Contemporary Hmong music is still in its formative stage in Minnesota. While some young artists continue to perform traditional folk music and song poetry, others are channeling cultural pride into hip-hop, R&B and pop genres through spaces like DJ Saint Paul Studios.

“Too often, Asian rappers are overlooked or stereotyped,” said DJ Saint Paul, founder of the music studio. “We want the world to see that Hmong artists can create great music in English and compete with any mainstream artist.”

The studio, located at 1321 Rice St., has become a creative hub for Hmong musicians to record, collaborate and develop their sound. 

“At our studio, we try to help young people however we can,” DJ Saint Paul said. “I always tell them to stay focused, stay out of trouble and keep chasing their dreams. If they’re serious about music and school, I’m happy to record their music for free. Music is our passion but helping our community is just as important to us.” 

The studio’s artist collective, Hmong N Harmony, will headline at the Hmong American Day Festival on Saturday. The group is also preparing for a summer tour across Minnesota, Wisconsin and California. 

Keep reading to learn more about this year’s festival, plus a Thai New Year celebration in St. Louis Park and the artists of color participating in Art-A-Whirl this weekend. 

A weekend of Hmong music

The second annual Hmong American Day Festival, hosted by One Family and The Rice Channel, honors Hmong American Day, a May 14 holiday officially recognized in Minnesota by former Gov. Mark Dayton in 2013. 

At the time, Minnesota’s Hmong population was estimated at 60,000. Today, more than 94,000 Hmong residents live in the state, making it home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the country. 

“With this month of May being Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) month, we wanted to dedicate a weekend to really celebrate our heritage and our culture,” said Gao Thao, a board member of One Family.

At Maplewood’s Pan Asian Center, festivalgoers can experience the creativity of Minnesota’s Hmong community through more than 35 traditional and contemporary music performances across two days, along with 18 food trucks, arts and crafts vendors, cornhole tournaments and a beer garden. 

“In Hmong, we say ‘ib tsev neeg’ and in English, it means ‘one family,’” Thao said. “It really just means that we are one and can build community together wherever we are.”

A Thai New Year celebration

Every April, crowds in Thailand take to the streets to splash water on one another as a way to mark the New Year and wash away the previous year’s misfortunes. This weekend the annual water festival, Songkran, will come to St. Louis Park at the Buddhist temple Wat Promwachirayan. 

Alongside returning favorites like Thai street food vendors, live music, blessing ceremonies, and a papaya salad-eating contest, this year’s celebration will also welcome six queens from the Princess of Asia royal court, a local youth leadership and beauty pageant program. 

Film, burlesque and live music at Art-A-Whirl

More than 1,600 artists, galleries and businesses will open their doors this weekend for the annual three-day Art-A-Whirl festival. To make the most out of your weekend, start at Public Functionary on Friday evening with “Cinema Red,” a film installation by Minneapolis artists Wasima Farah and Tiff Tran that explores community care and resistance in the Twin Cities. 

On Saturday, spend the day at Eastside Food Co-Op for the “All Together Now” event, featuring local musicians, visual artists and food vendors. That evening, an independent art studio Marble Fae Creative Collective will host “Artlesque: A Dark Mythology Burlesque Show,” where performers of color will tell ancestral stories through performance. 

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