Don't let this week's under-annotated calendar fool ya—there's plenty of great music out there this week. Git out and enjoy it.
Tuesday, November 14
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
Davina and the Vagabonds @ Dakota
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
The Elovaters with Shwayze and Surfer Girl @ Fine Line
Baroness with Chat Pile and Spotlights @ First Avenue
Kevin Gamble Trio @ Green Room
Fruit Looops, Oyster World, Drug League, Ice Climber @ Hook and Ladder
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
- Palehound with alexalone @ 7th St Entry—El Kempner’s songcraft deepens with each new Palehound album. On this Boston band’s fourth album, Eye on the Bat, Kempner charts several of the many the ways relationships can go wrong, whether temporarily or permanently, with lyrics ranging from comically aphoristic (“Bad sex makes a good joke/That anyone can get”) to acidly self-recriminatory (“I've become the person I'd wanna punch in the face if they/Ever treated you this way”), as muscular guitars spiral upward like a power-pop Built to Spill.
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime with Soul Trouvère @ 331 Club
November Conspiracy Series featuring ELOUR, Ava Levy, Samantha Grimes @ 331 Club
Beach Fossils @ Uptown Theater
From This Day Forward, The Tale Untold @ White Rock Lounge
Two Steppin’ Tuesdays with DL4 and Joe Savage @ White Squirrel
Unattractive Giant Monster (Residency) with Los Pinches Gueys, Shrimp Olympics @ White Squirrel
- Jonas Brothers @ Xcel Energy Center—Racket is officially Team Sophie.
Wednesday, November 15
Frozen Soul with 200 Stab Wounds, Judiciary, and Tribal Gaze @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Maggie's Wednesdays: Andrew Crowley @ Crooners
Senor Blues, Fever Pitch @ Driftwood
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Lena and the Lovekills @ Eagles 34
Jeremy Zucker with Tiffany Day and Kevin Atwater @ First Avenue
JCS: Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Open Rehearsal @ Orchestra Hall
The Better Mistakes @ Palmer's
Those Medley Kids @ The Parkway
Dance Church @ ROK Music Lounge
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
Bumpin Uglies with The Bastard Suns @ 7th St Entry
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with the Ryan Picone Quartet @ 331 Club
Joan of Profile, Sammie Jean, Everyday Trbles @ 331 Club
Demob Happy with BlurCurve @ Turf Club
Rosie, Squirm, Love House, and Sylvia Dieken @ Underground Music Venue
Saint Paul Mudsteppers Monthly @ White Squirrel
Thursday, November 16
YEV + Bryn Battani @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Fletcher Coulee, Ait Ait, Observant @ Cloudland
Joyce Lyons: Exploring Carmen McRae @ Crooners
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Dessa with Lady Midnight @ First Avenue
The Tenors @ Fitzgerald Theater
Fever Candlelight Concert @ Granada
Megan Lenius, SunfyreTV, Jon Li @ Green Room
Mayda @ Hook and Ladder
Sam Weber with Hemma @ Icehouse
Hamline University and Carleton College Jazz Ensembles @ Jazz Central
Cap'n Al and Friends @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Time Room, Fend, Vin, PureSHIFTER @ Mortimer's
Gabel, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky @ Orchestra Hall
Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach @ Palmer's
The Erratix @ ROK Music Lounge
Tommy Mischke @ Schooner Tavern
Azizi Gibson with Kevin Sinatra, Ferg.JP, and Akeem Mimiko @ 7th St Entry
Cross Pollination: Awful Offal @ 331 Club
Glam! Toyota (Release Party) @ Underground Music Venue
Devaney & Friends with Eli Gardiner, Sarah Morris @ White Squirrel
Friday, November 17
Nothing Was The Same – A Drake Listening Experience w/ DJ Izzie P & DJ Rae @ Amsterdam
Root River Jam + Potluck String Band @ Aster Cafe
Dial Tone (Album Release) with Creeping Charlie and Daphne Jane @ Cedar Cultural Center
Wanderer, Sunset, the Central, Valeska Suratt @ Cloudland
Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs Present 1971: The Beat Goes On @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Winelight Revisited: The Music of Grover Washington Jr. @ Crooners
Glass Eyed Brother @ Driftwood
Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34
Neo Neos, Blood Cookie, Pleasure Cube, Pill Cutter @ Eagles 34
- Lil Darkie and the Collapse of Modern Society @ Fillmore—The dare-you-to-call-me-racist logo for "The Most Controversial Rapper Alive" almost ruffled my ancient, molting feathers for a sec. But the music of this "animated cartoon experimental trap metal artist" is about as edgy as a rubber ball. Parents, nod along to the beat and annoy your kids.
Veeze with Talibando @ Fine Line
Yam Haus with Sawyer @ First Avenue
Pinky Patel @ Fitzgerald Theater
Life Looks Good with the Losing Hope and Bullet to Binary @ The Garage
Noche Chingona with TaliaKnight, and queenDuin @ Green Room
Scott Allen & The List, Rich Mattson and The Northstars @ Hook and Ladder
The Gemstones, Ali and the Scoundrels, and Big Salt @ Hook and Ladder
The Cherry Pit Presents: Intimate Inquiry @ Icehouse
Chris Heopla and Current Physique @ Jazz Central
Emmy Woods (Single Release) @ KJ's Hideaway
The Gentlemen's Anti-Temperance League @ KJ's Hideaway
Sumo Seven @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Gabel, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky @ Orchestra Hall
- Liz Phair with Blondshell @ Palace Theatre—While some indie heroines of the ’90s seem too much of their time, Liz Phair’s early recordings sound as relevant as ever. That’s partly because the kinds of rock dudes she railed against in 1993 haven’t gotten any better in the years since. But it’s also because there are now more opportunities for shy young women who harbor secret fantasies of rock stardom to craft idiosyncratic revenge fantasies against those dopes in their bedrooms. Phair’s 2003 self-titled plunge into pop now sounds like the classic that some of us (ahem) were saying it was at the time, and though her setlist might not contain any of its tracks, let me put one last good word for Phair’s most recent album, 2021’s Soberish. This tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of Exile in Guyville, which has remained a coming-of-age landmark for girls and young women in the years since—and, lemme tell you, an eye-opener for some of the boys too. As with Bikini Kill’s show at the Palace back in April, I’m guessing there will be women huddled up close to the stage who are young enough to be the daughters of Phair’s original fans. Some of them might even be with their moms.
Croce Plays Croce @ Pantages Theatre
Permanent Record + Surf Vana @ The Parkway
- PILLLAR Liquor License Launch Party @ Pilllar—Hey, everybody's favorite NE Mpls skateshop and all-ages club now has a liquor license! This party is free because that's the kind of thing you can do when you know people have to pay for drinks.
Descend: Darkwave Night @ ROK Music Lounge
Thunderheads @ Schooner Tavern
Mystery Skulls with Portair @ 7th St Entry
Stardust (single release), John Forrest and the Model Citizens @ 331 Club
Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets @ Turf Club
Down Syndrome Association of MN Benefit Concert @ Underground Music Venue
Kornbread with Kaviar – An Old School Dancefloor Explosion @ Uptown VFW
Lovely Dark with Malamiko, Cult Sequence @ White Squirrel
- Eagles @ Xcel Energy CenterAfter nearly 50 years, I still can't tell if Don Henley's accent on "Hotel California" is racist against Mexicans or Jamaicans? Maybe both?
Saturday, November 18
Dying Wish with Boundaries, Foreign Hands, and Roman Candle @ Amsterdam
Dierks Bentley with Tyler Braden @ Armory
Matthew French + Haley E Rydell @ Aster Cafe
Jenny Dalton @ Bryant Lake Bowl
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunkers
John Gorka @ Cedar Cultural Center
Off With Their Heads, Christy Costello @ Cloudland
Cafe The Birthday Club: Dan Chouinard and Dane Stauffer Orchestra with Prudence Johnson @ Crooners
Katie Finn, Katie Gearty and Rachel Holder @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's
Lodge, Raised by Aliens @ Driftwood
Dirtwire with Josh Teed @ Fine Line
Flip Phone Superstar 2023 @ First Avenue
- Music of Prince + More for Kids with Encore @ First Avenue—Before we get started here, we must address the disconnect between one of nation’s greatest, horniest artists and the billing of “for kids.” (Remember The Onion’s instant classic headline from the day Prince died?) OK, now we can move on to the event itself, which seems like a real hoot for the whole family, with the touring Rock and Roll Playhouse performing live covers of Prince in a tot-friendly Mainroom setting. Based on my cursory online vetting, the troupe appears to be a less corny, IRL version of Kidz Bop that’s comprised of talented adult musicians; they perform at historic venues around the country, offering sets that range from Blink-182 for Blookly families to Grateful Dead for Boston ones. You can expect rainbow streamers, a giant parachute, lots of goofy dancing, more light with less volume, and a rigorously curated set of tunes from the immortal author of “Jack U Off.”
Mark Joseph & Heatbox (Album Releases) with Melvin Seals @ Fitzgerald Theater
Taylor Marshall with Alex Delzer & Dan Perry @ The Garage
The Honest Heart Collective, Of The Orchard, The Keystones @ Green Room
Abinnet Berhanu and Russ Johnson Quartet @ Jazz Central
Jake Baldwin Quartet with Trish Hurd Quartet @ KJ's Hideaway
Mark Joseph (Album Release) with Debbie Center @ KJ's Hideaway
Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Assortment Feat. Michael Grey @ Mortimer's
J. Holiday & Rico Nevotion R&B Rewind @ Myth Live
Gabel, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky @ Orchestra Hall
Fall Festival @ Orchestra Hall
The Union Suits with Doug Otto & The Getaways and Mississippi Hot Club @ Palmer's
The Fab Four Performs the Beatles' Rubber Soul @ Pantages Theatre
Kindohm, Jesse Whitney, Endif @ ROK Music Lounge
Under the Rug with Social Animals (solo) @ 7th St Entry
Everett Smithson @ Schooner Tavern
Velahsa, Stone Arch Rivals, Black Starling Revue @ Terminal Bar
Uspop, The River High @ 331 Club
Falcon Arrow, McVicker, Tannins @ 331 Club
Nick Lowe's Quality Rock & Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets @ Turf Club
B N' The Spice Cabinet with Inafunk @ Underground Music Venue
Story of the Year @ Uptown Theater
Erik Koskinen Band, Jeremy Moses Curtis @ Uptown VFW
Southpaw, Vin @ White Rock Lounge
Anni XO, Emma Jeanne, Emily Albert @ White Squirrel
Pop Wagner Tavern Trio @ White Squirrel
Dave Simonett @ The Women's Club of Minneapolis
Sunday, November 19
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Steven C. + Marcus Royce @ Aster Cafe
Great Northern Union Chorus @ Capri
Jazz Matinee Series @ Cloudland
The R Factor: Michael Jackson Family Review @ Crooners
Café Accordion Orchestra @ Dakota
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Starfruit, Ice Climber, Cannabis Kiss, Unattractive Giant Monster
Swingin' Country Band @ Eagles 34
Floodwater Angel, Dani Erin, Majoon Travellers @ Green Room
Joslyn & The Sweet Compression @ Hook and Ladder
The Experience with Darnell Davis & the Remnant @ Icehouse
Custom Controller @ KJ's Hideaway
Friends in Recovery Music Festival @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Fall Festival @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's
Jake Xerxes Fussell with Rosali @ The Parkway
Hanging Wound and Gorrified @ ROK Music Lounge
midwxst with Casper Sage, 4TUNAT and REIKI @ 7th St Entry
Chris Knight with Eli Gardiner @ Turf Club
Daguerreotypes, Hemma @ White Squirrel
Monday, November 20
Brandon Commodore's NRG @ Dakota
15 Minutes of Fame Open Mic @ Driftwood
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Liz Draper (November Residency) @ Icehouse
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Jazmin Bean with Lucy Loone @ 7th St Entry
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Enter the Void Third Monday: Ryuchi Sakamoto @ White Squirrel
