It was a big week for Minnesota improvisational rock bands Saltydog and TWINE.
On Tuesday, each band was awarded $10,000 by the Dizgo Collective, a cannabis company partnership with the Indiana-based national touring band Dizgo.
Dizgo played The Hook and Ladder Theater Tuesday and Wednesday (Tuesday’s show was private).
Following their own performance, Dizgo members Jake Evatt and Andrew Pickel joined TWINE on stage at Bunkers, where TWINE has a weekly residency show on Wednesdays.
Kevin Johnson, Dizgo’s band manager and CEO of Dizgo Collective, presented Saltydog and TWINE with $10,000 awards at The Hook and Ladder Theater Tuesday. PHOTO BY ADAM BERTA; COURTESY OF DIZGO COLLECTIVE
The night before, Saltydog, TWINE and Dizgo all performed at the aforementioned private party and the two Minnesota bands were presented with their awards before cannabis industry folks.
“I had the chance to buy into a cannabis company,” said Dizgo Collective CEO Kevin Johnson, who is also the band Dizgo’s business manager. “We wanted to do some good in the world so we decided to give back to the local music community to show that we are not all about profit.”
Johnson said Dizgo Collective received its license in January.
“We harvested in March and had plants in dispensaries on 4/20,” he said. “We call 4/20 our anniversary.”
Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management records show Faribo Green LLC received its cultivation/manufacturing license on Dec. 29. They are operating in Faribault.
“We are in 105 dispensaries already,” he said, noting that the company is producing flower, vapes and pre-rolled joints.
A press release said the grants are funded through customer purchases of Dizgo products.
Johnson, who is originally from North Carolina but now lives south of Nashville, said he met the band Dizgo in the summer of 2023 at a Goose after party. After selling a previous company, he approached the band about forming a partnership.
Duluth’s Saltydog receiving their check from Dizgo and Dizgo Collective.
PHOTO BY ADAM BERTA; COURTESY OF DIZGO COLLECTIVE
“I think it is the beginning of something bigger,” Johnson said of the Inaugural Minnesota Music Giveback. “I don’t know what that is yet. … I want to help bands like TWINE and Saltydog. We want to create something that can disrupt an industry that needs disrupting and allow musicians to have more control and capital to do what they do best, which is write songs and tour.”
Initially, Dizgo Collective planned to select a single winner, but wound up funding both finalists.
Owen Mahon, one of the two brothers at the helm of Saltydog, said the band has already received half of its $10,000 award.
“We are thankful that we were picked and that they were so generous,” Mahon said. “I think they were looking for a jam band and they found both of us and they couldn’t choose between us, and for that, we are very lucky. I am happy that we got it.”
Minneapolis’ TWINE receiving their $10,000 award. PHOTO BY ADAM BERTA; COURTESY OF DIZGO COLLECTIVE
In the press release, TWINE’s Will Effertz said “It’s really hard out here as a musician right now. It seems like all the odds are against you. It’s up and down trying to keep yourself motivated following your dream. When things happen like this where you truly are seen, it resets that fire in your soul.”
TWINE has been working to gets its first original LP released. The band mixes in covers in its weekly, three-set Bunkers show.
Johnson said the Tuesday event marks Dizgo Collective’s commitment to the Minnesota music scene. Next year, he intends to open the process of selecting a band to the public.
He plans to bring Saltydog and TWINE out for a 4/20 event planned in 2027 and to launch a full music festival dubbed The Dizgo Ball in 2028.
“The music industry makes it damn near impossible to live and do what you love, and now we can do something about it,” Johnson said. “We wanted to hold this event early as a way to live by example and get money flowing in the hands of artists who need it.”
Dizgo Collective CEO Kevin Johnson addresses those gathered at The Hook and Ladder Theater Tuesday night. PHOTO BY ADAM BERTA; COURTESY OF DIZGO COLLECTIVE