Everything you need to know about the Replacements’ just-announced Midway Stadium show

Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg playing their first show since 1991 as the Replacements in Toronto (Photos by Ben Clark)

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After spending almost a full calendar year of festivals in other cities (and countries!), the Replacements have just announced a much-anticipated hometown date at Midway Stadium on Saturday, September 13.

Update, May 2: The Hold Steady and Lucero have just been announced as openers for this show. Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn is a huge Replacements fan, and he talked at length about the band for the documentary Color Me Obsessed. Watch here:

Here’s everything you need to know to be able to talk about the Replacements’ historic homecoming gig:

1. The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson first reunited in late 2012 to record a five-track EP for the Songs for Slim series, with session players Kevin Bowe and Peter Anderson filling in for ailing guitarist Slim Dunlap and estranged drummer Chris Mars (who recorded his own track for the EP separately). The EP came out in January 2013 and kicked off a year-long tribute series that raised money for Dunlap, who played in the ‘Mats from 1987 until their dissolution in 1991 and has been recovering from a severe stroke since early 2012.

2. Excitement started brewing around the idea of a live reunion show after the EP released, and many Minnesota Replacements fans traveled out of state to see them perform their first shows in 22 years at the Riot Fests in Toronto, Chicago, and Denver in the fall of 2013. (Photos, reviews and set lists from the Toronto and Chicago shows.)

3. The current incarnation of the Replacements is fronted by founding members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson with support from seasoned touring musicians Josh Freese on drums and David Minehan on guitar.

4. The Midway Stadium show will be the first time in 23 years that the ‘Mats have played their home state. Their last show in the Twin Cities was February 7, 1991, and was the second of two back-to-back shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. “Worry not about the newly sober Replacements,”Star Tribune critic Jon Bream wrote in his review of the show. “If they used to be a great attitude band while drunk, they have now become a great rock ‘n’ roll band.” The band broke up five months later, and played their final show in Chicago on July 4, 1991.

Related: Listen to the 6 best Replacements hometown shows 1980-91

5. The show will likely be one of the last things to ever happen at Midway Stadium. A new home for the St. Paul Saints is currently being built in Lowertown St. Paul, and the final game played at Midway is scheduled for August 28. The stadium was built for the Saints in 1982 and is set to be demolished and redeveloped following this summer’s baseball season.

6. Midway Stadium has a long history of hosting live music, including last summer’s memorable Americanarama show with Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Richard Thompson.

7. Tickets for the Midway Stadium show are $50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 3 through eTix, the Midway box office, and the Depot Tavern at First Avenue. The Current’s presale runs Thursday, May 1 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Friday, May 2. Update: As of 10:27 a.m. on May 3, Jam Productions confirms that the show is officially sold out.

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