NEIL! Martin Zellar’s Tribute to Neil Diamond — Rhythm on the Rails

Minnesota music veteran Martin Zellar — longtime frontman of Gear Daddies and a fixture of the Twin Cities scene since the ’80s — kicks off the 2026 Rhythm on the Rails series with NEIL!, his full-band tribute to Neil Diamond. Expect the singalong anthems and ballads from Diamond’s catalog (“Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and more) reworked through Zellar’s heartland-rock sensibility.

Rhythm on the Rails is a free six-week outdoor concert series held on Wednesday nights through June and July on Lewis Street in downtown Shakopee. Each night runs from 6–9 p.m. with a local opening act warming up the crowd before the headliner. The street closes to traffic and turns into an open-air block party, with food trucks and vendors on site — Amazing Momo, The Cave Cafe, Rollin Nolen’s BBQ, Game Day Grub, Westy’s Shako Shack, O’Brien’s Public House, and Texas Roadhouse. Bring a lawn chair. Family-friendly. Admission is free; the series is presented by the Shakopee Chamber & Visitors Bureau. Full lineup and updates at shakopee.org/rhythm-on-the-rails.