Don't Look Now But It's Your Complete Concert Calendar: Sept. 15-21

Lily Allen @ Armory—Allen seems an unpopular figure in her home country, due in part I gather to how she pronounces “beau’iful” despite her posh pedigree but also because she’s an unavoidable tabloid fixture. So it makes sense that her latest album, West End Girl, an autopsy of a marriage that died by degrees, would have something of the tabloid to it—if someone’s gonna drag you through the mud, might as well wallow on your own terms. Consider its lyrical hooks (“Da da da da/Who’s Madeline?” or “I thought it was a dojo/I didn’t know it was a pussy palace” or “If it has to happen, baby, do you want to know?”) the clickbait headlines that draw you into personal essays much more revelatory (and juicier) than the norm. A basic plotline: Living separately leads to infidelity leads to an open marriage leads to the indignity of scouring the apps to find companionship. Whatever hubby David Harbour might have to say for himself, Allen’s such a damn pro as a storyteller, phrasemaker, and tunesmith that her version will always ring true. Art can be unfair that way. Scaled down from a poorly selling arena show, this solo theatrical event focuses solely on the new album—don’t expect “Smile” or “Fuck You.”—Keith Harris

Kevin Gamble’s J. Dilla Tribute feat. L.A. Buckner @ Berlin

The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin

Twine @ Bunker’s

1 Mic, 1 Cable, 30 Minutes @ Carbone’s

Sondre Lerche, Dosh @ Cedar Cultural Center

Jim Bierma and Nancy Bierma @ Crooners

Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers @ Crooners

The Four Freshmen @ Crooners

Taj Ferrant @ Dakota

The Twin Cities Ceili Band @ Dubliner Pub

Miss Shannon Presents @ Eagles 34

The Charlatans UK, Two Harbors, DJ Jake Rudh @ Fine Line

Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee

MAKR Spins the Classic @ Icehouse

Pat Donahue and Friends @ Midway Saloon

Karaoke Blast with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Baby Mahi @ Mortimer’s

Liz Phair, Frankie Cosmos @ Palace Theatre—Have you heard about the big Liz Phair/Sleater-Kinney tour? Well, it’s not coming here. But let me put in a good word for St. Paul openers Frankie Cosmos. (I’ll assume you know all you need to about Phair.) Finding herself on the far side of 30 and slightly miffed that she hasn’t magically figured life out yet, onetime bedroom-pop whisperer/lead Cosmonaut Greta Kline encourages her band to assert itself ever so slightly on Frankie Cosmos’s sixth album, last year's Different Talking. Though these 17 songs would fit on one side of an old TDK with room to spare, you get the sense that Kline could stretch a song out to a whole three minutes if she wanted. But, like, what’s the point? (She tops out at an epic 2:47, FYI.) Toting around “a tote bag filled with other tote bags” in a city where “everything’s a pothole or a restaurant/And smells like pot,” she can’t “keep from acting like I’m 27” and regrets that “my bitch heart is a fucker.” But there’s something unavoidably optimistic in that bright little voice of hers, and in the way she follows up “I still don’t know what I want” with “I’ll take one of each.” Most importantly, every tune here hits home—maybe because not one of them overstays their welcome.—Keith Harris

Booker T. Jones @ Parkway Theater

Frankie Torres @ Peavey Plaza

Margaph, Bassanite, Tickle Toe Monsters @ Pilllar Forum

The Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern

JMSM with LASALLE @ 7th St Entry

DJ Night @ Terminal Bar

Stardust, Dave’s Manual @ 331 Club

Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Brian Blake @ 331 Club

Bombargo @ Turf Club

St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel

Lord Jeremy, Enemies, Mild Manner, Splash! @ White Squirrel

Thesaurus Rex, Marie's Island, Secret Menu @ Zhora Darling

Thursday, September 17

Slam Academy @ Abi’s

Big Wiz and Thomas X @ Acadia

Kevin Atwater @ Amsterdam

Karaoke Hosted by Alexei Moon Casselle @ Animales

Lemonbrass @ Arts on Lafond

Emily Haavik and Big Like @ Aster Cafe

Deep Glens, Brotherkenzie @ Berlin

Crates: The Pavillion of Dreams by Harold Budd @ Berlin

Kacey Jewel Hill, Abalone, Losing Dogs @ Birdhaus

Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker’s

Cindy Scheffler @ Crooners

The Paul Harper Quartet Plays the Music of Thelonious Monk @ Crooners

Sue Scott’s Island of Discarded Women feat. the Politics Chicks and Jillian Rae @ Crooners

The Development, DJ Nanobyte @ Driftwood Char Bar

Jake La Botz @ Dubliner Pub

Devil Dodger @ Dubliner Pub

Record High DJ Night @ Dusty’s

LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34

Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

Annie, Grass Face @ Eagles 34

Yard Act, League Two @ Fine Line

Chat Pile, Soul Glo, Prize Horse @ First Avenue

Vinyl Night @ Gambit Brewing

Phoebe Bridgers @ Grand Casino Arena—At the Palace Theatre in 2017, Conor Oberst introduced the night’s opener by saying, “This is Phoebe Bridgers. She’s going to be a big star.” Makes you wonder what else Mr. Bright Eyes is right about! Bridgers has completed the rare busking-to-arena career arc, and tonight’s victory lap is in support of her masterpiece of a new album, Lost Weekend. Three obvious topics pillar the dazzling LP: the loss of one love (Irish actor Paul Mescal), the arrival of a new one (American comic Bo Burnham), and the death of her father, with whom she had a deeply complicated relationship (see previous single "Kyoto"). Over the course of almost an hour, Lost Weekend artfully blurs the lines between those touchstones and even the tracks themselves. It’s unclear who or what Bridgers is singing about in a given moment, except for the unmistakable Gracie Abrams diss track and the subsequent Burnham love song; Lost Weekend is a vibes-based journey that hits on profound emotions while morphing between folk, indie rock, and new flourishes of experimental electronic music. And hey, if all this praise sounds gratuitous, we’ll balance the scales with a little bit of dirt that reflects poorly on Bridgers: Per the local internet gossip mill, the 32-year-old star was a lil rude during a recent visit to Marty’s Deli in northeast Minneapolis. I’m very comfortable separating the art from the artist here. Alex G opens.—Jay Boller

Snapz Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room

Dirty P’s Thirsty 3rd Thursdays @ Hook and Ladder

Ages and Ages @ Icehouse

Buster Baxter & Big Reece @ Indeed

Ocho @ The Loft

Acoustic Thursdays @ Mainstreet Bar

The Peter Kogan Quartet @ Metronome Brewery

Gozie Ukaga @ Mia

Young Relics, Dark Click with Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Gwiingwans, Jei @ Mortimers

Booker T. Jones @ Parkway Theater

Casual, Pep Love @ Red Sea

Mubbla Buggs, Rodents @ Schooner Tavern

Crimson Glory, Gradience @ 7th St Entry

Rebecca Aadland with Paul Winchester & Ryan Inselman @ 318 Cafe

Cross Pollination with Mitch Detlefsen, McKain Lakey, Daniel Rosen @ 331 Club

Gable Price and Friends, Stephen Stanley @ Turf Club

Cheerleader Roadkill @ Underground Music

Allison Eide @ Varsity Theater

Martin Devaney & Friends @ White Squirrel

Countryoke @ White Squirrel

Two of Cups @ Wooden Ship Brewing

Friday, September 18

Mill City Machine @ Acadia

Miss Georgia Peach @ Animales

Role Model, Samia @ Armory

The New Entangled Particles @ Aster Cafe

Rebecca Lake Fritz & Hot Press @ Barely Brothers Records

No Curfew @ Bazemnt

Ethan Ostrow/Dakota Anderson @ Berlin

Jorge Luis Pacheco Trio @ Berlin

Alec Gruba @ Berlin

Ross Thorn, Jodie Jones, Michael Gay @ Birdhaus

Willie B Blues Band @ Blues Saloon

DJ D-Mil @ Boardwalk

The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunker’s

The Gated Community and Friends @ Cedar Cultural Center

Kiwi Jr., Real Numbers, Sandpaper @ Cloudland—Kiwi Jr. frontman Jeremy Gaudet still sounds a little too “uncanny valley Steve Malkmus” for me, but I’ve come around to this Toronto band after a couple listens to the sprightly jangle-pop of their latest, Blowin’ Up. I’m especially fond of the one about the Michigan kid who crosses the border into Windsor, Ontario, to get wasted. Two great Minneapolis bands round out the lineup—the even more jangly Real Numbers, who recently released a sharp new album called Was It Always This Way, and and the even poppier Sandpaper.—Keith Harris

Van and Kathy Nixon @ Crooners

Kate Kortum @ Crooners

Rekindled: Prairie Fire Choir and PaviElle @ Crooners

Mac McAnally @ Dakota

Dream Addict @ Driftwood Char Bar

Northerly Gales @ Dubliner Pub

Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub

Citric Dummies, Uranium Club, Jim E. Brown, Andy Burns, Cherry Cheeks @ Eagles 34

Daguerreotypes (Album Release) @ Eagles 34

Carly Pearce, Belle Frantz @ Fine Line—Carly Pearce is the greatest country singer-songwriter you’re not listening to—don’t you hate when critics say shit like that? Well, prove me wrong and listen to her latest, Honest Woman, which sits worthily alongside is predecessors, 29 and Hummingbird. Pearce shows her ease with old-school Nashville vernacular on lyrics “If you can take him you can have him” and “If I don’t leave I’m gonna stay,” the latter from a Riley Green duet that became a genuine country radio hit. “Who’s Lying Here” and “He Don’t Like My Dogs” offer inventive twists on their titles, while “Leave My Heart Alone” is an invitation to a one-night stand. Beginning with the lament “Dream Come True” and reconciling with the closer “Why God Why,” Honest Woman is a loose concept album about small-town Christian girls who follow their passions to the big city but still fret that they’re not around to take papa to his doctor appointment and occasionally envy their friends who got hitched and settled down. I bet there are more than a few of them in these parts.—Keith Harris

The Format, the Get Up Kids @ First Avenue

R&B vs. Slow Jams @ Gidi Bar

Chas Somdahl and Friends @ Ginkgo Coffee

Samambo feat. Mahogany, Kwey, McShellen, DJ Faaji @ Green Room

Steve Almaas Remembered with members of the Suicide Commandos @ Hook and Ladder

Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder

Enormous Quartet @ Icehouse

Walker Hayes, Crowder @ Ledge Amphitheater

Delta Heavy @ The Loft

Drink 182 @ Mainstreet Bar

The Free & Easy Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Roulette @ Mortimers

Logic & G-Eazy @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater

SPCO: Beethoven's Second Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy @ Ordway

Keep for Cheap, Latchkey Kids, Mouthful @ Pilllar Forum

Maurice Jacox & We Still R @ Schooner Tavern

Joe Jordan, the Penny Peaches @ 7th St Entry

Live and Loud @ Studio B

Witness, Nat Harriet, Petits Mirages @ Terminal Bar

POB “Unplugged” @ 318 Cafe

d’Lakes, Maggie and the Skanks, the Controversial New ‘Skinny Pill’ @ 331 Club

The Bros. Landreth, Madeline Roger @ Turf Club

Driveways @ Underground Music

The B2Backrooms: Morrison Todd B2B Bern Higher, EYLXR B2B Marzanna, Duchess B2B Joyboy, Kenny B2B Time @ Uptown VFW

Mom Jeans @ Varsity Theater

Katia Cardenas @ Volstead’s

Casual Friday with Sarah Jane’s Music School @ White Squirrel

Death of the Heron @ White Squirrel

Void, Phantom @ Zhora Darling

Saturday, September 19

Rachel Wyre, Phonophore Records @ Acadia

The Black Queen @ Amsterdam

Jake Hanson and Luke Enyeart @ Animales

Favourite Girl @ Aster Cafe

Jackson Churchill Trio @ Berlin

Paul Cornish Trio @ Berlin

Dreamweapon (DJs Erik Westra & Sean Capistrant) @ Berlin

Worldwide Discotheque @ Black Hart

DJ Ys @ Boardwalk

Belfast Cowboys @ Bunker’s

Strictly R&B: Homecoming @ Cabooze

Family Gathering Concert feat. L.A. Buckner @ Capri

Taylor Benson @ Carbone’s

Aldous Harding, Sam Burton @ Cedar Cultural Center

Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners

China Rider @ Crooners

Maud Hixson & Rick Carlson @ Crooners

Talib Kweli @ Dakota

Open Mic @ Dock & Paddle

Checkered Future, the Stonecutters @ Driftwood Char Bar

Legacy @ Dubliner Pub

Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty’s

Rafaella @ Eagles 34

Wildcat Cabaret @ Eagles 34

Carly Pearce, Belle Frantz @ Fine Line—see Friday's listings.

The Format, the Get Up Kids @ First Avenue

Gary Clark Jr., Cody Matlock, DJ Kurupt @ Fitzgerald Theater

Revellion @ Flying V

DJ Alfrred X OLA @ Gidi Bari

Conductor Jack’s Kids Dance Party @ Ginkgo Coffee

Cypress Hill @ Grand Casino Hinckley

Psychostick, Galactic Empire @ Green Room

Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners, Dead North, OPNR @ Hook and Ladder

Urgent Emergent Performance Art Series, Volume Eight: Play @ Icehouse

Joan Hutton Trio @ Jazz Central

TobyMac, KB @ Ledge Amphitheater

What So Not @ The Loft

DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Lush

Horse Meat Disco, Daddy Issues @ The Lyric

The Chubs @ Mainstreet Bar

Joey Thursday @ Metronome Brewery

The Roxxy Hall Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Capital City Fest @ Minnesota State Capitol

Iron Maiden @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater

La Energia Nortena @ Myth Live

2026-27 Season Sampler @ Orchestra Hall

SPCO: Beethoven's Second Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy @ Ordway

Ryan Picone Quartet @ Padraigs

Spit Takes, Surly Grrly, Mystery Meat, Honeygrl @ Pilllar Forum

Hurricane Harold’s All Star Review @ Schooner Tavern

Your Arms Are My Cocoon with Stella and Hey, ily! @ 7th St Entry

Surlyfest 2026 @ Surly Brewing

Grave Society, Blur Curve Closed City Terror, Draconian Hate @ Terminal Bar

Richard Kriehn and Pamela McNeill @ 318 Cafe

The Crimson Boys, Porch Knights, Den @ 331 Club

Chanel Beads, Horse Vision, Anastasia Coope @ Turf Club

Uptown Vibes Fest @ Uptown VFW—There’s a lot going on here! Rap oldies acts Black Sheep, Tha Alkaholic, and Ras Kass will take over the VFW’s main outdoor stage, along with local DJs and rappers like Baby Shel, Muja Messiah, and Maya Marchelle. Indoors, the LynLake Linkup will feature ska, Latin, and house music during the day while at night Sonic Equinox brings the bass. There will also be house music all afternoon outdoors via a free DayFunk pop up. If that’s not something for everyone it sure is something for a lot of ones.—Keith Harris

The Rasmus, Saint Agnes, Death Valley Dreams @ Varsity Theater

Chris Graham @ Volstead’s

Floryence, Isssy, Blimey @ White Squirrel

Maty J and the American Dream, Bryan Casey @ White Squirrel

Syncline, Scorched Waves, Toadstool @ Zhora Darling