Tesla – Mystic Showroom – Prior Lake MN – October 3rd 2025

By Jim Zons 5 days ago

Tesla at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, MN – Friday, October 3, 2025

Review and photos by Jim Zons

Man .. I just LOVE 80s hairband music!  So when I heard that the band Tesla was going to be in the area for two nights at Mystic Lake Casino, I just had to go!

Tesla came together as a band in the mid 1980s, founded by bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon, and soon joined by vocalist Jeff Keith who are all still touring with Tesla today.   Even though their biggest hits were in the 1980s, they have continued to record and put out new material as recently as 2024, so they brought plenty of original material for two nights of music at Mystic Lake.

From the beginning of their gig Friday night, the band came out with all guns blazing, starting off with one of their biggest hits: “Modern Day Cowboy” … and never looked back!  The music mix all night was tight with great guitar riffs and that “glam rock” sound that you associate with 1980s hair bands, as well as some of their more laid-back music, reminding me a lot of the Black Crowes.

Despite having a vast catalog of their own music, I was surprised how many covers Tesla performed during this concert!  Right near the start of their set, they did a trio of covers:  “Walk Away” by the James Gang, “I Love You” by the Climax Blue Band, and “Give A Little Bit” by Supertramp!  Later, they also covered Def Leppard’s “Song and Emotion” as a tribute to Def Leppard’s former guitarist, Steve Clark.

All the rock radio Tesla hits were there too:  “What You Give,” “Little Suzi,” “Love Song,” and my personal favorite: “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out).”  At end, after a very short break, the band came out for an encore that included having the audience sing “Happy Birthday” to guitarist Frank Hannon who celebrated his 59th birthday performing in Prior Lake! The evening ended with Tesla performing their biggest hit: “Signs” (actually a cover of the 1971 song by Five Man Electrical Band).  It was a great 90 minutes of high energy classic rock and roll … I’m glad I finally got a chance to see Tesla in concert!