Everything About Music In Minneapolis & St. Paul

Local music shops Minneapolis St Paul buy drums guitars in your area

We appreciate you joining us for this deep dive into everything about music in Minneapolis & St. Paul that should only take a few short minutes to read. Of course this is a really broad topic but we will do our best to share as much info as possible while doing our best to not waste your time.

Getting things going will be a list of the best musical instrument stores in your area. There will even be separate lists for where to buy guitars and the top drum shops in town and while some may quibble about which store should go in which list we will do our best to get things sorted out for you.

Where to get a broken instrument repaired will follow that up. There are many repair companies that can tune a piano, repair a guitar, or work on all varieties of band instruments.

Once all the instrument talk is out of the way we will pivot to local music classes and lessons for kids or adults before moving on to stores for music lovers that sell vintage CD’s and records. You can find numerous places to be entertained at the best concert halls and live music venues near you.

Bars and restaurants with live music will get a shout out as well. A discussion about the Minneapolis & St. Paul music calendar wouldn’t be complete without mentioning some great festivals and events either.

At the end we will share a map to help you find these stores or venues, and you are all welcome to read more about the scene in some other towns around the Midwest if interested.

Musical Instrument Stores In Minneapolis & St. Paul

The best musical instrument stores near you would be:

At Blackbird Music you can buy guitars, drums, keyboards, amps, speakers, pedals, and plenty more instruments and audio equipment in your area.

Schmitt Music is a quintessential music store in the Midwest best known for their incredible selection of musical instruments like grand and vertical acoustic pianos as well as band and orchestra instruments plus they offer top notch music lessons.

Since 1939 Groth Music Company has been serving Minneapolis music students, educators, and professionals with lessons, instrument repairs, printed music, guitars, drums, and percussions as well as band and orchestra instruments, accessories, and much more. As you can see they also have a shop over in Bloomington.

If you are looking for a store that buys, sells, and trades quality used gear and musical instruments in St. Paul along with sound equipment and accessories every day head to Music Go Round.

Handmade and customized local violins, violas, cellos, and bows are sold at Fein Violins.

Schmitt Music is a good place to buy woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments and their accessories.

You can select from an entire line of Yamaha pianos at Carlson’s Piano World in Eden Prairie including keyboards, digitals, and grand pianos of all sizes.

Where To Buy Guitars

If you are specifically trying to buy a guitar or guitar accessories check out:

Apart from buying, selling, and trading acoustic, electric, and bass guitars near you Twin Town Guitars provides exceptional and affordable musical instrument repairs too.

El Diablo Amps and Guitars offers a curated selection of handwired guitar amps, electric guitars, and boutique effects pedals in addition to guitar and amp repair services, lessons, and masterclasses.

A full range of local guitar repair services including factory authorized warranty service for C.F. Martin, Gibson, Guild, Fender, Taylor, Jim Olson, and others are provided at Hoffman.

Willie’s American Guitars sells vintage, used and new electric and acoustic guitars in St. Paul as well as tube amplifiers, basses, ukuleles, mandolins, and effects pedals.

Among the items available at Vig Guitars are a variety of guitars, basses, mandolins, ukuleles, and accessories along with customization and repair services.

Guitar Center sells all sorts of string instruments plus they do repair services in Bloomington.

Planet Bass is one of the biggest dealers of guitars and accessories in Maple Grove.

Drum Shops Near You

And for the best drum shops visit:

Twin Cities Drum Collective is a retail shop and a custom manufacturer selling some of the best drums in your area including a rotating cast of vintage and top quality used drums.

The popular brands at Klash Drums are Yamaha, Fibes, Mapex, Ordery, and Tama.

You can also check at Groth Music and Schmitt Music from our initial Minneapolis instrument stores list as they have nice drum selections.

Instrument Repairs

You can get quality instrument repair services in Minneapolis & St Paul at:

For over a decade Laurel Chapman has been providing professional brass and woodwind instrument repair near you including part fabrication and ergonomic alteration.

The expert technicians at St. Paul Guitar Repair have decades of experience doing all levels of repair, maintenance, modification, and restoration of electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, banjos, mandolins, and other fretted stringed instruments.

Lost Woods Guitarwerks offers repairs and restorations on local guitars and all sorts of stringed instruments.

You can also visit Bruce Kendall for your piano and organ tuning, repair, and restoration plus they sell some instrument supplies and accessories.

ToneTron Amps manufactures custom handbuilt guitar tube amps and repairs all types of amplifiers.

More instrument repairs can be found at Groth Music Company, Twin Town Guitars, El Diablo, Vig Guitars, and Guitar Center who we have previously linked you to.

Music Lessons

Taking music lessons at these schools can level up your game in a hurry:

The Music Lab offers private instruction to students of all ages in a wide variety of instruments along with voice and songwriting classes.

Since 2015 Sarah Jane’s Music School has been providing musical instrument lessons and classes near you to all ages.

At Three Rivers Music Academy in Bloomington you can take private lessons in piano, guitar, and electric bass as well as music theory.

There’s an early childhood music education provided at Anthem Academy plus private music lessons in guitar, piano, ukulele, violin, and voice as well as group classes in both guitar and ukulele.

Minnesota Music offers lessons in music theory, popular styles, and instruments.

All Things Musik in Maple Grove features lessons in instruments, theory, singing, and songwriting.

Popular lessons at Farfalla Music Studio are piano and voice in addition plus they offer early childhood music classes.

You can take piano and drum lessons at Reisinger Conservatory.

Cara Mattson is offering vocal lessons in Lakeville in a professional and relaxed atmosphere.

A variety of private, semi private, and group lessons in flute, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, drums, percussion, trumpet, French horn, and trombone as well as voice and singing lessons from pop to jazz to opera are featured at Kramer School.

You can also take various music lessons at Coe Music Studio in Eden Prairie for numerous instruments including the piano, guitar, trumpet, French horn, and more.

Schmitt Music, Groth Music Company, and El Diablo who we have mentioned in previous sections are also good places to take music lessons in the Twin Cities.

CD & Record Stores

Live music lessons near you Minneapolis St Paul vintage CD record stores

Some of our favorite stores for local music lovers with lots of vintage CD’s and records are:

Whether it’s CD’s, vinyl records, cassettes, DVD’s, or Blu-ray discs Cheapo Records supplies both used and new media from across the board in one convenient place.

Fly Vintage and Vinyl sells records in your area as well as mid-century modern furniture, vintage kitsch, vintage holiday decor, and more.

Down In The Valley sells both new and used vinyl records in Maple Grove along with CD’s and DVD’s plus a variety of other music and movies.

Live Music Venues

These Minneapolis & St Paul live music venues are great places to see a concert or performance:

First Avenue has been an epicenter of entertainment since 1970 providing numerous live music performances in Minneapolis and some have launched big careers.

Originally opened as a local music venue in 1987 the Fine Line has hosted thousands of influential acts over their 30 plus year history in an intimate 2 storey space with 2 full bars.

The Cabooze is a festive music venue featuring a broad calendar of live acts from cover bands to touring groups.

Dakota is a full service American restaurant and bar featuring an intimate cabaret venue with live music every night that is perfect for private events.

Built as a vaudeville theater in 1916 Palace Theater has hosted thousands of performances including Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, and George Burns.

Numerous summer concerts, shows, movies, community events, and rental groups are hosted at Normandale Lake Bandshell.

Maple Grove Bandshell hosts free summer music and entertainment performances including local and regional bands and visual arts performances with terraced wall seating for up to 300 viewers.

At The Bonus Room there’s a stellar lineup of gigs, artists, and events for the year ahead where you can enjoy performances from local and touring bands who visit Lakeville.

Green Acres Event is one of the perfect venues for various events including live music in Eden Prairie.

Restaurants With Live Music

Have a nice meal and enjoy good music at these restaurants:

Hell’s Kitchen serves favorites for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch along with frequent live music near you in an underground space.

An extensive selection of whiskey, weekday happy hour specials, weekend brunch, trivia, and karaoke are featured at Morrissey’s Irish Pub with the availability of a full bar and event space.

Cowboy Jacks is a raucous hangout featuring booze, casual grub, and regular live bands in a rustic Western themed space.

Live music is hosted at Carmine every Friday and Saturday.

Head over to Grill Hall Brazilian Steakhouse for their mouthwatering steaks and live jazz music.

Visit Brianno’s Chart House every Saturday and Thursday night for their happy hour live music.

Bars With Live Music In Minneapolis & St.Paul

Plus there are bars that play live music too:

At Dusty’s Bar you can try their signature sausage burgers and draft beer while enjoying great music.

Enjoy live music at Bunker’s Music Bar and Grill like jazz, roots rock, R&B, soul, and blues along with unique cabaret nights and a basic pub fare menu.

The Dubliner Pub features live music on most nights, weekly Irish dance lessons, and craft brews.

One of the premier and most versatile music venues and event spaces in St. Paul is The Amsterdam Bar and Hall offering Belgian beer and Dutch food in a hip dark music hall where local bands play on 2 stages.

NorthStar Tavern hosts live music in Bloomington on Thursdays from 7pm to 10pm along with good beer and delectable food selection.

Delicious cocktails in addition to bar rituals and some of the best live music in your area from 7pm to 9pm are provided at LARS Bar.

Lookout Bar is an excellent place to enjoy live music in Maple Grove every Friday and Saturday night along with amazing food and fun drinks.

Delectable pub food and some activities like live bands, pool, open mic’s, DJ dance nights every Thursday and Saturday, and live music every Friday night are featured at Babe’s Music Bar in Lakeville.

At Champps you can enjoy live music and concerts in Eden Prairie from a wide range of genres.

Music Festivals

And finally for the top music festivals near you:

The recent lineups at Infrasound Music Festival in Geneva have included Bluetech, Coki, Detox Unit, and more.

The Basilica Block Party is an annual two-day music festival that takes place in Minneapolis each July.

Moondance Jam is a classic rock and roll music festival held annually on the 300 acre Moondance Fairgrounds near Walker.

Lakefront Music Fest is a two-day music festival that has featured Alabama, Sammy Hagar, Collective Soul, and more national artists.

The Upper Midwest Music Festival takes place in various cities all throughout the year so be sure to check their schedule at the link we shared.

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Enjoy The Minneapolis & St. Paul Local Music Scene

Well guys, we tried cover as much as we possibly could. You read about the best musical instrument stores, drum and guitar shops, instrument repair services, where to go for lessons, vintage CD and record stores, concert halls and other live music venues like bars and restaurants, plus the best festivals near you.

Anyone that is still here probably knows bit about the local music scene themselves. If so feel free to tell us if we got anything incorrect, if we left any cool spots out, or just share your own thoughts in the comments at the end of the post. Now go have fun enjoying the music in Minneapolis & St. Paul.

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