Kali Malone @ Northrop—Previously better known in the electronic/avant-garde realms, the Denver-born, Stockholm-based Malone became one of her generation’s pre-eminent neoclassical composers with the 2024 release of her extended organ work All Life Long. The New Yorker’s Alex Ross praised its “gnawing beauty,” and the album’s long tones, shifting harmonies, and enveloping textures add up to a majestic minimalism. Tonight, Malone will play the composition on the Northrop’s Aeolian-Skinner Opus 892, a nearly 100-year-old organ with nearly 7,000 pipes, and she’ll be joined by Stephen O’Malley of heavy drone-rockers Sunn O))) (who’s also her husband), and choral and brass ensembles comprised of U of M music students.

Musical Ups and Downs @ Orchestra Hall

Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach @ Palmer’s

Madeline Peyroux and Bettye LaVette @ Parkway

Lent, the Worms, Greentop @ Pilllar Forum

Rodents, Nathan Walker Music @ Schooner Tavern

Bombargo With Lasalle @ 7th St Entry

Cross Pollination: Knife Emoji, Jon Elconin @ 331 Club

Carly Pearce @ Treasure Island—I’ve never seen Pearce live, so I can’t promise that she’s worth the hike out to Red Wing (or the traffic jam after the show). But I can tell you that her latest, Hummingbird, is my favorite country album of 2024, topping solid releases from lovelorn wisecracker Megan Maroney, Morgan Wade, and the queen herself, Miranda Lambert. As on 29, her brilliant concept EP about a short-lived marriage to fellow country singer Michael Ray (and 29: Written in Stone, the full-length she padded it out to), Pearce collaborated on Hummingbird with the cream of Music Row (namely writers/producers Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne), and together they cover all the old familiar ground with fresh perceptiveness. After the statement of purpose “Country Music Made Me Do It” (“Everything that I've done wrong or I've done right”), Pearce gets stuck in and/or breaks free from dead-end relationships, sulks and gets over it, and, yes, sets a truck on fire. My personal favorite number is the vulnerable “Pretty Please” (as in “tell me I’m…”) but I even reluctantly chuckle along to the prissy “Heels Over Head,” an eloquently mean-spirited jab at a girl who’s more fun in bed.

Haley E. Rydell, Becky Kapell, Hemma, and Dusty Heart @ Turf Club

Nectarous, The Fine Dials, & Duck Bomb @ Underground Music Cafe

Cut a Rug Vol. 2: DJ Jen-E, Buried Animals, Sunshine Emblem @ Uptown VFW

Shabaka @ Walker Art Center—Shabaka Hutchings has been at the center of the resurgence of British jazz for a decade now, receiving acclaim stateside primarily as the saxophonist for the galvanic combos Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming (both of whom have passed through town). But last year he announced that he was setting his saxes aside indefinitely, and he’s turned largely to flutes (including the Japanese shakuhachi and the Slavik svirel) and clarinet. His 2024 album Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, is as ruminative as you might expect from a flautist’s record, with big improvisatory names including harpist Brandee Younger, pianist Jason Moran, and fellow flute-convert André 3000, while Moses Sumney, Saul Williams, and Elucid are among the vocalists who contribute. Unspiritual fella that I am, harps have never eased my jangled nerves and my favorite song here is the busiest, “Breathing.” But for neo-New Age, this is smart stuff, and Hutchings is such a titan I’ll be at the show regardless.

Devaney & Friends with The Drunk Uncles @ White Squirrel

Jacob Furr @ White Squirrel

Friday, March 21

TInyormous @ Acadia

David Harland & Sol Strings @ Aster Cafe

Charlie Bruber & Jack Barrett @ Berlin

Tram @ Berlin

Kinetic (feat. Andrew Baschyn, Faith Eskola, & DJ So Supreme) @ Berlin

Dragged Out @ Black Hart

70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Bunker’s

DJ Browny @ Cabooze

Paolo Angeli with Crystal Myslajek @ Cedar Cultural Center

Tricks, the Miami Dolphins, U.T.A.I., Rubberman @ Cloudland

Dorothy Doring with Rick Carlson @ Crooners

Doug Anderson @ Crooners

Adi Yeshaya Jazz Orchestra @ Crooners

L.A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE + Obi Original @ Dakota—Helluva local double bill here. Buckner is a north Minneapolis-raised jazz drummer with strong churchy roots who I've written about in the past. You'll read more about Obi Original on Racket in the next couple days. The Nigerian highlife music preservationist has a busy week ahead—he's also playing a single release show at the Turf tomorrow with Black Market Brass.

Samuel John Band, Of the Orchard @ Day Block Brewing

Cosmoline, Seafood Green Tangerine @ Driftwood

March Mechanix @ Eagles 34

Bella White @ Fine Line

DEBÍ TIRAR MÁS FIESTAS: The Bad Bunny Party @ First Avenue

Jay Boys Family Band @ Ginkgo Coffee

Northern Ruin Fest Night One @ Hook and Ladder

Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder

Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly - MESTIZX @ Icehouse

Late Night in the Ox @ Indeed Brewing

Dean Sorenson: Low and Outside Trio @ Jazz Central

Corrupt UK @ The Loft

Good Acoustics Songwriter Showcase @ Metronome Brewery

Funktion Junction @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Steve Hackman’s Brahms x Radiohead @ Orchestra Hall

The Harbor @ Padraigs

Products Band, True Green, and Time Room @ Palmer’s—Well, if it isn't one band (Products Band) I selected for Poised to Pop this year, another (True Green) I picked last year, and the pretty terrific Time Room as well. Can't hardly not recommend this show, can I?

Northeast Skatepark Fundraiser with Dingus, Night Jobs, The Cameras, Far Far Away @ Pilllar Forum

Gini Dodds and the Dahlias, Them Dots @ Schooner Tavern

Soul Asylum with The Mighty Mofos and Arcwelder @ 7th St Entry

DC Cash, Dae, Freeloud, Stef @ Terminal Bar

Charlie Doesn’t Surf, Joshua David and the Midwestern Bells @ 331 Club

BJ Barham (American Aquarium Solo) @ Turf Club

Tear Dungeon, Ice Climber, & True Lust @ Underground Music Cafe

House Sessions VFW Pop-Up! feat. Michael Grey & DJ JEN-E @ Uptown VFW

Ship Wrek @ Varsity

Good Morning Midnight with Full Catholic, Squinny @ White Squirrel

Connie Evingson @ Woman’s Club

Saturday, March 22

The Development @ Acadia

SZA + Doechii Dance Party starring Lana Ja’Rae @ Amsterdam

Lane 8 with Ashibah @ Armory

Sam Graber Band @ Aster Cafe

Joan Hutton/Tyler Lustek @ Berlin

Kelly Moran @ Berlin

Echo @ Berlin

Queenie Von Curves Presents: Too Queer To Function @ Black Hart

Stereo Kitchen @ Bunker’s

Shawn Who, Mickey Breeze, PH03NIX FIR3, & Marzanna @ Cabooze

DJ Demonica @ Can Can Wonderland

The Right Here, Sparrowhawk, Homeward Bound @ Cloudland

Storytellers: The Best Songs of Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, and Jim Croce @ Crooners

Dorothy Doring with Rick Carlson @ Crooners

Bill Charlap Trio @ Dakota

Alien Road Trip, Sweet Amanita @ Driftwood

The Silent Treatment, the Daniel James Gang, Lifestyle Shakes @ Dusty’s

Russell Dickerson @ Fillmore

Russian Circles with Pelican @ Fine Line

Transmission 24 with DJ Jake Rudh @ First Avenue

St. Peter Street Stompers @ Gambit Brewing

Courtney Yasmineh @ Ginkgo Coffee

HYPERPOP DANCE PARTY 6: SYM1 Birthday Bash and Release Party @ Green Room

Northern Ruin Fest Night Two @ Hook and Ladder

Shannon McNally @ Hook and Ladder

Ryan Picone Quartet @ Icehouse

Mike Munson Trio @ Icehouse

InMotion: Back To 90s @ Icehouse

Gifted Handz @ Jazz Central

Zubah @ The Loft

Grunge Unplugged @ Metronome Brewery

High & Mighty @ Minnesota Music Cafe

2025-26 Season Sampler @ Orchestra Hall

Art Beagle’s Back Up Band @ Padraigs

Flipturn with Arcy Drive @ Palace Theatre

Shrimp Olympics, Kill Palace, True Lust, and All Golden @ Palmer’s

Boiled in Lead with Corpse Reviver and Brian Boru Irish Pipe Ban @ Parkway

Closed City Terror with Crimson Boys, and St. October @ Pilllar Forum

Erin McCawley’s Harrison Street Band @ Schooner Tavern

P.O.S with MAKR AN ERIS and killusonline @ 7th St Entry

Kid Rock @ Target Center

Future Babel, Christmas On Neptune @ Terminal Bar

Kyrie Nova & The Defiant, Littleton, Atomic Lights @ 331 Club

Black Market Brass ft. Obi Original with room3 @ Turf Club

Diet Lite, Haze Gazer, Jenny Matrix, Oister Boy @ Underground Music Cafe

TELEPORT 003: Byzarra, Ascella, Niki Kitz, Ripley, Shawn Raja @ Uptown VFW

Tin Can Telephone with The Houdeks, Roady Tate @ White Squirrel

Quietchild with Ryan Borens, KKTHAINFAMOUS, The Makeouts @ White Squirrel

Burlesque Brunch @ Zhora Darling

Sunday, March 23

Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

BRAINGIVER & vlush @ Berlin

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunker’s

Brian Owens Heavy Metal Celebration of Life @ Cabooze

Irish Diplomacy @ Can Can Wonderland

Gustavus Jazz Ensemble feat. Jon Irabagon on Saxophone @ Crooners

Acoustic Gospel Roots with Joyann Parker @ Crooners

Sonny Landreth & Cindy Cashdollar @ Dakota

Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

Johnny No Cash @ Eagles 34

Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34

Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34

Chiodos @ Fillmore

Tigran Hamasyan @ Fine Line

Jazz Age Rumpus IV @ Hook and Ladder

Surfer Joe with Kinda Fonda Wanda & The Swongos @ Hook and Ladder

Dave Power @ Icehouse

Beautiful Howls @ Icehouse

Roseville Area High School Jazz Combo @ Metronome Brewery

Minnetonka High School Jazz Combo @ Metronome Brewery

Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet @ Metronome Brewery

Phil Kitze, Sota Pop @ Minnesota Music Cafe

DJ Minnie Blanco @ Mortimer’s

2025-26 Season Preview @ Orchestra Hall

Classic Albums Live: The Beatles' Abbey Road @ Ordway

Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s

West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s

Marshall Crenshaw @ Parkway

Music Jam @ Schooner Tavern

Kiss the Tiger with Megasound and Eric Mayson @ 7th St Entry

The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club

Jack Klatt @ 331 Club

Lilly Hiatt with Suzie Chism @ Turf Club

Sunday Afternoon Music Fun Club @ White Squirrel

Wild Leaf with Chixiexdix @ White Squirrel

Little Man with The Dirty Pretty, Letters @ White Squirrel

Stock Market Cinema, 1927, & Glitterpit @ Zhora Darling

Monday, March 24

Nerd4King @ Acadia

Kenny Reichert Quartet @ Berlin

Béla Fleck, Edmar Casteñada, Antonio Sanchez Trio @ Dakota

Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34

World Music Monday @ Eagles 34

Jonny Clifford Turns 60 @ Hook and Ladder

MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery

Autotune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s

DJs Cameron Kinghorn and Blue Funk @ Palmer’s

The Fabulous Thunderbirds @ Parkway

Gully Boys & Skating Polly @ Pilllar Forum

OpenMic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks

Open Mic Music @ Terminal Bar

Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club

HonkyTonk Ranch @ 331 Club

Hovvdy with Video Age @ Turf Club

Mxmtoon @ Varsity

The Dans @ White Squirrel

Big Chomp with Surrounded By Water, Parachute Day, & VIN @ White Squirrel

Time Room, Big Pinch, & Not Your Baby @ Zhora Darling

Keith Harris

@usefulnoise.bsky.social

Oldest living Racket co-owner and editor.

music listings

Stay in touch

More from Racket

Comedy

These Disabled Comics Bring Big Laughs to Minnesota Stages

'I used to think my deafness was something I should try and hide and not talk about. Now, as cheesy as it sounds, I realize it’s kind of like a superpower in terms of comedy.'