Music / Concerts

The 48th annual Hodag Country Music Festival in Rhinelander runs July 9-12.

Single-day or full fest tickets can be purchased at hodag.com.

Sunday Schedule:

Lanie Gardner — 12 p.m.
Jake Worthington — 1:30 p.m.
Steve Earle with Reckless Kelly — 3:15 p.m.
ERNEST — 5 p.m.
Nate Smith — 7 p.m.

Beer Garden events are held outside the Great Lakes Aquarium every Thursday in July and August and feature rotating food trucks and musical artists, with views of the Aerial Lift Bridge and Duluth Harbor.

This week’s musical act is The Hot Club of Duluth. The food truck is Johnny B’s.

Admission is free. Cash or credit cards are accepted for food and beverages purchased at the outdoor bar. Families and non-human companions are welcome, though guests must be at least 21 years old to consume alcohol.

Great Lakes Aquarium is open for indoor exploration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Standard admission rates apply. Indoor restrooms will remain accessible until the Beer Garden closes at 8 p.m.

The Northern Lights Music Festival Orchestra performs with the winners of the Helen Bradach Zuponcic Concerto Competition. The show is in the Veda Zuponcic Auditorium at Mesabi East High School.

Tickets are $20 for adults and free for ages 18 and under.

One of Minnesota’s largest music festivals, the Northern Lights Music Festival offers lovers of classical music three weeks of opera, chamber music and orchestra concerts presented by an international roster of guest artists, performing faculty and prize-winning young artists. The festival runs July 1-21; the full schedule is available at northernlightsmusic.org.

The Jayhawks and their rootsy sound were definitely swimming against the tide when they emerged from a crowded Minnesota music scene in 1985. Over the course of four decades, 11 albums, countless memorable live shows and enough personal drama to fill a couple of Behind the Music episodes, the beloved band soared to heights few ever achieve while winning the hearts and minds of numerous critics, fans and peers in the process.

Tickets are available at bigtop.org.

Killer Queen is a Queen tribute band founded in 1993 by Patrick Myers while at London University — the same venue where Queen first played. Renowned for its authentic sound, stagecraft and uncanny recreation of Queen, the band has won numerous awards and sold out arenas, leading to a collaboration with Fatboy Slim on a chart-topping single. Killer Queen’s international tours have included high-profile performances such as a Live Aid tribute and shows at iconic venues like the West End and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Tickets are available at bigtop.org.

Beer Garden events are held outside the Great Lakes Aquarium every Thursday in July and August and feature rotating food trucks and musical artists, with views of the Aerial Lift Bridge and Duluth Harbor.

This week’s musical act is Chris Holm. The food truck is Log Home Wood Fired Pizza.

Admission is free. Cash or credit cards are accepted for food and beverages purchased at the outdoor bar. Families and non-human companions are welcome, though guests must be at least 21 years old to consume alcohol.

Great Lakes Aquarium is open for indoor exploration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Standard admission rates apply. Indoor restrooms will remain accessible until the Beer Garden closes at 8 p.m.

Judy Collins has inspired generations with her sublime vocals, vulnerable songwriting and commitment to social activism. A defining voice of the 1960s folk movement, she remains a luminous presence five decades later with an iconic 55-album catalog.

Her Grammy Hall of Fame recording of “Both Sides Now” and Grammy-winning hit “Send in the Clowns” cemented her legacy, alongside multiple top-ten and gold- and platinum-selling albums. Her 2022 release Spellbound — the first album she’s written entirely herself — earned a 2023 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

The High Kings open the show.

Tickets are available at bigtop.org.