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
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
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
- 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
Zacc Harris Presents: The Music of Pat Martino @ Crooners
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
B & the Sting @ Minnehaha Park
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
- Durry @ Schell’s Stage, Schilling Amphitheater, Minnesota State FairHeard enough about these kids yet? Well sorry, but you're gonna hear more. The Durry sibs are this year's breakout viral band for a reason, delivering peppy pop that's not too sugary. In fact, while the Grandstand shows this year are overloaded with nostalgia acts ranging from you-had-to be-there to not-even-if-you-were (the '90s might not be as great as you remember them, but they were better than Counting Crows and the Wallflowers), the local talent lined up at the Schell's Stage is top shelf. Read on and you'll find out more.
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
- 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.
From Paris to Rome with Chronofon @ 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
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
- 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
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
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
Carpenter Brut with Sierra @ Varsity Theater
Jung Yeller with Malamiko & Getting By @ White Squirrel
Saturday, August 27
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners
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.
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.
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
Super Duty, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Pitbull, Iggy Azalea @ Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair
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
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
Monday, August 29
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
- Annie Mack @ Schell’s Stage at Schilling Amphitheater, Minnesota State FairAnd on to our third Schell's pick of the week. Folk-blues-gospel singer-songwriter Mack sings in a big, yet artfully restrained voice, and her songs bend traditional themes to modern. Her 2001 EP, Testify, captures her at her peak—defiant, unbowed, and, if not exactly hopeful, far from defeated.
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
