Beloved ‘90s Rock Band Goes ‘Unplugged’ Again, 30 Years Later

Soul Asylum is going back to the future.

The Minneapolis band, best known for the top five 1993 hit “Runaway Train,” is celebrating the anniversary of their MTV Unplugged performance with a new album, MPLS Unplugged, recorded on April 30,2023, nearly 30 years to the day of the MTV session.

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On the new set, Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner is joined by the band’s guitarist Ryan Smith, bassist Jeremy Tapparo and drummer Michael Bland, along with some special guests. Ivan Neville, who joined Soul Asylum for their 1993 session, returns on keyboards along with the STRINGenius string quartet and the Robert Robinson gospel singers. “He was the obvious choice… pretty magical—it just felt right,” Pirner said in a statement of Neville.

After the MTV Unplugged session, Soul Asylum continued to record and release hits, including “Misery,” from the band’s 1995 album Let Your Dim Light Shine. The song topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and reached No. 20 on the Hot 100. It’s reprised on the new MPLS Unplugged set with an acoustic version that reveals more of the song’s melody and nuances.

The new set also offers new, stripped down takes of such Soul Asylum classics as “Runaway Train,” “Black Gold,” and “Somebody to Shove.”  

Soul Asylum emerged from the Minneapolis club scene in the early ‘80s alongside such peers as Hüsker Dü and the Replacements and was known to play as loud and as fast as the early incarnations of those bands. In fact, prior to changing their name to Soul Asylum in 1983, the band was known as Loud Fast Rules.

After building a rabid following in the alternative rock scene in the ‘80s, the band struck gold when they signed with Columbia Records and released their sixth album Grave Dancers Union, featuring “Runaway Train,” as well as the rock hits “Black Gold” and “Somebody to Shove.”

Although the band has gone through lineup changes over the years, Pirner continues to carry the Soul Asylum torch. To drum up anticipation for the release of MPLS Unplugged, due later this summer, he’s hitting the road with Smith and Tappero on an acoustic tour.

SOUL ASYLUM ACOUSTIC TOUR DATES

April 1 – Reif Performing Arts Center – Grand Rapids, MN
April 2 – Grand Theater – Wausau, WI
April 3 – Historic Temple Theatre – Viroqua, WI
April 4 – Pablo Center at the Confluence – Eau Claire, WI
April 8 – Hendricks Live – Plainfield, IN
April 9 – The Ludlow Garage – Cincinnati, OH
April 10 – Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN
April 12 – The Kent Stage – Kent, OH
April 13 – City Winery – Pittsburgh, PA
April 14 – City Winery – Philadelphia, PA
April 16 – The Vogel at Count Basie Center for the Arts – Red Bank, NJ
April 17 – Levon Helm Studios – Woodstock, NY
April 18 – The Newton Theatre – Newton, NJ
April 19 – SHU Community Theatre – Fairfield, CT
April 21 – Music Hall – Portsmouth, NH
April 23 – Tupelo Music Hall – Derry, NH
April 24 – Johnson Hall Theater – Gardiner, ME
April 25 – The Center for Arts – Natick, MA
April 26 – Universal Preservation Hall – Saratoga Springs, NY
May 15 – Space – Evanston, IL
May 16 – Space – Evanston, IL