Your pals at Racket are taking some much-needed time off to be with our families next week, and we won't be back at our (virtual) desks till January 2. That means a whole mess of listings coming down your chimney today. (Don't worry, though, I'll sneak a concert calendar in there on New Year's Eve Day, just so you don't miss nuthin'.)
Tuesday, December 17
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
Will Kjeer, Billy Peterson, and Kenny Horst @ Crooners
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Emerging Artist Night @ The Garage
JS Ondara with Molly Dean @ Icehouse
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
Above Average Tuba Quartet @ Metronome Brewing
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Boysintherosegarden with Annika and carter quinn @ Pilllar Forum
MoonLander and Barely Trev with Broderick Jones and Jake Luke @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Jake Manders @ 331 Club
December Conspiracy Series featuring El Drifte, The Beavers @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Ursa Minor, the Grieving Pines @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, December 18
Shady Babies Open Mic @ Acadia
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Nelson Devereaux/Toby Ramaswamy @ Berlin
Sentimental Christmas (Wink!) @ Crooners
Kitchen Patrol & Joe @ Day Block Brewing
Boney James @ Fitzgerald Theater
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Jingle Bell Jukebox with Ashley DuBose & Friends @ Icehouse
JCS: Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central
Emmy Woods @ Metronome Brewing
Mortiholics Residency @ Mortimers
Lost Evidence with Better Devils, and Millennial Falcon @ Pilllar Forum
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
anni xo with Anna Devine, The Penny Peaches, and Dilly Dally Alley @ 7th St Entry
Nora's Xmas Karaoke Party @ Terminal Bar
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Dylan Salfer Band @ 331 Club
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Products Band with Spaceport, Drey DK @ White Squirrel
Thursday, December 19
Born of Osiris with Reflections & By the Thousands @ Amsterdam
The Teddy Holidays + Thomas Sticha @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
The Strum Brothers @ Can Can Wonderland
An Elvis Gospel Christmas @ Crooners
Waterline with Green Line Quartet and the Grieving Pines @ Day Block Brewing
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Caitlyn Smith with Ben Goldsmith @ Fitzgerald Theater
Adam Bohanan Birthday Show with Jordan Johnston @ Green Room
Annie Frazier Band and Buffalo Galaxy @ Hook and Ladder
The Cusp: A Winter Solstice Party @ Hook and Ladder
Kiss the Tiger with Ahem @ Icehouse
The Peter Kogan Quintet @ Metronome Brewing
Dark Click with Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach @ Palmer’s
Alexander Natalie with Nice.and.Blue, Allergen @ Pilllar Forum
Mubbla Buggs, Sand Palace @ Schooner Tavern
Upright Forms, Curve, In Lieu, and Unstable Shapes @ 7th St Entry
A Charlie Brown Christmas ft. Blue Ox Trio @ Turf Club
Martin Devaney (Album Release) with Mike Gunther & The Total Crapshoot @ White Squirrel
Friday, December 20
Son Little with Kyah Bratz @ Amsterdam
Aaron Tinjum and the Tangents + New Seven @ Aster Cafe
Charlie Bruber & Jack Barrett @ Berlin
70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Bunkers
Last Chance for Love @ Can Can Wonderland
Katz & Dogs with Olivia Katz & Michelle Kinney @ Cedar Cultural Center
A Grand Ole Opry Christmas @ Crooners
Katie Gearty and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Swingin’ on a Star @ Eagles 34
Chapel Hart with Molly Brandt @ Fine Line
The Jayhawks with Freedy Johnston @ Fitzgerald Theater
Skippy Stone, Greenstone, Emily and the Space Butterflies @ The Garage
The Belfast Cowboys @ Hook and Ladder
Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder
"Impromptu Project" Presents: Christmas Live! 2024 @ Icehouse
Christian Swenson @ Jazz Central
Nat Hance Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas @ Metronome Brewing
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Elf in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Christmas with Cantus @ Ordway
Barstool Bandit Duo @ Padraigs
CHRISTFITS, The Sex Rays, The Unnamed, and DJ Megan O @ Palmer’s
Intoxicats: After Dark Swingin’ Holiday with Jake Rudh @ Parkway
Asparagus with Lana Leone, SoL @ Pilllar Forum
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
RIFFLORD with MURF and DUG @ 7th St Entry
Ditch Pigeon, Iiluna, the Hyperbolic Age, Frank & Janea, Illicit Energy @ 331 Club
- Trailer Trash @ Turf Club—For 22 years, these local, good-humored, tireless country music fellers set up their Santa's workshop in Lee's Liquor Lounge, where, over the course of several sets, they'd pull one Christmas novelty after another from a seemingly bottomless bag of songs. Disputes with new management prodded the band out of Lee's in 2015, a few years before the bar shut down. Ever since, like Santa himself, Trailer Trash have taken their show on the road. They’re just about everywhere this Xmas—they've already played the Parkway and a two-night stand at the Hook & Ladder. Now they’re closing out their season with three nights at the Turf. Ho, ho, holy shit.
Electric Feel: 2000’s Indie Rock & Pop Party @ Uptown VFW
Audrey Q with Eldest Daughter @ White Squirrel
K.E.V.I.N. w. Aeris & The Piggies, Sine Iris @ White Squirrel
Saturday, December 21
Larry McDonough Quartet @ Aster Cafe
Sarah Navratil & Emma Garau @ Berlin
Bryan Nichols Quintet @ Berlin
Queer Cumbia Dance Night @ Black Hart
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunkers
Michael Kosta @ Cedar Cultural Center
Deb Brown and Friends @ Crooners
A Very Diva Christmas @ Crooners
Colleen Raye & Rick Carlson @ Crooners
About to Run: Twin Cities Phish Tribute @ Day Block Brewing
Tom, Dick, and Harry’s All Night Long Xmas Party @ Driftwood
The Jazz Outlaws Play A Charlie Brown Christmas @ Dusty’s
Hot Freaks with Sleeping Jesus and Products Band @ Fine Line
The Big Wu with The People Brothers Band @ First Avenue
The Jayhawks with Freedy Johnston @ Fitzgerald Theater
Tiny Moving Parts, Action/Adventure, Greywind @ Green Room
Rank Strangers (Album Release) with High Tiny Hairs, Bev, & Spit Takes @ Hook and Ladder
Club Soda - A Sober Friendly Party @ Icehouse
The Reid Kennedy Trio @ Jazz Central
Hostage Situation with High Zombie @ The Loft
Nat Hance Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas @ Metronome Brewing
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Assortment with DJ Michael Grey @ Mortimers
Elf in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
SPCO Presents Handel’s Messiah @ Ordway
Pleezer, Ezekiel LaFosteCasse, The Hamm Sammies and The Slippery Slopes @ Palmer’s
- The Steeles @ Pantages Theatre—These musical siblings—J.D., Fred, Jearlyn, Jevetta, and Billy—have been putting on their annual Christmas show for 40 years now, taking their first bow at the Cricket Theater on Hennepin in 1984. Over the course of their career, they’ve become some of the most versatile gospel-rooted performers around, with starring roles in the noted soulful Sophocles adaptation The Gospel at Colonus and more backup gigs than I could list here. A true Minnesota institution, and if you’ve never seen them, this two-night holiday stand gives you a chance to make up for that omission.
Dan Rodriguez and His Band @ Parkway
Maurice Jacox & We Still R @ Schooner Tavern
Extreme Noise Records 30th Anniversary Show @ 7th St Entry
Rolling Xmas Revue @ Terminal Bar
Mind out of Time, Big Salt @ 331 Club
- Trailer Trash @ Turf Club—See Friday's listings.
Glitterdark: 3125, m4plefields, shepherdess, mother3k + luziafuchsia @ Uptown VFW
The Driftless Revelers @ White Squirrel
Pop Wagner & the Tavern Trio @ White Squirrel
The Hazy Phase with the Climbing Trees @ White Squirrel
Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Xcel Energy Center
Boy Hero & Friends @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, December 22
Fever Pitch with Dive Bar Orchestra @ Acadia
Swing Brunch with Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Curated by Ross Hutchens (feat. ollo11) @ Berlin
A Winter Solstice Sound Bath @ Cedar Cultural Center
A Very Diva Christmas @ Crooners
The Andrew Walesch Big Band @ Dakota
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Matt Weiman and Co., Dinheiro, Minty Hippo, Whitetail @ The Garage
A Choctaw Christmas with Mark Billy @ Granada
Play House Day Party @ Green Room
Elf in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
- The Steeles @ Pantages Theatre—See Saturday's listings.
Open Mic @ Sociable Cider Werks
The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club
- Trailer Trash @ Turf Club—See Friday's listings.
East Lake Jazz Christmas Show @ White Squirrel
Greg Volker & the River with Heidi Holton, Izzy Cruz Band @ White Squirrel
Monday, December 23
Carinda’s Variety Open Mic @ Acadia
Ella Grace MNtet Holiday Show @ Berlin
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
World Music Monday @ Eagles 34
19th Annual Eve Eve Benefit Show @ Icehouse
Christian Swenson Trio @ Jazz Cental
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewing
The Matt Arthur Contraption @ Palmer’s
Sounds of Blackness: The Night Before Christmas @ Pantages Theatre
Twin River with Barnacle, Sunsets Over Vlowers, and Jaa.sc (DJ Set) @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic @ Sociable Cider Werks
Class City Rockers @ White Squirrel
Tuesday, December 24
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Pop Punk Princess with DJ Hot Topic Fanclub + Dimitry Killstorm @ Mortimers
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Wednesday, December 25
- The Bad Plus @ Dakota—Maybe the Bad Plus aren’t quite jazz elders—how can they be, they’re only my age!—but nearing a quarter-century into their existence (in one form or another), they are a Twin Cities jazz institution. And their annual Christmastime stand at the Dakota is becoming a holiday tradition, if a little less predictable than most traditions, since once jazz ceases to surprise you, it’s ain’t jazz no more. Their latest album, Complex Emotions, is their 16th, and their second since Chris Speed’s tenor saxophone and Ben Monder’s guitar filled the gap left by pianist Orrin Evans’s departure. The new guys sound a touch more comfortable than last time, and the rhythm section of Reid Anderson and Dave King still defines things—rhythm sections tend to do that in jazz. The band will perform eight shows in all.
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Mortiholics Residency @ Mortimer’s
The Mary Cutrufello Band @ White Squirrel
Thursday, December 26
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Tommy Boynton Quartet @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
- The Bad Plus @ Dakota—See Wednesday's listings.
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Drums of Navarone @ Minnesota Music Cafe
DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Mortimers
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
Father Paranoia @ Pilllar Forum
Scott Allen & the List, Edie Rae Band @ Schooner Tavern
The Honeydogs with The Penny Peaches @ Turf Club
Billy Johnson @ White Squirrel
Phantom Fields @ White Squirrel
Friday, December 27
Socktopus (Album Release) @ Amsterdam
Lucid Nights – Svdden Death presents: VOYD @ Armory
The Abinnet Berhanu Three feat. Godbout & Carpel @ Berlin
Andre1000 Presents Black Boy Joy @ Black Hart
Dan Ristom & the Big Throwdown @ Bunkers
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
- The Bad Plus @ Dakota—See Wednesday's listings.
Twine’s Funkified Holiday Party @ Day Block Brewing
Miss Shannon's 4th Friday Sock Hop with the Monday Club @ Eagles 34
American Girl Doll Rave @ First Avenue
Salsa Del Sol, Charanga Tropical, DJ WilliamEL Buenon @ Granada
Aiden Intro with Ryan Kemp x Anna Devine @ Green Room
Mark Joseph’s Annual “Tea For The Tillerman” Concert with New Line Riders @ Hook and Ladder
Abby Scalise @ Metronome Brewing
In a Funk @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Murder Curious, Bad Idea, and Far Far Away @ Palmers
BLACKOUTMOB with Big Kiaa and the Spektrum @ Pilllar Forum
Jimmi & the Band of Souls @ Schooner Tavern
Jaki Blue with KAYCYY and Sophia Eris @ 7th St Entry
Nekobus/Tri Polar Disorder @ Terminal Bar
Bethany Larson and the Bee’s Knees, Boots & Needles, Secret Special Guest @ 331 Club
All Tomorrow's Petty with Turn Turn Turn @ Turf Club
Haute Carl Presents Vinyl + Vibes Vol. 3: Housin’ for the Holidays @ Uptown VFW
Bruce Bednarchuck @ White Squirrel
Dangerbad with Paper Beast, Grudd Wallace @ White Squirrel
Saturday, December 28
Lucid Nights – Seven Lions @ Armory
Sophia Kickhofel & Jackson Wheeler @ Berlin
2 Dykes Walk Into a Bar: A Lezbigay Cabaret @ Black Hart
Troll Foot Frass with Nectarous and Stay At Home Astronaut @ Can Can Wonderland
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
- The Bad Plus @ Dakota—See Wednesday's listings.
Garret Nasset, Colby Kent, and Zander @ Dusty’s
Samba Meu Brazilian Dance @ Eagles 34
Larry Wish and His Guys, Creatures of Prometheus @ Eagles 34
Soul Asylum with Tommy Stinson @ First Avenue
Abdu Kiar Feat. Nigusu Tamirat @ Green Room
Barbara Cohen & Little Lizard with Adam & Ava Levy @ Hook and Ladder
Roof Access (Album Release) @ Metronome Brewing
High & Mighty @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Supportive Parents + Blue Ox + Rad Owl @ Mortimers
Art Beagle Backup Band @ Padraigs
Personhurter, Ret Marut, Van Halen cover band @ Palmer’s
Finick with Delicate Friend, Sylvia Dieken @ Pilllar Forum
- Shrimpnose with Daedelus, Wicker's Portal, TaliaKnight @ 7th St Entry—I’d never call him pop, but L.A.-relocated former Minnesotan Riley Smithson’s skeletal acoustic guitar figures, spectral voices, and percussion stutters add up to something lovely and inviting rather than grim and forbidding. Shrimpnose’s new album, The World Pushed Against You, develops the musical ideas that Smithson scattered through his recent EP Toward Heaven, with delicate and deliberately off-centered beats echoing classic dubstep (as in Burial, not Skrillex). Not sure if we’re still calling this stuff “folktronica,” or if we ever should have, but I’ll toss that genre tag in there as a guidepost for the curious. Of note: Shrimpnose played the Entry this same time last year, so maybe this homecoming is now a December tradition.
Velhasa Velahsa. Michael Grooves, Perv Goggles @ Terminal Bar
Night Audit, North Innsbruck, wolfbabycup @ 331 Club
Wild Ryde: Newbie Night @ Uptown VFW
All Tomorrow's Petty with A Little Too Short To Be Stormtroopers @ Turf Club
Mark Ross and the Three-Nineteens @ White Squirrel
The Weeping Covenant @ White Squirrel
Sunday, December 29
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Curated by Ross Hutchens (feat. Toby Ramaswamy & Jaak) @ Berlin
Fresh Starts and Showstoppers: A Night of Broadway and More @ Crooners
Soul Train and American Bandstand Celebration @ Crooners
Jeffry Becker Band @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
DeVotchKa with Superior Siren @ First Avenue
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
Qmoe with bdifferent and Mack OC @ 7th St Entry
Becky Kapell and the Fat 6 @ 331 Club
Aaron James with Bury ‘Em Deep, Wolf Baby Cup @ White Squirrel
Lucinda Williams Tribute Night @ White Squirrel
Monday, December 30
Medium Zach (feat. Mankwe Ndosi) @ Berlin
Erin and Jay Cabaret @ Crooners
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Big Woods Brass Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewing
Grudd Wallace with Crimson Boys and Pew Pew @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic @ Sociable Cider Werks
Andrew Kneeland with Little Fevers, Sun Patches @ White Squirrel
