Music

It’s a steep climb to the Harkin Store from the road nestled along the Minnesota River below. But, the folksy melodies echoing from high above compel feet to bound up the stairs.

An engineer, an entrepreneur and a couple of account managers walk into a bar …

Since 2014, cover band Manhassen has performed at area venues. “[The name] started as a joke because we were a bunch of guys from a gym in Chanhassen, but then we were either too lazy to change it, or it started to grow on us,” says Derek Bush, lead vocals and guitar player. “At some point, it just became us.”

Out of a devastating loss rose a song of hope and healing. No child should have to endure what Jenn Bostic went through as a 10-year-old girl—being in a fatal car accident that took her father’s life. She found healing and hope for herself and now for millions across the globe, when she and friends Jimmy Fortune and Zach Runquist wrote the song Jealous of the Angels.

While she grew up knowing that music was her destination, Bostic was taken by surprise at the profound connection this song had across the internet after recording a low-budget music video of it in Waconia.

You’ve written a song or two and perfected your favorite pop tune in front of a mirror, but you have a crippling fear of performing on a real stage. To get up in front of an audience would be like jumping out of an airplane for the first time. Be encouraged—there is a safe place to land. It’s called an open mic. Even if your voice cracks, your guitar is out of tune or you forget the lyrics, you will still get “rock star” applause.