At their two free State Fair shows, Hippo Campus fans showed up as indie rock lovers and Minnesotans to support the small, local band that brought them all together.
Lake lovers, winter sports enthusiasts, driveway salt connoisseurs, and all other brands of Minnesotans have the unique ability to forge genuine communities anywhere they happen to find themselves, proving that Minnesotans are far more than just nice people.
Hippo Campus, composed of frontman Jake Luppen, bass player Zach Sutton, guitarist Nathan Stocker, and drummer Whistler Allan, has been together since 2013.
On their debut album, Landmark, the band’s nostalgic lyrics often allude to being from and growing up in Minnesota; in “Simple Season,” Hippo Campus reminisces about a summer night in Minnesota with the following lyrics: “lake scene knee deep in the stars, this simple season is all ours.”
Lexie Dietz ‘20 has been a fan for two years,ever since Hippo Campus was just a local band with a small following. Dietz says, “The local music scene in Minnesota is very supportive.” One of her favorite songs by the band is “Sula,” an unreleased track that Dietz calls “an original fan kind of song.”
Dietz attended both of Hippo Campus’ State Fair shows and fondly recalls the energy that rung throughout the crowd as the band surprised the fans by playing “Sula” during the encore, and she was not alone in her excitement.
As soon as the song started playing, the whole crowd was struck by the electricity of the music that reminds many fans of home here in Minnesota.
Surrounded by the lingering smell of Sweet Martha’s cookies and filled with pride and dedication to the band they watched Hippo Campus become, the crowd was not only united as fans of Hippo Campus, but as Minnesotans.
Whether it’s the shared love of a local band or the shared frustration of road construction in the summertime, there’s something to be said about Minnesotans’ ability to connect with each other, be it with strangers in grocery stores or different generations of a family tree that was planted and has bloomed here.
Minnesotans have gotten good at sewing together pockets of people that become little families living in the larger home that is Minnesota. Hippo Campus and its first fans make up just one of these little family trees: its roots firmly grounded in Minnesota’s soil, prematurely naked come November, and a lake breeze singing “Simple Season” through its branches.
