Single Premiere: Luke Callen, “Lake Street Hustle”
The folk artist’s gritty, atmospheric new single paints a sympathetic portrait of a vibrant but troubled Minneapolis neighborhood.
Luke Callen’s “Lake Street Hustle” single artwork.
Lake Street—stretching from Minneapolis’ Chain of Lakes eastward to where the Mississippi River marks the boundary between Minneapolis and Saint Paul—is one of the most storied roads in the Twin Cities. Especially East Lake Street: In the late 1800s it attracted waves of Scandinavian immigrants. In the early 1900s until the ’50s it was a streetcar route. It went through an economic downturn in the ’60s but came back to life when an influx of Latinx immigrants opened stores, restaurants, salons and more along the street. More recently, the street has become a hub of Somali and East African culture as well.
The street has also inspired art from all genres. In “The Poet’s Final Instructions,” Pulitzer Prize-winning Minnesota poet John Berryman asks to be buried “near Cedar on Lake Street, where the used cars live.” Minnesota photographer Wing Young Huie spent four years taking photos and interviewing people along the length of Lake Street, culminating in a prize-winning Walker Art Center exhibit. The Boston band Lake Street Dive is named after the Minneapolis road, as is the Lifter Puller song “Lake Street Is for Lovers.”
Yes, I did some research when I started digging into “Lake Street Hustle,” a new single from Minneapolis-based folk artist Luke Callen that drops on Friday, March 24, 2023! His music tends to inspire that, often drawing from history, places and people in the Midwest. In the best folk tradition, Callen’s canon includes at least a dozen protest songs about social injustice and environmental abuse. His sympathies lie firmly with the oppressed and underprivileged people of our society.
Luke Callen. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Along with the cultural vitality and bustling businesses, Lake Street has seen more than its fair share of struggles. “The East and West ends of Lake Street are overflowing with big houses filled with rich people,” Callen says, “while the heart of Lake Street is vibrant and beautiful, but also stricken by poverty and poverty’s consequences.” Not surprisingly, local governments tend to either neglect such areas or take ineffectual and heavy-handed measures that punish residents more than they help. “The city offers up building permits and new high rises, demolishing depots, building parking lots instead—pushing poverty to the fringes of a new street,” as Callen puts it.
The street’s problems became starkly visible in 2020: Many buildings along Lake Street were destroyed during the George Floyd uprising. The burned husk of the 3rd Precinct police station still stands empty at the corner of Lake and Minnehaha. Lake Street, Callen says, “has burned down more than once—and if things don't change, I'm sure it’ll happen again.”
“Lake Street Hustle” is the second single off Callen’s upcoming album. “This song tells one story (not the whole story) of Lake Street,” he says. “The unhoused make their way between alleys; sex workers hang around Cedar; the pushers idle not far from both. But these aren’t the criminals the suburbs make them out to be. With few options, most make what they can from what they have.”
The track combines ominous, atmospheric electric guitar (thanks to producer/musician Erik Koskinen) with Callen’s signature acoustic fingerpicking. The midtempo beat keeps the song rolling as its inhabitants do what they need to survive:
Morning comes with your makeup on
Under the gaze of a big hard sun
Move around ’cause the dead don’t get paid
Welcome to the world in its latest stage
Luke Callen. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Callen calls “Lake Street Hustle” a “counterweight” to his first single off the new record, the more lighthearted “Tomatoes from the Vine.” “I wanted to write and record a handful of songs that brought me joy,” he explains, “songs I wanted to play to bring back good memories and make me feel better so I could move through the world playing music with a bit more levity at times.”
But, he continues, “we need to be careful when it comes to positivity. I think at times it can become toxic, ignoring the suffering and sorrow that not only exists but is perpetuated in this world by the rich and powerful.” The new record, he promises, will “exist in both worlds—holding space for joy for oneself and one's community while also shining a light on true pain in this world.”
Listen to “Lake Street Hustle” now!
Song Credits
Recorded at Real Phonic Studios in Cleveland, MN
Produced by Erik Koskinen and Luke Callen
Luke Callen - Lyrics - Vocals - Guitar - Music
Lauren Anderson - Bass
Chris Gray - Drums
Erik Koskinen - Additional Guitars
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
