For a long time, the regional music scene relied on the expertise of musicians who functioned outside the limelight. Producers, arrangers, session musicians, and songwriters are usually behind the scenes and work on records that get much less attention than big-label releases. However, they play an important role in creating local music culture. Minnesota is one of the states with one of the most vibrant independent music scenes in the U.S. Within that environment, British-born musician Simon Husbands developed a second phase of his career after the commercial success of Blue Train, becoming involved in recording projects, production, broadcasting, and live performance while remaining active as a recording artist.
Having made an impact with Blue Train in the 1990s, Husbands stayed in Minneapolis but started dedicating most of his time to collaborative projects. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his own music, he engaged in various collaborations with local musicians who were recording their music that combined British pop and American rock/alternative music elements. In particular, he worked as a producer, arranger, and songwriter, reflecting his transformation from the leader of a group that reached the Billboard charts to working with many different independent musicians. This trend is characteristic of the independent music industry, where experienced musicians often switch between these roles.
Among Husbands’ documented collaborations are projects with Fiskum, The Black Bluebirds, Minnesota Roadkill, Katy Vernon, Kiki Lane, and Thee Duke of Dark. His production and recording credits include Fiskum’s Darkness, Fire, Dancing (2007), The Black Bluebirds’ Like Blood for Music (2014), Katy Vernon’s Present (2015) and Suit of Hearts (2019), and Minnesota Roadkill’s Expressionism (2017). These recordings span several musical styles, including rock, Americana, singer-songwriter, and alternative pop. Independent reviews of some of these releases have highlighted songwriting, arrangements, and musicianship, while regional media coverage has documented the continued activity of many of the artists involved.
Husbands’ British musical background has remained evident throughout these collaborations. As someone who had emerged from the music scene of Nottingham before moving to America, he carried with him an experience that was based on British guitar pop, new wave, and power pop. While not re-enacting the styles directly, the resulting records merged melodic sounds from Britain with American roots music and modern indie rock. As an example of cross-cultural experience, this formed one aspect of his collaboration with artists from different musical backgrounds to create albums shaped by a joint songwriting process.
His continued presence within Minnesota has also extended to live performance. Husbands performs keyboards and vocals with ABBAsolutely Fab!, a Twin Cities tribute group dedicated to the music of the Swedish pop group ABBA. The ensemble features musicians from both British and Minnesota backgrounds, including Katy Vernon, Jenny Russ, Rod Smith, Jon Hunt, and David J. Russ. Since its formation, the group has appeared regularly at theatres, parks, festivals, and concert venues across the state, reflecting the sustained popularity of tribute performances within regional live music programming. Coverage by the Minnesota Star Tribune has documented the group’s activity as part of the area’s broader performance community.
Alongside production and performance, Husbands has remained connected to Minnesota’s music culture through broadcasting. Since 2010, he has hosted True Brit! on community radio station KFAI, presenting British popular music across different decades while remaining active in local recording projects. That combination of broadcasting and production places him within multiple parts of the region’s music network. The role that community radio stations have played in fostering the careers of independent musicians in the United States has remained relevant in recent years and is still being fulfilled by KFAI through locally produced music broadcasts that cover a variety of genres.
The career of Simon Husbands in Minnesota can serve as an example of how many musicians continue working in the field after their commercial successes. Husbands’ post-Blue Train activity is characterized more by collaborative work with independent artists, involvement in live shows in the region, recording work on various albums, and community broadcasting. This allows the musician to stay involved in the Twin Cities music scene while sustaining his own recording career through solo albums.
