Beltrami Block Party brings free music and food to downtown Bemidji

Beltrami Avenue will fill with free music, food and drinks Saturday, June 27, as Brigid’s Pub, Keg N’ Cork and KAXE/KBXE turn downtown Bemidji into a one-day block party from 1 to 9 p.m. Visit Bemidji has the event on its calendar, signaling that downtown is treating it as one of the summer’s bigger public draws.

The lineup will bring Sonny Johnson, Caige Jambor, Tiny Town, Little Fevers, David Huckfelt and Erik Koskinen to the street. KAXE described the night as adding five other Minnesota musicians to Bemidji’s downtown blocks, while Jambor is one of three Bemidji artists in the lineup. KAXE also said Jambor recently stopped by KBXE for a live session and interview ahead of the party, a hometown tie that gives the event a local core rather than a purely touring feel.

The food and drink plan keeps the event anchored in existing downtown businesses. Brigid’s Pub, which identifies itself as a locally owned Irish-inspired pub and restaurant in the heart of downtown Bemidji, and Keg N’ Cork will supply the food, while KAXE/KBXE joins as co-host. Brigid’s sits at 317 Beltrami Ave NW, placing one of the main partners directly on the corridor that will carry the crowd.

That business mix matters because the block party is built less like a fenced-off concert and more like a downtown traffic booster. When music is spread along Beltrami Avenue and the participating restaurants are already part of the block, the event gives nearby shops and bars a direct chance to benefit from people lingering, walking and spending money in the district. For a summer Saturday, that is the kind of downtown activity Bemidji’s business corridor relies on.

Bemidji has done this before. In 2024, the city had a separate downtown block party co-hosted by KAXE and Bemidji Brewing, and that event was free to the public and made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. The new Beltrami Block Party appears to extend that model in a different stretch of downtown with different business partners, showing how local music events have become part of the city’s seasonal calendar rather than a one-off celebration.