Looking for live music and a good time?
Come to the Empire’s Music Box April 11th, 2026!
Can't get enough live music in your life? Come to the Empire Arts Center April 11th for the Empire's Music Box presented by Rydell GMC. This month will feature three artist from all over the North Dakota/ Minnesota area (including all the way from Duluth)! There will also be an open-to-the-public jam at the start of show. If you're interested in new live music, the Music Box is the place to be! Come for the music, stay for the good vibes (and the free popcorn).
Doors open at 6:00 PM, open-jam starts at 7:00 PM
The Music Box is one of the only venues in Grand Forks that allows artists to play what they want, and our Music Box stage helps to give any musician a platform to perform, regardless the genre or experience.
Tickets available by donation at the door. Recommended Donation of $10.
Here’s some more about this month’s featured artists:
Simply Strangers began in late 2025 in a garage. Five people, all basically strangers, came together to try to write songs they were proud of and perform them live.
The band consists of Lizzy LaFond on Lead Vocals, Priest on Bass, Ari Menne on Lead Guitar, Jacob Gienger on Guitar, and Logan Schwartz on drums.
The music, though they consider it Indie Rock, ventures out of the box with elements of many, many genres that compliment their diverse taste.
Between Howls (Duluth, MN / Superior, WI) are violinist Ren Howl & guitarist Nick Howl. The husband & wife duo’s unique blend of vocal harmonies, thoughtful lyrics and virtuosic instrumental arrangements have been drawing in audiences across the US since 2018.
Nick & Ren met while attending college at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. After a fateful late-night jam on a cold night in January, they decided to play a show together. One turned into two, and two into about two-hundred between the winter of 2018 and the spring of 2020.
In June of 2021 the Howl’s relocated to the Los Angeles area and spent three years based out west. While in California they recorded two albums with the rock group One Less Guest, were a part of two subsequent tours with the band, and collaborated on numerous projects with other artists in music & film. Most notably providing the soundtrack to the 2022 short film, The Pool Boy. When talking about what inspired them to make the leap into doing music full time, Nick & Ren often credit the amazing friends and memories they made during their time in California.
Less than a year after their return to Wisconsin, the duo released Between Howls debut album; and in the spring of 2025 embarked on a two-and-a-half-month tour in support of the record. The Cabin Fever Tour featured 23 stops along a 7,000 mile route winding through the Rocky mountains, along the Pacific ocean, and across the great midwest.
Also on the road that spring was Nashville country/soul artist, Kashus Culpepper. Ren joined Kashus on violin & vocals opening for r&b artist Leon Bridges in Missouri and Colorado. Ren also joined Kash in New York for CBS This Morning’s nationally televised segment, Saturday Sessions, and for his set at Stagecoach Music Festival.
Between Howls are touring once again this spring and are currently in the early stages of recording their second album.
Visit their website at betweenhowls.com
We are the Pratt Pack. Gretta is 16, & Reuben and Ella are 14. We live in Cummings, ND, about 30 miles south from Grand Forks, on a 7-acre farm with animals, a garden, and fields surrounding us. We started our band in the fall of 2023. We actually got the idea from performing together at the Grand Forks annual street fair. The uniqueness of us is that we are a family band (all siblings). You may see us at nursing homes, festivals, church events, or even on the street. Our band features banjo, guitar, upright bass, violin (fiddle), mandolin, and piano, in a variety of music: Gospel, Bluegrass, Irish (Celtic), to name a few. Besides private lessons, we enjoy jamming and attending Bluegrass festivals both in North Dakota and Minnesota.