Yes, it's Art-A-Whirl weekend, and I've got the stiff little data entry fingers to prove it. It's a terrific opportunity to catch up on bands you've heard tell of but haven't had the chance to see, and also just to roam around northeast Minneapolis and stumble across your favorite new band unawares. CTRL F the name of that frenzied event you'll find plenty of great lineups below.
Tuesday, May 14
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Bridget Kearney with Deerlady @ Icehouse
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Timeless Tuesdays x Lotion, Minnie Blanco, DJ Dimitry Killstorm @ Mortimer's
Support Local @ ROK Music Lounge
Babehoven with Greg Mendez @ 7th St Entry
- Megan Thee Stallion with GloRilla @ Target Center—If you ain’t heard, Megan’s on a snake-like theme these days. Her latest single, “Boa,” which flips a great Gwen Stefani sample, follows “Cobra,” with its admissions of depression, and the Nicki-baiting “Hiss”—three tracks that will sound great on whatever album finally becomes their home. A truly vicious MC, she’s still at the stage of her career where she sounds energized by fighting. Come early enough for GloRilla, the Memphis rapper who’s breaking out this year with her recent Megan collab “Wanna Be.”
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Matt Sowell @ 331 Club
May Conspiracy Series feat. Theyself, Taylor James Donskey @ 331 Club
Yellow Days with The Jack Moves @ Turf Club
DL4 with Tony Andreason, Tom Schaefer @ White Squirrel
Leslie (Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, May 15
Girl Singers of the Hit Parade @ Crooners
Yonder Mountain String Band @ Dakota
Miss Myra and the Moonshiners @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Open Mic with Host Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo
Gregory Allison + Slow Meadow @ Icehouse
JCS @ JCS: Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central
Korpiklaani with Visions of Atlantis and Illumishade @ The Lyric
Open Jam with Steve Daly's LXG Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Prairie Clamor (Residency) with The Mortiholics + Synchromesh @ Mortimer's
Cole Diamond Presents Whiskey Wednesdays @ Palmer's
Open Decks DJ Night @ ROK Music Lounge
Lev & Friends @ Schooner Tavern
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Katey Bellville and those S.O.B.s @ 331 Club
Red Rum Club with Loon Booster @ Turf Club
Ascended Dead @ Underground Music Cafe
Battle Beast @ Varsity Theater
Contamination, Deterioration, King Goro, Inhuman Scourge @ White Rock Lounge
St. Paul Mudsteppers Monthly @ White Squirrel
Thursday, May 16
ABBATH with Imperial Triumphant, Black Anvil, and Final Gasp @ Amsterdam
MorningBird (Album Release) with Josh Peterson @ Bryant Lake Bowl
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Larry Wish, Problems, Flesh Produce, Selfish Teammate @ Cloudland
Story Tellers: The Great Songs of James Taylor, Billy Joel and Cat Stevens @ Crooners
Mama's Table: Down Home Harmonies @ Crooners
Yonder Mountain String Band @ Dakota
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Southern Culture on the Skids with Kinda Fonda Wanda @ Fine Line
Dear Dario, My Buddy Eric, Duck Bomb @ The Garage
Aberration Combo @ Jazz Central
B 'n the Spice Cabinet @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Mary Elias's Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Kamelot @ Myth Live
Star Wars: The Last Jedi @ Orchestra Hall
Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach @ Palmer's
Bambi Alexandra Band with the Suicide Horns @ Schooner Tavern
Matthew Logan Vasquez with Justin & The Cosmics @ 7th St Entry
Cross Pollination: Color Cord, Knife Emoji @ 331 Club
Gates of Dawn, Kaldeket, Blood Sigil @ White Rock Lounge
Devaney & Friends @ White Squirrel
Friday, May 17
Lovehouse + Willem Dafoe Fan Club @ Aster Cafe
Art-A-Whirl: Zaq Baker Team, Shoeless Revolution, Viva Knievel @ Bauhaus Brew Pub
Zacc Harris/Bryan Nichols @ Berlin
Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet @ Berlin
Patrick Mustain @ Bryant Lake Bowl
The '70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Bunkers
Art-A-Whirl: Josh Katzenmeyer @ California Building
Art-A-Whirl: Johnny Sincerely, Boots and Needles @ Casket Arts Building
Prateek Kuhad @ Cedar Cultural Center
Gwen, Products Band, Wish Wash @ Cloudland
David Hazeltine featuring Lucia Newell @ Crooners
The Music of Grover Washington Jr. @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Rae and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34
Art-A-Whirl: Creeping Charlie, Colin Bracewell, Yonder, SoulFlower @ Elias Metal Studio
Art-A-Whirl: DJ QueenDuin, DJ Nanobyte, DJ Snuggles @ Earl Giles Bottling Company
RIDE with Knifeplay and DJ Jake Rudh @ Fine Line
Portugal. The Man with Reyna Tropical @ First Avenue
Dent May, Jimmy Whispers @ Green Room
The Belfast Cowboys with the de’Lindas @ Hook and Ladder
Mary Bue with Molly Maher & the Gilded Quadriga and Dandy L. Freling @ Icehouse
Adam Larson Trio @ Jazz Central
Jiqui with uSaybFlow @ The Loft
Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Art-A-Whirl: Savage Aural Hotbed, Raycut Johnson @ NE Sculpture
Star Wars: The Last Jedi @ Orchestra Hall
Julie Albers Plays Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D @ Ordway
Art-A-Whirl: Luke Bakken, Mill City Caravan, JoJo Green Bonnie Drunken Lad @ Padraigs Brewing
Art-A-Whirl: Silent Treatment, Blood Cookie, The Thirsty Giants @ Pilllar Forum
Art-A-Whirl: Versand, Leah Elizabeth, Paul Metzger, Meat Raffle Ska @ Q.arma Building
Sam Joson, XLCR, Emerson Island @ ROK Music Lounge
Art-A-Whirl: Black Widows, Rabeca, Rhino Shrine, Machinery Hill @ Sociable Cider Werks
Erin McCawley's Harrison Street Band @ Schooner Tavern
Motel Breakfast with Sleeping Jesus, League Two and City Twigs @ 7th St Entry
- Art-A-Whirl: Gully Boys, XINA, iLLism, Lighter Co. @ Solar Arts Building—The best Art-A-Whirl block party happens to be going down at Minnesota’s third and most recently unionized brewery, Indeed. The absolutely stacked live-music lineup features a 97-year-old local legend (Cornbread Harris), a sitting state lawmaker (Maria Isa), rockers, rappers, DJs, and a whooooole lot more. Other big names include Marijuana Deathsquads, Gully Boys, Scrunchies, LAAMAR, Kevin Washington… it just keeps going; talented young musician/radio dude Eli Awada helped curate the roster of artists.—Jay Boller
Art-A-Whirl: Hastings 3000, Uspop @ 331 Club
Tenille Townes with Monique Smaz @ Turf Club
Art-A-Whirl: Mother Banjo, Dust of Suns Ensemble @ Twin Ignition Startup Garage
Raccoon Tour, Lincoln, & NATL PARK SRVC @ Underground Music Venue
Lottsa Bass: A Care Bears Onesie Rave @ Uptown VFW
Altars, Artificial Brain, Goetia, Aberration @ White Rock Lounge
Ancient Waves with Lady Bird, Crush Scene @ White Squirrel
The Fierce Mothers of Minneapolis @ Woman's Club of Minneapolis
Saturday, May 18
SILENT PLANET with SOULKEEPER, IN SEARCH OF SOLACE, CAREFUL GAZE @ Amsterdam
Fever Field with Dude Lagoon @ Aster Cafe
Jeremy Walker/Anthony Cox @ Berlin
Lucia Sarmiento Quintet @ Berlin
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunkers
Art-A-Whirl: Lumen String Trio, Emily Boyajian, the JudyTones, Skunk Hollow @ California Building
THE STONEDEST, FAIRE! , ADULT VIDEO, LUMMOX CRUX@ Caydence Records & Coffee
- Early Eyes, Anita Velveeta @ Cedar Cultural Center—Dubbed "Girls Nite!," this gig not only gives you a chance to see Early Eyes and Anita Velveeta on the same stage (along with Cannabis Kiss, Kyrie Nova, and Melanerpes), but it's also a fundraiser for Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid.
Fierro, Borrachoz Inc, Car Spiders @ Cloudland
Tableaux featuring David Milne and Laura Caviani @ Crooners
Country Roads: Dennis Curley Sings the Music of John Denver @ Crooners
Johnnie Brown Sings Lionel Richie @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Erin Livingston and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's
The Grande Machine, Scott Allan and the List @ Eagles 34
Holly Humberstone with Carol Ades @ Fine Line
Portugal. The Man with Reyna Tropical @ First Avenue
Samambo, Rejected Saint, Neekasodope, DJ McShellen, Kwey @ Green Room
Albert Castiglia, Indigenous @ Hook and Ladder
Adam Larson Trio @ Jazz Central
Bustin' Out Again: The Music of Rick James and Teena Marie @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Assortment with DJ Michael Grey @ Mortimer's
Static X and Sevendust @ Myth Live
Art-A-Whirl: The Old Smugglers, Lydia Sophia, Juniper Lynn, EMBAHN @ NE Sculpture
Art-A-Whirl: Tiny Traces, the Sex Rays @ Northrup King Building
Star Wars: The Last Jedi @ Orchestra Hall
Art-A-Whirl: Irish Diplomacy, Mélange Trio, Shredding Flannel, Little Man @ Padraigs Brewing
Birth Order, Another Heaven, Din Din, Shrimp Olympics @ Pilllar Forum
The Dregs, Soul Flower, Tango @ ROK Music Lounge
Billy Dankert Trio, Matt Caflisch Band @ Schooner Tavern
LOONY with Sophia Galaté @ 7th St Entry
Bear Grillz with Grabbitz, RZRKT, Sanzu, Vastive @ Skyway Theatre
- Art-A-Whirl: Marijuana Deathsquads, María Isa, Why Not, Scrunchies, Carnage, The Executioner, Derecho Rhythm Section, Goon Tribune, Beemer @ Solar Arts Building—See Friday's listings.
Art-A-Whirl: Diane, All The Pretty Horses, Socktopus, DJ Still Phresh @ 331 Club
The Wilderness, Canada Goose @ Underground Music Venue
Chicano Batman @ Uptown Theater
DJ Hayes Presents Shake @ Uptown VFW
X Ambassadors @ Varsity Theater
Museum of Light, Attracted to Gods @ White Rock Lounge
Pop Wagner and the Tavern Trio @ White Squirrel
Creatures of Prometheus @ White Squirrel
Sunday, May 19
Katie Pruitt with Jack Van Cleaf @ Amsterdam
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Haley (Residency) with Alan Sparhawk @ Berlin
Art-A-Whirl: Josie Hubler, the JudyTones @ California Building
Art-A-Whirl: Maja Radovanlija Trio @ Casket Arts Building
My Kid Banana, Linus @ Cloudland
The Big 60s Singalong @ Crooners
The Bird Show: Ann Reed, Claudia Schmidt, Dan Chouinard, and Joan Griffith @ Crooners
Joyann Parker & Jackie Venson @ Dakota
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Art-A-Whirl: DJ So Supreme, DJ Izzie P @ Earl Giles Bottling Company
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets with Spoon Benders @ Fine Line
Mr. Bungle with Otto von Schirach @ First Avenue
Why Not, Mike Kota, Josephine @ Green Room
Art-A-Whirl: Lucy London, Philippe Gallandat, Vittorio & the Bridges, Vicki Lynn @ NE Sculpture
Annual Spring Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Art-A-Whirl: Art Beagle’s Back Up Band and the Changeups @ Padraigs Brewing
The Decemberists with Ratboys @ Palace Theatre
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
The Secret Sisters with Tyler Ramsey @ The Parkway
Art-A-Whirl: Hibah Hissan, Alyse Carbonell, Loondale, Irish Diplomacy @ Q.arma Building
Family Rock, Sarah Jane's Music School Youth Bands, Skunk Hollow @ Sociable Cider Werks
- Art-A-Whirl: Kevin Washington & RA Spirit, LAAMAR, Dilly Dally Alley, Cornbread Harris, Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers, Nelson Devereaux @ Solar Arts Building—See Friday's listings.
Art-A-Whirl: The Beavers, Switchyard @ 331 Club
Blueprint with Juice Lord, Basement Gang, and DJ Detox @ Turf Club
Art-A-Whirl: Mayda, Slapdash Bluegrass. Carnage the Executioner, DGS @ Twin Ignition Startup Garage
2KBABY with Coleman Lane @ Underground Music Venue
Monday, May 20
MacPhail Presents Dakota Combo @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
The Longest Johns with Seán Dagher @ Fine Line
Mr. Bungle with Otto von Schirach @ First Avenue
Gregorian @ Fitzgerald Theater
Zen20 Toke Out! @ Hook and Ladder
blssm.mpls with Atlantis Quartet + Blood, Bath, and Beyong @ Icehouse
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
The Secret Sisters with Tyler Ramsey @ The Parkway
M.A.Y., My Kid Banana, and Sugar Coat @ Pilllar Forum
Guitar Wolf with Hans Condor and CELICA @ 7th St Entry
Open Mic Night @ Sociable Cider Werks
The Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Havok with Exmortus and Death Ray Vision @ Turf Club
