The Steepwater Band come back to the Twin Cities at the Hook and Ladder

The Chicago blues-rock band hasn't played here since a December 2019 VFW show; they're back Thursday, Dec. 10, with Mark Joseph and Nicholas David.

The last time The Steepwater Band played the Twin Cities was December 7, 2019, at Ballentine Post 246 VFW. Almost seven years later, the Chicago band is coming back for another December night in Minneapolis, this time at The Hook and Ladder Theater.

The Steepwater Band play The Hook and Ladder Theater on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m., with Mark Joseph and Nicholas David. The date was announced Oct. 23, and tickets are through OpenDate. Our listings put the room at 250 capacity, so this is a close-up show.

The band have a long history. Wikipedia says they formed in Chicago in 1998, led by Jeff Massey, with bassist Tod Bowers, drummer Joe Winters and guitarist Eric Saylors. Our data files them under rock and blues, and that's how they've been covered for years. Blues Rock Review reviewed their live record Live and Humble in 2013, and Glide Magazine premiered a full stream of Shake Your Faith.

The years since their last visit have kept them busy. A few months after that 2019 VFW show, Lakeshore Public Media's Midwest Beat featured Turn of the Wheel as the band's new album, in an episode that aired April 14, 2020. Jeff Massey also talked with Civic Media's Max Ink Radio in February 2025.

They've also shown they're happy to play to a theme. Live for Live Music reported on a winter tour built around performing a classic Rolling Stones live album. It's a good sign of the kind of band this is: one that treats a rock show as something to dig into, not just get through.

The bill adds two more reasons to show up early. Mark Joseph and Nicholas David are both on the lineup, so a Thursday ticket covers three acts.

A gap of seven years matters for a touring band like this. Midwestern rock-and-blues crowds tend to follow bands from room to room, and a long absence means a lot of people who've only heard the records in the meantime. A 250-capacity room makes up for some of that lost time.

It's a Thursday in December. Bundle up, get to Northeast early, and see a band that's been at this for nearly three decades in a room small enough to hear every guitar change.

Sources: The Steepwater Band — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); The Steepwater Band: Live and Humble Review — Blues Rock Review (bluesrockreview.com); EXCLUSIVE FULL ALBUM STREAM – The Steepwater Band Goes For Gold On 'Shake Your Faith' — Glide Magazine (glidemagazine.com); Turn of the Wheel: new album by The Steepwater Band — Lakeshore Public Media (lakeshorepublicmedia.org); The Steepwater Band's Jeff Massey on Max Ink Radio — Civic Media (civicmedia.us); The Steepwater Band to play classic Rolling Stones live album on winter tour — Live for Live Music (liveforlivemusic.com); The Steepwater Band at The Hook and Ladder Theater — JamBase (jambase.com)