There are concert halls, and then there is the black building at 701 First Avenue North, wearing its silver stars like a leather jacket. September 2026 at the First Avenue Mainroom is one of those months worth planning a trip around: a three-night reunion stand, two founding fathers of post-punk, and a run of shows that will have people driving in from three states. All of it about a mile from our front door in Loring Park.
Sugar returns to First Avenue for three nights: September 10, 11 and 12
If you wore out a copy of Copper Blue in 1992, this is the one. Bob Mould had already redrawn the map of American rock with Hüsker Dü when he formed Sugar in late 1991 with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis. NME named Copper Blue its album of the year, Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening followed, and then the band simply stopped after a Japanese tour in early 1995.
The original three reconvened in June 2025 and released their first new song in over three decades, “House Of Dead Memories,” that October. Now the Love You Even Still 2026 World Tour brings them back for a rare three-night residency: Thursday September 10, Friday September 11 and Saturday September 12, presented by The Current, with J. Robbins of Jawbox opening. Doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m., 18+, and $2 from every ticket goes to The Trevor Project.
There is a pleasing symmetry to it. First Avenue counts Hüsker Dü among the local bands it launched, right there with the Replacements, Soul Asylum and Atmosphere. Mould is coming home — for three nights running.
The rest of the September Mainroom calendar
One weekend not enough? The whole month is unusually stacked:
- Tuesday, September 1 — Peter Hook & The Light, with DJ Jake Rudh. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., 18+. The Joy Division and New Order bassist playing the basslines he wrote.
- Monday, September 14 — Kamelot, Dark Asylum World Tour, with Visions of Atlantis and Frozen Crown.
- Tuesday, September 15 — Altın Gün, with Alex Maas. Turkish psych-folk turned up loud.
- Thursday, September 17 — Chat Pile, Who Loves The Sun Tour, with Soul Glo and Prize Horse. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19 — The Format, with The Get Up Kids. The Friday date was a second show added after the first sold through. Doors 6 p.m., show 7 p.m., all ages.
- Monday, September 21 — Bowling For Soup, with Ballyhoo! and rosecoloredworld. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m., 18+.
- Tuesday, September 22 — Public Image Ltd, This Is Not The Last Tour, with Plague Vendor. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., 18+.
Hulvey, Igorrr and Cortex fill in the back half of the month as well. Lineups and set times do move, so give the official Mainroom calendar a look before you buy.
A mile of city between the mansion and the Mainroom
From our porch on Clifton Avenue it is roughly a mile to the club — a twenty-minute walk down through Loring Park and across Hennepin, or about five minutes in a car you do not have to park. That is the quiet luxury of staying here on a show night: no ramp roulette at 6 p.m., no long drive home after the encore. You walk back through the park while your ears are still ringing.
One planning note if you ride light rail: this summer’s major track and signal overhaul has buses replacing Blue Line trains through August 19, and Green Line trains are off between Target Field and West Bank Station August 16–19. All of that wraps up before the September calendar begins, so trains should be running normally for these shows — but it is always worth a glance at Metro Transit’s rail closure page before you travel. And if you want the full mythology, First Avenue runs behind-the-scenes venue tours by advance reservation for groups of ten or more.
The house you come back to
300 Clifton is the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and often called the finest Georgian architecture in Minnesota. Hand-painted murals, carved fireplaces, English gardens, and a general refusal to be a normal hotel.
Downstairs, Gertrude’s Cistern is our speakeasy and haunted video lounge, with heated reclining seats — exactly the right room for the post-show argument about whether the second night was better than the first. Outside, the four-season garden hot tub sits under the stars and stays warm well past last call.
Rooms range from the Crystal Mansion and the Georgian to the Grand Edwardian, with the Coachman’s Quarters, Blacksmith’s Forge and Hayloft tucked into our Estate rooms. Two people, three nights, one very loud band: that is a weekend.
Book the second weekend of September early
September 12 is a busy Saturday downtown. Sugar plays their third night, and a few miles east the Gophers host Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. at Huntington Bank Stadium (see the 2026 football schedule, and our guide to Gopher football home games). Rooms in the core get thin on weekends like that, and a mansion with a handful of guest rooms fills faster than a tower with three hundred.
Make a whole weekend of it
Come in early and see the city properly. Minneapolis Trolley Tours runs Gilded Age mansion, scenic and candlelight ghost routes on a vintage trolley, and their best live music venues in Minneapolis list is a good primer if First Avenue is your first stop in this scene. The Pillsbury Club — the haunted Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion, with a speakeasy bar and a private theater — is a fine warm-up act, and friends traveling with you who need a longer stay can look at Oakland’s on 9th downtown.
Looking at other shows this season? We have also written up Fillmore Minneapolis in August, summer concerts at Target Center, and the free movies and concerts in Minneapolis parks happening right across the street from us.
Reserve your night
Tickets go first, rooms go second, and both go quickly for a three-night reunion. Have a look at our specials and packages, pick your room, and book direct at 300clifton.com. We will leave the porch light on and the cistern open.
Keep reading: in town during the holidays? Here is which historic Minneapolis mansions you can actually tour at Christmas.