Minneapolis Pops Orchestra

07/26/2026

🎬 Thanks for the feature, WCCO! We loved sharing a little Minneapolis Pops magic with you. ❤️🎻

Can you believe it? Our FINAL concert of Season 77 is this Sunday, July 26 at 5:30 p.m. and we’d love to celebrate one last summer evening of music with all of you. Our People’s Choice concert lets YOU influence what pieces we perform. Our host is local favorite Tane Danger and singers from Chanhassen Dinner Theatres will be joining for some songs from Guys and Dolls.

🌞 The forecast is…enthusiastic. 😅 If the heat forces us to cancel, we’ll post updates right here on our page, so be sure to check before heading to the lake.

We’re choosing optimism, crossing our fingers, and sending all the cool-weather vibes into the universe. 🤞💙 Here’s hoping we’ll see you Sunday for one more unforgettable concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell!

07/24/2026

🎬🍿 Cue the dramatic movie trailer voice…

“In a world… where summer somehow disappeared at warp speed… one orchestra faces its most epic challenge yet… THE FINAL WEEKEND OF SEASON 77!” 😱🎻

Don’t worry, we’re going out with a blockbuster finale!

⭐ Saturday, July 25, 7:30 PM
Grab the people you love and join us for an unforgettable evening of Movie Music featuring your favorite cinematic scores.

🎶 Sunday, July 26, 5:30 PM
It’s our wildly unpredictable People’s Choice Concert! YOU choose what we perform from this season’s favorites, hosted by the one and only Tane Danger, plus the rescheduled return of the incredible singers from Chanhassen Dinner Theatres! (They’re back and this time we’re not letting them get away. 😉)

📍 Lake Harriet Bandshell

Two FREE concerts. One final weekend.

Let’s send Season 77 off in style!

07/23/2026

It's true, and we're over the moon 🌙! Working closely with our colleagues at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, we've been able to reschedule last Sunday's appearance with us to this coming Sunday, July 26, at 5:30pm, for music from their current production of Guys and Dolls! It will be part of our season-closing People's Choice concert, hosted by our conductor Russell Gray and noted Minneapolis event host and emcee, Tane Danger. It's going to be great show, full of fun, great music, and certainly a little Danger-ous😉. We hope to see you there!

Good News! The Lake Harriet Bandshell Minneapolis Pops Orchestra show has been rescheduled to this upcoming Sunday, July 26, at 5:30 pm. The performance will feature selections from Guys and Dolls sung by our talented cast members. We can't wait to see you there!

07/21/2026

✨ Somehow it’s already our FINAL weekend of concerts for the season! This summer has absolutely flown by.

Speaking of flying… 🚀🧹 join us for Movie Night this Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 PM at the Lake Harriet Bandshell as we soar through the stars aboard spacecraft… and maybe even by broom! 😅

Our cinematic program includes:
⭐ Star Wars Through the Years – John Williams
🌙 Music from Apollo 13 – James Horner
🖖 Star Trek Through the Years – arr. Custer
🎼 Symphony No. 7, Movement II – Ludwig van Beethoven
🏴‍☠️ Pirates of the Caribbean – Klaus Badelt
🎺 Colonel Bogey March – Kenneth Alford
⚡ Suite from Harry Potter – John Williams

Bring your family, invite your friends, and enjoy an evening of unforgettable movie music. We can’t wait to see you there! 🎬🎶

07/19/2026

‼️We regret to announce that our American Songbook concert this evening, Sunday, July 19, has been cancelled due to air quality.‼️

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has cancelled all programming across the parks today. We know they did not make this decision lightly, and we recognize that they have everyone’s health and well being in mind.

We are sad to not be with you this Sunday evening, and truly disappointed that we are not able to share our collaboration with members of the cast of "Guys and Dolls" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. We are hoping to find another opportunity to share this in the future!

07/19/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to the concert tonight! Please enjoy this clip of our Concertmaster Julian Maddox absolutely crushing the violin solo from Schindler's List! See you tomorrow, Sunday July 19, for our Broadway concert at 5:30pm at the Lake Harriet Bandshell with singers from Chanhassen Dinner Theatres!!

07/17/2026

CANCELED due to heat and air quality.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres singers from their current Guys and Dolls production are joining us THIS Sunday (July 19) for our 5:30pm show at the Lake Harriet Bandshell! You don’t want to miss it!!

Sunday July 19th, members of the cast of Guys & Dolls will be performing alongside the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra for the American Song Book- Classic Broadway and Tin Pan Alley concert! Join us at 5:30! Attendance is FREE!

07/16/2026

🚨 Broadway bombshell alert! 🚨

Before he was dazzling audiences as our fearless Concertmaster, Julian Maddox was apparently living his best Broadway life… as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls! 😍🎭 (Evidence has surfaced, and yes, it’s adorable.)

This Sunday at 5:30 PM, we’re bringing Broadway to the Lake Harriet Bandshell with special guest singers from Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for an evening of show-stopping favorites. And speaking of Guys and Dolls… Chanhassen is currently knocking it out of the park with their production!

We’ve heard rumors they might try to recruit Julian back to theater life. Nice try, Chanhassen. 😅 He’s ours now!

Join us for a night of Broadway hits, spectacular voices, and one very relieved violin section. 🎻

12/02/2025

A message on this Giving Tuesday from our Executive Director, Mark Springer:

The end of the year brings no greater joy than the chance to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support throughout our 2025 concert season. Your generosity truly makes our work and success possible. On behalf of all of us at the Pops, thank you!

As you know, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association is committed to bringing the power and pleasure of live orchestral music, performed by professional musicians, to the Twin Cities community free of charge. In order to help us maintain our mission, please consider remembering the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra today on Giving Tuesday and in your end of year giving plans!

Looking back on this season, we are reminded of how your support made everything possible: concerts filled with marches, pop favorites, jazz standards, memorable themes from stage and screen, and a few new things along the way, too. We hope that more than once you found yourself tapping your toes or nudging the person next to you and whispering, “Oh, I know this one!”

This year also brought memorable collaborations, including our first with St. Paul’s own Irish rock band, the Wild Colonial Bhoys, and we were captivated by the virtuosity of tubist Eirik “The Viking” Gjerdevik and maestro Russell Gray’s cornet solo debut with the orchestra. We also admired Russell’s courage to perform with his cornet bell (and most of him) in Eirik’s tuba bell to achieve a wonderful echo/old phonograph sound effect. Let’s face it, you don’t see that every day! Perhaps most special of all, though, was celebrating our immensely talented and dedicated Pops musicians who make every concert unforgettable.

As we bid farewell to this year, we are already looking ahead with excitement to 2026 and our 77th Concert Season. We thank you again for your generosity, and we look forward to another year of success together!

With every good wish for a joyous holiday season and bright new year,

Mark Springer
Executive Director, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association

P.S. Your generous gifts make it possible for us to share music and memories year after year! To make an end-of-year, tax-deductible gift to support the Pops, please visit

We are excited to have music director, Russell Gray, back at the Lake for the upcoming season! Please stay tuned for announcements regarding the 2025 summer season’s programs, which begin on June 28, 2025.