TC Summer Fest continues downtown Minneapolis' string of big comeback events
MINNEAPOLIS – Tens of thousands of music fans are hoping to drum up some nice weather in downtown Minneapolis.
After Taste of Minnesota, Taylor Swift, and Pride -- downtown Minneapolis is getting set for another marquee weekend.
It's kicking off Thursday night with a sold-out show at First Avenue, before swinging over to Target Field.
And the stage is almost set for another big weekend, as the home of the Twins will become the home of TC Summer Fest.
Crews have been hard at work since Tuesday setting up the stage and the more than 6,000 chairs concertgoers will be able to sit in this weekend to enjoy some music.
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"We really wanted to bring something new and different here to the ballpark," said Matt Hodson, director of business communications for the Minnesota Twins. "Not just a concert, but really a festival-style setup. Have multiple acts over the two days. It'll be 10 acts in total. Our Gate 34 area will be an area where you can get hair embellishments, henna tattoos, caricatures."
Fans of The Killers already bought tickets to TC Summer Fest months ago, but the biggest fans will be seeing them twice this week.
"We got sold-out pit tickets," said Angie Walter, of New Hope. "I will be right there up front and personal. And then out of the blue, just wow, they announced this show with one week."
Target Field hopes this is just the first TC Summer Fest of many to come. Security will be different for the next one though, since $3.5 million in new fencing was approved Thursday, similar to what's outside Target Center.
"We're partnering to reinforce some of the perimeter, add some bollards, do some other stuff that will meet Department of Homeland Security standards," Hodson said.
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But these music fans say anyone talking of downtown being unsafe should change their tune.
"This has been a great, epic summer season so far for concerts," said Stuart Sutherland, of Minneapolis. "And we love having people downtown, and the feel for downtown, some people think it's gone in the wrong direction but it's really great. There's a lot of great things this summer. A ton of energy here."
"Wonderful things like this? It's been a long time since it's happened in Minneapolis, so I am so stoked," Walter said.
Those security improvements at Target Field are slated to happen next year, and the year after, when the Twins are on the road.