When Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, most Americans were only vaguely aware that he existed. In the days that followed, we’ve learned about his background in education and the National Guard; his enthusiasm for flannel shirts, camo hats, and hunting; his “Minnesota nice” demeanor; and his ability to fire up crowds at campaign rallies.
For the vibrant Minnesota rock community, little of this was news. “He’s been a pretty powerful governor, he’s well-spoken, and usually handles the naysayers pretty, pretty soundly,” says Alan Sparhawk, who spent nearly 30 years co-fronting the Duluth-based indie rock band Low. “Maybe it’s just a regional thing that I identify with him, but I like the way he talks. I like how he’s very agile and pretty quick to dismiss the idiocy that gets thrown around. He really gives a shit about leadership, and wants to help people. I’m looking forward to hearing him deflect shit that the idiots throw at him.”
Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris feels the same way. “I’m proud of my state,” says the singer of the long-running alt-country act. “It’s always been an outlier in a way. It’s a very liberal place, which I think is connected to its Scandinavian roots. It has different views than a lot of places that surround it. I’m proud they’re getting some attention. And Walz, from what I know, is an excellent governor.”
He also has an excellent taste in music. A December 2023 tweet of Walz’s haul from famed Minneapolis record store Electric Fetus revealed his interest in Steve Winwood, the Moody Blues, Warren Zevon, and Genesis. A photo has circulated showing him at a Bruce Springsteen concert at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in 2023. He even quoted the late Zevon (“I’ll sleep when I’m dead”) at his first rally of the campaign. And as governor of Minnesota, he named a state highway after Prince, signing the official proclamation in purple ink.
“Music is everywhere in Minnesota,” Sparhawk says. “There’s Prince and the long history of punk rock. Ilhan Omar sits in with the Marijuana Deathsquads, friends of mine. And Walz looks like the kind of guy that would be out on the fringe of the Surly Field watching Ween.”
Nathan Stocker, guitarist in the St. Paul-based rock band Hippo Campus, has a theory as to why his home state has produced so many innovative artists over the years — including Bob Dylan, the Replacements, Soul Asylum, and Hüsker Dü — relative to its size and remote location. “The state is like an incubator of talent,” he says. “We’re a bit of an island. We’re not Chicago. We have Iowa separating us from any sort of southern influence. There’s a highly diverse population in Minnesota, and that diversity is a real asset because it trickles over into other circles, and everyone is influenced by everybody else in the local scene. There’s an inherent desire to branch out and experiment, while also maintaining this sense of community, familiarity, and the ‘Minnesota Nice’ thing that keeps us all warm in the winter months.”
It was in the hot summer months of 2020 that the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked Black Lives Matter protests all across America. Walz faced criticism from the left for calling in the National Guard to quell the protests. It was a difficult moment for Minnesota artists involved in the movement. “Minnesota has deep roots in protest and in holding governors and senators accountable,” says Sudanese-American singer Dua Saleh. “I remember being extremely triggered when we were holding the occupation around Gov. Walz’s mansion. I do hold within my head these complex understandings of politics. But I also have so much hope after seeing Gov. Walz actively pursuing and offering aid to young children within schools…. To have a governor who has that much compassion for young children, for women in general, for people within marginalized communities, is something that is an absolute necessity at this time.”
The national press focused little on Walz at the time. But after Harris named him as her running mate, he’s in the spotlight like never before. “I really think he can appeal to that demographic that’s been on the fence about voting, while also pushing progressive values and certain policies that Kamala has been repping for a while,” Stocker says. “I feel like it’s a smart move. He has an armor against the Republican party that’s tough to puncture.”
The right wing has attempted to puncture it so far by labeling Walz an extremist on any number of issues, but little of it seems to be sticking. “He has this rural vibe mixed with Minnesota Nice and an edge,” says Louris. “My wife always says there’s a certain ‘don’t fuck with us’ vibe to Minnesotans, but we’ll also make you a tater-tot casserole.’”
If things go well in November, they might be serving tater-tot casseroles at the Harris/Walz inaugural ball. Who should be invited to play such an event? “We already had Bon Iver at the rally, so he’s had his time,” Stocker muses. “Booking Sounds of Blackness and the Replacements would be a good move. And selfishly, for our band, it would be a cool moment if they took Hippo Campus. Maybe he’ll read this interview and do that. It would be sick.”