Where to See Live Music and Theater in the Minneapolis Cultural Districts

Author Credit: Michael Kleber-Diggs

In a city with abundant cultural offerings, Minneapolis’ museums and music venues stand out. For those looking for an authentic Minneapolis experience and a way to get to know the city for its rich diversity and full array of cultural offerings, the seven Cultural Districts are a great place to start. Here’s a list of noteworthy Minneapolis theaters and music venues in the Cultural Districts..

Cedar Avenue Cultural Center

Cedar Avenue

In a city of music venues, the Cedar Cultural Center stands out. The venue first opened as a movie theater way back in 1948, and, in 1989, was converted into the Cedar, as it’s known around town. Since then, it has hosted musical artists, comedians, storytellers, podcasters, DJs, dancers, performance artists, films, and other artists and arts happenings, running the gamut from local notables to international stars. But it’s mainly known for music: rock, jazz, R&B, classical, and especially global music. In a typical month, the Cedar hosts musicians from all over the world and all over the United States, emerging artists and established veterans. As if that weren’t enough, to see a show at the Cedar is to be a part of a beloved community. It’s a non-profit. It’s supported by a spirited corps of volunteers who do everything from setting up the space, taking tickets, serving concessions and selling merch, to cleaning up when the show’s over. It’s an intimate place to see a show. There’s no backstage, the green room is off to the side, so the artists are right there with you. The Cedar resides in the heart of the Cedar Avenue Cultural District, surrounded by some of the best restaurants in town (try The Weinery), and a few brilliant bars too.

Capri Theater

West Broadway

The Capri Theater first opened in 1927, and as it approaches 100 years as a cultural staple in North Minneapolis, it continues to offer a vibrant variety of entertainment options. The current Capri was renovated in 2021, and the theater continues to be a great place to see music, theater, films every first Thursday, and more. Of particular note is the Legends @ Capri series which highlights roots, blues, jazz, gospel and other traditional American artists, featuring local notables performing legendary stylists like Billie Holiday and Judy Garland, Etta James and Otis Redding.

Pillsbury House + Theater

38th Street

Minneapolis is a great theater town with dozens of venues staging world premieres, popular contemporary works, and canonical classics. Pillsbury House + Theater has excelled at finding and featuring groundbreaking plays from established and emerging national artists and has cultivated a reputation for offering diverse, fresh, challenging and compelling work. They may offer more World Premiers than any venue in town. With Signe Harriday as its Artistic Producing Director, Pillsbury has furthered its role as a neighborhood staple and a community gathering place. Through collaborations with local partners, Pillsbury also serves as an arts incubator for local playwrights, actors, and dancers, especially artists of color and LGBTQ artists. On the stage and in the community, Pillsbury ensures that voices we might otherwise miss get heard. Pillsbury is a large part of why Minneapolis is considered a great theater town.

Pilllar Forum Cafe

Central Avenue

Pilllar (it has an extra L because it’s extra large) is the kind of place where you can drop in on a weeknight, find Jeopardy on the television, and order coffee or tea or a THC seltzer from Lindsey, the barista. If you get a Jeopardy question right, she’ll give you a Starburst. The music playing overhead is often her playlist – it’s eclectic. The whole place is. Pilllar is, without question, the best coffee shop / skate shop / music space in the state, maybe even the country. The coffee is expertly prepared, you can shop while you sip (caps and t-shirts, hoodies and zines, skate decks (but no trucks)). Next to the front door is an open space barely large enough for a drum kit, a bassist, a guitarist, a lead singer, three chords, and the truth. Forty people might be gathered around you. Some of them may mosh. It’s wild, and it may get loud. If you forget earplugs, fret not. They got you. There’s a jar full of them sitting right by the cash register.

In the Heart of the Beast

East Lake Street

This year marks 50 years of puppet making, mask making, and imaginative shows for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Heart of the Beast also hosts a puppet library, and operates a laboratory for emerging puppet and mask-theater artists. Shows at Heart of the Beast run the gamut from hand puppetry in the lobby staged by artists crouching behind a handmade wooden stage like old Punch and Judy used to use, to puppets so huge they can barely fit in the theater. A show can be rooted in shadows, emerge from projectors, be performed by marionettes, or made magical by manipulation rods. Regardless of size, the puppet theater at Heart of the Big is always grand and gigantic. The only limits are their imagination (and yours). Learn more about the Minneapolis Cultural Districts by visiting minneapolis.org/cultural-districts