Downtown St. Cloud's Red Carpet Nightclub is adding a steady dose of country twang to its Main Stage lineup, launching a five-show country music series this Friday with the duo Roseland. The series runs through December, closing out with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Clay Barker on December 12.
Co-owner Haley Foster said the club is bringing a mix of music to its Main Stage and that country music is growing, according to WJON. The venue, which operates inside the historic Mitchell Building at 11 5th Avenue South, has anchored downtown St. Cloud's entertainment scene since October 1980 and celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2025 across a multi-room complex that includes the Main Stage, Keller Bar, and Martini Lounge. The three-story red brick building itself dates to roughly 1885 and was designed by architect A.E. Hussey.
Roseland Opens, Clay Barker Closes the Run
Roseland, the opening act, is made up of Gavin Arnold and Cameron Smith, a duo from the Iowa-Illinois border who formed in 2023 and received duo recognition at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in both 2024 and 2025. They take the Main Stage this Friday, September 4.
Anderson Daniels follows on September 18. The Champlin, Minnesota native began playing local shows while attending St. Cloud State University and was named New Artist of the Year at the 2019 Midwest Country Music Association awards. Bobby Jensen and the Dead Cowboys play September 26; Jensen is the former lead singer of arena-rock tribute band Hairball and released the heavy western album Dead Cowboys on Shotgun Records in 2025.
Cottage Grove native Hailey James, a six-time Midwest Country Music Organization award winner named Modern Country Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2024 Josie Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry, performs November 20. Clay Barker, a Nashville-based artist originally from Alabama with more than 7.7 million digital streams across platforms, closes the series December 12; he released the single Whiskey on Mine in July.
Rock, Glam, and Tribute Acts Round Out September
The country series doesn't mean the Main Stage is abandoning its rock roots. Flipp, a glam rock band formed in the 1990s that opened for Cheap Trick and Everclear and has appeared on MTV multiple times, returns to the Red Carpet Nightclub on September 12. Foster said Flipp brings high energy, talented musicians, glam rock, and nostalgia to the Main Stage, per the same WJON report.
A week later, on September 19, the Trilogy Tribute Fest brings tribute bands honoring the Doors, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin to the venue. Foster indicated the club plans to host additional music series beyond this country lineup, suggesting the genre mix at the Main Stage will keep expanding.
Tickets and a Venue With Deep Local Roots
Tickets for the country series shows can be purchased online in advance or at the door on the day of each show. The rollout comes the same month the Red Carpet Nightclub anchored the opening variety show and outdoor deck stages for the ninth annual Common Roots Music Festival, underscoring the club's role as a central hub for live music in downtown St. Cloud.
That role is playing out against a backdrop of broader downtown investment. The nightclub's stretch of 5th Avenue South is part of a $6.4 million state bonding project approved in 2026 to rebuild the corridor and construct a Mississippi riverfront park connecting St. Cloud State University to downtown, a plan detailed in Hoodline's coverage of the project. With new road and riverfront work coming to its doorstep and a fresh genre added to its bill, the 45-year-old venue is leaning into both its history and its next chapter.
