Turn, Turn, Turn began with a simple idea: three voices, close harmonies, and a shared affection for the country, folk, and pop music that shaped the 1960s and 1970s. What grew from that small seed is an Americana group that now carries its own catalog of original songs, a restless creative spirit, and a sound that feels both familiar and newly made.
When they arrive in Silver Bay for two shows on August 14 and 15, they will bring that full arc with them, along with a lineup of musicians who have become fixtures in the Minnesota music scene.
The band’s name hints at its identity. They “turn” to the distant past of early American recorded music, turn again to the renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s, and turn once more toward the present, looking forward.
Adam Levy, the band’s guitarist and one of its founding members, has spent a lifetime studying those turns. He grew up in a house where the record collection was small but eclectic. He remembers Fiddler on the Roof, an old Beatles album, Charlie Parker, and what he calls “cool international music.”
He remembers the radio too, the way 1970s stations jumped from soul to bluegrass to pop without hesitation.
“You’d have a soul song by the Spinners followed by Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road,” he said. “Seventies radio was so varied stylistically.”
That variety shaped him early.
“My real early influences like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix and Dylan, that stuff really got into my DNA so early,” he said.
Even now, when he hears something new that moves him, he knows it will never land with the same force as those first discoveries.
“It’s never going to be like those first things you listen to as a kid,” he said.
Levy grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, before his family moved to Minnesota in the late 1960s. His father taught in Moorhead, then at Metro State University in St. Paul. Music was always present, but teaching became part of his life too.
“I’ve been a high school teacher for some time,” he said. “History, economics, government, music also.”
He calls himself a musical archaeologist, someone who digs into styles, eras, and influences to understand how songs are built. When he teaches songwriting, he encourages students to trace those lines.
“I get people to dig in and learn about different styles and who influenced who,” he said.
Turn, Turn, Turn was formed in 2018 when Levy decided to put together a cover band. He asked bassist and vocalist Barb Brynstad to join after meeting her through his brother and fellow musician, Noah.
Brynstad had stepped away from music for years to focus on her career and family, but she had begun studying bass again and was ready to return.
“He was interested in putting this project together as a cover band,” she said. “Performing tight harmony covers.”
The early setlists pulled from Laurel Canyon, Nashville, and the psychedelic corners of the 1960s. They covered Porter Wagoner, Dolly Par- ton, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Joni Mitchell, the Byrds, the Beat- les, Velvet Underground, and Nick Drake. It was a broad palette, but the harmonies tied it together.
After about six months, the band ran out of cover material during a show. Savannah Smith, one of the original members, played one of her own songs. The crowd responded immediately. Levy remembers the moment clearly.
“People really loved her song,” he said. “I thought, ding, ding, ding, maybe you should think about making an originals album.”
The band agreed. What began as a cover project became an originals band almost overnight. Their first album included contributions from all three singers. Brynstad reached back into her archives and found a song she had written decades earlier.
“I dug back into the archives and found probably what I consider to be one of the best songs I’ve ever written,” she said. The song, Wide Open Place, made the record.
Turn, Turn, Turn’s original material quickly became the center of their identity. Their sound settled into what the band describes as sweetheart alt-country folk-pop, a blend of Laurel Canyon warmth and 70s-Nashville cosmic soul. The three voices created what they call a fourth voice, a harmony that becomes its own instrument.
Their most recent album leaned fully into country. Levy had played in country bands for years and knew the genre deeply.
“This last record is straight up, about as country as we’ve been,” he said. He felt it would be a disservice not to make a true country record. Brynstad was not a country fan at first.
“I wasn’t into country at all,” she said. “Completely unfamiliar with the genre.”
But touring with Levy and Savannah changed her ear. She listened to their playlists, asked questions, and learned the history behind the songs.
“I really developed a huge appreciation for the genre and a love of the genre,” she said.
She made Levy a deal.
“I said, all right, I’ll do a country album if the next album can be a little more soul R&B influenced. We will likely start incorporating more of those elements,” she said, imagining songs that blend Americana with the kind of bass lines she heard in an Elvis documentary recently. “Some of those funky bass lines paired with an Americana song can make for a super fun song.”
The band has evolved in other ways too. Smith left the group in June to focus on her business in Eau Claire. Levy and Brynstad both speak warmly of her songwriting and voice. They have found temporary help for summer shows in Becky Kapell, a well-known Twin Cities musician.
“She’s an amazing songwriter and singer,” Levy said.
Brynstad agrees, stating, “She’s a great performer, great person, super fun to be around.”
The full band now includes pedal steel player Joe Savage, drummer Josh Kaplan, and a rotating cast of supporting musicians. Savage’s reputation precedes him. He has played up in the Silver Bay series before, performing with Nate Dungan and Trailer Trash.
“Joe Savage is a legend on pedal steel,” Levy said.
Brynstad notes that he played for Prairie Home Companion and is considered the go-to pedal steel player in the region. Kaplan has been with them for years and an- chors the rhythm section.
Turn, Turn, Turn will bring that full lineup to Silver Bay, and both musicians expressed their excitement to play on the North Shore.
“It’s a part of the world that I love,” Brynstad said.
She used to visit every summer before life got busy. She hopes to return to that tradition. Levy has played in Lutsen and other North Shore venues with his other bands, but this will be his first time in Silver Bay.
Both musicians spoke about the North Shore’s recent challenges with fire and smoke. Brynstad works for Wilderness Inquiry, a company that leads trips to the Boundary Waters and Apostle Is- lands.
“As a result of the fires, we’ve had to cancel a lot of the trips,” she said.
She hopes for clear skies during their visit. Levy noted that the Boundary Waters had recently re- opened and that air quality had improved.
Turn, Turn, Turn’s story is one of continual motion. Levy sees the band’s name as a reflection of that.
“There’s a restlessness,” he said. “That Turn, Turn, Turn name is very accurate about time and about maintaining elements of the past but also creating something new.”
Brynstad feels the same.
“We have evolved and continue to do so,” she said.
Their fans have followed those turns without hesitation. Levy says the band does not lose listeners when they shift direction.
“People who like us tend to be interested in what direction we’re going to go,” he said, explaining that they have made three records in seven years, each one different from the last. They have no interest in repeating themselves.
When they arrive in Silver Bay, they will bring that spirit with them. They will bring harmonies shaped by decades of music history, songs that carry pieces of country, folk, soul, and pop, and a band that has grown through change. They will bring musicians who have become part of Minnesota’s musical fabric, and they will bring a sound that looks backward and forward at the same time.
The band will play Wednesday, August 14, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at City Center Park. This show is free to the public and produced by Rocky Wall Entertainment. They will then play the following night for a benefit house concert, tickets for which are available at rockywallentertainment.org. These concerts help Rocky Wall bring more great music to Silver Bay.
