It's a three-day weekend (for some of us anyway), which means at least one extra day to stay up a little late and catch a show. Though I am (somewhat canonically) a wuss, I will be hitting Caterwaul on more than one occasion.
Tuesday, May 20
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Ministry with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Die Krupps @ Palace Theatre
Bartees Strange with Sloppy Jane @ Fine Line
Bridge Band, Eldest Daughter, Nobody From Nowhere, Quietchild @ Green Room
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
May Conspiracy Series featuring Lena Elizabeth, Bird Dog @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Xenia @ 331 Club
Post Malone @ U.S. Bank Stadium
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Cheap Bouquet Residency (Single Release) with TimIsARocker, Lost Island Society @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, May 21
Shady Babies Open Mic @ Acadia
Dresses With Pockets @ Aster Cafe
En El Momento with Medium Zach @ Berlin
DJ Nuzumi @ Can Can Wonderland
The Scottie Miller Trio @ Crooners
Erin Schwab and Emily Villano @ Crooners
Kitchen Patrol and Joe @ Day Block Brewing
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Juhyo, Legless/Trep Enuc, Permanent Waves, Zoltraac @ Eagles 34
Rachel Chinouriri with Alemeda and BIZZY @ Fine Line
Tennis with Billie Marten @ First Avenue
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Karaoke Blast with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Mortiholics Residency @ Mortimer’s
Cole Diamond Presents Whiskey Wednesday @ Palmer’s
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
North Innsbruck, Magenta Vice (Album Release), Night Audit, and PRODROME @ 7th St Entry
The What-Have-Yous, Echo Signal @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Dubliner Trio and Friends @ 331 Club
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Magic Castles, Flavor Crystals, Michael Moore @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, May 22
- Mike, Navy Blue @ Amsterdam—In an age of the 30+ track album, there’s nothing special about being a prolific rapper in 2025, but this Brooklyn MC doesn’t just pump out product—he exercises some serious quality control. In the time since he passed through the Underground Music Cafe last April, Mike has released two albums: the excellent Showbiz! (certainly an ironic title from a rhymer this chronically blasé) and Pinball II, a collab with producer Tony Seltzer that serves as a sequel to (as you might have guessed) last year’s Pinball. On each he remains mumbly yet articulate, anxious yet subdued, letting his skills speak for themselves so consistently you sometimes wish he’d reveal a little more… ambition? Ego? Hustle? And yet the paradox of Mike is that if he tried harder he’d lose what sets him apart
The Holy North & Nina Luna @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Curve, Speed Riders, Battery Eyes @ Cloudland
Story Tellers: The Great Songs of Elton John, Neil Diamond, and Cat Stevens @ Crooners
The Music of Clifford Brown & Max Roach with Steve Wagner & Phil Hey @ Crooners
The Legendary Sounds of Jeff Beck @ Crooners
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Napalm Death and Melvins with Hard-Ons (with Jerry A) and Dark Sky Burial @ First Avenue
Sammie Jean Cohen (Single Release) @ Icehouse
Jack Schabert Residency @ Metronome Brewery
Drums of Navarone @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Sandpaper, Loud Sun, and Dot Operator @ Palmer’s
Joan of Profile with Helen and Eldest Daughter @ Pilllar Forum
Lolo’s Ghost, Jellyjacket @ Schooner Tavern
- Citric Dummies with Yambag, Surrogates, and BUIO OMEGA @ 7th St Entry—Last year the tunefully breakneck trio of Drew Ailes, Patrick Dillon, and Travis Minnick followed up the funny-as-hell Hüsker-boosting (it’s fair use, your honor) full-length Zen and the Arcade of Beating Your Ass (let Drew deliver a commencement address) with the funnier-than-hell four-song EP Trapped in a Parking Garage (we’ve all been there). The titles say it all: “Look Out World (I’m Eatin’ Arby’s),” “Driving a Piece of Shit,” “Sit at Home and Die,” and, of course, the title track. In other words, relatable stuff. Great lineup for this tour kickoff too,
Dispatch @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
Funky Mystik, If Eye May @ 331 Club
Equipment and Arcadia Grey @ Underground Music Venue
Parliament Funkadelic feat. George Clinton @ Uptown Theater
Sunken Planes with Field Hospitals, BIG INTO @ White Squirrel
Charlieboy Tour, Oister Boy (Single Release), Southpaw, Vin @ Zhora Darling
Friday, May 23
Davvn & Jack the Underdog with Stock Market Cinema & Halfway Down @ Amsterdam
Mark Ross & the Three-Nineteen @ Aster Cafe
Devin Gray/Russ Johnson/Mark Feldman @ Berlin
Queenie Von Curves' Haus of Curiousi-tease @ Black Hart
The Belfast Cowboys @ Bunker’s
Wilmette and Glory Days @ Cabooze
Oceanographer with Bathtub Cig and Crush Scene @ Can Can Wonderland
Good Morning Midnight, Dreamist, Pyrrhic Victories @ Cloudland
Dorothy Doring with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Urban Classic: The Music of Earth, Wind, and Fire @ Crooners
Davina and the Vagabonds @ Dakota
Pogo Ballet, Pibon & Luma Knotty @ Driftwood
Miss Shannon's Sock Hop featuring Honky Tonk Jump @ Eagles 34
Tadas the Painter, the Dusky Warblers, Autumn Leaf and Willy Fret @ Eagles 34
Huge if True, SanaSauna, Larry Wish @ Eagles 34
The Real Chuck NORAD @ 56 Brewing
anni xo and Kiernan (Double Album Release) with Yellow Ostrich and creeping charlie @ Fine Line
Matt Berninger with Ronboy @ First Avenue
The Jerry Garcia Project @ Granada
Lucky the Unfortunate Turns 30 @ Green Room
Summer Breeze Yacht Rock Party with the Lonesome Losers @ Hook and Ladder
Ganja Skoden's One-Year Anniversary Party @ Hook and Ladder
Chris Smith Trio @ Jazz Central
St. Paul House Band Fundraising Concert @ Metronome Brewery
Ray Covington @ Minnesota Music Cafe
- Caterwaul @ Mortimer's—The noisiest music fest in the North returns on Memorial Day weekend, serving up a plethora of loud guitars and great band names (let’s hear it for Gaytheist, but let’s not overlook Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes). Caterwaul kicks off at Mortimer’s on Friday night with an eight-band lineup headed by Chicago postpunks FACS. The event then moves to the 331 Club for the following three days, where you can catch a mix of local and touring bands, including the likes of Young Widows, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform. There’s also an afterparty at Zhora Darling on Saturday night. This is, quite simply, a lot of rock.
Vacant, Flintlock, Minus Pig, and Deep Dark Lake @ Palmer’s
Juno's Bday with Fend, Haze Gazer, Hey Ily, 12th House Sun, Thumper @ Pilllar Forum
Greazy Gravy with Sonny Earl @ Schooner Tavern
Erin Kinsey with Kaleb Sanders @ 7th St Entry
Worm Grunter, IdlFlo @ Terminal Bar
Hiahli, Push & Turn, Conor Lee @ 331 Club
Housewerk City of Acid – 3 Year Anniversary Party @ Uptown VFW
The Mary Cutrufello Band @ White Squirrel
Embahn with Absolutely Yours, Controversial New Skinny Pill @ White Squirrel
Slow Mass with Prize Horse & Downward @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, May 24
LYXE, Dilly Dally Alley, StoLyette @ Amsterdam
Bob Frey & the Adaptors @ Aster Cafe
Charlie Bruber & Jack Barrett @ Berlin
Take That Back feat. Joan Hutton & Sue Orfield @ Berlin
Radio Pocho (Miguel Vargas & Terrell LaMarr) @ Berlin
Y2Gay with DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Black Hart
Project BC and Await the Dawn @ Can Can Wonderland
Partial Traces, Lilac Forces, Spectres of Desire @ Cloudland
Dorothy Doring with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Urban Classic: The Music of Earth, Wind, and Fire @ Crooners
Jay Young and the Lyric Factory @ Dakota
Jeff Becker & Gentlemen, the Getup Mondays @ Driftwood
Overfwrd, Tre Spiritus, Steve Blexrud @ Dusty’s
Tiger Blue, UXIA, Silik, The Broken Rule @ Eagles 34
Fifth Annual Reggae Summer Splash @ Hook and Ladder
Ryan Picone Quartet @ Icehouse
Phantom Fears with Jail Break! @ Icehouse
High & Mighty @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Weekly DJ: MPLS House @ Modist
Global Jazz Collegium @ Padraigs
Only Time, Amarak, and Aestis @ Palmer’s
Eudaemon with Anita Velveeta, Rodeo Boys, Another Heaven, Valeska Surait @ Pilllar Forum
Project: Code @ Rev Ultra Lounge
Stone Ark with Mayfly Moon, Scorched Waves, and Self Titled @ 7th St Entry
M.I.S.T.A. Legacy Fundraiser Show @ Terminal Bar
- Caterwaul @ 331 Club—See Friday's listings.
5th Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash @ Turf Club
glitterdark (live) x Venus DeMars (acoustic) x Dana Kazuko (DJ) @ Uptown VFW
Railroad Island with Jackie Rae Daniels, Jake La Botz @ White Squirrel
The Skeleton Crew with Northinnsbruck Dj Set, De Ander @ White Squirrel
- Caterwaul @ Zhora Darling—See Friday's listings.
Sunday, May 25
Nectarous with The Grieving Pines & Galleon @ Amsterdam
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Imagined by Nelson Devereaux: Caley Conway + The Music of Nelson Devereaux + James Taylor @ Berlin
Oasis Day Party @ Cabooze
Young Dro @ Cabooze
Fridley Jazz Ensemble @ Crooners
Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Emerson Woodshed Collective @ Dual Citizen
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Chandler & Emmett Disco Party @ Eagles 34
Southern Culture on the Skids with Kinda Fonda Wanda @ Fine Line
Wiz Khalifa with Chevy Woods, Fedd the God, and DJ Bonics @ First Avenue
The Jerry Garcia Project @ Granada
Fuchsia (Single Release) @ Green Room
Yellow Claw Presents Euro Trash @ The Loft
Dragged Into Sunlight with Pursuit & Cobra Czar @ The Lyric
Kni Funk Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Larry McDonough Quartet @ Parkway
- Caterwaul @ 331 Club—See Friday's listings.
Randy’s Gathering @ White Squirrel
Rabbit By Owl Light with Crow With No Mouth & M. Harlan Engelmann @ White Squirrel
Jack Yoder and the Doublewide Disaster @ Zhora Darling
Monday, May 26
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
World Music Monday @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Cornbread Harris, Brasszilla, The West Band Social Club, Mike Wolter & Friends @ Palmer’s
Metal Monday @ Schooner Tavern
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
Ditch Pigeon and Friends @ Terminal Bar
- Caterwaul @ 331 Club—See Friday's listings.
