The KNUJ polka hall was open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It featured two, two-hour segments of Brian Brueggen & the Mississippi Valley Dutchman and the Leon Olsen Show. Schell’s Tent featured the Concord Singers, Squeezebox and Mollie B, the Alex Meixner Band, and Alpensterne from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

This marked the return of the Alex Meixner Band to the festival. They had attended the fair for several years prior to COVID, but the pandemic combined with scheduling conflicts prohibited their return until now.

“Our tour routing just didn’t land in this direction,” frontman Alex Meixner said. “Paul Sabatino called me up and he said ‘what’s it going to take to get you back up to New Ulm?’ We had a really good conversation and we were able to get everything to happen up here.”

Meixner said the band has come back to New Ulm for several reasons. It is rooted in the history and evolution of polka music, proud of it’s German roots, and it embraces the development and evolution of music.

Julia Paa holds her son Owen as he reaches out to meet Gertie the Goose at Bavarian Blast Friday. Gertie is a member of the Heinzelmannchen gnomes, a costumed group said to bring good luck for the year to come.

“It’s a living art form and we’re all living human beings,” Meixner said. “This town really has a great attitude and an ability to respect the old and the new to coming together.”

As for their music, Meixner hopes people are able to come together with others from all walks of life to enjoy a good bit of polka.

“I want people for a few hours to come hear our band play and forget about the divisions of humanity,” Meixner said. “Forget about things that get them upset. Come and have a good time and experience their neighbors. People may have different political views, they might have different religious views. They might have all different kinds of things, but music is a way of bringing people together and that I feel is the most important thing.”

Unique acts for the evening were country music singer Stephen Paul and Alabama tribute band Songs of the South, headed by Shane Martin. The acts ran from 8-12 p.m.

This is the first time country music has appeared at Bavarian Blast. Treasurer Dodie Wendinger said the decision came from a long-running fan campaign. “A lot of people from several years saying we’d like some country, so we decided to get some country,” Wendinger said.

Couples dance with the Heinzelmannchen family as the Alex Meixner band plays at Bavarian Blast. The dance floor allowed attendees to dance all day and night to several different musical offerings.

Stephen Paul and Songs of the South came as recommendations from some of the Blast’s board members, who had seen them perform on the local touring circuit. Attendee Rachelle Payne believes the addition of country music will be beneficial, as long as it does not take away from the festival’s roots.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Payne said. “They’re gonna draw people no matter if they brought in a country band or not, but I think it’s good to change it up a little bit. Please don’t go away from the the originals.”

The weather was bright and sunny for the most part, which brought plenty of heat. A short midday shower provided much needed cool to relieve attendees from the high temperatures.

Saturday, Schell’s Tent will feature a stein holding contest from 7-8 p.m. and rock bands Disco Kingz and The Hype from 8-10 p.m. and 10-12 p.m. respectively. The same four groups from Friday will rotate from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. KNUJ Polka Hall will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and feature a rotation between Malek’s Fisherman and the Wendinger Band.