Cloud Cult Announced As Mississippi Music Fest Headliner

Going 'green' is what it's all about for this year's Mississippi Music Fest as SCSU's University Program Board gets ready for the huge music festival at Husky Field. The first step was to focus on what bands would reflect this year's mission of being 'eco-friendly' - and the most obvious choice was Minneapolis-based Cloud Cult. If you're not part of the once 'underground' indie music scene, you may not instantly recognize the name, but you'd definitely recognize the song 'Lucky Today' from an Esurance TV commercial a few years back.

This year's MMF promises to be bigger than ever; it gets underway  on Saturday April 16th, just as the Earth Day Half Marathon ends. Nearly 2-thousand runners and relayers will come to a breathless halt at the Halenbeck Fieldhouse between 9am and 11am, just as the sounds of local Minnesota bands begin. According to coordinator Brenda Osler, a tie-in with The Earth Day Run, "made sense as the next step in the ongoing evolution of The Mississippi Music Fest. Adopting an 'eco-friendly' lean for the Fest was an easy decision."

It's clear from the bio on their website, headliner Cloud Cult is a unique band, ahead of their time. Not just in it's sound but in the vision the group subscribes to;

"In 1999, lead singer Craig and Connie Minowa formed Earthology, a not-for-profit environmental organization that would later gain its nonprofit 501c3 status. Craig worked on developing the Earthology Records branch, which was focused on helping to green the music industry.  Minowa developed the first 100% postconsumer recycled CD packaging in the U.S. market. Earthology Records was later moved to an organic farm, powered by geothermal energy and built partially from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. The band's merchandise is all 100% postconsumer recycled or made of certified organic materials. Cloud Cult has planted over a thousand trees and plants several hundred more each year to absorb the band's CO2 output. They also donate heavily to projects that build wind turbines as revenue generators on Native American Reservations"

The band gained a wide national exposure when online insurance purveyor Esurance selected their song 'Lucky Today' for inclusion in their very popular and quirky animated series of TV spots-

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But the band is much more than music, as one of their members, trumpeter Scott West will create art while the group weaves it's earth-friendly performance.  When he's not rolling out brassy stabs, West grabs a canvas, his 'spinner' and goes to work while his mates play on. He says he lets the music and each individual audience influence the work during the shows. From a flailing, brightly-hued soupy mess, incredible art materializes. After the show, each piece will be for sale. Even the creation of his studio art is an amazing process all in itself, as this video from tpt's MN Original shows-

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In addition to the headlining Cloud Cult, other acts include the UPB's 'Battle Of The Unsigned Bands' finalist Hokus Pokus, St. Paul-based band Heiruspecs and accapela group Tonic Sol Fa will also appear. You would think with this big of an event , the tickets would be kind of pricey. In fact it's the exact opposite- it's FREE. Free to get in, free to watch all the music and free to take in the many eco-friendly displays and activities for kids and adults. You should probably bring a blanket or maybe a lawn chair for seating. Beverages and food will be available on site as well.

We're excited to be a part of both The Earth Day Run and The Mississippi Music Fest. Keep listening as we announce more bands and events surrounding that big weekend!