Early Minnesnowta ticket window extended to Friday; Joseph chats about Big Wu shows in Milwaukee and First Avenue next week
On Monday, The Big Wu’s Mark Joseph chatted with Jam in the Stream about Hotel Minnesnowta, the hotel music festival that will hopefully proceed at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West in Plymouth, Jan. 15-17.
“I believe we will get there,” Joseph said.
The early-bird ticket period, which is used to gauge whether the festival will be held, was initially through Monday, Dec. 1 — but Joseph, who organizes the fest, extended it to this Friday. Early bird three-day tickets are $107.42 through Friday (or $86.17 for two-day passes). Get them here.
The 10th Hotel Minnesnowta, held in Plymouth last January, had a diverse lineup, including electronic music that bumped deep into the morning in a basement ballroom. PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA
The price goes up after Friday — and both tickets and hotel rooms were reasonably priced last January, a good value for a ton of fun and a nearly non-stop party.
Assuming the fest is a go, Joseph said the lineup will be announced by Wednesday, Dec. 10.
“We had some huge national acts reach out,” Joseph said. “Our budget doesn’t really afford for huge national acts, but you never know. Either way, we are going to have an amazing lineup.”
Last year’s fest had Hayley Jane and ETHNO, the electronic percussion side project of Thievery Corporation’s Jeff Franca. There was no shortage of talent in a diverse lineup that included funk, blues, rock, folk, grass, EDM, and hip-hop and some incredible talent with the likes of fiddler Ryan David Young of Trampled by Turtles and TWINE saxophonist Brian “Snowman” Powers, to name just a few.
Jeff Franca of Thievery Corporation brought his ETHNO side project last year to Hotel Minnesnowta.
PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA/@jaminthestream
For the second consecutive year, this January’s event would completely take over the well-appointed hotel.
“It is the absolute best, the only way to go,” Joseph said. “If it’s not a full takeover, you have people staying there who are not there for the fest, a hockey team or wedding party. We’ve had them all. It makes it a little trickier. (Full takeover) eliminates issues including sound complaints. It is such a vibe.”
Joseph said he’s considering standup comedy and a game room.
He’s planning on bringing back the Dress To Impress Ball theme, which was debuted last January to commemorate the event, which was first held in Albert Lea, reaching the 10-year mark.
“It was amazing to see, and people really out-did themselves,” he said, noting some wore tuxedos and ballroom gowns.
Joseph encouraged repeat attendees to invite their friends from out of state. He noted that last year’s event was attended by folks from New York, Colorado, North Carolina and South Dakota.
“Put a call out and invite your friends,” he said. “We are looking forward to another year of the best hotel party ever.”
Mark Joseph at Hotel Minnesota last January. PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA/@jaminthestream
Joseph Talks The Big Wu shows and LP
The interview with Joseph came right after he finished the second practice rehearsal in a week with The Big Wu ahead of two big shows next Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
“Right now, these two shows are at the top of our agenda,” he said, noting the band has a pair of practices scheduled for next week. The band is planning to bust out some original material and some new covers — they killed at the Minnesota Zoo with The Who’s “Eminence Front,” this past summer.
Al Oikari of The Big Wu at First Ave last December. PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA/@jaminthestream
The first of those is at Vivarium, the new 450-person multipurpose venue in Milwaukee that is part of The Pabst Theater Group, on Friday, Dec. 12.
“They have state of the art sound,” Joseph said of Vivarium.
The following day, the band returns to First Avenue, where it has played the last two Decembers.
“Playing First Avenue is always a big deal, a huge honor to us,” he said.
Joseph said the band is planning more live single releases in the future, following up to the recent release “Young Pioneer,” which was recorded at The Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul back in 2022.
But after these pair of shows next week, the band’s top priority is producing the band’s next LP, he said.
Joseph said The Big Wu will execute tracking and studio time in January and February, their first album since 2018’s We Are Young We Are Old.