Three of this week's spotlighted shows are local benefits, with great lineups matching great causes. And to help you recognize which shows are part of the Twin Cities Jazz Fest, I've prefaced those entries with—you guessed it—"Twin Cities Jazz Fest."
Tuesday, June 17
Johnny Lied with Dan Israel @ Aster Cafe
Niny Salem @ Bryant Square Park
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Shaun LaBelle & Stokley feat. Bobby Lyle @ Dakota
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
John Penny @ Father Hennepin Park
Scott Allen & the List @ Loring Park
Jessie Street Duo @ Minnehaha Bandstand
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Grooves ft. DJ Jen-E @ Mortimer’s
Gary Clark Jr. with Lamont Landers @ Palace Theatre
Sunflower Bean with GIFT @ 7th St Entry
June Conspiracy Series featuring John Magnuson Trio+ with Eric Kalenze @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with John Louis @ 331 Club
Bethel Music: Worship and Ministry Nights @ State Theatre
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Sawtooth Witch (Residency) with PARISHES @ White Squirrel
James Taylor and His All-Star Band @ Xcel Energy Center
Wednesday, June 18
Shady Babies Open Mic @ Acadia
Greg Volker & The River with Nikki Matteson and Rich Rue @ Aster Cafe
Larry McDonough Quartet @ Berlin
Melissa Ferrick with Rose Cousins @ Cedar Cultural Center
Buddy Holly: Oh Boy @ Crooners
Senor Blues, Weekend at Bernie’s @ Driftwood
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Perfume Genius with urika's bedroom @ First Avenue
Old Gods of Appalachia @ Fitzgerald Theater
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Percolators Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Maria and the Coins @ Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
The New Standards & Friends with Tina Schlieske @ Mears Park
Chazz Reed @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Cole Diamond Presents Whiskey Wednesdays @ Palmer’s
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
Planning for Burial with Birth Order and IOSIS @ 7th St Entry
Gigi Amal, Taylor Johnson @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with B-4 Blues Band @ 331 Club
The Family Crest with Babes in Canyon @ Turf Club
Sam Soderholm, Aphid, & Reilly Shane @ Underground Music Venue
- Ryan Adams @ Uptown Theater—Andrew Cuomo's running for NYC major, Louis CK's coming to the Orpheum this fall, and this scumbag's still touring. Truly a great time to be a shitty man. (Ain't it always?)—Keith Harris
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Ramson with Droll Cretin, R.B.A. @ White Squirrel
Thursday, June 19
Hairless Twin, Mommy Log Balls, Night Market, & Basement Dwellers @ Amsterdam
Beth Bombara & Anna Devine @ Aster Cafe
Nyttu Chongo/Calvin Caron & Patrick Adkins @ Berlin
Berlin Staff Takeover @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Ivory Daze, Chain of Hatred, 12 House Sun, Skewed @ Caydence Records and Coffee
Erin Schwab's Big Birthday Bash! with Jay Fuchs @ Crooners
STAND! Songs of Struggle, Strength and Hope @ Crooners
Waltz for Debbie: A Juneteenth Tribute to Debbie Duncan @ Dakota
Wilson Parc, Spells and Curses, Griffin @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Greer with Chinese American Bear @ Fine Line
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Soul of the Southside—Juneteenth Festival @ Hook and Ladder
Peter Kogan Jazz Presents – Bird & Diz Legacy Quintet @ Metronome Brewery
Pan-Handlers Steel Drum Band @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Dark Click With Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Mary Elias’s Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Head And The Heart with Futurebirds and Anna Graves @ Palace Theatre
Riddim Driven With DJ I Roach @ Palmer’s
Iris DeMent with Ana Egge @ Parkway
Umbrella Bed, 242B @ Schooner Tavern
Civic with Battery Eyes @ 7th St Entry
Cross Pollination: Knife Emoji, Joan of Profile @ 331 Club
Dean Wareham with Chris Forsyth @ Turf Club
Jazz Unplugged @ Urban Growler Brewing Company
Devaney & Friends @ White Squirrel
Hello Blue with Deep Fakes @ White Squirrel
Widemouth & Sleeper's Bell with Babytooth @ Zhora Darling
Friday, June 20
Jazz Está Morto featuring Azymuth @ Amsterdam
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Charlie Bruber & Jack Barrett @ Berlin
The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Bunker’s
Shake Up the City Pt. 2 @ Cabooze
Purple Queen Zen @ Can Can Wonderland
- Tina Schlieske, Freaque, and Zoe Says Go @ Cedar Cultural Center—Tina Schlieske happens to be everywhere this week. The local rock mainstay performs at Mears Park as part of Lowertown Sounds on Wednesday and at the Hewing Rooftop on Sunday. But there’s no better setting in which to catch Schlieske than this benefit for Unite 2 Fight Paralysis, a local nonprofit that’s fighting federal cuts to spinal cord injury research. Also performing will be Freaque, the artistic alter ego of Gabriel Rodreick, who happens to have some spine in the game—the musician’s C5 spinal cord injury informs his music and the rest of his interdisciplinary work. Rounding out the bill are Americana rockers Zoe Says Go.—Keith Harris
Mary Jam, Oister Boy, Doll Chaser @ Cloudland
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Teri Roiger Celebrates the Music of Abbey Lincoln @ Crooners
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Colleen Raye and Jon Weber @ Crooners
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Explosion Big Band @ Crooners
In Your Eyes: A Peter Gabriel Tribute @ Day Block Brewing
Gossamer, the Menagerie, Side Door @ Driftwood
DeadDontDie, AJ Stone Music, Cretin Ave Hop @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Niny Salem, Jon Weber @ Episcopal Homes
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Global Jazz Collegium @ Erta Ale Ethiopian Restaurant
Rion, The Beta Version @ 50th & France
Just Dance: Lady Gaga Night @ Fine Line
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Other Ol’ Blue Eyes @ Gambit Brewing
Kevin Anderson @ Ginkgo Coffee
90s Dance Night: You Oughta Know @ Hook and Ladder
Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder
Talkin’ All That Jazz @ Icehouse
The Get Up Mondays @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Tank (Top) Night With DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Lush
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Las Guaracheras, Selby Avenue Brass Band @ Jazz on 5th Street
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Maryann and the Money Makers @ Mall of America
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Atlantis Quartet, Hannah Harder Quintet, Trius @ Metronome Brewery
Function Junction Dance Party @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Ben Rector, the National Parks @ Palace Theatre
- World Refugee Day @ Pilllar Forum—By definition, it’s never a great time to be a refugee. But in a moment of severe backlash worldwide, with militarized goons in the U.S. snatching the vulnerable off the streets or shoving them into prisons (sorry, detention centers) at the border, and bureaucrats stripping away legal protections, this is a really bad one. So this benefit for the Karen Organization of Minnesota, the first resettlement group in the state formed by actual refugees, is a timely one. Why shouldn’t you just write ’em a check? Because in this instance, good intentions are backed with a great lineup. The Taxpayers are punks scattered throughout the country, including right here in MN, and their excellent new album, Circle Breaker, offers the sort of engaged, earnest anthemry you could build a DIY community on. There are even horns. With Ywa Hay Moo, Reback Moo, Eh Ler Tha & Eh Wah & Family, and Ti Ter Haw Min.—Keith Harris
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Jam Session hosted by Graydon Peterson Trio @ Pimento’s
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Robert Lehmann & Toby Ramaswamy, Katia Cardenas @ Saint City
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Erin Livingston @ Saint Paul Hotel
Dave Rave and the Governors, Lolo’s Ghost, the Driftless Area @ Schooner Tavern
Kyle Hall with DPC, Mike Pifer, and QJ @ 7th St Entry
Jack Klatt, Jake La Botz @ Terminal Bar
Greg Koch ft. Koch Marshall Trio @ Turf Club
Simp City: The Hottest R&B Party @ Varsity
Night Audit, Toilet Rats, Enemy in the Sky @ 331 Club
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Trench Size Trio @ White Squirrel
Red Eye Ruby with Opliam @ White Squirrel
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Room3 @ Zamboni’s on 7th
Saturday, June 21
Twin Citizen, Valors, Moonlit Mushroom, and Uff-Da @ Amsterdam
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Abinnet Berhanu Trio @ Berlin
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: D. Untethered @ Berlin
Damon Locks: List of Demands @ Berlin
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Brilliant Colors @ Big River Pizza
I Want You Back: A Motown Revue @ Black Hart
STRICTLY R&B: Cancer SZN - Day Party Edition @ Cabooze
ROAR! Featuring BeBe Zahara Benet @ Capri
Leslie Parker and Collaborators @ Cedar Cultural Center
Bad Moves, Scrunchies, Constant Insult @ Cloudland
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Daphna Levy with Adi Yeshaya @ Crooners
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Joe Pulice Salutes Buddy Rich @ Crooners
Infidels: A Bob Dylan Tribute @ Dakota
Stringdingers @ Day Block Brewing
Bring Your Mom, Twist My Arm @ Driftwood
The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty’s
Serf Revolt @ Eagles 34
LGBTQ Women’s Dance @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Maud Hixson with Rick Carlson, Jon Weber @ Episcopal Homes
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Andrew Schwandt Trio @ Erta Ale Ethiopian Restaurant
Arooj Aftab with Lady Midnight @ Fine Line
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: St. Peter Street Stompers @ Gambit Brewing
Samambo Pride: Freaky Gyal @ Green Room
Twin CIties Jazz Fest: Lee Engele & Reynold Philipsek with Gary Schulte @ Heimie’s Haberdashery
A Juneteenth Burlesque Brunch @ Icehouse
Twin Cities Jazz Workshop @ Icehouse
Adrian Y, Chanderz, Astro @ Icehouse
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Swinging Motown, Drums of Navarone, the Avant Garde @ Jazz on 5th Street
Alligations @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Jaybee and the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
DJ Kayla Elsewhere @ Modist Brewing
Leading Ladies: Divas of Broadway @ Ordway
Jack’s Mannequin with Yoke Lore @ Palace Theatre
Twin Cities Jazz Festival: Jam Session hosted by Graydon Peterson Trio @ Pimento’s
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Naomi and her Handsome Devils @ River Stage
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Mockturnal, Will Aldrich Quintet @ Saint City
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Victoria Temiz with James Allen @ St. Paul Farmer’s Market
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Erin Livingston @ St. Paul Hotel
Tumblin Dice @ Schooner Tavern
Ethan Tasch with Mikey Lasusa and Wyatt Moran @ 7th St Entry
Ethan James, Justin Formico @ Terminal Bar
Dashed, Busey, Curve @ 331 Club
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Steve Kenny Quintet, Lila Ammons Jazz Group @ Twin Cities PBS Stage
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: Sarah Navratil Quartet @ Zamboni’s on 7th
Vinny Franco, Moonglow, BAKKWOODDRIFT, & Beemer @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, June 22
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Sundays With Nona (feat. Silversmith) @ Berlin
Leslie Parker and Collaborators @ Cedar Cultural Center
System Exclusive, True Lust, Magenta Vice @ Cloudland
Connie Evingson & Jon Weber @ Crooners
The Birthday Club with Dan Chouinard and Prudence Johnson @ Crooners
Phine and Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
DayFunk : Day Time House Music Party - Hatiras! @ Eat Street Crossing
- Wrestlepalooza @ First Avenue—The kids who called you “gay” in elementary school for liking wrestling? Well… at the end of the day, they may have had a point. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! You can ask them—wrestling is “super queer now,” with indie performers from coast to coast embracing their identity in the ring. Local promoters F1rst Wrestling have always said that wrestling is for everyone, and they’re once again bringing a big-time Pride party to First Avenue. Read our 2021 profile of badass, boundary-smashing local wrestler Devon Monroe here, and then snag your tickets and find more info here. With musical guests Denim Boys and Cheap Bouquet, burlesque by Sweetpea, and draglesque by Del the Funky Homosexual.—Em Cassel
Tina Schlieske @ Hewing Rooftop
- FIGHT! For Your Civil Rights! @ Hook and Ladder—A little while back, Minnesota music superfan Paul Engebretson, bka Front Row Paul, formed the Minnesota Music Resistance to unite participants in the local music scene around progressive causes. Sadly, Engebretson died of pancreatic cancer in March, but the org he spearheaded is just getting started. This is the group's first "awareness and fundraising event," with proceeds going to ACLU MN. And it's a great lineup: Turn Turn Turn, the Muatas, the Silent Treatment, Dad Bod, Ganser, Christy Costello, and a whole lot more where that came from. Civil rights are good. Music is good. What more could you ask?—Keith Harris
J.E. Sunde duo ft. Shane Leonard @ Icehouse
Night Shift Dance Party @ Icehouse
Star of the North Concert Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Emerson Avenue @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Barb Ryman @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
MiniMort: Producers Showcase @ Mortimer’s
Leading Ladies: Divas of Broadway @ Ordway
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
Twin Cities Jazz Fest: 4th Annual Jazz Jam Session @ Schmitt Music
Sofie Royer with Rebounder and Callback @ 7th St Entry
Dispatch @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club
Yotuma, Decedent, Viceral Reaction, Mortura @ Underground Music Venue
Mill City Caravan @ White Squirrel
Mississippi Valley Orchestra @ White Squirrel
Monday, June 23
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
World Music Monday @ Eagles 34
Hearts and Minds with Real Bulls @ Icehouse
Minnesota Freedom Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Suroor & W1ndow with Ghosting Merit and Drey DK @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
Van Isaacson, Molly Brandt, Jane O’Neill @ Underground Music Venue
Tuesday, June 24
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
The Cat Empire with LowDown Brass Band @ Fine Line
Bound by Unity Benefit @ Flying V
Kevin Gamble Trio @ Indeed Brewing
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
