Good news—I went outside today and the air was not an oppressive, dense blanket of humidity. Maybe this holiday weekend will be enjoyable?
Tuesday, June 30
Star-Spangled Takeover @ Abi's
Spencer Douglas with Brunch and Milk @ Amsterdam
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Strictly R&B: Raymond & Brown Concert Afterparty @ Cabooze
Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble @ Dock & Paddle
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Diplomacy @ Dubliner Pub
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Lili Horizon @ Father Hennepin Park
Cure for Paranoia, Riley & The Urban Revival, Sadie Gustafson-Zook @ Fine Line
Bright Young Things, Of The Orchard, Anni xo, Spiderlily @ Green Room
Colonel Mustard’s Mechanical Orchestra @ Jazz Central
199SOMETHIN’ feat. Orikal Uno + DJ Greenery @ Mortimer’s
River Shook, Andrew Sa @ Parkway Theater
Duck Bomb, Iodine, Public Service Announcement @ Pilllar Forum
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
June Conspiracy Series feat. Sawtooth Witch, M.A.Y. @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Pop Wagner @ 331 Club
Sophia Brand, Nina Luna, Aly Dyg @ Underground Music
Die Sexual, Melody Zenith, Magenta Vice, Dedicated Enemy @ Uptown VFW
Chris Brown & Usher @ U.S. Bank Stadium
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Aeris and the Piggies (Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, July 1
Sophia Brand/David Singley @ Acadia
Over Under, Syncline, Waking Hours @ Amsterdam
Effy + Kwey Present: Off Wax (feat. Tailor Briann) @ Berlin
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
Em and the Gems @ Como Park Conservatory
Mississippi River Brass Band @ Dock & Paddle
Tin Can Telephone @ Driftwood Char Bar
Miss Shannon presents Charmin Michelle Swing Combo @ Eagles 34
TopOppGen, Aziedoesntexist @ Fine Line
Open Mic with Neil Dimmick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Cabin Fever @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Pat Donahue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Tytus Canby @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Linnea’s Garden, Goo Goo Mucks, the 99ers @ Mortimer’s
Larry McDonough Quintet @ Parkway Theater
Tre Spiritus, OVRFWRD @ Schooner Tavern
Open Mic with Grant Dawson @ 318 Cafe
Bosso Poetry Company @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Todd Albright @ 331 Club
The Second Stringers @ White Squirrel
Late Night TV, Witness Trips, Third Date @ White Squirrel
MAUL, Gored Embrace, Hacked2Bits @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, July 2
David Huckfelt’s Mystery Lights @ Animales
Abinnet Berhanu's Ahndenet አንድነት feat. Genet Abate with Amanuel Tsegaye of Tizita Sounds @ Berlin
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Sonido Gallo Negro, Rudy De Anda @ Cedar Cultural Center
Buddy Holly: Oh Boy @ Crooners
The Belfast Cowboys @ Crooners
Charlie Parr & MIkkel Beckman @ Dock & Paddle
The Development, DJ Kool Hanz @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Super Diamond: The Neil Diamond Tribute @ First Avenue
Alex Warren @ Grand Casino Arena
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Prairie Potluck Band @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Dirty Lowdown Fools, Mary Elias’s Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
If Eye May, John Kerns, the Sandies @ Pilllar Forum
Mumblin’ Drew’s Oldfangled Orchestrators @ Schooner Tavern
Ken Pomeroy, Ramsey Thornton @ 7th St Entry
Northeast Invitational @ 331 Club
Friday, July 3
Maurice Jacox & We Still R @ Animales
Mortusha’s Manic Mashup: Our Cuntry Edition @ The Arthouse
Feleke Hailu with his daughter Rediet @ Berlin
Apple Valley High R&B Band @ Crooners
- Ladies of Soul Vol. 4 @ Dakota—Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds was the greatest R&B auteur of the ’90s, and on the soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale, he most fully conveyed his vision of female pop. You get Whitney Houston with the most understated vocals of her career, Brandy keeping it light for the teens, Aretha Franklin keeping in step with the time, and then Mary J. Blige burning it all down. Solorah the Essence, Ashley Commodore, and Monique Blakey will handle vocal duties for this tribute, backed by a band including guitarist Deevo, Tommy Barbarella on keyboards, and a rhythm section of Tony Axtell and RAWTWHYLAH. You are gon’ cry at this one.—Keith Harris
Ham Shannon, Close to Toast, Garden Glow @ Day Block Brewing
The Lungs, Joe Stelmacher Band, Michael & Marty @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Katia & the Upswing @ Eagles 34
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso @ Fillmore
The Shackletons, Mystee, Killed by Kiwis @ Green Room
Minneapolis Pops @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Disco Weekend @ Metronome Brewery
Tjärnblom @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Ray Covington @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Jangueo feat. Ivy Queen @ Myth Live
- Taste of Minnesota @ Nicollet Mall—When Taste of Minnesota rose from the grave in 2023, the free downtown Minneapolis fest brought big (if older) names like Third Eye Blind and by Big Boi, followed by Martina McBride and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis ('24), and, last year, Ludacris and Joan Jett ('25). This year, depending on your level of cynicism, things are getting more local (nice!) and/or cheaper to book (boo!) with an all-Minnesota lineup featuring synth-poppers Poliça, punk vets Dillinger Four, and indie-folkers Bad Bad Hats on Friday, and, on Saturday, hip-hop standouts Brother Ali, Ant, Dessa, Nur-D, and Sophia Eris, plus rockers Gully Boys. You know the drill for the rest of the fest: fleets of food trucks, dance and aerialist performances, fireworks on the Fourth, and, almost certainly, a speech from the mayor about how back downtown truly is.—Jay Boller
Drowning in Blood, Parasite, Bare Knuckle Brawl, Major Malfunction @ Pilllar Forum
Terrapin Stallion @ 7th St Entry
House Proud with Ladymonix @ Sociable Cider Werks
Phantom Fields, Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band, Jeff Larson Band @ 331 Club
Yachtley Crew @ Treasure Island
Cole Diamond (EP Release), Cowboy Thoughts, Lone Rock Bride, Turn Turn Turn @ Turf Club
CALAVROSA, Jaded, THR333, Welby June @ Underground Music
HOLLA BACK! Early 2000s Dance Party with Nano Byte @ Uptown VFW
Meghan Kreidler, CB, Sophie Hiroko @ White Squirrel
Nectarous, Fine Dials, Love Scar @ White Squirrel
Saturday, July 4
Fourth of July Cookout @ Animales
Saturday Night Live: Ballers & Baddies @ Bazemnt
Jumpsuit with blissxp, Mommy Long Legs, and Abel @ Black Hart
Davina and the Vagabonds @ Dakota
St. Anthony Park Community Band @ Dock & Paddle
Como Pops Ensemble @ Dock & Paddle
Jackson Hoch @ Driftwood Char Bar
Kill Safari, Kill The Noise, Bro Safari @ The Loft
Disco Weekend @ Metronome Brewery
Megastellar Open Mic Night @ Midway Saloon
Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
- Taste of Minnesota @ Nicollet Mall—see Friday's listings.
Critter Nova & the Snake Chaser Super Show @ Pilllar Forum
American Mayhem @ Schooner Tavern
SUPER DOPE 4th of July House Party @ Uptown VFW
The Whiskey Charmers, Aeris Ewing @ White Squirrel
Sunday, July 5
Omnira, Mommy Sez No, Possum Willie @ Acadia
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Monthly Bluegrass Jam @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Start Today, the Sissy Boys, Heartland, Sleeper Cell, Skewed @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Django Reinhardt: Final Songs of 1953 with the Ryan Picone Quartet @ Crooners
Natania & Ticket to Brazil @ Dakota
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
- Revellion Fest @ Flying V—You might be asking yourself: What the hell is Flying V’s? Well, well, well—looks like somebody isn’t a Racket completist. If you were, you’d already know about the newish straight-edge/hardcore/nonprofit music venue, which recently relocated from northeast Minneapolis to Robbinsdale. Revellion Fest serves as a great opportunity to check the place out, with a killer slate of bands (the Staboteurs, Couch Potato Massacre, Bonefire, Mr. Rogers & the Make Believe Friends, the Ramone: A One Man Tribute, and Nemesissy) joining a comedian (Kimberly Ashlynne), PhD speaker (Cat Jenning), local vendors, and food trucks. “This is all about community-building, about reconnecting with the kind of art that’s a beacon of hope to marginalized people," Revellion Fest organizer Chris Gilde says via press release. “It’s time to feel our feelings, express what we think, and get involved in rebuilding the world we want to actually live in.” You’ve got your noble punk marching orders: It’s time to rock.—Jay Boller
The New Standards @ Hewing Hotel
Obi Original and the Black Atlantics @ Icehouse
Michael Monroe @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Minneapolis Pops @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Wynonna Judd & Melissa Etheridge with Maggie Rose @ Ledge Amphitheater
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
Joe Nicola, the Get-Up Mondays @ White Squirrel
Chickaboom, Troglodyte, Cap'n Al @ White Squirrel
Calla McDermott w. Mouthful & Your Favorite Crybaby @ White Squirrel
Monday, July 6
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
Joe Cruz: Sounds of Santana @ Dakota
Brooklyn Park Community Band @ Dock & Paddle
L.A.’s Monday Nights @ Icehouse
Suburbica @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Welt, Linkletter, Toll Booth @ Memory Lanes
Community Concert @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Minnesota Monday Jam @ Minnesota Music Cafe
- Bob Dylan @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater—What’s left to say about Bob Dylan? Not to totally abdicate my blurbly duties here, but go read books by Greil Marcus or Elijah Wald if you’re seeking profound and/or revealing insights into our greatest living musician, who happens to be from Hibbing, Minnesota. What I can tell you is that the robust community of online Dylan-heads firmly believes that Bob is locked into a nice career groove these days, and having witnessed last year’s Mankato stop of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour with my dad, I gotta agree. As always, don’t expect chitchat or much (if any) guitar playing; instead drink in an 85-year-old master at work, an artist reinterpreting his peerless catalog through the lens of loungey jazz to accommodate his current capabilities. And if Bob happens to eschew ‘60s hits in favor of the new stuff? It’s alright, ma: His most recent album, 2020’s Rough & Rowdy Ways, is among his 10 best.—Jay Boller
Open Mic @ Sociable Cider Werks
Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Soul Trouvere @ 331 Club
Jacob Cloutier, Lexie Modica @ White Squirrel
