Yes, due to a weird trick of the calendar, the last Monday in May falls as early as it possibly can, which means this here roundup covers Memorial Day weekend.
Tuesday, May 19
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Kreator, Carcass, Cold Steel @ First Avenue
Otter Heist, Bird Dog, Something Meets Boy, Ham Shannon @ Green Room
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
TCA May Band Concert @ Lake Como Pavillion
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Old Timey Music Session @ Padraigs
FIGHTMASTER, Katie Lynne Sharbaugh @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
MayConspiracy Series feat. Willow Waters and the Earthtones, Robyn Jamner @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Tom Feldmann @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Aestis (Residency) w. DUMB N EVIL, Pinched @ White Squirrel
Old Town Tuesday Night Jam @ Whitey’s
Wednesday, May 20
Larry McDonough Quintet: Trumpetocity @ Berlin
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
1 Mic, 1 Cable, 30 Minutes @ Carbone’s
Jim Bierma and Nancy Bierma @ Crooners
Spinning Wheel Trilogy @ Crooners
Mississippi Hot Club @ Crooners
Alvaro, 406 the Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
The Twin Cities Céilí Band @ Dubliner Pub
Miss Shannon Presents Monday Club @ Eagles 34
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Dead North and LaPlant Road @ Icehouse
Pat Donahue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Karaoke Blast with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The HU and Apocalyptica with the Rasmus @ Myth Live
Sonic Sea Turtles, Jonger, Million.Point.Million, and DD the Spektrum @ Pilllar Forum
- Phil Manzanera @ Quinlan Room—The Dakota opens its new showcase, the Quinlan Room, with a special night featuring Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. In addition to performing, he'll read from his memoir Revolución to Roxy and talk with Mary Lucia.
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
The Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Dean Magraw & Bruce Henry @ 331 Club
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Lords of the Universe @ White Squirrel
Jada Brown, Will They Kiss, Oliver Nollet @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, May 21
Chris True, Miners and Gardeners, Matt Angeles @ Acadia
David Huckfelt’s Mystery Lights @ Animales
Vanguard New Music Series: Flute + Cello + Piano @ Arts on Lafond
Effy + Kwey Present: Off Wax (feat. Le Rú) @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Minneapolis Police Band @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
D.R.I. with Deathwish @ Cabooze
Genesis Jazz Orchestra feat. Bekah Peterson & Riley Helgeson @ Crooners
The Hit Songs of Neil Diamond and Paul Simon @ Crooners
The Songs That Won the War with Dan Chouinard, Maud Hixon, and Arne Fogel @ Crooners
Sunflower Sky, Neon Suns @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Catnip Cartel, Ryan Sutter, and Life Skills @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon’s Camaraderie Dance Lessons @ Eagles 34
Archspire, Undeath, Crown Magnetar, Mutilation Barbecue @ Fine Line
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Dirty P’s Thirsty 3rd Thursday Club @ Hook and Ladder
White Dune x headtriiip feat. Nelson Devereaux with Bobby Rethwish @ Icehouse
SW High School Choir @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Acoustic Thursdays @ Mainstreet Bar
Dark Click with Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Public Figure, Portside Dive, Stock Market Cinema @ Pilllar Forum
Rodents, Swamp Donkeys @ Schooner Tavern
Anna Devine, Walker Rider, lily blue @ 7th St Entry
Cross Pollination with Knife Emoji, Clung Tight, Maya McDonald @ 331 Club
The Music of Beck, Clapton, and Page⏤performed by Self Titled @ Turf Club
Martin Devaney & Friends, 10 Items or Fewer @ White Squirrel
Portrayal of Guilt, Street Sects, Halloween, Giallo @ Zhora Darling
Friday, May 22
A Piano in Every Home @ Animales
Dean Magraw & Suwal Singh @ Aster Cafe
Ross Clowser/Josh Granowski @ Berlin
Jay Walter & the Rectifiers @ Blues Saloon
Pop Rocks, DJ D-Mil @ Boardwalk
Smerz, Kaitlyn Simotics @ Cedar Cultural Center
The Slow Death, Micah and the Mirrors, Cheap Glue @ Cloudland
The Smallweeds @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Cedar Ave Big Band feat. Colleen Raye @ Crooners
Machinery Hill, Leviathan, Liminality, Velvet Ghoul @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Miss Shannon’s Sock Hop with Lena & the Lovekills @ Eagles 34
Cryptopsy, Necrot, Spirit Adrift, and Blood Monolith @ Fine Line
St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts Senior Recital @ Flying V
DJ Linzo X DJ Akong X DJ Mcshellen @ Gidi
Sexy Nerds Spring Fling @ Green Room
Mike Munson Trio (Record Release) @ Icehouse
Brantley Gilbert, Aaron Lewis and the Stateliners @ Ledge Amphitheater
MADVKTM, MVRDA, Ostukare, B2B, Mile32 @ The Loft
Beer Choir @ Metronome Brewery
Cory Waller & the Wicked Things @ Midway Saloon
Femmelectric, Bad Bromance @ Minnesota Music Cafe
SPCO: The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Fiona Hayes, Surly Grrly, Honey Grl @ Pilllar Forum
Tim Casey and the Martyrs, the Hobbled @ Schooner Tavern
Colin Bracewell, Call Me Fritz, Obadiah Gamble @ 7th St Entry
Boots & Needles, the Gated Community, Woolley Mack @ 331 Club
Whitney, Lucky Cloud @ Turf Club
Vacant, Menstrual Tramps, Left in Rot, Varmints @ Underground Music
- UtePaLooza 2026 @ Uteplis Brewing—Is Memorial Day weekend the start of summer? Not according to the Gregorian calendar by which we order our days! But spiritually speaking, it does feel like the season’s kickoff, especially with UtePaLooza, Utepils’s summer music festival, taking over the Minneapolis brewery all weekend long. The live music begins on Friday with “Midwest Britpop” band Pullstring and continues with Pierre and Buried Animals among the performers on Saturday’s lineup and acoustic guitarist Dillon Spurlin finishing things off on Sunday. When you get hungry, a bunch of food trucks—Cuchillo, Gerhard’s Brats, Red Rocket Pizza—will be parked outside all weekend.—Em Cassel
Mill City Hot Club @ Volstead’s
The Mary Cutrufello Band @ White Squirrel
Mossformations @ White Squirrel
Grim Lot, Electric Church, Most of a Horse @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, May 23
Richard Kriehn & Pat Donohue @ Aster Cafe
Saturday Night Vibes: $100 Bottle War @ Bazement
Bomja Golden Hours 001 @ Cabooze
Janelle & Simply Fusion @ Carbone’s
- Summer Kickoff Party @ Cedar Cultural Center—OK, wait, have they updated the Gregorian calendar since I last checked? Like Utepils, the Cedar is celebrating summer in spring with this outdoor patio party. Will there be live music? Will there ever! Catch veteran local DJ Miguel Vargas, electronic musician Nectar, hip-hop from Portuguese rapper D. Santos, and experimental music from one time Picked to Click winner Papa Mbye, all totally free (though you can RSVP here).—Em Cassel
Red Dons, Miracle Debt, Laugh Track, Censer @ Cloudland
Lake Country Jazz Collective @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
The Moods of Mancini with Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Urban Classic Presents Pure Funk @ Crooners
ELL, Nomolos, Logan Metz, Taylor Benson @ Day Block Brewing
Brass Elephant, Tree, Piss With Style @ Driftwood Char Bar
The Langer’s Ball @ Dubliner Pub
The Customers, the Reach Outs, Bella Larson and the Scene Kids @ Dusty’s
Tommy Boynton’s Rchrd Rgrs Band @ Jazz Central
River Falls Jazz Combos @ Metronome Brewery
Will Aldrich/Jack Schabert @ Metronome Brewery
High & Mighty @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Freddie Gibbs with Nourished By Time @ Palace Theatre
Joe Jackson @ Pantages Theatre
SPCO: The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
The New Feral Cats @ Schooner Tavern
The Whips, Clean Plate Club, Matcha Fever @ 7th St Entry
Andra Suchy & Cat Ladies, TH3 @ Terminal Bar
Jon Vezner, Pat Frederick @ 318 Cafe
6th Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash @ Turf Club
The Night Painters, Courtesy Call, Waking Hour, The Rest @ Underground Music
- UtePaLooza 2026 @ Uteplis Brewing—see Friday's listings.
Greenvale Manitou (Cedric Briand), Undergrad, Lochtune @ White Squirrel
Topiary Blush, Nicotine Addiction, River Sinclaire @ White Squirrel
Sunday, May 24
Nectarous, Cursed by Lightning, Fine Dials @ Amsterdam
Al Church’s Sunday Service @ Animales
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Kenny Reichert’s Letters From the Road: Colours Quintet @ Berlin
Janelle Burrelle Music with Todd Burrelle and Bruce Smith @ Crooners
Lori Dokken Presents …. Painting Joni @ Crooners
The Desperate Saga Continues with Jalan Crossland @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
The Comebacks Duo @ Dubliner Pub
Hurricane Harold Trio @ Dubliner Pub
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Warren Burns, Makin’ Out @ Eagles 34
- Celebration for Conrad @ First Avenue—Conrad Sverkerson, the longtime First Avenue stage manager, died last October, a few hours after a CaringBridge page for him began circulating online. He was 66. Just about every Twin Citian out there, from Fancy Ray to Christy Costello, started sharing their remembrances of Conrad as soon as the news broke. Over at the Current, Reed Fischer wrote this lovely obituary, and you can read Chris Riemenschneider's comprehensive Strib obit here (gift link). Details are slim about tonight’s celebration of life, but you can bet there’ll be plenty of kickass bands cranking their amps to his memory. We should know more when Racket publishes this week’s feature story: a sprawling oral history about Sverkerson’s massive impact on the local music scene; Craig Finn, Jeff Tweedy, and John Darnielle are all quoted, to name drop just some of our (non-local) sources.—Jay Boller/Em Cassel
Monarch, Agony In The Living Room, Iodine @ Green Room
Obi Original and the Black Atlantics (Residency) @ Icehouse
Fridley High School Ensemble Spring Showcase @ Metronome Brewery
The Sam Stauning Quartet @ Metronome Brewery
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
RaveSituation: Three the Hard Way, DJ Ted Ned, Phil Dumka @ 331 Club
- UtePaLooza 2026 @ Uteplis Brewing—see Friday's listings.
Throckmorton Trio, Glass, 13 Howell @ White Squirrel
Mike Poot Band, James Whatton Band @ White Squirrel
Her Cure, Callamae, Anything You Want @ White Squirrel
Monday, May 25
Massive Reggae Monday @ Cabooze
Minnesota State Band @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Fleshpots of Egypt: Hymntap @ Dubliner Pub
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
The Deslondes, Michael Gay, and Kiki Cavazos @ Icehouse
Favourite Girl @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Tyte Phitt @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Monday Jam feat. Johnny & Filet O’ Soul @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Admiral Fox, ¿Watches?, One Big Quilt, Critterthing @ Pilllar Forum
Metal Mondays @ Schooner Tavern
Open Mic @ Sociable Cider Werks
