Durry – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN – February 24, 2026

Durry (with Keep for Cheap, Sophie Hiroko, and Sophia Eris) at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN – February 24, 2026

Review and photos by Catherine Zons

Last Tuesday night, Durry headlined the Minnesota United FC Kickoff Concert downtown at First Avenue. The show was also a benefit event with proceeds supporting Keystone Community Services, a local nonprofit organization whose latest initiative has been aiding families and individuals in the community affected by ICE activity in the Twin Cities. Durry was joined on stage by Cheap for Keep, Sophie Hiroko, and DJ Sophia Eris.

The first act, Sophie Hiroko, was a new name for me, but one I’ve been getting far more familiar with in the week since the show. Her sound, self-described as “tender bubble grunge,” was instantly captivating. Hiroko’s soft, lifted vocals created a bewitching contrast with heavy distortion of her electric guitar. Her music confronts difficult subjects, like death, grief, transformation, and girlhood, and Hiroko approaches them very thoughtfully. I was an instant fan of everything I was hearing: from the lyrics, to the harmonies, to the surprisingly quick shifts in volume levels. Hiroko’s “annastasia” and her newest track, “DIVORCE,” were some of my favorites from the whole night.

Keep for Cheap was up next. The Minneapolis-based five-piece formed in 2018 when three of its principal members attended Hamline University together. Their sound is a sentimental blend of indie, country, rock, and pop elements–a charming mixture Keep for Cheap refer to as “prairie-rock.” Their songs are often wistful and heartbreakingly beautiful, ruminating on themes of queer love, nostalgia, and the desire for connection. Fronting members Autumn Vagle and

Kate Malanaphy often draw inspiration for their music from their own relationship, and that authenticity was evident in their performance. The two had amazing chemistry–vocally, instrumentally, and beyond! Joining them on stage were Robert Northrup, Ted Tiedemann, and Grace Berg on drums. Together, Keep for Cheap played a set I found myself wishing could just keep going on for another song.

Frontwoman Autumn Vagle also took a few minutes to reemphasize the importance of the cause this night of music (and the merch sales) were raising money for, while also recognizing the incredible weight of what the last few months have done to Minnesota. She encouraged the crowd to buy shirts or donate however we could. She said: “We have to feel all the things we need to, and then do what we can to help those in our communities that need it.” The sentiment was echoed thoroughly throughout the night, and I so appreciated the way the artists that performed used their platforms and their art to inspire positive social change.

Sophia Eris, a Minneapolis-based DJ, kept the place alive between sets. Eris, who is also a touring DJ for Lizzo, is no stranger to getting a room to move. Her mixes blended pop hits with R&B and hiphop beats, often bridging decades in a single blend–which was so cool. (My favorite transition she had was between blink-182’s “All the Small Things” and “APT.” by Rosé and Bruno Mars, which felt like witchcraft.) I’ve never been to a First Avenue show with an MC before, and I’m not sure it’ll be possible to top Eris’ performance any time soon.

Durry made their entrance to a roar of applause, instantly and entirely at home on the stage. Hailing from Burnsville, MN, the band is actually a duo: siblings Austin and Taryn Durry, started collaborating on music together during the chaos of COVID-19. They began their set on Tuesday with “Bully,” an energetic track that sarcastically tackles the toxicity of internet culture. The song comes from the band’s latest release, This Movie Sucks (2025), an album about the dissatisfaction of reality after fame. 

Austin explains that the thesis for the album comes from one main sentiment: “My life is a movie and this movie sucks.” The album acts almost as a sequel to their highly successful first EP from 2023, Suburban Legend, which explores themes of nostalgia and the frustrations of a mundane life. These albums tackle a similar overall theme–being unhappy with the way things are–in a sort of chronically online, socially conscious way that felt right at home in my heart as a twenty-something listening to other twenty-somethings trying to make sense of things through music.

They played some fan favorites, like “More Dumb,” “Worse for Wear,” and “Losers Club,” and even hosted a Super Smash Brothers face-off between audience members during “Porcupine.” Their anti-ICE song, “I Told You So,” garnered righteous applause. The energy was fun, fresh, and memorable, and so it was even more meaningful when the band calmed the mood of the room for a few minutes to dedicate their song “The Long Goodbye” to a fan that had recently died by suicide. The band encouraged the crowd to think about the people we were missing that night–and I know I wasn’t the only one with tears on my face by the end of the song.

“Dead Media” was also incredible to hear live. Originally released as a track exclusively available on the physical versions (vinyl, CDs, etc.) of This Movie Sucks, “Dead Media” describes the internet like an addiction: (“we replace who we are / with pure digital heroin”). It addresses the gravity of digital loneliness with a catchy melody and energetic tempo, but it’s Austin’s vocals that really cement this track in my mind as one of–if not my favorite piece of music they’ve made. Durry also explained how they circulated 100 or so VHS tapes of “Dead Media”’s music video around local record stores for fans (or unsuspecting shoppers) to stumble across, because as Austin said, “Physical media is the only way this [music thing] works.” Getting people into stores, buying vinyl, merch, and interacting with music in the real world is what keeps the indie music scene alive. It felt even better than usual to buy two new CDs at Durry’s merch booth that night.

Their set ended raucously “Who’s Laughing Now,” an anthem about defying societal and parental expectations of stagnation or failure. The song, their biggest hit, is its own success story; posted unceremoniously to TikTok in its earliest form as a short snippet of the first verse, “Who’s Laughing Now” blew up almost immediately and transformed the Durry’s professional prospects almost overnight. What began as a desire to vent about the intense instability of following one’s dreams became the ticket to finally seeing them come to life.

It’s a sentiment that’s certainly stuck with me since the show–and maybe the next time you tune your physical radio (to 89.3, The Current, perhaps?) you’ll hear “Who’s Laughing Now” and its message will stay with you too.