With the development of mass media, local artists in North Dakota, as in the rest of the country, saw a rapid loss of opportunity to create, perform, and sell popular music to the regional audience that had previously provided a market.
Smaller musical groups passing through North Dakota often play at the independently promoted shows in the state's larger cities alongside local acts.
Medium-sized groups may be headlined in events thrown by financially interested promoters, such as the Hub's Venue[1] (formally Playmaker's Pavilion) in Fargo.
Large touring acts crossing North Dakota often use the state's larger event venues such as the Alerus Center (Grand Forks), Fargodome (Fargo), and Bismarck Civic Center (Bismarck), to draw large arena rock crowds.
Groups like "Johnny Holm", "The Unbelievable Uglies", "The Newz", "Clown", "Brittania", "Nitro Brothers", "The Phones" and "The Metro All-Stars" were the premier bands.
For example, in Jamestown, North Dakota, there was one bar and a "teen canteen" that booked rock and roll bands in 1978, but by 1984, there were five such venues.
In Fargo/Moorhead, you could hear a live band 7 nights a week with music clubs including The Lamplight, The Sunset Lanes, The Zodiac, The Gaslight, The 4-10 Lounge, Jerry's and Kirby's.
[2] In the mid to late 2010s, Fargo became recognized as a growing hub for experimental, industrial and noise music.
[3] Although noise had a smaller presence since the 90s with acts like Edwin Manchester and Unconditional Loathing, noise proliferated under the organization of musician Brandon Wald who would attend punk shows and hand out copies of zines on the history of industrial music.
[4] In 2018, artist Trinity Hall began Doughgirl Tapes, a cassette label dedicated to pressing noise and experimental releases.
The scene is noted for its heavy queer presence as well as its radical politics, with artists often covering themes related to violence against LGBT people, far-left politics, police brutality as well as local North Dakota issues related to environmental degradation and the Dakota Access Pipeline.