| Music Festival Name: | Basilica Block Party |
| Location: | United States
|
| Years Active: | 1995–2019, 2021, 2024- |
| Organised: | Basilica of Saint Mary, Cities 97 |
| Dates: | 02–03 August 2024 (currently) |
| Genre: | Rock, pop |
The Basilica Block Party is an annual two-day music festival that takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event is hosted by the Basilica of St. Mary and described by City Pages as "summertime's hottest church party".[1] The festival is the largest music festival held within the city of Minneapolis.
The event is in its third decade, with past headlining artists including Ryan Adams, Weezer, Imagine Dragons, Ray LaMontagne, Panic! at the Disco, Trampled by Turtles, Spoon, Ziggy Marley and The Wallflowers.
The party is a fundraiser to help pay for the structural restoration of the Basilica.
The event serves to raise money toward the ongoing restoration of the Basilica of St. Mary.[2] The event is in its 24th summer and draws approximately 25,000 attendees to downtown Minneapolis every summer.[3]
The event "started off with controversy" in 1995, according to The Star Tribune, as "people questioned using beer and rock music to raise money for a historic Catholic church." It began as a fundraiser to pay for a $9.5 million structural restoration of the Basilica of St Mary, the first basilica established in the United States of America.[4] [5] Five percent of the proceeds from the event go toward the St. Vincent de Paul outreach program, which provides services to those in need.[6] [7]
In its opening year, it drew more than 15,000 people, raising over $100,000.[8]
In 1995, the majority of the bands were local.[9] Since then, the roster has evolved, with past performers including Semisonic, The Wallflowers, The Avett Brothers, Weezer, AWOLNATION, and Ryan Adams.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota the block party was cancelled in 2020.[10] The 2021 event happened on September 10–11.[11] The 2021 event required either a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination. Shortly before the event, scheduled headliners, the Avett Brothers were forced to withdraw because of exposure to COVID.[12] Attendance for the 2021 event was roughly half of a typical successful event for the Basilica Block Party.[13]
It was cancelled in 2022 and 2023.
On February 15, 2024, it was announced the event would come back for the summer of 2024. Due to construction nearby on the festival's typical grounds at the Basilica of Saint Mary, the festival will instead be hosted at Boom Island Park.[14] [15]