We all know summer isn't really over. In fact, September can be one of the most pleasant months of the year. But I needed a hook for the headline, and Labor Day is this Monday.
Tuesday, August 26
BrakeShift, Gossamer, Rock Melon @ Amsterdam
- State Fair: Los Lobos, The 34th Infantry Division “Red Bull” Band, Rosie Flores, Talking Dreads @ Bandshell—Mexican-American roots-rockers Los Lobos blasted out of East L.A. in the ’80s with a soulful Chicano-rock sound that made lots of the heartland rockers then in vogue sound kinda wimpy and strained. Rather than resign themselves to being “that ‘La Bamba’ band” after a fluke Richie Valens cover landed them on the pop charts, they swerved into more experimental ventures in the ’90s with producer Tchad Blake. (Think of them as progenitors of Wilco in that way.) It wasn’t quite like old times when they returned to straight-up rocking in the ’00s, so it was heartening that their 2021 album, Native Sons, which collected covers of Los Angeles bands from the ’60s and ’70s such as Buffalo Springfield and War, had a bit of the old spark. But albums hardly tell the full story of Los Lobos. They’re a live band. And tonight, they’re a free live band, so take advantage of that. Incidentally, I caught last night's show, and the setlist was extremely titled toward a fair crowd, with the early albums strongly represented. No complaints here—those records smoke, and they also ripped through Colossal Head's "Mas y Mas" and brought opener Rosie Flores out for a few. Best Bandshell show I'd seen since George Clinton in 2018.—Keith Harris
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Celebration Brass Quintet @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Mary Strand & the Garage @ Father Hennepin Park
Kevin Gamble Trio @ Indeed Brewing
Percolators Band @ Loring Park
Red Planet @ Metronome Brewery
Rightful Heirs @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Dirty Shorts Brass Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Pop Punk Princess @ Mortimer’s
Irish Trad Session @ Padraig’s
RageFuture Open Mic @ Palmer’s
State Fair: Poppa Bear Norton, U.S. Navy Band, Wild Horses @ Schilling Amphitheater
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
State Fair: Def Leppard with Brother Cane @ State Fair Grandstand
State Fair: Jaybee and the Routine, Intoxicats, Hank Thunander Band @ Summit Stage at the Bazaar
Ben Vogel, Califea Cowboys @ Terminal Bar
August Conspiracy Series featuring Laura Hugo, Clare Doyle, Lazy Scorsese @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Lonesome Dan Kase @ 331 Club
Galactic Cowboy Orchestra @ White Squirrel
ELOUR (Tuesday Residency) with Tripple Fiddle, Delicate Friend @ White Squirrel
Boy Jr. & KOPPS with Rigby @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, August 27
Rock Melon (Album Release) Toadstool, and Mayfly Moon @ Amsterdam
The Cherry Pit Presents: Bible Study Open Jam (feat. Desert Noir Trio) @ Berlin
The Neighborhood Quartet @ Carbone’s
Sweet Rhubarb @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Ann Reed and Joan Griffith @ Crooners
- Ozomatli @ Dakota—“How could these guys have been around for 30 years?” I asked myself. Then I remembered that 1995 was 30 years ago. And then I remembered that my personal Ozomatli fave, Street Signs, came out 20 years ago. Time! It passes! The six band members who remain were there at Ozomatli’s founding, when the group devised its blend of… well, just about everything. Rock, rap, jazz, funk, salsa, reggae—whatever groove the song calls for, they’re ready for it. I just gave a quick listen to their most recent album, Marching On, and they’ve still got it.—Keith Harris
Mill City Caravan, ¼ Past Halftime, Quarter Moon @ Driftwood
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
BEER, American Muscle, Neo Neos @ Eagles 34
- The Suburbs @ Excelsior Commons Park—Me, personally, speaking for myself? I’ve never been to Excelsior Commons Park, but my investigation into the venue after bopping around Google’s Street View leads me to believe it’s a cute little stage on the shore of Lake Minnetonka. And tonight—thanks to the Excelsior Morning Rotary Club, the city, and, of course, auto shop Youngstedts—that stage will host one of the most influential Minnesota bands of all time. These days, the Minneapolis punk/new wave act is more or less the Chan Poling/drummer Hugo Klaers show, with a talented lineup of (relatively) young ringers filling out the roster. (Co-leader Beej Chaney died unexpectedly earlier this year.) At any rate: Watching the Suburbs turn a suburban lakeside park into Jay's Longhorn Bar for a night is well worth the price of admission, which happens to be free. —Jay Boller
- Spout Press Presents Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces @ Hook and Ladder—Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces won the Minnesota Book Award for best anthology this year, and tonight publisher Spout Press has gathered three of its contributors to show us why. Kao Kalia Yang, Alison McGhee, and Casey Jarrin are all Minnesota-based writers who share one trait: They’re not tied down to any genre, working in memoir, children’s books, genre fiction, and poetry as the mood strikes them. The collection spotlights moments women share with one another when they think no one else is listening, offering an opportunity for (hopefully empathetic) dudes to eavesdrop and other women (presumably) to relate. In addition to the readings, there’s also music from community choir Kith + Kin Chorus, prog-folkers Whispered the Rabbit, and psych-rockers Squinny.—Keith Harris
Big Woods Brass @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Pat Donohue & Friends @ Midway Saloon
Maurice Jacox and the We Still R Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Chelsea Drugstore @ Mystic Lake
The Bill Patten Trio @ Palmer’s
Hiahli with Socktopus and Bryn Battani @ 7th St Entry
State Fair: Lady Midnight, Cole Diamond, Gary Rue’s Magic Carpet Ride @ Schilling Amphitheater
BZ3 Organ Trio @ Schooner Tavern
State Fair: Hank Williams Jr. with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous
Superlatives @ State Fair Grandstand
State Fair: Alma Adina, Cafe Accordion Orchestra, Gizzae @ Summit Stage at International Bazaar
Jazz Night with Garrett Jones @ Terminal Bar
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Jeff Ray @ 331 Club
Chara, Flickr, Market @ Underground Music
Family Dinner with Doug & Sarah @ White Squirrel
Nights with Tim @ White Squirrel
Loki's Folly, Larrikins, & Former Crush @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, August 28
Death of the Heron, Uxia, Ghostmade Cellophane, and Grave Society @ Amsterdam
Ashtyn Barbaree with Katy Tessman @ Aster Cafe
HEYARLO’s Shifting Forms (EP Release) @ Berlin
dealdrugger B2B vlush @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Hunny Bear, Knife Emoji, & Mockturnal @ Can Can Wonderland
Flavor Crystals, Another Heaven, Me Me Me @ Cloudland
Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band @ The Commons
Talk of the Town Orchestra @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Patty Peterson Presents Jazz Women All Stars @ Crooners
Corey Medina and Brothers @ Crooners
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials @ Dakota
The Jury, Lochtune @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Chief Opossum, Celeste Yeats and 1947 @ Eagles 34
Acoustic Thursdays @ Mainstreet Bar & Grill
Northstar Original Revue @ Midway Saloon
Duck Bomb @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Drums of Navarone @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Gigi & Johnny @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Zodiac feat. Shannon Blowtorch & Dimitry Killstorm @ Mortimer’s
Deep Fortune, Storm Coffee, Basement Heroes @ Palmer’s
Doll Chaser with Chaser, Kyrie Nova and the Defiant, Splendid, Killed by Kiwis @ Pillar Forum
Capital Soiree with Callback and LASALLE @ 7th St Entry
State Fair: Lady Midnight, Cole Diamond, Gary Rue’s Magic Carpet Ride @ Schilling Amphitheater
Scott Allen & the List, Chicks and Troggs @ Schooner Tavern
State Fair: Daryl Hall with the Rascals @ State Fair Grandstand
PARISHES, d'Lakes, and Side Saddle Sirens @ Turf Club
Ill Omen, Bare Knuckle Brawl, Major Malfunction, & Xawaro @ Underground Music
Sidestreet Detour @ White Squirrel
Littleton, Carcetti, & Lutheran Heat @ Zhora Darling
Friday, August 29
Katelyn White, Damn Phibian, Fiona Hayes, Fox Trap, The 1947 @ Acadia
Collidoscope, VITAL VICE, Mickyle James @ Amsterdam
Undertones @ Bear Cave Brewing
Anna Dolde, Klo Vivienne Garoute @ Berlin
- Straight, No Chaser: An Evening of Thelonious Monk @ Berlin—Folks, I am a true blue Monkhead (“Blue Monk” head?) and any tribute to the high priest is gonna grab my attention faster’n you can say “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are.” And the quartet of local musicians gathered tonight are skilled enough to do the great one’s knotty works justice. The ace rhythm section consists of Joey Van Phillips on drums and Chris Bates on bass, while Chris Thomson will get his Johnny Griffin/Charlie Rouse (and maybe even his Trane/Newk) on, while Kavyesh Kaviraj has the simultaneously enviable and unenviable task of taking the piano stool. The beauty will be ugly, the rootie tootie will be little, and the mood will be Monk’s.—Keith Harris
Nudie Nubies Burlesque @ Black Hart
DJ D-Mill and Some Shitty Cover Band @ Boardwalk
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Mechanix on the Patio @ Cabooze
School of Rock St. Paul - Youth Road Crew @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Mistress Ginger Sings Rodgers and Hart @ Crooners
St. Paul & the Mpls Funk All-Stars @ Dakota
A Night of Patsy Cline with Juliette Angelo @ Day Block Brewing
The Getup Mondays, Freezerburn @ Driftwood
Meat Raffle Ska with Prizefighters and Wright Wyatt @ Eagles 34
The Weeping Covenant, American Tender, Sick Eagle @ Eagles 34
They Live, North Innsbruck, Serpent @ Eagles 34
Anni XO, Mira Babel @ 50th and France
Doug Otto and Hillary Thavis @ Ginkgo Coffee
Reventon: End of Summer Bash @ Green Room
Creeping Charlie @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Beer Choir @ Metronome Brewery
Marlena Molly & Kaylin Kole @ Midway Saloon
Jay Avion & the Sonic Boom @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Lover: The Unofficial Eras Tour @ O’Shaughnessy
Art Beagle’s Back Up Band @ Padraig’s
Baltic Avenue Neighborhood Watch & Friends @ Palmer’s
Admiral Fox with Ghosting Merit, Soulflower, Malamiko @ Pilllar Forum
12th House Sun with Hey, ily!, Jenny Matrix and Peeler @ 7th St Entry
- State Fair: Christy Costello, Dwynell Roland, Emma Jeanne and Hattie Peach (of Yonder), Jacob Mullis, Purple Funk Metropolis, Los Rebeldes, Mary Bue @ Schilling Amphitheater—Let’s go ahead and call this two-nighter the premier free fair music event for those between the ages of 25 and 55. (Feel free to blurb that for the gig poster, First Ave.) Friday's showcase of live locals includes Picked to Click finisher Christy Costello (she of countless great punk accomplishments), talented rapper Dwynell Roland (he of sharing thoughts about streaming royalties with Racket), Emma Jeanne and Hattie Peach of 2025 Poised to Pop selectees Yonder, Jacob Mullis, and Purple Funk Metropolis. Saturday's set (see below) will feature exciting St. Paul country singer Clare Doyle, veteran roots-rocker Mary Cutrufello, Jack Klatt, Miloe, and P.O.S, the latter of whom is coming back from... whatever happened in 2020. Music man Al Church is ringleading the whole shebang, and 89.3 the Current host Jade has hosting duties.—Jay Boller
Rich Mattson and the Northstars, Miss Georgia Peach @ Schooner Tavern
State Fair: The Avett Brothers, the Milk Carton Kids @ State Fair Grandstand
Lost Evidence, Tri Polar Disorder, NAKOS @ Terminal Bar
Anything You Want, Shelton & Co. @ 331 Club
McNasty Brass Band with Radiochurch and Green Line @ Turf Club
The Free Zander Concert @ Underground Music
2Dtox : 2D+CON OFFICIAL AFTER-PARTY @ Uptown VFW
Cassandra Johnson with Alexander Natalie @ White Squirrel
Lords of the Universe with Big Salt @ White Squirrel
Deth Rali with wolfbabycup & Basic Printer @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, August 30
Labor Day Jam Feat. Flicker, Glencircle, & Boxed Goods @ Amsterdam
Saturday Night Vibez—International Night @ Bazemnt
Solomon Lindenberg Trio @ Berlin
DJ Ys and Good for Gary @ Boardwalk
Mousai Presents Hope on Deck @ Cabooze
Stone Arch Rivals, Sammie Jean Cohen @ Can Can Wonderland
Matthew French + Sarah Morris @ Carbone’s
Life with Blazing Eye @ Cedar Cultural Center
The Manix, Dingus, Visual Learner @ Cloudland
The Everly Covers @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Urban Classic Presents Pure Soul @ Crooners
Mick Sterling Sings Joe Cocker @ Crooners
Clean Plate Club with J-Mo on the Beat and Polivon @ Day Block Brewing
The Dissenters, Perro Solar @ Driftwood
The Creekside Ruffians, the Hobbled, and Johnny O’Brien @ Dusty’s
Atari @ Mainstreet Bar and Grill
K Camp with Fresco Trey, Domani, and bdifferent @ First Avenue
Big Blue Moon & D.M.C.A. Quartet @ Metronome Brewery
Live Music after MNUFC @ Midway Saloon
Maxx Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Tabah, Jacob Mullis (Single Release), Aesha Minor (Single Release) @ Mortimer's
Paul Cerar (EP Release) with Quiet Child and Mint Vintage @ Palmer’s
Ecphasis with Rahvn, Monolith, and Sons of Bliss @ Pilllar Forum
- Pile with NNAMDÏ @ 7th St Entry—"We are the trees that lean toward the sun," Rick McGuire sings to begin Pile’s ninth album, Sunshine and Balance Beams, a self-definition that’s not exactly, well, optimistic, but does hint at a willingness to survive tough times. You might say the same about the guitar break that follows, as pinched as a vine writhing its way out of the darkness. In short, this Boston band is back to their old exhaustedly, exhaustively rocking post-hardcore ways after a detour into gloomy soundtrack synths on their 2023 (post-post-hardcore?) album, All Fiction. Sometimes I wish they’d bask in that sunshine a bit (it is possible!), but I’ll settle for the climactic musical moments they earn. I will continue to direct your attention to sui generis opener NNAMDÏ, whose latest, 2022’s Please Have a Seat, is full of unexpected instrumental shifts (the heavy guitar punctures the synths of “Dibs”) and curlicued tunes (like a lot of effortlessly melodic writers, NNAMDÏ twists and turns when he gets bored). Holding it all together is a falsetto that (to quote, um, me) “modulates along a continuum between Frank Ocean and Bon Iver without succumbing to the temptations of self-absorbed electro-sensualism.” Songs like “Some Days” (“I wake up ready to run”) suggest he’s afflicted with his share of free-floating anxiety, and he’s not crazy about flying either. So his playfulness in the face of it all is a real achievement. What a fun, weird, inventive, restless guy.
- State Fair: Clare Doyle, Mary Cutrufello, Jack Klatt, MIloe, P.O.Sat Schilling Amphitheater—See Friday’s listings.
Jack Knife & the Sharps @ Schooner Tavern
State Fair: Nelly with Ja Rule, Mýa, and Ying Yang Twins @ State Fair Grandstand
Popstickle!, Pissmists @ Terminal Bar
The Envies, TV for Dogs, Sandpaper @ 331 Club
Girl Ultra with Valgur @ Turf Club
- Gothess Skate Night @ Twin CIties Skate Studio—I love that goth skate nights have gone from a clever novelty event to a regular thing. Tonight DJ Q and PRSPHNE of Gothess will be providing the gloomy tunes, so skate like it’s the end of the world, darksiders.—Keith Harris
Pity Party, Joan of Profile, Honey Please, & SYFN @ Underground Music
MAUL, Melpomone, Zero Place, Disappear Forever, & andthecanaryfell @ Underground Music
FLUID FREQUENCIES: DUTCHESS x GOSSAMER, Squid, Lucid Lazer @ Uptown VFW
Wren & Wilde with Chris Depoian, Will Durie @ White Squirrel
Sunsets Over Flowers with the Skeleton Crew, Simple Motions @ White Squirrel
DUG with Museum of Light, Birth Order, & In Lieu @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, August 31
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
- State Fair: Ber, Dylan Salfer, Matt Vee & The Killer Vees Celebrate the Music of Neil Diamond, Sean Ardoin @ Bandshell—The 2025 album Ber promised us when we talked to the Picked to Click bronze medalist last November? Yet to materialize, and the wait has been un-Ber-able. But maybe she’ll debut a few at this free Fair show.—Keith Harris
Michaelton, Kavyesh Kaviraj, Sami Knox (with Wormdove) @ Berlin
1st Annual All White Labor Day Bash @ Cabooze
Junior and the Jukes @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Beautiful Vision: The Essential Songs of Van Morrison @ Crooners
Phine and Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood
Emerson Woodshed Collective @ Dual Citizen
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
La Santa Grifa & DHARIUS @ Fillmore
Exiled/Habeas Corpus/Desecration @ Flying V
The Ocean Blue with DJ Jake Rudh @ Hewing Rooftop
The Jolly POPs @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
J-Mo On The Beat and The J-Lighters @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Fender Bender @ Mainstreet Bar & Grill
The Flute Sisters (Suchismita & Debopriya Chatterjee) @ O’Shaughnessy
Aidan Canfield with Quentin October @ 7th St Entry
State Fair: Joyann Parker, Uncle Muskrat, Cindy Lawson at Schilling Amphitheater
State Fair: Pamela McNeil, Bato Bato!, Native Pride Dancers @ Summit Stage at the Bazaar
State Fair: Amateur Contest Finals @ State Fair Grandstand
Becky Kapell & the Fat 6 @ 331 Club
Open Jazz Jam with Pete James Johnson @ Volstead’s
Greg Volker & the River @ White Squirrel
Martin Devaney with John Ewing @ White Squirrel
Deletists with Drug League, Girdle Of Judith @ White Squirrel
Monday, September 1
- State Fair: Ber, Dylan Salfer, Matt Vee & The Killer Vees Celebrate the Music of Neil Diamond, Sean Ardoin @ Bandshell—See Sunday's listings.
Dimitri Rallis Improv Night @ Driftwood
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Naval Aviation Alumni Choir @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Sawyer's Dream @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Anti-Skip Protection @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
- Brass Bash @ Palmer’s—Things are winding down over at Palmer’s, so why not take Labor Day to pop in on the joint’s final Brass Bash? Mustard's Mechanical Orchestra dabble in global musics, the Real Chuck Norad get a bit trippier, Funky Spuds call their style “sousaphunk” and Trumpet Band—OK, I think you can figure that out for yourself. Stick around for Cornbread Harris, whose Sunday residency at Palmer’s will end soon too.—Keith Harris
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer’s
State Fair: Joyann Parker, Uncle Muskrat, Cindy Lawson at Schilling Amphitheater
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
State Fair: Pamela McNeil, Bato Bato!, Native Pride Dancers @ Summit Stage at the Bazaar
