In a scene of over-18 shows, only a few venues offer options for high school music-lovers. The Cedar Cultural Center, the Garage, and the Beat Coffeehouse emphasize the importance of music for all ages, spicing up the shows in the Twin Cities.

The Cedar

The Cedar Cultural Center is a local all-ages venue that is located on Cedar Avenue. When the Cedar first opened up it offered mainly folk music, but today it features mostly international music and local shows. The mission of the club, according to their website, is “to promote inter-cultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance. It is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, diversity of programming, support for emerging artists, and community outreach.”

“There are no limitations to music [at the Cedar],” said Michael Rossetto, the Cedar’s marketing coordinator. This venue offers music for all ages, so younger children can participate.

The Garage

“For many kids, the Garage is a safe haven. Every Friday and Saturday, many kids go to the Garage no matter what band is playing, because they feel comfortable in their own skin at the Garage,” said senior Sam Bramble. The Garage is a local, all ages music venue on the weekends, with a mostly teen audience. Bramble is in a band called Give It Up. His group first started to perform at the Garage when they attended monthly performer meetings there. Any band that attends the meeting performs during that month at the venue. The Garage is located in Burnsville and it is also a youth recreation center for kids after school.

The Beat

The Beat Coffeehouse is a local coffee shop in Uptown owned by Corner Church, a local community group. They also own a cafe in the Warehouse District called Corner Coffee. Both coffee shops offer free, all ages shows. Pastor Dave Scally of Corner Church said that he likes having all ages shows because “being a church, it offers a safe, healthy, and non-exclusive environment for individuals.” Corner Coffee offers live music on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Saturday mornings usually features folk, blues, and bluegrass music. At the Beat Coffeehouse, it varies depending on the band. A variety of music is played at both coffeehouses ranging from rap to hard rock, but they are trying to move towards more acoustic music and away from hard core music. Since a church owns both coffee shops, they feel a “responsibility as a church to offer all ages programs,” said Scally.