Old 97's with Angel White @ Fine Line—The Dallas country-rockers are celebrating 30 years as a band, and 30 solid, reliable ones they've been, even if they never bothered to fix their misplaced punctuation. The most surprising thing about their most recent album, released in 2020, was its title: Twelfth. Really, they've only released 12 full-lengths? Really, that's all. Their recordings have had their ups and downs over the years, with the ups mostly concentrated in the first half of their career (such is rock) and the downs never close to flat-lines. That's partly because Rhett Miller has never run short of earnest come-ons that I'm glad his wife of 20+ years doesn't take too seriously. But it's mostly because they rock with the palpable camaraderie of four guys who haven't gotten (too) sick of each other after three decades.

Jaki Blue @ Green Room

Trench Size Trio @ Icehouse

Matt Mueller @ Jazz Central

Steffi Brill @ KJ's Hideaway

The Jayhawks @ Lake Harriet Bandshell—Don't tell anybody, but I'm honestly not a huge 'Hawks fan. But this free and outdoors, so what's there to complain about?

Run Westy Run with Doug Collins and The Receptionists @ Mears Park—And in St. Paul you've got this great local free outdoors lineup? Not bad for a Thursday, eh?

Golden Morrison @ Minnehaha Bandstand

Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Jordan Johnston @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Information Society @ 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 drinks are 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–country, hip-hop, blues, ‘80s New Wave, etc. Tonight's show features electro tunes from Information Society, and upcoming acts include Frogleg (August 31) and Kat Perkins (September 14).

"Riddim Driven" with DJ I Roach and Friends @ Palmer's

Nothing to Do @ ROK Music Lounge

Bryan Axel @ Schooner Tavern

Zora with Kamilla Love and Mother Darkhorse @ 7th St Entry

Briston Maroney @ Sociable Cider Works

Phil Wickham & Brandon Lake @ Target Center

Cross Pollination: The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League @ 331 Club

Mikaela Davis with Ryan Gebhardt @ Turf Club

Untied Shoes, Rhino Shrine, & Labrador Wild @ Underground Music Venue

Muscadine Bloodline @ Varsity

Swallows, Craig Paquette @ White Squirrel

Friday, August 18

Mwago Kuria + Fairy Boat @ Aster Cafe

The High & Mighty @ Bunkers

Seven Kingdoms with AfterTime and Leaving Hope @ Cabooze

Adi Yeshaya Big Band featuring Jennifer Grimm @ Crooners

Power Balladz: The Last Ride @ Crooners

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

Munson-Hicks Party Supplies @ Dakota—In 2020, bittersweetly seriocomic piano man Dylan Hicks (largely) handed the mic over to John Munson of Semisonic (and then some), in whose voice Hicks’s stories of wrong turns taken and second thoughts re-thunk take on a slightly different shade of wistful. But as you'll recall, that wasn't the best time to play live shows. And a planned post-lockdown show had to be rescheduled too. So this belated showcase of their self-titled album together is something to look forward to. The band is rounded out by guitarist Zacc Harris, organist Kevin Gastonguay, and drummer Noah Levy, and Aby Wolf, Faith Boblett, and Kelley Smith will join them as well.

Jim Gruidl & the Silverteens, Industrial Green, the Creekside Ruffians @ Driftwood

Just the Shameless @ Driftwood

DJ Shane Kramer @ Dusty's

CUTE, with DJs Michaelangelo, Kiki, and Andy @ Eagles 34

Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34

Mechanix @ Eagles 34

Emo Nite with Secondhand Serenade @ Fine Line

Local Natives with Annika Bennett @ First Avenue

ELnO BYOC (Bring Your Own Cowbell) @ Hook and Ladder

Mike Wolter Trio @ Icehouse

Noise Party Vol. IV @ Icehouse

Lasse Corson @ Jazz Central

Kara Grainger @ KJ’s Hideaway

Nunnabove @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Highsociety X Omas @ The Loft

James Eugene Russell @ Loring Park

The Bad Companions @ Minnehaha Bandstand

Sumo Seven @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Boiled In Lead with Bella's Bartok @ Palmer's

Stay At Home Astronaut, Birth Order, and Cult Sequence @ Palmer's

Fellow Pynins @ Parkway Theater

Linus, GRAMMA @ Pilllar

INFULLMOTION @ ROK Music Lounge

Moonshine Prophets @ Schooner Tavern

Colin Bracewell with tacklebox and Sweet and Lonely @ 7th St Entry

Extreme @ Skyway Theater

Awakend @ Studio B

Heatwave and the Landmen, Rob Stokes, Sam Ryden @ Terminal Bar

Unstable Shapes, Upright Forms, Valors @ 331 Club

Spitalfield with Bob Nanna and Rookie of the Year @ Turf Club

Salsa Brava Dance Night @ Uptown VFW

Hipshaker MPLS @ Uptown VFW

Demolition Means Progress @ Water Works

The Silent Treatment with The Boot R&B, M.A.Y. @ White Squirrel

Saturday, August 19

Quarter Life Crisis & Nick Rivers @ Amsterdam

Sylvan Esso, Indigo De Souza @ Armory

Heiruspecs Summer Classic with Maria Isa and Unknown Prophets @ Clutch Brewing Co.—Racket's Jay Boller here, and lemme tell you something: Growing up as a south Minneapolis teen, I considered live hip-hop group Heiruspecs the coolest shit in town. And guess what? The community-minded St. Paul crew still rip to this day, as explored in wonderful detail in Tuesday's Strib profile. This free brewery celebration featuring Minnesota House Rep. Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega and fellow T.C. rap greats Unknown Prophets is a no-brainer.

Mary Strand (CD Release) with Mark & Ryan of the Melismatics, Little Man, and Sarah Morris @ Aster Cafe

The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Bunkers

Uptown Porch Fest—At the risk of sounding like a sappy, grandiose townie, these are the types of community events that make Minneapolis the greatest city on the face of the Earth. The idea is simple: Recruit a giant bill of talented local musicians—from punk to Afrobeat to singer-songwriter—and let ‘em play from porchfronts all over the Wedge neighborhood. (Residents are also asked to volunteer their “yards/stoops/driveways” as performance spaces, so it’s not strictly a porchy affair.) As an attendee, your only duty is to wander around, soak up the sounds, and feel like you’re part of something beautiful. Free. 1-5 p.m. Events are in the neighborhood between Lyndale and Hennepin avenues, from Franklin to 28th, Minneapolis; find more info and the full schedule of performers here.

The Southside Aces @ Crooners

Charmin Michelle Presents Over the Rainbow: The Music of Harold Arlen @ Crooners

Jimmy Martin and Drew Jansen: The Piano Men @ Crooners

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials @ Dakota

Ausgang City (Album Release) @ Driftwood

The Strolling Clones @ Driftwood

Cel Ray, Delicious Monsters, Dummy, and Visual Learners @ Dusty's

Fret Rattles, Poison Boys, Virgin Whores, Bad Idea @ Eagles 34

Cretin Avenue Hop, The Skeleton Crew, Handsome Midnight, Active Measures @ Eagles 34

Up All Night ⏤ One Direction Party @ Fine Line

Tina and the B-Sides with Gully Boys @ First Avenue

Turn Turn Turn, the Scarlett Goodbye @ Hook and Ladder

Surly Grrly with Eudaemon @ Hook and Ladder

The Dollys @ Icehouse

Mike Kota + Daphne Jane + Ava Levy + Emma Jeanne @ Icehouse

Jessie Street Jazz Band @ KJ’s Hideaway

JT Bates Grain Trio @ KJ's Hideaway

Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Dosh + Derecho @ Palmer's

Mistake Universe, Sun Wave Mountain Cave, and Liam Moore @ Palmer's

Not Yet All Things, Bejalvin, Veleska Surratt, Onlytime @ Pilllar

Dublink @ ROK Music Lounge

The Wldlfe with Yueku and Poolboy @ 7th St Entry

Garden Street @ Schooner Tavern

poptropicaslutz! with Sophie Powers, @ldrch and 6RIPS @ 7th St Entry

Funtcase X Rusko @ Skyway Theatre

Loser Magnet, Floodwater Angel, The Briefly Gorgeous @ 331 Club

Andrew Kneeland, Anthony Newes, Sun Patches @ 331 Club

Smoking Popes with The Brokedowns and Natalie Fideler @ Turf Club

USAYBFLOW with THRED & JOOGORNOT @ Uptown VFW

Gasolina: Reggaeton Party @ Varsity

Caitlin Robertson, Alex Sandberg, Boots & Needles @ White Squirrel

St Rangers with Taylor James Donskey, Turbo Pastel @ White Squirrel

Sunday, August 20

BATUSHKA with Swallow The Sun & Stormruler @ Amsterdam

Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

AirLands @ Aster Cafe

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

Brandi & Joni: Presented by Lori Dokken featuring Rachel Holder @ Crooners

Jana Anderson @ Crooners

Kenni Holmen @ Crooners

Craft Organ: The Music Of Stevie Wonder Featuring Craig Dion @ Crooners

Nur-D with Mayyadda @ Dakota

Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

DJ Dawg @ Dusty's

Irish Set Dance @ Eagles 34

Swinging Country Band @ Eagles 34

Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34

Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34

Vin, Grim Lot, Alexander Craig, Not Yet All Things @ Hook and Ladder

The Eclectics @ Icehouse

Sachiko “La Chayí'' and Twin Cities Flamenco Collective @ Icehouse

Heart Like a Wheel: The Music of Linda Ronstadt @ KJ's Hideaway

Not Quite Dead @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Gypsy Mania Hot Club Quartet @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

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

West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's

See You, Father Melissa @ Pilllar

Sweeping Promises with Green/Blue and Florina @ 7th St Entry—Some might say "Another postpunk revival band?" But I say "Another postpunk revival band!" On Good Living Is Coming For You, Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug have got the songs to put across the anxieties their lyrics don't quite articulate and add a nice bit of pop pluck to keep things interesting. My favorites remind me of Pylon without quite sounding like Pylon, though I'm also partial to how Mondal's timbre occasionally recalls B-52s' Kate Pierson and how "Connoisseur of Salt" combines Lora Logic sax and Twilight Zone guitar. And the duo recently moved from Boston to Kansas, inspiring Pitchfork to run an entire "we just found out you can play indie rock in flyover country" feature.

Donna Herula @ 331 Club

Devon Gilfillian with Oh He Dead @ Turf Club

Trench Size Trio @ White Squirrel

The Muatas, Shading the Sun @ White Squirrel

Carlaoke @ White Squirrel