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Replacements to make hometown return at Midway Stadium

The Replacements

This may be more about our youth than yours, but this is still big news: The Replacements will be playing their first hometown gig since 1991, when the band headlines this summer at Midway Stadium.

The home of the St. Paul Saints (independent; American Association) will host the Mats on Saturday, September 13, 2014. The former foursome is now down to two original members — Paul Westerberg (lead vocals & guitar) and Tommy Stinson (bassist) — with drummer Chris Mars retired from music and original guitarist Bob Stinson passing away in 1995. Westerberg and Stinson hooled up last year to record songs raising money for Replacements replacement guitarist Slim Dunlap (Tommy Stinson details the whole reunion nicely in this interview with Marc Maron). While the band has recently been performing at a few select festivals across the nation, their show at Midway Stadium is the band’s first full headlining show since their legendary free concert in Chicago’s Grant Park on July 4, 1991, which followed their last hometown performances. The St. Paul show will also feature some very special guests, to be announced soon.

The 1980s were a great time to be footloose in the Twin Cities: the Replacements were honing their craft locally in places like First Avenue, the 7th Street Entry and Jay’s Longhorn, creating a distinctive sound influencing a generation of musicians. On any given night you had your choice of bands like Hüsker Dü, the Suicide Commandos, The Suburbs, Soul Asylum and the Mats, with Prince and The Time popping in regularly for late-night gigs at various clubs. (Yes, this is the story of our misspent youth.) Really, all you need to know about the Minneapolis rock scene during this era can be found here.

All tickets are general admission and will be available beginning Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m. CST at etix.com for $50 plus ticketing fees.

The Saints will move to a new downtown ballpark after the 2014 season, but this won’t be close to the last event at Midway Stadium: as it’s been since the facility opened, high-school football is expected to be played there in the fall.

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