As I've said before, this May is a ridiculously good month for music. I'll be reviewing four shows this week (#pray4keith) and each of those nights there's another show I'd almost be just as happy to attend instead. I'm too old for this much excitement.
Tuesday, May 6
Thornhill with Avoid, Ocean Grove, Banks Arcade @ Amsterdam
- Sturgill Simpson @ Armory—I'm not as big a fan as many of you (he's kind of a tight-ass, sorry) and I'll be otherwise entertained tonight and tomorrow, but I acknowledge that if Sturgill is your thing he's really your thing. And I enjoyed Passage du Desir (honh honh, oui oui), especially "Scooter Blues," where he fantasizes about life as a beach bum (not that I think he has it in him). But who cares what I think—you've already got your tix.—Keith Harris
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
- Flo @ Fillmore—As they acknowledge in the intro to their debut full-length, Access All Areas (an intro intoned by none less than Cynthia Erivo), these three British gals offer a self-conscious throwback to the R&B girl group era of the '90s, before Destiny’s Child emerged at decade’s end as a trend-squashing apogee. Like most throwbacks, they don’t live up to their godmothers, especially in the rhythm department—the whole point of those ’90s ladies was that they were working with contemporary beatmakers. But the harmonies are on point, a handful of the tunes connect (start with “Check” and “Bending My Rules”), and overall Flo are on par with, say, Xscape or post-Dawn Robinson En Vogue. At a moment where K-pop has commandeered the girl group format and female rappers hoard all the attitude, who wouldn’t be nostalgic for a little R&B femme solidarity?—Keith Harris
Trousdale with Beane, Nia Ashleigh, and buffchick @ Fine Line
Megasound, Ringlet, Greentop, & Keston Wright @ Green Room
Bill Simenson Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Bluewater Kings @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Pipes & Reeds: Greg Zelek & Preston Duncan in Concert @ Northrop
- Lucy Dacus with Katie Gavin and jasmine.4.t @ Palace Theatre—I know it’s not a competition, but Dacus is my favorite boygenius member. She’s the warmest singer of the bunch, and the trio’s most open-hearted songwriter as well. Her latest, Forever Is a Feeling, shows how her songwriting has grown since we last heard from her. She’s looking forward more, dissecting past mistakes less, with the line “You are my best guess at the future” proof that there will always be new ways to write a love song. On “Ankles,” Dacus makes her needs clear: hot sex, lifelong love, and help with the crossword in the morning. She deserves nothing less, and neither do you or I. Don’t you dare break her heart, Julien.—Keith Harris
Palmer’s Songwriting Showcase @ Palmer’s
Artist Showcase @ Sociable CIder Werks
May Conspiracy Series featuring Lena Elizabeth, Matthias St. John & Planetless @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Jeff Ray @ 331 Club
The Toxhards with Lakeside Effects @ Turf Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Cheap Bouquet (Residency): Tribute Night with Clash Minne Rockers, Casket Base @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, May 7
Shady Babies Open Mic @ Acadia
- Sturgill Simpson @ Armory—See Tuesday's listings.
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
The Cherry Pit Presents: Bible Study at Berlin @ Berlin
Enter the Void @ Can Can Wonderland
Visual Learner, Black Dots, City Mouse, Couch Potato Massacre @ Cloudland
Doug Anderson, Gregg Peterson, and Friends @ Crooners
In Your Eyes: The Peter Gabriel Tribute @ Day Block Brewing
Michael Grooves Band @ Driftwood
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Magnolia Park with Hot Milk, Savage Hands and South Arcade @ Fine Line
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
UW Eau Claire Jazz Combo @ Jazz Central
Smiling Cowboys @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Mortiholics Residency @ Mortimer’s
Pipes & Reeds: Greg Zelek & Preston Duncan in Concert @ Northrop
- Amyl and The Sniffers with Sheer Mag @ Palace Theatre—Amy Taylor is the kind of frontwoman that every punk band unashamed of wanting to succeed dreams about, a live wire performer with unlimited energy and attitude, and plenty of smarts as well. On its second album, 2021’s Comfort to Me, this Aussie band soared, sounding brawnier than ever as Taylor got brainier. Dismissive when she wanted to be, as on “Don’t Need a Cunt (Like You to Love Me)” (sometimes a parenthetical makes all the difference), she also stretched her worldview on "Capital," averring "I only just started learning basic politics." Cartoon Darkness, 2024’s followup, is a baby step backwards, as animated and two-dimensional as its title suggests, with Taylor coasting a bit on attitude, but with the band pounding behind her, it still smokes most of the competition. And Sheer Mag have plenty of energy, smarts, and attitude themselves.—Keith Harris
Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer’s
Robert Wilkinson, Steve Brantseg @ Schooner Tavern
Teen Mortgage with UPCHUCK @ 7th St Entry
Bosso Poetry Company @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Teague Alexi @ 331 Club
June Henry, EWAO, Shauna Dean Cokeland @ Underground Music Venue
The Second Stringers @ White Squirrel
Hunny Bear (Residency) with Fascination Trio, J-Mo on the Beat, and The J-Lighters @ White Squirrel
Thursday, May 8
Annie Fitzgerald & Mother Banjo @ Aster Cafe
The Willie August Project @ Berlin
Dosh with Anthony Cox & Chris Thomson @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Manias, the Customers, Rodents @ Cloudland
Super Trouper ABBA Tribute @ Crooners
Bryan Eng Sings Sinatra @ Crooners
Bruce Nygren & Mumblebugs with Dream Vandals @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Late Night Radio with DMVU and Rsrch Chmcls @ Fine Line
Candlelight: Best of Hip Hop and Strings @ Granada
Cornell ’77 Turns 48 @ Hook and Ladder
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Paper Chain (Single Release) @ Hook and Ladder
PIÑATA PROTEST @ Hook and Ladder
Joe Westerlund & Trever Hagen with Sam Moss @ Icehouse
Roseville Area High School Jazz Ensemble I @ Metronome Brewery
Rooms on Fire @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Pipes & Reeds: Greg Zelek & Preston Duncan in Concert @ Northrop
Søndergård, Fliter, and Mozart @ Orchestra Hall
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
Minnesota Tango Music Festival @ Parkway
Edie Rae Band, Terry Walsh and 2 AM @ Schooner Tavern
Sonic Sea Turtles, Odd Prospect, Lana Leone, and berzica @ 7th St Entry
RAYNES with Eldest Daughter @ Turf Club
CUT A RUG 3: Serenity (DJ), d’Lakes, Sunshine Emblem @ Uptown VFW
Lucy London with Too Old Cat @ White Squirrel
The Cameras with Anything You Want, Electric Church @ White Squirrel
Friday, May 9
Ashbringer Vacant with andthecanaryfell. & Datura Dread @ Amsterdam
Annie & the Bang Bang, Mary Bue, and Sawtooth Witch @ Aster Cafe
Carpel/Goodroad/Hurtado @ Berlin
Nudie Nubies Burlesque @ Black Hart
Shred Fest with Obscura, Atheist, Origin, Decrepit Birth, & Fractal Universe @ Cabooze
Neon Dark: Goth Night @ Can Can Wonderland
Arkansauce with Steam Machine @ Cedar Cultural Center
Under Violet, Val Son, Shady Cove @ Cloudland
Patrick Lamb with Ricky Peterson, St. Paul Peterson @ Crooners
Brian Eng Sings Sinatra @ Crooners
Skedydah, Opal Jelly, Funky Mystik @ Driftwood
Mini Latino Rock/Punk/Metal Fest @ Eagles 34
Allison Russell with Kara Jackson @ First Avenue
- The Magnetic Fields @ Fitzgerald Theater—69 Love Songs turned 25 last year, and honestly the Magnetic Fields masterwork feels at least that old. It already sounded monumental and familiar upon release, deserving that overused phrase “instant classic,” and it’s not like Field-in-Chief Stephin Merritt ever seemed exactly spry and youthful. I was lucky enough to catch them on the 69 Love Songs tour at the Woman’s Club in 1999, but those songs will surely have different resonances after sticking around for a quarter century. While we all have our favorites, what’s more interesting is which of these songs pop into your head unbidden the most. To spare audiences a Springsteenian show length, the album is split into two nights, with separate tickets for each show. But if your budget can only allow for one, hey, half of a 69 can be pretty fun, too.—Keith Harris
VTEN with Jay Aurthor @ Granada
Freak of the Week: DJ ESP (aka Woody McBride), DJ Victor 1200, Nola Rave @ Hook and Ladder
The Melismatics with Benjamin Cartel and Stone Arch Rivals @ Icehouse
Will Schmid Quartet @ Jazz Central
Jimmi and Band of Souls (Album Release) with Jay Walker & the Rectifiers @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Ryan Gebhardt Album Release with Full Catholic, Dusty Forever @ Mortimer’s
Søndergård, Fliter, and Mozart @ Orchestra Hall
Lucius with Victoria Canal @ Palace Theatre
My Kid Banana, Bad Idea, Couch Potato Massacre, Cut Rate Clones, and Murder Curious @ Palmer’s
Cindy Lawson, Whiskey Rock n Roll Club, Deadly Cyclemates @ Schooner Tavern
fish narc and GAG with Giallo @ 7th St Entry
The Right Here, Phantom Fields, Cowboy Thoughts, Just Brendan @ Terminal Bar
Sugarcoat, Mishi Mega, Linus @ 331 Club
Squid with FearDorian @ Turf Club
Chandler, Lex Bratcher, Billy Marchiafava @ Underground Music Venue
Sorry Papi: The All Girl Rave @ Varsity
Mere Kats with Rebecca Lake Fritz @ White Squirrel
Third Date with Fumbler & The Green Line @ White Squirrel
Connie Evingson @ Woman’s Club
Brett Newski & the Bad Inventions @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, May 10
Paul Harper/Phil Aaron @ Berlin
Michael Sarian’s ESQUINA @ Berlin
Mary Brewster’s Sparkle @ Black Hart
Summer Session “One” @ Cabooze
EFMI, Nectarous, Troll Foot Frass @ Can Can Wonderland
Richard Shindell with Robert Thomas & The Sessionmen @ Cedar Cultural Center
Eleganza! with Taylor Hollingsworth, Boot Cut @ Cloudland
Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Fabulous Hackmasters @ Driftwood
The Matt Arthur Contraption @ Dusty’s
Slow Death (Album Release) @ Eagles 34
- Gang of Four @ Fine Line—With Andy Gill and Dave Allen having passed to that great dialectic in the sky, I had low expectations for the Gang of Two. (Bet no one else has used that one, huh?) But I've been hearing raves about this farewell tour, especially about singer Jon King. So if you need some spiky fight songs as capital fails us yet again, this should be a night of solid Entertainment!—Keith Harris
Lambrini Girls with Party Dozen @ First Avenue
- The Magnetic Fields @ Fitzgerald Theater—See Friday's listings.
Elton John Tribute feat. David K @ Granada
Bee Gees X Beatles Tribute Night @ Green Room
Doinks n’ Dubstep feat. Champagne Drip with p0gman, Cut Rugs @ Hook and Ladder
Brother Ali with DJ Abilities @ Icehouse
Muerte x Stoned Level with Hambo @ The Loft
The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Weekly DJ: MPLS House @ Modist
Spring Festival @ Orchestra Hall
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory with Love Spells @ Palace Theatre
Turtle Island Quartet @ Parkway
Sub Killaz, Bass Banditz @ Rev Ultra Lounge
Becky Kapell & the Fat 5 @ Schooner Tavern
Two Harbors (Record Release) with Another Heaven and The Mood Swings @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Bashford, Sonic Sea Northmen @ Terminal Bar
Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band, The 241s, The Dirty Pretty @ 331 Club
Youth Lagoon with Kaleah Lee @ Turf Club
Nathan Woolery with A Sunken Ship Irony @ White Squirrel
Mid Death Calm with Bunny Blood, Warcake @ White Squirrel
Order & Chaos Club @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, May 11
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Imagined by Nelson Devereaux: J. Hoard + Nelson Devereaux / Asher Kurtz @ Berlin
The Songs That Won the War with Dan Chouinard @ Crooners
Mother’s Day Cabaret with Erin Schwab, Jay Fuchs, and Sophie Todaro @ Crooners
Divas Through the Decades @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Sargasso, YungSL41V, Johnny & Nan Duo @ Eagles 34
iann dior with Bankrol Hayden and Jake Giller @ Fine Line
Dessa & Lazerbeak with Zach Baltich @ Icehouse
Night Shift Dance Party @ Icehouse
Nordbill Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Callum Schultz Quartet @ Metronome Brewery
Spring Festival @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
Anthony Shore & His All-Star Band’s Tribute to Elvis @ Parkway
Emmy Woods, Mark Joseph @ 331 Club
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School @ 331 Club
Railroad Island with El Drifte, Taylor Ray, Lunaderos @ White Squirrel
Ait Ait with DesertX @ White Squirrel
Deletist with Baby Mahi, Frank & Janea @ White Squirrel
Monday, May 12
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Attack on Titan @ Orchestra Hall
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
Erik Brandt and The Urban Hillbilly Quartet @ 331 Club
