It’s the Absolute Best Week for Live Music in August 2023 (So Far) in Your Complete Concert Calendar: August 1-7.

Marijuana is legal in Minnesota now, and if you haven't tried it yet... well, you're in for a treat! Here's some music you can check out, stoned or straight.

Tuesday, August 1

Colin Bracewell @ Bryant Square Park

International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers

Bobby Watson @ Dakota

St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood

Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

Hip-Hop, History and The Arts (hosted by Chadwick “Niles” Phillips) @ Father Hennepin Bluff Park

• Legalized It with Rep. Ilhan Omar, Marijuana Deathsquads, New Primitives, Maria Isa @ First Avenue—Did you hear? We legalized it, man. That fact isn’t lost on the organizers of this celebration, which will benefit The Great Rise. Headliners include Rep. Ilhan Omar and "the Music Rockers," a group that's apparently a re-branded version of longtime experimental bruisers Marijuana Deathsquads. Also appearing are local reggae vets New Primitives, rapper-turned-lawmaker Maria Isa, jazz/funk quintet JoJo Green, and a whole mess of DJs. No narcs.

Bill Simenson Orchestra Open Rehearsal @ Jazz Central

Colin Roy Monette @ Loring Park

DJ Vegan Water @ Palmer's

ORTHODOX with Momentum, Chamber and CELL @ 7th St Entry

Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar

Worker’s Playtime with Becky Kapell @ 331 Club

August Conspiracy Series featuring Emmy Woods, Joan of Profile @ 331 Club

OK Cool, The Dreaded Laramie, Zippo Man, & NATL PARK SRVC @ Underground Music Venue

Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel

Desert Islands presents: "The 5th Anniversary" Tuesday Night Residency @ White Squirrel

Wednesday, August 2

Hannah von der Hoff (August Residency) @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Jugsluggers @ The Commons

The Flamin' Oh's @ Como Park Conservatory

Maggie's Wednesdays: Tom Hunter @ Crooners

Café Accordion Orchestra @ Dakota

Bryan Scott Miller & the Best Meds @ Driftwood

Miss Shannon @ Eagles 34

Patty and the Buttons @ Eagles 34

Disgusting Brothers Organ Trio @ Green Room

John Swardson and Claire Doyle @ Icehouse

Certainly So + Pleasure Horse @ Icehouse

Garden Street Band @ KJ's Hideaway

RuDeGiRL @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

The Craig Clark Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Clutch with Dinosaur Jr. with Red Fang @ Palace Theatre

Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer's

Gary Rue and Leslie Ball @ Parkway Theater

The Sonder Bombs with Girl K and Allergen @ 7th St Entry

Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Maurice Jacox @ 331 Club

War Hippies with Monique Smaz @ Turf Club

• Rema @ Uptown Theater—You might not realize it here in the musical backwater that is the 21st century U.S., but this Nigerian pop star is huge. "Calm Down" may or may not be the most popular African song ever, as some have claimed, but it's certainly the continent's biggest hit from the streaming era, and it ain't hard to hear why: it's smooth, catchy, with an insinuating beat derived from South African amapiano music. It even eventually became a hit over here—though of course they had to tack on a Selena Gomez feature first.

THE CHUMSHIP with Balloon Race, Prophets of Mothra @ White Squirrel

• Paramore @ Xcel Energy Center—There’s something that’s been very healing to me about watching Hayley Williams and Paramore thrive. (I know, I know, parasocial relationships are bad and weird, but… what about ParaMOREsocial relationships?) She literally invented having bright orange hair [citation needed], and now she runs her own super-cute dye brand. Just last year, she started performing “All I Wanted” live, something fans long speculated would be impossible given the dramatic vocal range the song requires. There’s just a tremendous sense of ease, and also joy, about her these days, and from the live videos I’ve seen it’s translating into an incredible show-going experience.

Thursday, August 3

Monophonics with Yellow Ostrich @ Amsterdam

TJD Presents: Maya Elena @ Aster Cafe

Myallo @ Bryant Square Park

Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers

Smell My Pillow @ The Commons

Rue and Sabien @ Crooners

Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women with Gaelynn Lea @ Crooners

Katia and Bree @ Crooners

On the X, Burning Blue Red @ Driftwood

Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

Joe Hall and the Louisiana Cane Cutters @ Eagles 34

Nanna (of Of Monsters and Men) with Indigo Sparke @ Fine Line

Suki Waterhouse with jane. @ First Avenue

Ryna Bynum and the Green Room House Band @ Green Room

Matthew Fowler + Apocalypse Girlfriend @ Icehouse

Derecho Rhythm Section @ Icehouse

Tony Cuchetti (Album Release) with Bonnie Stewart @ KJ's Hideaway

• Jaedyn James with Twin Citizen @ Mears Park—Proper, functioning cities should rock. With the annual, free, weekly, outdoor Lowertown Sounds program, St. Paul is privy to this in ways Minneapolis could really learn from. When this year’s lineup was announced, organizers noted that over half of the acts are new this summer. Non-musical offerings include great beer from Utepils and Wabasha Brewing Co., wine from Alexis Bailly Vineyard, and a rotating cast of 20 food truck

Pavel Jany Trio @ Minnehaha Bandstand

Lowdown Dirty Fools @ Minnesota Music Cafe

• Nur-D, Fanaka Nation @ Minnesota Zoo—Imagine a zoo with nary a child, one where you can sip wine and watch animals do their thing as the sun sets. Impossible, you say? Nope! We’re talking about Wild Nights at the Minnesota Zoo, a summer series for grownups. During these events folks can explore all the trails and exhibits until 8 p.m. (hilariously, they note that food and drink is not allowed in the Llama Trek walk-through exhibit). Each installment will feature a variety of concerts, all themed that night around a specific genre and tonight it's "hip hop and reggae," which is a rather expansive category.

Dreadnaught, Immorta @ Mortimer's

"Knockturnal" with Greenery @ Palmer's

Casii Stephan, Dani Erin and Druzy Rose @ 7th St Entry

Northeast Invitational @ 331 Club

Danielle Nicole with Brandon Miller @ Turf Club

Meanest Genus with Math Emergency, Corduroy Cool @ White Squirrel

Friday, August 4

Zoë Says Go + Freaque @ Aster Cafe

Dan Ristrom & The Big Throwdown @ Bunkers

Jason Fabus @ Crooners

Nunnabove @ Crooners

Adam Meckler Orchestra @ Crooners

Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye and Rick Carlson @ Crooners

Davina and the Vagabonds @ Dakota

The East Lakers @ Driftwood

My Buddy Eric & Dolcat @ Driftwood

The Hot Toddies @ Eagles 34

Ivers with WHY NOT, Aiden Intro and Parachutes @ Fine Line

Party Like It's 1983 with Dr. Mambo's Combo @ First Avenue

Nightchurch Anniversary @ Green Room

Church of Cash @ Hook and Ladder

Abinnet Berhanu Trio @ Icehouse

Jennifer Knapp with Thunder and Rain @ Icehouse

Patrick Adkins @ Jazz Central

Few Miles South @ KJ’s Hideaway

Adam Brandt with Rev Ezra @ KJ's Hideaway

Fénix Dion @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Luude @ The Loft

World Beat Connection @ Loring Park

Trevor McSpadden @ Minnehaha Bandstand

Kathleen & Rhonda Johnson with Lamont Keten @ Minnesota Music Cafe

• With Iowa In Between and Doggy @ Mortimer's—I added With Iowa in Between on my local playlist this week and Doggy last week. This is the last show for both of them. Good thing I don't believe in any woo woo shit or I'd start to think there's a Racket Curse. This double as a release show for WIIB's new album I Tried.

• The Teskey Brothers and Joy Oladokun with Thomas Abban @ Palace Theatre—A queer, Black child of Nigerian immigrants based in East Nashville, Oladokun offers great support for “not all country music” arguments, though she’s a bit too stylistically hybrid to slot neatly as Americana. What’s most country about her latest album, Proof of Joy, is how she conveys sincerity through plainspoken commonplace lyrics like “If we can't be family/Better friends than foes.” Key to her effectiveness is emotional restraint. The tiniest bit of self-pity would sink a memory like “In the school yard when I was a kid/I gave everyone my address/Said come on over/And it turns out that nobody did. Swimming alone's how I spent my eighth birthday.” As sung it’s as devastating as the upbeat “We’re All Gonna Die” is inspiring. Co-headliners the Teskey Brothers are soulful and bluesy in the engaging, brawny manner of Chris Stapleton, though hardly world-altering.

Lifestyle Shakes, Crush Scene, Betty Won't & Ray Gun Youth @ Palmer's

Willow Waters & The Earthtones, Full Catholic and LVNDSCVPES @ Palmer's

Rosie @ Pilllar

Jackie Kean (Single Release), Dilly Dally Alley, Electric Church, and GardenStreet @ 7th St Entry

The Naughty Northern @ Studio B

Time Room, Orchid Club, Valors, BUSEY@ Terminal Bar

The Crimson Boys, Alley Mattress, Tony Sig and the Smokes @ 331 Club

Sunny War with Laamar @ Turf Club

Glitch Gum, Honey Creek, Unturned, and Anita Velveeta @ Underground Music Venue

Partyup! Prince and the MPLS Sound Dance Party with DJs Brian Engel & Noah Kurth @ Uptown VFW

Guster @ Utepils

Phil Berbig Trio @ Water Works

The Matt Arthur Contraption @ White Squirrel

• Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire @ Xcel Energy Center—A night of R&B comfort food. Richie has always been a charming cornball, crafty with a tune not groove-averse, comfortably unhip even when he was holding his own on the pop charts. Critic Jason King once called Earth, Wind & Fire "more than just a musical act—it's the concept of a band as a sensual rhythm machine," and that's just the sort of spirit they inspire. EW&F evolved over time from an ambitiously conceptual early '70s jazz-funk outlet to the sleek hitmakers whose songs you'll hear tonight. Some of the original members have passed (RIP especially to Maurice White, who we lost in the great musician die-off of 2016), but the concept—and the band—remains.

Saturday, August 5

Delicate Friend + Cassandra Johnson @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Silver Screen Songs: Maud Hixson, Rick Carlson and Dean Magraw @ Crooners

1967: Summer Of Love with Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners

Johnnie Brown: Love TKO, A Tribute To Teddy Pendergrass @ Crooners

Greats Gone 2 Soon Presents: The Men of Motown @ Dakota

KYX @ Driftwood

Indecent Proposal with Jason Owen @ Driftwood

SELECTS, PT. XI ⏤ SPECTRUM ⏤ A night of proper house music @ Fine Line

I Would Dance 4 U @ First Avenue

McNasty Brass Band (Album Release), Porky's Groove Machine, Barlow @ Green Room

Indigo Girls @ Hilde Performance Center

Built To Last Festival – ‘Jerry Day’ with Demitri Rallis' Run For The Roses, The Jones Gang, China Rider, and Debbie Center @ Hook and Ladder

Glittercakes Presents Burlesque Brunch @ Icehouse

Tim Sparks Trio @ Icehouse

DJ Shannon Blowtorch Presents Y2K: That's What I Call the 2000s @ Icehouse

Burning Blue Rain @ KJ’s Hideaway

Bryan Murray Trio with Early Planets @ KJ's Hideaway

Michael Monroe @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

12th Planet @ The Loft

Heavy for the Hawk @ Minnesota Music Cafe

House Sessions feat. Michael Grey & DJ JEN-E @ Mortimer's

Cindy Lawson and The Short Fuses with The Unnamed @ Palmer's

Destiny Spike, Shaiana Ginae , Jayso Creative and KkThaInfamous, Ssoul Flower & 5ithhouse, DJ Nanobyte and DJ Mixie @ Palmer's

Sweet Bike @ Pilllar

BONZIE with Lovehouse and HONEY @ 7th St Entry

Favorite Things, Scott Sterling @ Terminal Bar

daycare, Kiernan@ 331 Club

Present Company, Babe Corner, bathtub cig, and Haley Blais @ Turf Club

Hot Pink Hangover @ Uptown VFW

The Uptown R&B Showcase @ Uptown VFW

Zippy & Leslie @ White Squirrel

Johanna Mathews with Joanie Rich, Katie Henry @ White Squirrel

Sunday, August 6

Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

The Larry McDonough Aster Sunday Jazz Series Presents: The Music of Tony Bennett and Bill Evans @ Aster Cafe

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

Sir Richard Bishop @ Cedar Cultural Center

Kings of Cole @ Crooners

Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers @ Crooners

Cameron Wright @ Dakota

Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

Country Doctors @ Eagles 34

Irish Set Dance @ Eagles 34

Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34

Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34

Joeyy with MARLON DUBOIS, EERA and SHED THEORY @ Fine Line

Jeremy Messersmith @ Hewing Hotel

Potential New Boyfriend @ Icehouse

Charanga Tropical @ Icehouse

Bee Taylor with JoJo Green Trio @ KJ's Hideaway

Twine @ KJ's Hideaway

Fourth Degree @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Issholll @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Brit Floyd @ Palace Theatre

Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's

Michael Gay's Old Country Buffet @ Palmer's

Happy Landing with Harbor & Home @ 7th St Entry

Joe Savage @ 331 Club

Band Maid @ Varsity

Eric Carranza @ White Squirrel

Monday, August 7

Cory Henry @ Dakota

Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34

Maisie Peters with Grace Enger @ First Avenue

Alex Brown (Monday Residency) with Illism and Adam Bohanan @ Icehouse

Jake Baldwin with Jason Fabus @ Jazz Central

Teapot Tempest @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Bluewater Kings Showcase @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s

B & the Sting @ Nicollet Island

DJ Brian Engel @ Palmer's

Viewfinder @ Pilllar

Arcy Drive with Lapdogs and Connor McLaren @ 7th St Entry

Open Mic @ Terminal Bar

ARCHERS with Versus Me, Discrepancies and Odds of an Afterthought @ Turf Club

The Bussard @ 331 Club

The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club

Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club

Pretendians Band @ Water Works

• Nickelback @ Xcel Energy Center—Has any rock frontman ever had a more fitting name than Chad Kroeger? He doesn't sing—he kroegs.