Blossom: Made by Minnesota artists for Minnesota artists
Local band Hippo Campus has started Blossom, an artist collective highlighting the growing art scene rooted in the Twin Cities.
By: Carly Quast
“If you’re here to hear ‘Way It Goes,’ you’re in the wrong place,” Jake Luppen, the lead singer of Hippo Campus, said with a smirk on Fine Line’s stage three weeks ago. With the band’s new single “Boys” filling the air alongside a sea of audience members swaying to the beat, the atmosphere was packed with anticipation for the new beginnings blooming from the stage on October 19. That Tuesday marked the first concert put on by Blossom, a new artist collective created by Hippo Campus. Made by Minnesota artists for Minnesota artists, the band hopes to highlight the growing art scene that roots itself in the Twin Cities.
“We want to use our platform to uplift younger and newer artists,” Whistler Allen, the drummer for Hippo Campus, said. Tuesday night’s show at the Fine Line included a lineup of local Twin Cities musicians to display Blossom’s versatile new sound. Ivers, Gully Boys, DNM, and Raffaella all took the stage, and Blossom t-shirts, designed by musician and visual artist Papa Mbye, were being sold in the back of the room. Allen explained that Blossom’s mission doesn’t only include musicians. “We want to broaden the horizon to all mediums if possible.”
DeCarlo Jackson, founder of Blossom and trumpet player for Hippo Campus, explained that the motivation to create the Twin Cities’ newest artist collective came from a time when there was no other option than to sit at home with no motivation. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed all of the members of the band to be in town for longer than they had been for about six years, and the music scene that they had grown to know and love had changed while they’d been gone.
“There was a new generation of artists cropping up that were making really special music. We wanted to start the Blossom collective to help those artists get their music made and heard,” Luppen said. “One of our main goals in doing this is to link Minnesota acts with other artists we’ve toured and produced with in places outside of our hometown.” Hippo Campus was born and raised in Minnesota, and they’ve headlined five tours and released two studio albums and five EPs. With the connections they’ve made in the music industry, they hope to make a new network of musicians and artists that can create and grow with each other, hence the name Blossom.
“We hope to incorporate touring acts and other friends of ours from out of state in our Blossom shenanigans eventually,” Jackson said with a smile. “We want to provide a clear access point to affiliated Hippo acts [like Lupin, Mono Moon, brotherkenzie, Whistler Isaiah, and Baby Boys] as well as uplift other bands by lending a hand with things like recording facilities, practice spaces, and creative development.” Jackson explained that Blossom is a team effort. Every member of Hippo Campus plays a role in curating it, stemming from organizing events and concerts to the music production and songwriting that occurs in the studio. “The idea is that we all figure out how to express ourselves through the brand more effectively in time,” Jackson said, adding that he hopes Blossom can offer a new sense of artistic freedom to everyone involved, including the members of Hippo Campus.
Along with the artists that headlined Tuesday’s show at the Fine Line, Blossom has begun working with several other musicians in and around the Twin Cities. They include Miloe, Landon, Caroline Smith, and Kinfu—and that’s just the start. Blossom’s purpose is to highlight the different sounds of the Twin Cities, raise them above the boundaries that exist in the music community, and allow artists to grow into the best versions of themselves.
“The sound of Blossom is creative freedom. We want to give younger artists an opportunity to experiment in the studio and be cared about while they’re doing it,” Luppen said. “Recording and production [are] too often treated like a factory. The most important thing we can do is empower an artist to eventually go and do this on their own.”
Jackson also mentioned that other artist collectives, like Dirty Hit, Art Hoe Collective, and Odd Future, were a big part of the inspiration behind Blossom. These collectives combine musicians and visual artists into projects that have expanded into other art forms outside of concerts or shows. Podcasts, magazines, and art shows that have a combination of art forms are a few of the options that they’ve explored, and the hope for Blossom is to stretch just as far. “We hope to reach outside of production as well and into the world of shows, curating, zines, and all the works,” Jackson said. Blossom will be much more than a band making (more) music. It’s going to be “more of a production company than a label,” allowing Blossom to have the ability to stretch into any artistic direction it pleases without the restrictions that the music industry enforces. This breeds total artistic freedom.
After Blossom’s debut show, the future of the artist collective is looking bright. The band explained that they’re working on getting a residency that would start in January, allowing for weekly concerts involving the artists that are working with Blossom. These shows will not only allow the Twin Cities community to see who’s a part of the new collective, but will also offer the artists more visibility and opportunity in the local music scene. Jackson explained that Blossom will be releasing “a compilation/mixtape of unreleased songs by a bunch of our Blossom seedlings.” The EP will be highlighting the artists associated with Blossom, and listeners should expect “lots of fun unexpected musical collaborations and fun posters to put up on your walls if that’s what you’re into.”
By hosting their own events and working with bands and artists that they listen to and love, Blossom will create a more accessible music scene for listeners and creatives alike. You can find them on social media at @blssm.mpls, and be sure to keep an eye out for future shows and events. “We want to plant little ideas and watch them grow,” Jackson said. “Hippo has been looking for a way to directly engage with artists in our city on a larger scale than we were before.” And after Blossom’s debut concert at the Fine Line, it’s clear that their mission is being achieved.