Sanctuary stories

News, Stories, Updates and Musings from the Minnesota Songwriter Sanctuary

The Minnesota Original Music Festival

The Minnesota Original Music Festival returns to St. Peter, Minnesota July 19th, bringing together songwriters, bands, and music lovers for a weekend celebrating original music from across the state. Produced by our friend Eli Hoehn and a dedicated team of artists and volunteers, MOMF has become a meaningful showcase for MN musicians, with events including the 48 Hour Band Challenge, artist showcases, interactive programming, and a Main Stage Concert Series at Minnesota Square Park featuring Martin Zellar, Brother Jon Band, The Quantum Mechanics, and Saltydog. We applaud Eli and the MOMF team for their commitment to shining a spotlight on MN artists and building the kind of creative community that helps original music thrive.

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Reading List: Music as Medicine

One of our favorite rooms at the Sanctuary is the library. Tucked away from the studio, it’s filled with books on music, recording, songwriting, and the creative process. In this series, we’ll be sharing some of our recommendations — the books that challenge us and inspire us. One favorite is Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power.  Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist and musician, explores what musicians have long felt and science is now helping explain: music is not just entertainment. It can shape memory, emotion, movement, pain, recovery, and connection. For the Sanctuary, where songs are treated as more than products or performances, this book feels close to home. It reminds us that when artists come here to write, record, and share their stories, they are often doing something deeper than making tracks. They are turning sound into meaning and, sometimes, medicine.

Henderson Sauerkraut Days 2026!

Come down to the Valley for a full weekend of free community fun at Bender Park, starting with live music from Jeff Christ, Shaw Brothers, George’s Concertina Band, Byway Troubadours, Luke Richards, UNICORN, and the Bill Litzau Band [we also have our regular Down to the Bottom Friday programming at the River Bottom Tavern] .  Beyond the music, the weekend includes free kraut, the Grand Parade, a kraut eating contest, a vintage tractor parade, car cruise, 5K run/walk and kids run, Hummingbird Garden tours, the Hummingbird Trail Bike Ride, bouncy houses, youth lawnmower races, volleyball and bean bag tournaments, Henderson Lions Club Bingo, a cabbage toss, mini hot rods, face painting, Henderson Fire Department water fights, the Miss Le Sueur–Henderson Coronation, and the one we’re most excited about: the Sauerkraut SLAM Wrestling Show at 4:30 on Saturday!  Bring the family, bring your friends, and come celebrate one of Henderson’s great summer traditions. Free admission!

Tune In: MSS on Minnesota Public Radio

We're excited to share that the Minnesota Songwriter Sanctuary is featured in a new Public News Service radio story airing on MPR member stations across the state. Host Mike Moen highlights the Backroads Tour’s June 17 stop in Henderson, where national and regional artists will gather for a music festival focused on rural community organizing, honest cultural expression, and small-town connection. The story features MSS Executive Director Ezra Crowley and Rural Progress Executive Director Matt Hildreth discussing how music can bridge political divides, celebrate the diversity of rural communities, and help create the kind of gathering spaces small towns need. Click below to hear the full story.

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BIG NEWS: Mark Your Calendar! Tell Your Friends!

DC-based nonprofit, Rural Progress, and the Minnesota Songwriter Sanctuary present: The Backroads Tour MN 2026! Doors open at 1:00 for a full day of roots, Americana, country, folk, funk, and jam-band music featuring The Rolling River Revue (a "supergroup" of Minnesota River Valley locals), Cain & Co, MoonCats, Saltydog, Sparrow Smith, and GRAMMY-nominated Joe Troop, followed by a Gary West afterparty at 10:00.  From Minnesota River Valley hometown songs to North Dakota roots, Duluth funk, Southern blues-rock, Appalachian banjo, and classic country from a NASCAR-racing former Grand Ole Opry band member, this lineup brings road-tested musicianship and festival energy from start to finish.

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The Role of Arts Access in Community Development

Our latest essay, “The Role of Arts Access in Community Development,” makes the case that investment in the arts is not ornamental or secondary, but foundational to stronger people, stronger communities, and a stronger civic life. Drawing on research about music, creativity, confidence, learning, and public life, the piece explores how access to artistic space and opportunity helps communities build identity, belonging, resilience, and connection — especially in places where creative infrastructure is often overlooked. As President Lyndon B. Johnson put it, “The arts are not a luxury. They are a necessity.” This essay is about why that remains true, and why arts access should be understood as an essential part of community development.

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Lutsong Music Festival: Head Up Nort'

Lutsong Music Festival returns to Lutsen July 9–12, 2026, bringing a stacked lineup of Minnesota and regional favorites to Ski Hill Road on the North Shore. It is especially nice to see a few friends on the bill, alongside artists like Polica, Humbird, Dan Rodriguez, Luke Callen, Sarah Morris (hike-in concert!?), Laura Hugo, Breanne Marie & The Front Porch Sinners, and many more. With live music, a hike-in concert, yoga, and the kind of Lake Superior backdrop that makes everything feel a little more magical, this looks like a beautiful summer weekend worth planning around.  Click the button below to learn more about the lineup and get tickets.

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Staff Spotlight: Ezra Cayman Crowley

Ezra grew up deep in the woods of Northern Minnesota before hopping a train west at 17 with nothing but a guitar and a duffle bag full of clothes. In his early 20s, he opened his first recording studio, working with Grammy-winning artists and producing music that topped the CMJ charts and premiered on MTV and BET. In his 30s, he launched Ezra Cayman Bespoke Couture, designing custom garments for rockstars and billionaires, while earning a degree in management science and graduating summa cum laude from Stanford University (where he served as president of the Stanford Audio Engineering Society and on the KZSU board of directors). After returning home to Minnesota in 2020, he founded Minnesota Songwriter Sanctuary, where he now serves as Executive Director and lead engineer, blending entrepreneurial vision with hands-on creative leadership.