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.

Eptic @ Skyway Theatre

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

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Maggie's Wednesdays: Andrew Crowley @ Crooners

Tom Rush @ Dakota

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

Trent Romens @ Green Room

Ross Clowser Duo @ Icehouse

Enormous Quartet @ Icehouse

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

Wu Wednesday @ White Squirrel

Thursday, November 16

Atarashii Gakko @ Amsterdam

YEV + Bryn Battani @ Aster Cafe

Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers

Fletcher Coulee, Ait Ait, Observant @ Cloudland

Joyce Lyons: Exploring Carmen McRae @ Crooners

Tom Rush @ Dakota

The Outcats @ Driftwood

Zoe Says Go @ Driftwood

Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34

Allie Colleen @ Fine Line

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

Honey Bear @ Pilllar

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

Jackopierce @ Turf Club

Glam! Toyota (Release Party) @ Underground Music Venue

Chad and JT @ Varsity

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

Chase & Ovation @ Bunkers

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

Don McLean @ Dakota

Glass Eyed Brother @ Driftwood

Matt Herzog Band @ Driftwood

Nosio @ Driftwood

Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34

Neo Neos, Blood Cookie, Pleasure Cube, Pill Cutter @ Eagles 34

Obscura @ 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

Kota the Friend @ The Lyric

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.

'Kama's BDay Bash! with Los Pinches Güeys, Surly Grrly, Infantile Disease, Drey DK, and Manual Controller @ Palmer's

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

Riot Ten @ Skyway Theatre

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

KFC Radio @ Varsity Theater

The 241's @ White Rock Lounge

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

Moone Walker @ Capri

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

Dustbowl Revival @ Dakota

The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's

Lodge, Raised by Aliens @ Driftwood

Thank-O-Ween VI @ Eagles 34

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

Purple Kiss @ Granada

The Honest Heart Collective, Of The Orchard, The Keystones @ Green Room

The Dollys @ Icehouse

Roomful of Teeth @ Icehouse

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

Benda @ The Loft

Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe

The Assortment Feat. Michael Grey @ Mortimer's