THE KICKOFF: A Summer Kickoff Party

The Cedar Presents

THE KICKOFF: A Summer Kickoff Party

Saturday, May 23, 2026 / Doors: 6:00 PM / Show: 6:30 PM

All Ages

Outdoors on The Cedar Plaza, Mixed Seated and Standing

Free

Please note that the event will begin outdoors on The Cedar plaza at 6:00pm. Concessions will be available for purchase from The Cedar.

In the event of severe weather, or an air quality advisory, we will not reschedule the event. Instead, we will host the show indoors at The Cedar and admit all patrons into the show on a first-come, first-served basis until the venue reaches capacity.

Prospective attendees can RSVP to this event online.

Celebrate the start of Summer with The Kickoff, a free Summer kickoff party on The Cedar’s outdoor patio.

papa mbye writes experimental pop songs threading flourishes of electronic, R&B, soul, and more. Born in The Gambia, raised in North Minneapolis, and a relative newcomer to making music after starting as a visual artist, he’s taken strides in his sound in a short time. With his new self-produced EP, JAKAARLO, he brings his voice into focus, exercising restraint in arrangements while pushing his craft forward. Songs burst with color, texture, and hooks.

JAKAARLO is a meditation on closeness. Not just the kind shared between lovers, but the elusive kind that drifts between memory, distance, and desire. The title, which translates from Wolof as “to be close to”, is borrowed from a song by the late Senegalese musician N'dongo Lo appearing on his 2005 album Adouna. With JAKAARLO, mbye channels that sense of appreciation for the entirety of love, the real and the raw, the fleeting and finite, the spaces between people, tense, messy, and beautiful. Joined by a cast of collaborators, mbye wields layers of instrumentation and voice into vibrant, future-facing material that declares his arrival as both a visionary producer and performer.

The mood board for JAKAARLO spans the music of his youth (Youssou N'Dour, N'dongo Lo) and the boundless off-kilter pop of Jai Paul, alongside mbye’s friends and contemporaries: Minneapolis artists Young Dervish, vlush, KINFU, and Ryan Olson (Bon Iver, Gayngs, Poliça), who contributed on the album. papa mbye’s music rumbles, rattles, and darts between modes, welcoming high-wattage basslines, guitar riffs, and synth tones in a hyperactive, mesmeric mix. At the center is his emotive voice, capable of raspy croon and howling falsetto.

To learn more about papa mbye:

• Visit his website here

Since 2023, D.Santos has been capturing audiences of all ages and music tastes with his 90's Boom Bap and upbeat lyrics. Rapping in Portuguese, D.Santos draws crowds in with his unique sound, reminding audience members that music transcends beyond a common language. As a proud Brazilian, he brings the joy and rhythm of Sao Paulo with him, producing a fresh experience on every stage.

To learn more about D. Santos:

• Visit his Instagram page here

Nikki Pfeifer wears many hats in the Minneapolis electronic community as a live performer, producer, promoter, DJ, and label owner of BORA. Pfeifer started making electronic music in 2014 under the moniker, Devata Daun, a lo-fi pitch-deviant pop project, and was also the former co-owner of Pytch Records. She currently makes electronic music under two projects, nectar (ambient) and Tekk Nikk, infused with hypnotic, dubby-techno, acid, electro, and broken beat.

To learn more about nectar:

• Visit her Instagram page here

From St. Paul, MN, Miguel Vargas has been a DJ on the scene for over 20 years, and working in radio for over 15 years currently serving as Program Director for KFAI Fresh Air Community Radio 90.3 FM. Blending hip-hop, funk and soul, disco and house, with afro-latin genres of cumbia, salsa, and samba - you can catch him spinning vinyl with DJ Brian Engel and Worldwide Discotheque, and other dance nights with his KFAI Radio Pocho co-host, DJ Terrell LaMarr.

To learn more about DJ Miguel Vargas:

• Visit his Instagram page here

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Host or Publisher The Cedar Cultural Center