First Avenue’s Mainroom is turning into a protest stage on Sunday, Feb. 15, when the I.C.E. OUT! mutual-aid benefit rolls in for a matinee headlined by St. Paul–reared Hippo Campus and featuring papa mbye and 26 BATS!. The show is being presented by Twin Cities United Performers and billed as a fundraiser for immigrant families affected by federal enforcement in Minneapolis.
Who’s on the bill and where it’s happening
The all-ages show will take over the Mainroom at First Avenue, with doors at 3 p.m. and music starting at 4 p.m. Organizers list Hippo Campus, papa mbye and 26 BATS! on the lineup, along with a still-mysterious TBA act whose poster art has fans guessing it could be Durry. The venue’s event page promises that “100% of proceeds will be donated DIRECTLY to families in desperate need.” As reported by Star Tribune, organizers are also planning an auction of donated goods to boost the total raised.
Tickets, timing and the venue
Tickets are available through AXS, which lists the event details, the Mainroom setting and logistics on its event page. The AXS listing gives the venue address as 701 North 1st Avenue and notes strict per-customer ticket limits along with a transfer delay for purchases. Local concert roundups have already slotted the benefit into winter show calendars, signaling strong interest before the doors even open.
Why the show matters now
The benefit lands at a charged moment, arriving in the wake of demonstrations following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis and an “ICE Out” organizing push that has featured protests and mutual-aid efforts around the country. The Guardian has detailed the shooting and the protests that followed, while local artists have been publicly pressuring venues to pick a side. Star Tribune reported that rapper Nur-D called out what he saw as First Avenue’s earlier silence and that singer Jaedyn James pulled out of a separate Turf Club show in protest. Organizers and performers say this concert is meant to capture that energy and turn it into concrete support for families hit by enforcement actions.
Who is organizing the benefit
The show is presented by Twin Cities United Performers (TCUP), a musicians-run collective that emerged amid local venue and worker organizing and that has been pushing for mutual aid and artist-to-artist solidarity. First Avenue hosts a TCUP profile, and local reporting traces the group’s roots to last year’s wave of organizing and public events that included other benefit gigs and advocacy work.
For the I.C.E. OUT! matinee, doors open at 3 p.m. on Feb. 15 and the show starts at 4 p.m. Tickets are limited and offered on a sliding donation scale, and organizers say the in-room auction of donated goods will add another stream of support for affected families.
