Minneapolis and Saint Paul are immediately lifting the mandate requiring restaurants and bars to check patrons’ COVID-19 vaccine status or negative test results for dine-in. The Twin Cities’ decision to lift the mandate comes as Omicron case numbers continue to drop in the metro area.  

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Minneapolis have lowered significantly since the initial emergency requirement was put in place earlier this year, the city of Minneapolis wrote in a press release Thursday. The seven-day new case rate exceeded 1,300 cases per 100,000 people in January and positivity rates were climbing rapidly. Now, the new case rate is significantly decreased at 499 per 100,000 people.

“Key public health metrics are trending in the right direction,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in the press release. “That is a welcomed sign for Minneapolis, especially for the small businesses and restaurants that have shouldered the weight of this pandemic. Let’s hold the momentum and bring our city back in full by continuing to follow public health guidance and supporting local businesses.”

The city also stressed the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations in the release, stating that the vaccine is the first step in preventing serious illness and hospitalization, adding that the CDC recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone over the age of 5. 

“We are grateful to be in a different place now than we were when this requirement first took effect,” Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said in the press release. “While I encourage residents to continue to get vaccinated, wear masks and practice social distancing while indoors, the sharp decline in cases and hospitalizations means we can safely lift the vaccine requirement in our city.”

Masking requirements in city-licensed businesses and most public areas will remain in place and restaurants are free to maintain vaccine or test requirements if they wish to do so.

It’s cold out there, Gophers. The back to school buzz has faded away and we’re struggling to convince ourselves to go outside again. Though winter isn’t going away anytime soon, we can at least trick our brains into thinking that the cold is a fun, quirky thing to experience by attending winter festivals, markets and concerts.

All venues in the Twin Cities require proof of full vaccination or a negative test within three days of show dates. Events allow all ages unless otherwise noted.

1.Great Northern Festival Events
The Great Northern puts on about two weeks of winter festivities every year, focusing on the beauty of Minnesota’s frigid cold season. Though their programming already began last week, there’s plenty of attractions left in the first week of February, including gems like Dance Church at First Avenue, Winter Hiking 101 and many more.
Check out the full list of events here. Prices vary, events run until Feb. 6

2. “Forget Me Not” Exhibit Opening
Local artist and recent University of Minnesota graduate Mark Khan’s first solo photo exhibit will be on display at Coffman Union starting Feb. 3. The opening is open to the public and will feature food and drink, a Q&A with Khan and live music. Free, more information here. Feb. 3 to March 30

3. Scream It Off Screen Short Film Competition
How do you feel about amateur cinema? Do you enjoy loudly booing things in public? Do you constantly seek out the rush brought on by the angry pang of a gong as scores of other people around you also boo? Try visiting one of the Scream It Off Screen events at the Parkway Theater on the first Friday of every month. During these short film competitions, audience members are tasked with deciding who gets the gong (losers) and who gets sweet, sweet prize money. Submissions are open to anyone and everyone, for free! Tickets to the event are $10. 18 plus, Feb. 4

4. Speed-Dating with Apparel Design Seniors
Explore a different kind of senior thesis showcase with University apparel design students at “Sundry. Multidimensional Design” this Saturday. At the event, all visitors will engage with designers and hear about their work in a rapid-fire, speed-dating style Q&A. Following the opening at Rapson Hall, the senior thesis exhibition will be on display in the Cargill Gallery at Hennepin County Central Library from Feb. 8 to March 24. Free, more information available here. Feb 5

5. Minneapolis Vintage Market at Machine Shop
Find your next big thrift haul at this month’s Minneapolis Vintage Market. The event covers two floors in the industrial space, offering a plethora of pre-loved goodies, and will include a Get Down Coffee Co. popup, food trucks and music by DJ Buster Baxter. Tickets are $10 for early admission and free after noon. Feb. 6

6. Battle of the Bands at the Whole Music Club
Starting Feb. 4, the University’s Battle of the Bands will pit your favorite student bands against each other in a jam to end all jams. Every Friday night in February, visit the Whole in Coffman Memorial Union’s basement to enjoy live performances throughout the elimination process. The winner will be chosen during Spring Jam in April. Free, more information here. Every Friday in February.

7. Bad Suns at the Fillmore
The post-punk, indie rock, California-based band are currently touring their fourth album “Apocalypse Whenever,” which was released in January of this year. Supporting acts include the psychedelic Kid Bloom and Dallas-based indie rock band Little Image. Tickets start at $24 and are available here. Feb. 10

8. Black Business is Beautiful Market
Visit the Black Market’s once-monthly market to connect with community members, shop for last minute Valentine’s Day gifts and support local small businesses. This month’s market will be held in St. Paul’s Case Building and will host live entertainment, games, a multitude of different food vendors and plenty of goodies to peruse. More information here. Free, registration is encouraged. Feb. 12

9. Paul Taylor Dance Company at Northrop
The New York-based Paul Taylor Dance Company will visit Northrop Auditorium this month for an in-person performance of two of the company’s originals and a new piece choreographed by Peter Chu that was delayed by the pandemic. More information available here. Tickets start at $30. Feb. 12

10. Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt at the Fillmore
The two rappers will be co-headlining their ÑBA Leather World Tour with support from the Alchemist and Boldy James. The tour follows new releases from both artists, including Earl Sweatshirt’s 10-song project from earlier this year, “SICK!” and Action Bronson’s “Only for Dolphins,” which was released in 2020. Tickets start at $60 and are available here. 18-plus, Feb. 12-13

11. MARINA at the Orpheum
The Welsh singer-songwriter will be touring her fifth studio album on the “Marina: Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land Tour” this Valentine’s Day. Tickets start at $40 and are available here. Feb. 14

12. Backseat Lovers at 7th St Entry
The Utah-based indie rock quartet will perform music from their 2019 album “When We Were Friends” with support from Over Under, another Salt Lake City indie quartet. Tickets start at $25 and are available here. Feb 15

13. Winter Beer Dabbler at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds
Enjoy samples of Minnesota-made craft beverages, food trucks and live entertainment at the first Winter Beer Dabbler since 2020. Base tickets are $55 and include access to unlimited samples of beer and cider. Designated drivers can enjoy a price cut and free, non-alcoholic refreshments. Tickets are available here. 21-plus, Feb. 19

14. Alice Phoebe Lou at Turf Club
The South African-born alternative pop singer known for her eclectic, retro sound in songs like “Witches” and “Dusk” released two new albums last year, “Glow” and “Child’s Play.” She will be touring across the US and Europe for most of this year. Tickets range from $15-$20 and are available here. 21-plus, Feb. 17

15. Beach House at the Palace Theatre
Baltimore-grown Beach House, known for their intoxicating instrumentals with Tumblr-era songs like “Space Song” and “Lazuli” are coming to Minneapolis on their “Once Twice Melody” tour. Tickets start at $45 and are available here. 18-plus, Feb. 26

16. Lucy Dacus at First Avenue
“Night Shift” singer, boygenius member and indie sad girl singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus will be touring her latest solo album, “Home Video,” with support from bedroom pop artist Indigo de Souza. Tickets start at $20 and are available here. 18-plus, Feb. 17

17. Mike Birbiglia Live! at Pantages Theatre
Softie comedian Mike Birbiglia, known for his many specials including “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing,” “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and “Thank God for Jokes” will be visiting the Twin Cities for three nights this month to perform his latest solo show, “The Old Man and The Pool.” Tickets start at $43 and are available here. Feb. 17-19

18. Tyler, the Creator at Target Center
Following the 2021 release of “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST,” the rapper’s sixth studio album, he’s touring with Kali Uchis, Vince Staples and Teezo Touchdown. Tickets start at $25 and are available here. Feb. 20

19. Faye Webster at Fine Line
The indie folk pop darling, known for “Kingston” and “Right Side of My Neck” will be touring her latest album, “I Know I’m Funny haha,” with Kate Bollinger. Tickets start at $18 and are available here. 18-plus, Feb. 21

20. “Pretty Woman: The Musical” at the Orpheum
The Broadway musical based on the cult classic 1990 Julia Roberts film of the same name (which was inspired by the song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison and Bill Dee) is hitting the road this year. Tickets start at $40 and are available here. Feb. 22-27

How much can you hear in silence?

Seth Parker Woods and Spencer Topel don’t want you to think their performance piece “ICED BODIES” is just about a 125-pound block of ice. If you saw it, you’d see (and hear) that the black body of the ice cello holds much more — it is a manifestation of centuries of injustice, the stigma of mental illness and generational trauma — creating space for collective healing through choreographed sound, silence and movement.

The two spoke on all of this and more at their artist talk at Northrop, hosted by the Weisman Art Museum (WAM) in collaboration with the Great Northern Festival, nearly two weeks of events celebrating a 10 day celebration of Minnesota’s signature winters.

After nine months of closure due to renovations and COVID-19 cancellations, “ICED BODIES” was supposed to be the Weisman’s first live performance in a post-pandemic world, WAM program director Katie Covey Spanier said. The multiple-hour performance was originally scheduled for Jan. 29 but was postponed after COVID case levels in the Twin Cities rose.

The piece is a reimagining of works by Charlotte Moorman, a celebrated cellist and the founder of the New York Avant Garde Festival, in collaboration with Jim McWilliams in the 1970s. The original piece, titled “Ice Music for London,” featured a cello made of ice cubes and explored the passage of time. Moorman would play her own ice cello, completely nude and often sporting a necklace of flowers, until the ice melted and fell apart, though they had difficulties producing sound from the ice at the time.

This iteration of the piece, “ICED BODIES: Ice Music for Chicago,” was developed in 2016 when Topel and Parker Woods formed their artist collective, Topel | Woods. The two wanted to create a new extension of Moorman and McWilliams’ work that brought attention to the disproportionate number of police brutality incidents against Black men suffering from mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

“Seth contacted me and said, “Look, I want to dye this cello black, and I want us to create something new out of this,’” Topel said.

Parker Woods and Topel were set to perform “ICED BODIES” for the first time since the shutdowns in Minneapolis last weekend, but were hindered by the Omicron variant surge.

“The performance space needed in the museum for this project simply doesn’t allow for enough space among guests,” Covey Spanier wrote in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “Given the rate of infection and transmission, we made the difficult decision to postpone the performance.”

The piece is slated to be at next year’s Great Northern Festival instead, but the conversation with the artists led by award-winning poet and University of Minnesota English professor Douglas Kearney remained.

The duo considered ways to localize the piece to trauma over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but the overall message of “ICED BODIES” remains the same. Parker Woods and Topel did gently suggest that a piece about Floyd, or “specifically for Minneapolis,” was in the works.

“It’s unfortunately, maddeningly, still extremely relevant,” Parker Woods said of “ICED BODIES,” now almost four years after its first performance. “As an artist or composer, anybody who’s making things, you kind of get sick of things, but I don’t get sick of this piece.”

When they were contacted by Kate Nordstrum of the Great Northern Festival, the artists knew that their comeback would be relevant to the Twin Cities.

In conversations with Nordstrum, Parker Woods said they pondered ways to create space for commentary and healing, adding, “How could this be a work for the community and not just for the ivory towers or art collectors?”

Kearney and the artists addressed a cozy audience in Northrop’s Best Buy Theater on Thursday evening, starting off with a short clip from a past performance of “ICED BODIES.” In it, Parker Woods wears a plain black wetsuit as he gently caresses a true-to-size cello made of ice dyed a rich black color. There is almost no sound at this point in the performance, only the echoes of metal scraping ice.

“You’re given that moment to have a kind of phantom sound, musical experience that’s in your own imagination,” Topel said, adding that they want the audience to question their own sanity at first.

Creating an ice cello that could produce any sound took a fair amount of trial and error, according to Topel. At the time, they had access to Dartmouth’s engineering department, which helped tremendously in creating usable molds for the ice. The piece is able to produce sound because of this step, in which they freeze audio pickups into the ice mold.

During the performance, as Parker Woods taps, scrapes, smashes and stabs the body of ice, the impulses are processed by Topel and sent through glass panels that encase the room, allowing ethereal tones to sing throughout the space.

“The work exists as a space of scribing and and memorializing these people, but at the same time freeing them,” Parker Woods said, “but also creating a larger space for people regardless of your background, regardless of what you believe, to be able to come together collectively.”

The day George Floyd was murdered, Rachel Austin of Chasing Joy Photography was taking photos of her children just three blocks away from Cup Foods in her south Minneapolis neighborhood.
One of the photos shows her son, Hezekiah, age 6 at the time, holding up an American flag in their alleyway. It would soon become an iconic image representation of the calm before the global social upheaval that followed and the first image in the “Documenting A Reckoning: The Murder of George Floyd” photo gallery.
“Documenting a Reckoning,” an exhibit centered on the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on Memorial Day of 2020, features 54 works from 37 photographers from the community, professional photojournalists and nine photos from students covering the uprising that impacted the world.

Austin wouldn’t find out about Floyd’s murder until the following morning over breakfast. That afternoon, she and her children would go to the dollar store to purchase poster board and markers to make protest signs. She continued to document the events in her neighborhood, but with the whirlwind of the following weeks, she would forget about that photo she had taken of her son for some time.
“Seeing that photo, to me, was really special because it captured my son as a kid, so much more carefree than he is today,” Austin said, reflecting on the rapid loss of her son’s innocence. “It was taken literally right before so many lives changed so drastically.”
The exhibit opened late last October at West Bank’s Elmer L. Andersen Library and will move to the Mill City Museum in early March where it will stay until June. The gallery is free to the public and open during library hours.
Shannon Brault, a third-year student in the University of Minnesota journalism program, grew up about two miles away from George Floyd Square, the name given to the intersection at 38th and Chicago where Floyd died. Her photo in the gallery depicts a sliver of the extensive memorial in the square on the day Derek Chauvin was convicted, featuring a cinder block barrier adorned with flowers and a hand-painted canvas that begins, “Great Spirit / Guide Us All to Raise / Our Voices in Solidarity / Let Our Actions Create / Real Change, Real Peace / And Justice.”

“That was really cool,” Brault said of the exhibit and her work being put on display. “Seeing that people cared, that they were there, and that this was like a celebration of the work that people have been doing to actually document what has been happening.”
Jurors for photo selection included Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication professor and multimedia journalist Regina McCombs, New York Times photo editor Brent Lewis and Minneapolis-based documentary photographer Nina Robinson.
Brault said she was afraid to put her work out there initially, but was encouraged by McCombs.
“I knew that so many other big photographers in the Twin Cities were going to be in it too,” Brault said, adding that she felt honored to be included and the experience has made her realize that “the stuff I do could be good enough to get into the community journalism world.”
Billy Briggs was a concert photographer before the events of May 25, 2020. He has lived 200 feet away from the spot where George Floyd died, or “175 footsteps,” as Briggs put it, since 1997.
“I guess it just fell upon me. This is my calling and I need to document everything that goes on here. And I did,” Briggs said of his work in the neighborhood. “It doesn’t feel like a responsibility really, to me, it just feels like natural stuff to do.”
Briggs now serves as a volunteer caretaker of George Floyd Square and has documented the events within since the beginning, with the sensitivity only a neighbor could offer. He has three photos featured in the exhibit, each providing an inside look at life in the autonomous protest zone, though he has taken over 20,000 pictures since Floyd was killed.
“It was just amazing to be part of when I look back, and I didn’t think that way back when … It’s hard to put into words still,” Briggs said, adding that his goal for this year is to finally sort through all of the images he’s taken.

The exhibit itself offers a space for quiet reflection in Andersen Library’s wide, circular halls. Somber piano plays on a loop throughout, and the end of the line holds a space encouraging sticky note commentary. One vibrant pink square on the glass divider reads: “We as a collective are stronger than any unjust institution or system.” Another mentions bringing their 5-year-old daughter to reflect on the powerful snapshots of local history.
“I think many of us felt the gravity of it in a new way when we walked past the images in the exhibit and just let the feelings wash over us,” Austin said, remembering her own reaction to the gallery and those of fellow community photographers.
Editor’s Note: Regina McCombs is a member of the Daily’s Board of Directors.

In the rush to enter St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, girls clad in cow-print, glittering chaps and hot pink LED cowboy hats shuffled along the crosswalks, coatless in four degree weather — all to see Kacey Musgraves, the Grammy award-winning, East-Texas indie-country-popstar, sing about her divorce.

Alongside the fringed and sequined twenty-somethings were small-town folk, young teens and their parents who drove hours to be here, sporting flannel and unironic mullets. Despite the evident differences between members of her fanbase, all welcomed Musgraves’ unfettered outpouring of emotion fully in the opening night of her first arena tour. Steadfast in their dedication, they were all here for Kacey.

Musgraves began her star-crossed: unveiled tour at Xcel Energy Center with MUNA, the electro-pop trio responsible for the bubblegum gay love song “Silk Chiffon feat. Phoebe Bridgers,” and genderqueer indie pop-rock icon King Princess (Mikaela Straus) as the openers.

MUNA kicked things off with an electric alto as the trio bounced around the stage, belting impeccable harmonies with little effort. They debuted an unreleased song with a country twang, and owned the stage with works from previous albums like “I Know a Place.”

Finishing off with “Silk Chiffon,” lead vocalist Katie Gavin said, “This is a gay love song, hope you enjoy it,” to the utter delight of the audience. King Princess followed, bringing a similar but more aggressively sex-positive energy, moaning and gyrating to jams such as “Pussy is God” and “Talia.”

As roadies slowly revealed an elaborately lit, heart-shaped main stage, the air buzzed with excitement. A bass-y cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” ramped up the energy leading up to the main event. Musgraves emerged from behind an elegant, elaborately embroidered velvet curtain, revealing a metal heart sculpture roaring with fire. The Spanish guitar of “star-crossed,” the album’s title track, sent the audience into a joyful uproar as Musgraves began.

Musgraves’ warm soul, her holding-nothing-back vulnerability and cuss-word-sprinkled conversation created a sense of coziness among the odd 9,000 gathered together, making the trek worthwhile.

Musgraves’ calm, sleek exterior matched the poise of her performance, with a slicked back high-pony and a bespoke lightly bedazzled black suit. The theme of the night was hearts, fully aflame and broken ones, as Musgraves sang ballads of love lost and happy memories from “star-crossed,” her fifth album released late last year.

Musgraves seamlessly transitioned between tracks from her 2018 album, “Golden Hour,” invigorating long-time fans and newbies alike with her acoustic rendition of the title track as the audience’s light-up wristbands sent a golden glow across the crowd. “Butterflies,” “Lonely Weekend,” and others from this album followed, each with their own color coordination.

Though nervous at times, Musgraves had an air of bliss, even as she poured out her pain for all to see with “Space Cowboy.” Facing slightly away from the audience, she sang, “You can have your space, cowboy/ I ain’t gonna fence you in … ‘Cause I know my place, and it ain’t with you/Sunsets fade, and love does too.”

She had no trouble energizing the audience with her gentle grace, captivating all without moving much beyond a sway. Her band’s verve was enough to transform even the slower songs into intoxicating melodies. Doting fans didn’t hesitate to let out screams of “I love you,” and it felt like Kacey loved us too, providing a space to feel the pain of these past few years.

“We have some small town people here, right? Like, really fuckin’ small,” Musgraves said before moving into “Merry Go ‘Round,” sending the tweens begging her to “play the oldies” into an uproar. Musgraves barely had to sing here — nearly every audience member did it for her with shocking accuracy and equal passion.

Musgraves also performed a soft country cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs,” selected by an audience member from a scroll of options for “Kacey-oke,” and finished with a stunning acoustic rendition of Mercedes Sosa’s “Gracias a La Vida,” following the bursts of rainbow confetti throughout the electric “there is a light.” The encore featured “Slow Burn” and “Rainbow,” giving the audience a warm hug and a few more tears for the road.

“Tonight we can be sad together, we can put our feeble ’lil broken hearts back together​​,” Musgraves said after the first few tracks from her newest album, apologizing for the heartbreaking subject matter.

Musgraves didn’t need to apologize. On that frigid cold winter night, those ballads that burned with passion are what the cowboy hat clad concert goers come to the X for.

When was the last time you stood next to a stranger without a mask and felt safe? In 2020, we imagined that, two years from now, things would be different: COVID-19 would have run its course and we would find our way out, maskless. So did Carl Flink, a University of Minnesota dance professor and Twin Cities choreographer.

At the request of Northrop program director Kristen Brogdon, Flink curated a selection of nine dance films made during the pandemic’s early days with the help of Joanie Smith, fellow dance professor and choreographer of Shapiro & Smith Dance.

The two partnered up with students to create the dance film “Dancing Our Way Out,” which premiered on Jan. 14 to Northrop audiences.

“As a dance-maker, what was really clear to me is that physical touch is one of the things that I know the members of my company and other dance artists were profoundly missing,” Flink said.

“Dancing Our Way Out” premiered nearly two years after COVID-19 was discovered and yet its subject matter still resonates today. The dance film will remain available on-demand, streaming on Northrop’s website through Jan. 21, and features seven student works and two faculty productions touching on collective trauma, isolation, oppression, depression, community and the inability to touch and hold what is human.

Each section is a new expression of the pandemic’s many lasting impacts while still allowing for hope and growth. “Dancing Our Way Out” is a raw outward expression of emotions that Americans have grappled with since March 2020.

“The piece still has a very specific resonance now because there’s still many people that are fearful of the idea of being in contact with others,” Flink said of the final piece and his own company’s contribution to the film, titled “A Dream of Touch When Touch is Gone.”

The film also features professor of dance and theater arts Ananya Chatterjea’s “The Turmeric From My Hands Will Stain Your Snow,” which focuses on her students’ efforts at self-discovery and leaving their mark on a world that feels hopeless.

As the pandemic shuttered performance venues, switching to unconventional performances was the only option, which opened up new creative possibilities for dancers. Soon enough, livestream dance performances and Zoom theater became the only option in the local and national arts scene, making digital performances like dance films the norm.

“When you’re making dance for the camera, you’re performing for a very observant single eye,” Brogdon said, adding that this allowed creators to play with camera angles, locations and editing.

To create the final product, Flink sorted through almost 40 student works in search of performances and stories that best took advantage of their predicament and could not be recreated on a stage.

“I got to steep myself in our student’s creativity again,” Flink said, “The depth of imagination and creativity that they manifested was really exhilarating. And honestly, watching them, I learned a lot.”

Lily Conforti, a recent graduate of the dance program and creator of “Please Don’t Stretch Out My Sweater,” made her film in a closet in her parent’s basement around the same time the rest of the world was hoarding toilet paper, utilizing the tight space to create a sense of claustrophobia. To her, the film is a “time capsule” of her early pandemic mental state.

“It does still feel a little bit trapping, like how are we gonna make it out of this?” Conforti said. “We’re still in this closet, in this pandemic, and still trying to figure out how to work through it. It still feels a little ongoing to me.”

Brogdon had similar feelings about the film’s release, saying, “We had expected it to be this big kind of closing celebration and instead I feel like we’re still kind of in the middle of everything.”

“Look how hard we’re working to do something that 12 months ago, we just took for granted,” Flink said. “Take hold of someone’s hand. Stand next to them without a mask. How the simplest gestures have suddenly become dramatic. Those discussions elevated the commitment and the passion … to making this project happen.”