Secretly Group’s 30th Anniversary Weekend Returns to Its Bloomington Origins

The 30th anniversary of Secretly Group began not with a broad industry showcase, but in a downtown Bloomington bar. At the Bluebird, the first night of What Comes After The Blues: Secretly 30 traced the label’s origins to a specific place — Midwestern clubs, scrappy signings, and a sound built far from coastal music hubs.

“This night is more local vibes,” co-founder Darius Van Arman said, describing a bill of “Midwestern bands” and “old heads.” June Panic, the first artist ever signed to Secretly Canadian, opened. Early Day Miners, a staple of the label’s 2000s catalog, followed. The evening’s weight came from Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co., with Centro-Matic’s Will Johnson performing Jason Molina’s songs alongside surviving members of Magnolia Electric Co.

The two-and-a-half-hour set included “Lioness” and “John Henry Split My Heart,” but it was the closing “Farewell Transmission” that carried the room. Molina’s work with Songs: Ohia first put Secretly on the map, and the album What Comes After The Blues gave the weekend its name long before his death in 2011.

The celebration continued through readings, parties, and three more shows, but the opening made the label’s argument clear: three decades later, Secretly still frames its identity through the local scene it came from.