Last call at the Uptown

A crowd gathers at the Uptown Bar & Cafe
A crowd gathers at the Uptown Bar & Cafe during a recent Maria Isa show. After more than 80 years of business, The Uptown is closing and being demolished for redevelopment.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Music fans in Minneapolis will be paying their final respects to the Uptown Bar this weekend. The revered music venue will close after its final show Sunday night, and then be demolished to make way for a new retail development.

In its heyday the Uptown was a proving ground for such local stalwarts as The Replacements, Run Westy Run and the Jayhawks. It also brought in alt music giants before their rise to fame; acts such as Nirvana, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins and The Flaming Lips.

The Current put together a video documentary containing memories of the bar's glory days called "Last Call at the Uptown."

Click the audio link for an audio excerpt from the series.

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