About That Song: The Minnesota Music Resistance
About That Song #101
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
The Minnesota Music Resistance (see more about them at the end of this article) is releasing a compilation album featuring 30 original tracks titled Big Hopes of Mid-America: Vol. 1. I was thrilled to get a chance to chat with a handful of the contributing artists: Edie Rae, Katy Vernon of Favourite Girl, Mary Strand, and Cindy Lawson, as well as Krista Vilinskis of Elephants and Flowers Media—a local PR luminary who’s working hard to share this project. I asked them, of course, about THAT song. And also, about that CAUSE.
Big Hopes of Mid-America: Vol. 1 album artwork.
Sarah: Hi everyone!! I’m excited to talk to you about this album. In your press materials’ words: “From blistering punk to roots-driven anthems, from intimate folk to full-band fire, Big Hopes of Mid-America captures a moment—and channels it forward. Because when hope feels fragile, community turns to action.”
The MMR is celebrating this album with a FREE gathering on March 29th at Hook and Ladder Theater. This album sounds like it’s a giant labor of love, of the belief that coming together matters. Katy, Cindy, Mary, Edie—you’ve each contributed a song to Big Hopes of Mid-America: Vol. 1—tell us about THAT song!
Katy Vernon: “Not Going Back” was written about our collective experiences and need for community in 2020, inspired by the rise in kindness and consciousness coming out of the pandemic and the social justice uprisings of 2020. That momentary pause and acknowledgment that we are all connected and need to help each other was politicized and cut short, and it revealed a divisiveness that we’re all still reeling from. This song is a refusal to normalize individualism and selfishness. It has since grown to become a rallying cry against a hostile regime.
Katy Vernon and her band Favourite Girl. Photo credit: Randy Vanderwood.
Mary Strand: “Ditch Your Fate” was a co-write with Mark Wade, so it had to speak to and reflect both of us. Also, the album we were recording (my second album, I Don’t Need Your Permission) was focused on empowerment and speaking out, so it represented a big change from the storytelling on my first album and became more about addressing current life and world issues. Mark wrote most of the music, and I wrote most of the lyrics for “Ditch Your Fate,” but we discovered that we were very closely aligned on the song’s viewpoint.
Edie Rae: “Sister Suzie Sunshine” is an exploration of human behavior vs the constant of nature. Humans—we create our chaos, but the trees still stand, and the water still flows—of course, until we finalize that chaos as well…
Cindy Lawson: “I’m Loaded” was a song I wrote after George Floyd was killed. His murder served as proof that our law enforcement practices continue to be informed by race and class, and it never ends well if a person is on the wrong side of that equation. It’s an angry song more than anything—it feels like an exorcism when I sing it. The song seems especially timely given our recent experiences watching our friends and neighbors of color be kidnapped and disappeared. This is going to be a long battle, and we won’t give up.
Cindy Lawson. Photo credit: Madalyn Rowell.
Sarah: Humans sing to protest, sing to resist, sing to uplift, sing to support, sing to rally, sing to inspire … can you recall a song that had a specific impact on you in this way? That helped you keep going, or find the strength you needed? Tell us about that song.
Cindy: My favorite pop song of all time is The New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” with the chorus “you’ve got the music in you, don’t let go, you’ve got the music in you, one dance left, this world is gonna pull through …” Every time I hear that song, I get a lump in my throat. We can’t give up on each other, and we will pull through this. What our community in Minnesota did during the siege was the purest form of love I’ve ever experienced. Everyone gave in their own way, with their own energy and talent. I love my Minnesota.
Sarah: I love my Minnesota, too. And that song is one I’ve heard plenty, but never really listened to. Thank you for drawing my attention to the lyrics, because … yeah. That’s the stuff.
Edie: One of my all-time favorite songs is “Blue Marvel” by Rich Mattson and The Northstars. It may be a perfect song. It fills me up when I am down. Makes me happy to sing along.
Sarah: Rich was just here at ATS last week! What a great song!
Mary: No question for me: “We Are the World.” I just used this question as an excuse to rewatch the official music video from 1985, with ALL of those famous musicians on it, and it once again brought me to tears. Seven minutes well spent!
Sarah: I just used your answer to do the same thing. It’s epic.
Mary: What I love most about it is that so many musicians came together with such distinctive voices but in brilliant harmony to tell the world that we ARE the world, and we can make things happen, and together we can turn the world into a brighter place for everyone. It’s fantastic and so inspiring.
Mary Strand. Photo credit: Dan Michener.
Katy: Wow, so many. As a teenager, I dealt with a lot of grief. My dad died when I was 17 (my mum had already died five years earlier), and I’d already been deeply drawn into the album Like A Prayer that year, so when he died, the songs took on a new significance. Singing along to “Oh Father” allowed me to cry and process my grief and showed me that life would still go on. The lyrics helped me feel a compassion for my dad that I didn’t really understand at the time. He did his best under such hard circumstances.
Knowing that Madonna had also lost her mum as a child, I felt the strength and comfort in her words. That album always takes me back to a place of fear and loneliness, but at the same time boosts my heart and gives me courage.
Krista Vilinskis: Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Minneapolis” stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it, and it made me tear up instantly. It was so powerful hearing Bruce sing about our city and very validating to hear him sing about the sheer violence we’re all experiencing—how we’re being attacked by our own government. We live in a time when administrative authority lies to us on a daily basis, and it was very comforting to hear Bruce say that he sees us, he hears us, and most of all, he believes in us! Songs like that inspire me to keep fighting the good fight, to continue to protect my neighbors, and to believe there is good in the world.
Some of the profound lyrics from “Streets Of Minneapolis”:
Against smoke and rubber bullets
In the dawn’s early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringin’ through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renée Good
Krista Vilinskis. Photo courtesy of Elephants and Flowers Media.
Sarah: It’s been a long winter in Minneapolis. Many have found sustenance in gathering, and March 29 will be yet another wonderful example—can you tell us about that day? About the Minnesota Music Resistance?
Cindy: I am so proud to be a founding member of the Minnesota Music Resistance. Paul Engebretson, known as Front Row Paul, reached out and invited me to join in 2024, when it became evident that the country was about to change for the worse. We’ve carried on despite his untimely passing, knowing that he would be proud of the work we’re doing. I’m thrilled that we’ll be sharing our protest songs with the world. Long live Front Row Paul!
Mary: I love the MMR so much, I even bought the T-shirt! (ha ha!) Seriously, the MMR is SUCH an important vehicle for musicians who want to help make a change through their music. I’ve written a few protest songs during this long, hard winter, as have so many of my songwriter friends. Paul Engebretson founded the MMR, but it seems like everyone is part of it in so many ways. I can’t wait for the listening party at the Hook and Ladder on March 29: another chance to gather and shine a light on all the ways that Minnesotans have come together in these times.
Edie: We are gathering to listen in community to songs of protest and resistance, or just songs about our experience. We’re also looking to raise funds for the ACLU to continue to fight for civil rights.
Katy: I joined the MMR on its second meeting. Paul, Claire Luger, and Edie got the ball rolling. I just knew that I wanted to be around people that were not ok with the way things were heading after the election. I wanted to DO something and support folks and orgs that already had the training and vision to help vulnerable people.
I love that each month we use our platforms to raise money for existing organizations. It’s never about self-promo or just organizing fancy events; it’s all about community, direct aid, and resistance. I am enjoying getting to know people in the music scene in a deeper way that goes beyond shows. As an immigrant from a European country, I know I have a lot of white privilege, but that only makes me more empathetic to other immigrants.
I’m grateful to every musician who contributed to this compilation, and it will be fun to gather and celebrate.
Krista: I will be walking with friends and family at the next No Kings [more about them at the end of the article] March with our Minneapolis STRONG community on March 28! I can’t wait to march in peace with my community for the better good of our city and our nation’s rights. We all have a right to speak up and stand together.
Sarah: Thank you all for chatting with me today. Anything else you would like to share?
Krista: The Minnesota Music Resistance is a group of worried, angry citizens who share a love of music and want to find a way to use music to build and heal our community. I’m grateful to be doing publicity for the MMR, and I’m also a proud member! If you haven’t heard the first MMR compilation, you should! Thirty amazing Minnesota artists have contributed songs for this lovely cause. All proceeds will be going to help others by supporting work in anti-racism, domestic abuse issues, food access, housing, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, legal aid, mental health, and reproductive rights. Music brings us together and can be healing.
Katy: Since releasing this song, I wrote one about ICE in MN. I would love folks to check it out. It is called “They Lie” and has so far raised $800 for the ACLU-MN. People can find it and donate on my YouTube channel.
Mary: I couldn’t be more proud of Minnesota and of its musicians, including the MMR!
Edie: In times of chaos, I feel lucky to be part of an amazing music community and broader MN community that cares about people and takes action to show it. AMAZING.
Sarah: We do have an amazing community. I know that always, but collective works like this album are a shining example. Thank you for your hard work and your generous spirit. I can’t wait to hear the entire compilation.
The MMR’s compilation album Big Hopes of Mid-America: Vol. 1 will be celebrated with a listening party at The Zen Arcade at The Hook & Ladder Theater on Sunday, March 29 from 1-4pm. Free and open to the public!
About The Minnesota Music Resistance
Born out of urgency following the 2024 election, the Minnesota Music Resistance (MMR) collective emerged from a shared need for solidarity within the state’s vibrant music scene. Founder Paul Engebretson rallied a wide cross-section of the community—musicians, sound engineers, record store owners, radio and podcast hosts, writers, and lifelong fans—people who understand that a music scene is more than entertainment. It’s infrastructure. It’s refuge. It’s voice.
About No Kings
In America, we have No Kings. We are showing up together again on March 28. When our families are under attack, and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence. America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires, or those who rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people.
About our guests
Katy Vernon’s band Favourite Girl has a debut album now available for pre-save. Available on the streaming services beginning April 10.
Edie Rae most recently released a fantastic community cookbook: A Musicians Menu: Recipes That Rock by the Minnesota Music Community.
Cindy Lawson’s most recent release is the single “Burn,” with a new album, ¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!, coming later this year.
Mary Strand’s most recent release, I Don’t Need Your Permission, is streaming everywhere.
Krista Vilinskis runs the publicity firm Elephants and Flowers Media, dedicated to mentoring musicians and amplifying music.
Learn more about:
Listen to Paul Metsa & Alan Sparhawk of Low, “No Kings No Crown” (featured on the compilation)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
