Minot community collective Pangea House will host a number of bands during the weekend of the State Fair, giving music lovers an alternative to the grandstand concerts.

Zach Schultz, Pangea House collective member, points out that while these bands may not fill arenas, “we get people from all over the country.” Many of the bands that are booked through the Pangea House are discovered through word of mouth. “When there’s traveling bands, they don’t control when they happen to come through town. We always kind of existed with anything else that’s going on around town.”

Saturday the 22nd will feature a number of bands at 62 Doors. Faun and a Pan Flute is a collectively-led experimental nonet from Atlanta, Ga. They have played with diverse acts such as Guerilla Toss, Kamasi Washington, Battle Trance, Lightning Bolt, Sam Prekop, Banned Books and Snarky Puppy. Ben Cosgrove is a composer, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist based in New England. He performs regularly all over the country, writes scores for films, plays, radio, and television, and has produced several well-received albums of original instrumental music. Kids with Beards is a three-piece folk group out of Bismarck and winner of the North Dakota Music Award for best original folk group. Vanity Plate is a pop-punk band from right here in Minot.

Sunday the 23rd at the Taube will feature Buffalo, NY’s post-punk group Alleys and Minneapolis-based grunge band Pierre along with Minot’s Dani Raccoon.

These shows will act as a prelude to Why Not?! Minot Fest VII, an all-ages, Do-It-Yourself music festival held in the heart of downtown Minot. Ninety-plus bands and performers will perform over a three-day period. The event is hosted by Pangea House, a group of like-minded individuals working together to provide safe, affordable, all ages, community events for the Minot area. Pangea House has existed as a local not-for-profit institution since November 2008 with the goal of nurturing the Minot community through live music, arts and education. “Pretty much everything Pangea does is community based. We welcome anyone. Anything we do is open to anyone,” said Schultz. “It’s gonna be a very diverse weekend.” For more information, go to www.pangeahouse.org.