OFFICIAL SITE  ::  MYSPACE  ::  FACEBOOK  ::  TWITTER  ::  LAST.FM  ::  SONGKICK

The Fine Line Music Café is located in the heart of the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis. The club is in the main level of the Consortium building, which was built in 1907 and is considered a historic site. The Fine Line Music Café celebrated its Grand Opening in November of 1987. Ruth Whitney was the original owner and worked for two years developing her vision of a first class nightclub. Whitney envisioned a club that could present top quality local and national musical acts seven nights a week. She created the club with two tiered cabaret style seating, which she found to be the best way to enhance the musical experience. The concept was an immediate success. In their opening months The Fine Line featured many well known performers: Cowboy Junkies, Indigo Girls, Edie Brickel, Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Sheila E were just a few of the musicians to play at the club in the early days. Even Prince was seen hanging out listening and playing at the club. The Fine Line quickly became known as "the Premier music club in town." Soon after the nightclub business took off, The Fine Line introduced an award winning Sunday Gospel Brunch. The brunch was the first of its kind in the Twin Cities area and was a running tradition here for ten years.

In 1993 there were a number of ownership changes, culminating with the purchase of the club by Dario Anselmo, a local entrepreneur, in December of 1993. Anselmo was a frequent customer of The Fine Line and knew the clubs excellent potential. The club was remodeled, giving it a 90's look with the help of local artist Ta-coumba Aiken. The stage, light and sound system were expanded and improved, as well as the addition of an outdoor alley cafe, (for use in the warm summer months). Anselmo also expanded his business plan for the Fine Line to accommodate corporate and specialty events. One such event featured President Clinton as the guest of honor. That day also brought Soul Asylum to the Fine Line stage at the request of President Clinton. On October 7, 1999 Grammy award winner and Platinum record selling artist Sheryl Crow played at the club for the movie release of Dill Scallion, which she produced the music for.

Just after celebrating its 15-year anniversary The Fine Line saw more changes. On February 17, 2003 a pyrotechnics accident lit the ceiling on fire. Luckily, everyone made it out safely due to the professional staff and their quick response, however the club was not so lucky and sustained tremendous amounts of smoke, water, and fire damage and had to be completely gutted. This process and the subsequent new construction began the very next day. Unfortunately that same week brought tragedy to two other clubs in the country and our hearts go out to their friends and families. The construction on the club took five months and included many upgrades; new sound and lights, new stage, a state-of-the art audio/visual experience in addition to some exciting aesthetic changes such as a new concrete bar, acoustic ceiling tiles, new flooring, and a whole new color scheme. With the new construction we have also met and exceeded the code criteria and are very proud that we will continue to provide a safe and fun environment for our customers to enjoy live music.

Two other musical events have stood out at The Fine Line over the last few years. On April 13, 2004 the much heralded alternative rock group The Pixies kicked off their world reunion tour with a two day practice session that then followed with a concert at the club filmed in the movie: Loud QUITE Loud. On June 7th 2007 the number one group in the country, Maroon 5, play a six city "club tour" which featured a stop at The Fine Line. The show was play all acoustically due to a last minute change with some of the band members. Over the past 20 years The Fine Line has seen thousands of nationally and regionally known acts grace its stage; Ben Harper, Alanis Morissette, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, The Neville Brothers, as well as playing host to various corporate clients; Target, Dain Rauscher, Best Buy, Universal Records.

Location