.

" they remind us of the American belief that we’re bound for better weather. Their album [Can You Canoe?] celebrates everyday explorers, young and old, who rediscover that notion daily” – NPR’s All Things Considered

“The Okee Dokee Brothers are an absolute national treasure. These songs are just what the world needs right now.” - Minnesota Parent

The Cedar is honored to welcome back our favorite family friendly duo, The Okee Dokee Brothers.

" they remind us of the American belief that we’re bound for better weather. Their album [Can You Canoe?] celebrates everyday explorers, young and old, who rediscover that notion daily” – NPR’s All Things Considered

“The Okee Dokee Brothers are an absolute national treasure. These songs are just what the world needs right now.” - Minnesota Parent

We turn our projector and pull back the curtains for another installment of this special variety show on the history of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

Featuring more stories from the neighborhood and our many fascinating neighbors.

THE CRAFT is a showcase that highlights the nuances that go into great songwriting in Hip Hop. More than just dope beats and rhyme schemes, the most impactful rap and r&b songs evoke emotions and feelings relatable to all people. Curated by Sureshot Productions, please join us for a night of storytelling and dancing with some of the best artists making music in the Twin Cities.

Coveringthe country classics from Johnny Cash to Hank Williams, Dave Dudley, Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Pride and more along with some of Pop’s original songs in that old-time honky tonk style. This is dance music, friends! Bring your dancing shoes!

GUITAR BAND celebrates the release of their debut album GUITAR BAND, out on legendary local label Bumpy, with a show at here at The Cedar featuring support from Erik Fratzke's Fake Accent and The Miami Dolphins.

The Cedar Presents TALISK and GARDINER BROTHERS: UNLEASHED at Hennepin Arts' Pantages Theatre. UNLEASHED unites the award-winning folk trio Talisk with the electrifying Gardiner Brothers, whose Irish dance performances have garnered over 1 billion views on social media. This high-energy showcase blendsTalisk’s ground breaking melodies with the Gardiners’ viral choreography, celebrating tradition and innovation in an unforgettable fusion of music and dance.

First Avenue Presents JESSE WELLES' Fear Is The Mind Killer Tour.

The American Swedish Institute Presents the Midwinter Nordic Dance!

ASI’s Midwinter Folk Fest returns this March, offering a vibrant two-day celebration of Scandinavian folk music with performances, workshops, and demonstrations at the American Swedish Institute.
The Cedar hosts the Sunday evening Nordic Dance led by the internationally acclaimed Finnish folk ensemble, FRIGG.

“bold and brilliant”- Irish Times 

“literate and allusive”- Boston Globe 

“moody, euphoric and transcendent”- LA Times

The Cedar welcomes Kris Delmhorst, an American songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, and producer. With more than 25 years as an independent artist, she has built a body of work characterized by a wide-ranging, genre-agnostic curiosity and constant collaboration. Kris is touring in support of her new release Ghosts in the Garden.

British music producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Hampshire, England, Samuel Nwachukwu - who performs under the pseudonym: CalledOut Music, is a symbol of hope and excellence in the 21st century. Embodying years of work and excellence, CalledOut Music has become one of the most sought after names gaining international recognition rather quickly.

Paolo Angeli is an artist whose imaginative leaps defy gravity. Drawing on his deep knowledge of traditional Sardinian music, he inhabits a timeless zone as a soil-rooted master and brash experimentalist. While suffused with Mediterranean cadences, Angeli’s original pieces encompass flamenco, jazz, Baroque, post-rock and new music. He plays a guitar of his own invention, a fantastical 18-string hybrid combining elements of guitar, cello and drums.

It takes years for a Broadway musical to hit the stage, but on OFF BOOK: The Improvised Musical, a brand new original musical is featured every week on this podcast. Be a part of the live audience to witness the magic!

It takes years for a Broadway musical to hit the stage, but on OFF BOOK: The Improvised Musical, a brand new original musical is featured every week on this podcast. Be a part of the live audience to witness the magic!

From jazz to Mandingo music and tango, this combination of kora, cello, accordion, and saxophone is sure to charm all those lucky enough to witness this unique quartet.

The quartet, Sissoko, Segal, Parisien, Peirani présents "Les Égarés" (The Wandering), two virtuoso duos (Sissoko-Segal and Peirani-Parisien), who for years have excelled in the art of cross-fertilising sounds and transcending genres.

The masters of traditional Tuvan instruments as well as the ancient art of throat singing, ALASH are returning to The Cedar stage.
Believing that traditional music must constantly evolve, the musicians subtly infuse their songs with western elements, creating their own unique style that is fresh and new, yet true to their Tuvan musical heritage.

BASIA BULAT is a JUNO and Polaris Music Prize-nominated singer-songwriter based in Montreal. She offers both a distinctive voice and artistry that pulls as much from R&B and soul as it does from freak folk. Her talent has also been recognized at scale; her songs have been adapted for major performances with symphony orchestras, and she has been invited to perform at prestigious tributes to Leonard Cohen, Daniel Lanois, and The Band.

“Sophisticated, complex, organic sounds… Mathieu David Gagnon’s opus focuses on the range of sound colors and textures that analog Moog synthesizers can produce.” - La Presse

Flore Laurentienne is an open window to the technicolor soundscapes of Mathieu David Gagnon – the Canadian/Québécois composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist.

The result of a happy marriage between electronic and classically influenced music.

"Rare artist...strong poetry, complex melodies, clever wit." -SingOut!

Like a favorite Springtime perennial flower, Cheryl Wheeler has to be seen to be appreciated. Nothing you read nor hear from her albums prepares you for how entertaining a performer she is.

Longtime collaborator Kenny White opens and joins Cheryl for this rollicking sweet evening. 

Approaching music as a medium for peace and a way to amplify the voices of people around the world who need to be heard, FARAH SIRAJ will grace The Cedar stage with her original compositions and traditional middle eastern tunes set to a jazz context.

“Vivacious arabian flamenco jazz” - Rolling Stone

Good friends, collaborators and incredible songwriters join forces for this special, seated co-bill performance. Border blending troubadours unite!

Our Streets Presents a special live show of The War on Cars podcast with hosts Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear. The War on Cars discusses the latest developments in the worldwide fight against car culture. This live episode recording will focus on issues specific to the Twin Cities, with special guests involved in the work. Don't miss the opportunity to hear the local angle on reducing car dependency and transforming our streets.

Welcome. It’s a word The Arcadian Wild hold dear, an invitation to be present, to let your guard down, to share in something deep and divine and communal.

“No matter who you are or where you come from, that word just makes you breathe a little easier. When you feel welcome somewhere, you can be yourself, you can be open to whatever the space and the moment have to offer. That’s how we want people to experience these songs.” - The Arcadian Wild

“Valerie June has built a devoted following by ignoring expectations. She is simultaneously rural and cosmopolitan, historically minded and contemporary, idiosyncratic and fashionable, mystical and down-to-earth.” — New York Times

The Cedar Presents VALERIE JUNE at Hennepin Arts' Pantages Theatre - performing with her full band for the upcoming Owls, Omens, and Oracles Tour.