“Jay’s Longhorn: Let’s Make a Scene” — produced and directed by Mark Engebretson — won the 2021 Minnesota Documentary Award at the Frozen River Film Festival.
The film premiered March 30, 2019 at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, following two sold-out reunion shows that featured key bands from that era.
Jay’s Longhorn was the origin and the epicenter of the Minneapolis punk rock and indie rock scene in the late 1970s. At a time when the Minneapolis music scene was dominated by Top 40 cover bands, a group of punk rock visionaries — led by Andy Schwartz, former publisher of the New York Rocker — scoured the city in search of a place that would welcome the New Wave.
The Suicide Commandos, Flamingo, Curtiss A, and the Suburbs found a home at Jay’s Longhorn — which also served as the launching pad for Hüsker Dü and the Replacements and the preferred venue for touring acts like Elvis Costello, The B-52s, and The Police.
Along with winning the the Minnesota Documentary Award at the Frozen River Film Festival, “Jay’s Longhorn” won for Best Music Feature at the Queen City Film Festival in Maryland and was screened at the Jukebox International Film Festival (Nevada), the Tryon International Film Festival (North Carolina), the Northeast Mountain Film Festival (Georgia), the Highway 61 Film Festival (Minnesota) and at a sold-out Minnesota History Center event sponsored by the Sound Unseen Film Festival.
“Jay’s Longhorn” is available for purchase on Blu-ray or DVD from the Jay’s Longhorn website. It’s also available to rent/stream on Vimeo, Amazon Prime, and Tubi TV.