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All the Good Shows at the State Fair This Year Are Free

Here's your guide to pretty much all the music within earshot this week.

Courtesy of the artist.|

Those Durry kids really like that yellow background.

We're trying something new with our weekly gig roundup: recommendations! (OK, new to us.) This week, the State Fair obviously dominates, but there's plenty to do off the Fairgrounds as well.

Tuesday, August 23

International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers

Coco Montoya & Ronnie Baker Brooks @ Dakota

St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood

    • Bellows + Nat Harvie + The Nunnery @ IcehouseCOVID essentially made all music into bedroom pop, but Oliver Kalb was ahead of the game, and on his latest, Next of Kin, he sings like a sunnier Elliott Smith, with none-too-stripped down arrangements that never intrude on the intimacy. Similarly, Duluth's Nat Harvie nimbly treads the fine line between small-scale and tastefully augmented on his latest, Married in Song. Rounding out the bill is the Nunnery (aka Sarah Elstran), whose Floating Gardens is more ornate and lush than your typical ambient release, and all the more engaging for it.

Pkew Pkew Pkew with Loss Leader and The Right Here @ 7th St Entry

August Conspiracy Series featuring Johnny Sincerely’s Traveling Blues Orchestra, the Good Time Gals @ 331 Club

Workers Playtime, Pop Wagner @ 331 Club

The Gefroh Brothers Concert @ Water Works

Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel

Nate and Hannah (Tuesday Residency) @ White Squirrel

Wednesday, August 24

Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, Lil 88 @ Amsterdam

Hannah von der Hoff (August Residency) with Maya Elena @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Jearlyn & Fred Steele @ Dakota

Vic Volare Anyswing Goes Party, Closer to Indigo @ Driftwood

The Veldt + the Muatas + Selectrra @ Icehouse

Mommy Log Balls, Tang and the Tabs, Everyday Trebles, Cannabis Kiss @ Mortimer’s

Futurebirds with Anima @ 7th St Entry

KFAI House Party Presents Chemistry Set @ 331 Club

St. Anthony Mann, Arlo Cristofaro @ 331 Club

Jhariah @ The Treasury

    • Seratones with Jackie Kean @ Turf ClubWith Love and Algorihythms, these soulful Louisianans have found the precise midpoint between dreamy yet driven R&B they've been searching for. Beats and textures are immersive, but singer A.J. Haynes is the reason to listen up—she adapts to hard electro-funk or spaced-out jams without ever sounding like anything less than herself.

DL4 with Cole Diamond Trio @ White Squirrel

Thursday, August 25

    • Leon Bridges @ ArmoryThis Texan R&B revivalist is always best when he balances his throwback tendencies with a modern thrust. (Even better when he exits his element, as on his collaborations with Lone Star psych-rockers Khruangbin.) So his backward-glancing latest, Gold-Diggers Sound, kinda misses the point of the idols he emulates—the old guys had songs, not just a sound. But he's got the style and the vocal chops to make it a smooth, swooning night at the old war-shed.

Hyooman + the Key Kids @ Aster Cafe

Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers

Deicide with Kataklysm and Inhuman Condition @ Cabooze

Greg Herriges @ The Commons

Ginger Commodore @ Crooners

Zacc Harris Presents: The Music of Pat Martino @ Crooners

Armchair Boogie @ Dakota

Peal and Friends @ Driftwood

Alice In Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Bush, The L.I.F.E. Project @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair

The Minnesota Musicians Concert Series @ Hook and Ladder

Bethany Larson and The Bee’s Knees with Faith Boblett @ Icehouse

The Good, the Bad and the Funky @ International Bazaar Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Papa Bleu @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Eddie Montgomery @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage, Minnesota State Fair

OWTH @ Mortimer’s

B & the Sting @ Minnehaha Park

The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s

Jordan Gressman with Joey Mayer & Paytonn, Bridgewrld and GetUpDJ! @ The Treasury

Minneapolis Songwriter Rounds: Pat Keen, Arlo Cristofaro, Dexter Wolfe, Hemma @ 331 Club

Parker Millsap with Laura Hugo @ Turf Club

Brenda’s Birthday Bash @ White Squirrel

Friday, August 26

Alpha Wolf with Bodysnatcher, Vatican, and Contrition @ Amsterdam

Senor Blues + Jennifer Skilar @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

    • Martina McBride @ Canterbury ParkMcBride's such a unprepossessing star you can forget she's racked up as strong a catalog as any '90s-spawned country singer. The abuse revenge anthem "Independence Day," the marital bonding anthem "I'm Gonna Love You Through It," the comically exasperated "Teenage Daughters"—that's quite a range, and all true to life. Life ain't all trucks and clichés about small town life, after all.

Lamont Cranston @ Crooners

From Paris to Rome with Chronofon @ Crooners

Tom Hunter Band @ Crooners

    • Kamasi Washington @ DakotaThe brawny tenor saxophonist and expansive bandleader, who’s been more commonly extending the reach of new jazz to unfamiliar audiences via rock clubs and festival dates, takes over the Dakota with his 10-piece band for the weekend. In the seven years since the three-hours-plus The Epic opened ears, Washington has been working with collaborators in hip-hop and electronic music, playing a key role in Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. To hear his band cut loose in a small jazz club should really be something.

Elvis Costello Night, Saint Small @ Driftwood

Friday I'm in Love - A New Wave Dance Party @ Dusty’s

IDKHOW and Joywave @ Fillmore

Dirty Honey with Mac Saturn @ Fine Line

Airship Caravan with Lost Evidence, Fix the Glitch, and Bookowski @ The Garage

Counting Crows, the Wallflowers @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair

Stray Gray Duck @ Icehouse

    • Freaque + Sara Elizabeth + Lydia Liza @ IcehouseAs Freaque, Gabriel Rodreick crafts a sometimes spooky, always vivid, never gloomy sort of folk. His latest EP, Victim of a Rose, is an excellent place to make his acquaintance. And the two sharp singer-songwriters with two first names who open are absolutely worth showing up on time for.

The Good, the Bad and the Funky @ International Bazaar Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Tina, DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Eddie Montgomery @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Dr. Ozi @ The Loft

Maria and the Coins @ Minnehaha Park

All the Pretty Horses, the Stardust Collective @ Palmer’s

Lady Heat Presents~"All Dressed Up & Nowhere To Go But Palmer's!" @ Palmer’s

Durry @ Schell’s Stage Schilling Amphitheater, Minnesota State Fair

Monica Martin with Jake Sherman @ 7th St Entry

Nate Mills & Kashi @ Studio B

Colonel Mustard ‘s Orchestre Mecanique, The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club

The Local Garden Showcase @ The Treasury

Hazelcreak, Waldemar and St. Anthony Mann @ Turf Club

Cariah Brinaé @ Uptown VFW

Carpenter Brut with Sierra @ Varsity Theater

Jung Yeller with Malamiko & Getting By @ White Squirrel

Saturday, August 27

Mustang 87 @ Aster Cafe

International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers

Maud Hixson @ Crooners

Jamecia Bennett @ Crooners

Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners

Kamasi Washington @ Dakota

Powderfinger: Neil Young Tribute @ Driftwood

The Supper Club Collective in the Green Booth @ Duffy’s

Portugal. The Man, Manchester Orchestra, Bad Bad Hats @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair

Mae Simpson Music @ Hook and Ladder

Cornbread Harris Ensemble @ Icehouse

Kavyesh Kaviraj Trio @ Icehouse

The Belfast Cowboys @ International Bazaar Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Le Percheron with Imminent Standards Trio @ KJ’s Hideaway

Dred I Dred @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

    • Caitlyn Smith @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell, Minnesota State FairAfter giving Nashville a go, this Cannon Falls-born country singer-songwriter has come back to us. Hardly in defeat—she's written for some of the best (and also Meghan Trainor) and continues doing business on Music Row. But her performing career is now centered in her home state, and this State Fair gig should be a nice kind of homecoming.

SFAM X UM.. @ The Loft

Pure Shifter, The Lucid Furs, Silt, Wannabianca @ Mortimer’s

St. Paul & The Broken Bones with Wyatt Waddell @ Palace Theatre

The Right Here, Honey Dick, the Valors, and Butter Boys @ Palmer’s

The Nitty Gritty with DJs Brian Engel and Blue Funk @ Palmer’s

    • Honeybutter @ Schell’s State at Schilling Amphitheater, Minnesota State FairAw, the indie kids are discovering bossa nova again—does this old Cardigans fan heart's good to hear the lighter side of lounge-revival revivalism revived. This local trio bounces and percolates with a fizzy charm that's marked by sharp arrangements and the warm, bright voice of Clara Wicklund. Nothing wrong with a little elegance, you punks. Check 'em out here.
    • Early Eyes, DNM, Products, and Butter Boys @ 7th St EntryLocal music lineup of the week? On their latest album, Look Alive!, synth-pop adventurists Early Eyes still draw on the Minneapolis Sound and various new wave trends, but they're playfully rooting through a toy-box of sound where too many retro poppers are just proud of their recreations. You also get DNM (pronounced Denim), which is DeCarlo Jackson of Hippo Campus and some pals working in a poppy synth-folk vein, ace post-punks Products, and Butter Boys, who I think we'll be hearing a lot more from.

UH2BT @ Studio B

Jarad Miles and the Ancient Waves (Album Release), Little Fevers @ 331 Club

The Return of Transmission @ Uptown VFW

Jeremy’s Birthday Bash with Dead Eye Haze & King Jeremy the Wicked @ White Squirrel

Sunday, August 28

Solar Fake with Whorticulture and Absynthe Of Faith @ Amsterdam

Swing Brunch with Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

Joyann Parker @ Crooners

Lori Dokken @ Crooners

Crystal Bowersox @ Dakota

Super Duty, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

Matt Nathanson @ Fillmore

Brett Studer @ Granada

Pitbull, Iggy Azalea @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair

Amanda Standalone @ Icehouse

Sarah Walk @ Icehouse

Colores: A Service Industry Dance Night @ Icehouse

The Belfast Cowboys @ International Bazaar Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Westwind Swing Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

KGB (Kendra Glenn Band) @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Caitlyn Smith @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell

Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s

The Sapsuckers @ Palmer’s

Honeybutter @ Schell’s State at Schilling Amphitheater, Minnesota State Fair

    • BLK ODYSSY with Eimaral Sol @ 7th St EntrySam Houston and his crew explore the thicker, woozier side of funk and soul on their latest, BLK Vintage—think Funkadelic, not Parliament. It's a head trip, with a fullness you can experience even on dinky laptop speakers. Live, it will no doubt engulf y'all.

Cults with Reptaliens @ Turf Club

Pat Donahue @ 331 Club

Carlaoke @ White Squirrel

Monday, August 29

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

The Beatles: Six Strings, Many Visions @ Dakota

The Beach Boys and the Temptations with Tower of Power @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair

The Bellwether Syndicate @ Hook and Ladder

Nelson Devereux’s Zones Residency @ Icehouse

Gypsy @ International Bazaar Stage, Minnesota State Fair

Atomic Beat @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

DSL: Dire Straits Legacy @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell

Telekinetic Yeti with White Hills and Thunderbolt Pagoda @ 7th St Entry

Erik Brandt and Urban Hillbilly Quartet @ 331 Club

The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club

Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club

Chef Sounds (DJ Night) @ White Squirrel

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