we promote the creation of new music

For Songwriters

Performance Venue Wiki

Find new places to gig, add or rate the places you have gigged, and let's work together to improve the booking/performing experience in MN.(not that it's bad, but there's always room for improvement)

For Composers

because music is good for you

Making music has benefits for everyone, are you a...

Student

Playing music is an activity that uses your whole brain. The more you do it the more the hemispheres of your brain get used to working together. This benefits you when you're doing other things like math, science, languages, etc.

Students that play and write music score around %15 higher on tests in other academic areas. Also...medical schools admit a higher percentage of doctoral students from music major applicants than any other major, including pre-med and biochem.

Music has huge benefits for learning, so write some tunes and keep your brain fresh.

Professional

So your job stresses you out...yep, mine too. Good thing we've got an easy way to unwind and prevent that stress from becoming chronic. Music.

You don't have to be a pro, in fact music is a better stress reliever if you're not. Playing and writing for a mere 20-30 minutes after work can untie the knots in your stomach so you can enjoy your LIFE and it actually makes you more productive when you're at work too.

Good stuff

Parent

We parents always want the best for our kids. We want them to be smart, connected, well-rounded. Well good news...making music is an easy way to do that!

Studies have shown that musically trained children have better memories, better motor control, less behavioral issues, higher IQ, higher literacy and better spatial ability. It sounds too good to be true, but it isn't. Google it and you'll find all sorts of academic references to back it up.

Teach your kids music, get them playing, get them writing. It's a really good thing to do for their development

Addict

When overcoming addiction a lot of things can come to the surface...stress, emotion, relationship issues, personal issues, and some of these things can be triggers that keep an addict reaching for their chemical comfort. Music can help calm those ups and downs.

If you're feeling anxious, angry, alone...write a song about it. Use music to deal with those emotions and through the process of songwriting start to work through the things that might enable or drive you to use in the first place.

There's community and accountability in it too...sharing these things with others and hearing others share their stories can be helpful, and having a band to support you in your sobriety can be empowering.

Put down the drugs. Pick up a guitar instead.

Victim

If you or a loved one have ever been a victim of a personal crime then you know there are many complex emotions bound up there, many of them dark. There are many questions you'd like to have answered, and there may be nobody you feel you can turn to. Music can be a survival tool.

You can use music to work through those emotions, explore those questions, and heal yourself. It's not an answer, but it may provide you with a way to find peace, and that's something.

Elder

Most of the research on the benefits of music therapy have been focused on work with elders. It improves memory and cognitive function temporarily. It provides relief for stress and sometimes even pain.

Songwriting and playing music allow some to share their stories, to say things they might not have said yet, to relieve depression and anxiety, and even improves some symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's. It's not a panacea, but making music can really put life into your years.

Human Being
If you're reading this I'm assuming you are a human being. We can ALL benefit from music in some way. We've all got stress, we've all got problems, we'd all benefit from a better working brain, we're all going to grow old one day. Music can take that journey with us and lighten our load.

Music can help us lead more full and satisfying lives. Isn't that a good reason to start making some of your own?

Listen to my Story

Click the photo to read more

  • No amount of music will ever bring my brother or my dad back. I'll never see them again. But music helps me remember who they were. Music allows me to feel when my mind and body need it most but my brain or my self-imposed busy schedule gets in the way. Music saved my life and it's keeping me alive
  • I find that music is my medicine. I write songs of hope and home that repeat the ideas “the world is beautiful,” “you are good,” “every human being is worth loving” like a mantra, so when I need to believe those things the most, I can. Music has given me much over the years, and still has more to offer. My hope is that I can help nurture this constant companion for others.
and is an experience best shared

Signature Artists

click on the photo to go to a band page with bio, music, downloads and more!

Tim Cheesebrow

A Minnesotan singer/songwriter and composer. Tim has been playing for audiences around Minnesota for 15 years. His music has been described as “a hopeful and heartfelt celebration of life on Earth” with a “liberal dose of Great Lakes heart.”

Erik Brandt and the Urban Hillbilly Quartet

It started as a jam session in 1995 in a now burnt-out St. Paul hole-in-the-wall bar. Over 14 years later, the Urban Hillbilly Quartet has grown into an award-winning Twin Cities-based ensemble that delivers an eclectic mix of musical styles, blending electric guitar, piano, accordion, bass and drums.

Shaun Daniel

Shaun Daniel is a singer-songwriter whose style shies from easy genre classification, though much of his music is anchored in acoustic folk rock and Americana. Constantly exploring musical possibilities, Shaun pairs solid guitar-playing and intelligent lyrics with dynamic, multi-octave vocals marked by a bluesy tenor and ethereal falsetto.

Neal Swanger

Neal Swanger has been teaching, writing, and performing music for over ten years in Minnesota. For the past five years, he’s been making his living as a musician. Growing up in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, he has drawn on his experiences, love of people and of place to craft heartfelt words and melodies. Neal toured last summer to support his debut album Broken Ground. The album was funded in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Katy Vernon

Katy Vernon is a Minneapolis / St. Paul based singer songwriter. She grew up in London, England and has been writing and singing as long as she can remember. She moved to the US after meeting her future American husband on a train from Amsterdam to Berlin.

Redpath

Sisters Lauren and Torie Redpath (Minneapolis, Minnesota) grew up singing and learning to harmonize from a very young age. In 2008 they decided to form REDPATH and take their passion for singing to a new level by pursuing a professional singing and recording career as a vocal duo.

Dustin Lee

Dustin Lee is an American singer-songwriter hailing from Fort Madison, Iowa. Currently living in Minneapolis, he has just released his second full-length solo album, “This Is How The Story Goes.” While life in the Hawkeye state inspired the 2010 Indian Summer Music Awards’ best Folk song, “On My Way Back Home,” Dustin’s new material draws from extensive touring across the Midwest. While sharing his music in coffee shops and concert halls alike, he has learned much about the blue-collar ethos and history that make the places and people of the heartland great.

Breanne Marie

Singer/songwriter/musician living in Duluth, MN. For every moment in my life there's a song, that's why I've got a lot of singing to do.

Upcoming Concerts

Upcoming | 2013

How To Get Involved

Donate Funds

We are only able to offer our programs with your help! Most of your donation goes into programs, but because we respect your contribution we invest some of it in grant acquisition and fundraising to multiply the effect of your gift!

Play Music

Apply to become one of our signature artists! Play shows for us and we will support your career in return.

Teach Music

Teach songwriting, composition, or work as a clinician in our programs.

Buy Music

We have some really great talent here in MN. Support your local musicians by buying some music! It costs less than a few cups of coffee and you get to enjoy it for the rest of your life.

Partner

We rely on a network of music and business partners to do what we do, and we help them out in return. It's all about relationships...partner with us!

Volunteer

There's so much talent out there and we love when you choose to share it with us!

Concerts

Support our programs, support local artists, and have a fun night on the town...everyone wins! Come see a MWM concert today. Dates listed above.

Financials

This section is for grant officers and investors. We will provide you with as much information as we can about what resources we have and how we plan to use them.
updates

How Music Affects the Brain

February 5, 2013 – 6:23 pm
The Psychology of Music
By Tim | Posted in What We're Up To | Comments (0)

MusicWorks BandTogether makes the WB Press!

January 25, 2013 – 10:41 pm

Thank you, Nick Backus for writing up this nice article on MusicWorks, and what we’re trying to accomplish with the Band Together program.
Friends, please spread this far and wide and drum up some more support for our work with the students!

read the article HERE

Good stuff.

 

By Tim | Posted in What We're Up To | Comments (0)

Music and the Brain

June 4, 2012 – 3:12 pm

Victor Wooten, in addition to being a bass genius, is also supporting work at the Association for Psychological Science conference as they explore the connections between music and the brain, and the potentially huge benefits that music has for learning and performance.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/26/health/mental-health/music-brain-science/index.html

We’re learning more every day just how real and prevalent this connection is. It just goes to show that music programs, instead of being thought of as auxiliary, peripheral and possibly expendable should be a core strategy of the district to increase learning across the board, possibly even a way to address growing achievement gaps.

By Tim | Posted in What We're Up To | Comments (0)

To brighten your day.

February 20, 2012 – 11:32 pm

I just came up with this while listening to New Orleans jazz master, Louis Armstrong.

What an inspiring person…

By Tim | Posted in What We're Up To | Comments (0)

‘Scuse me while I go celebrate…

September 8, 2011 – 6:35 pm

I think this speaks for itself.

Woot!

In case you’re looking at that photo and are thinking “What is that? Is it like some kind of analog text or IM or something? It’s from the I.R.S. and it says blah, blah, blah…..zzzzzz…..”

Yes. It’s a letter from the IRS. It says that we’re a 501c3 tax-exempt organization. Which means we don’t pay taxes because we’re doing good stuff that helps our country’s citizens. Which means that your donations go right into programs and not into taxes for payroll or income or sales or property or anything else. Your money gets used better.

It’s pretty cool and it’s really a hard and long process to get this status. So if you want to join me in celebrating, go ahead…1…2…3…Huzzah! (odds are that I didn’t actually do it with you, but I’ll “Huzzah!” dutifully every hour on the hour for the next day or so. If you time it right we can “Huzzah!” together, if not you’ll just have to imagine it. However I have been told that the net effect of collective “Huzzah!”s are only marginally greater than the effect of individual ones, so please feel free to engage in general celebration and merry-making at your earliest convenience)

By Tim | Posted in What We're Up To | Comments (0)

MusicWorks Minnesota

651-247-4840

7037 20th Ave. S.
Centerville, MN 55038