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It's Minnesota's most famous nightclub and now an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.

"First Avenue: Stories of Minnesota's Mainroom" opened in May and is filled with gems, including "Mountain" — the tour bus used by Twin Cities hip-hop group Doomtree.

New exhibit at the MN History Center tells the story of legendary venue First Avenue

The exhibit's curator, B. Erin Cole, and The Current's Andrea Swensson joined guest host Brandt Williams to talk about the exhibit, the history of the place, the icons who performed there and why it's important to many Minnesotans.  

We also heard from callers who shared a few of their own memories:

Laura in Minneapolis ran spotlights for many shows at First Avenue over the years. She worked with her husband, "just cause we worked well together, and our timing was good together."

One of her most memorable shows? "Oingo Boingo was a gas!"

Alec from South Dakota shared memories from when First Avenue was still a bus depot, and great for people watching. And then a later memory of seeing Johnny Winter And — "shook me to my core."

Dave in Minneapolis' first show at First Avenue was when he was only 15 years old — The Flaming Lips. He's seen them at other venues since but seeing them at First Avenue "will always stick in my heart as one of the top five shows I've seen in my life and I've been going to shows for 20 plus years."

Use the audio player above to listen to the program. 

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What's your favorite First Avenue memory?

Brandt Williams

Author

Karen Zamora

It's Minnesota's most famous nightclub and now an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibit's curator and The Current's Andrea Swensson joined guest host Brandt Williams to talk about First Avenue -- its history, the icons who have performed there and why it's important to many Minnesotans.

It's Minnesota's most-famous nightclub and now an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibit's curator and The Current's Andrea Swenson join guest host Brandt Williams to talk about First Avenue -- its history, the icons who have performed there and why it's important to many Minnesotans.

First Avenue gets museum treatment at the Minnesota History Center

Crowds outside of First Ave in Minneapolis.

First Avenue gets museum treatment at the Minnesota History Center

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