If you want to go hear some live music this week, I have some very good news for you: There will indeed be live music featured in multiple establishments.
Tuesday, October 10
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
- Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily @ Cedar Cultural CenterThis stylistically varied trio’s appearance at the Cedar is the most anticipated jazz-adjacent event of the fall. Aftab’s melding of South Asian ghazal with Western pop forms has won her an audience beyond “world music” fans (or whatever we’re calling that slice of the marketplace these days). A cerebral composer who practices what he calls “creative music,” Iyer has been bridging genres throughout his career, incorporating Asian music and contemporary Black music, including hip-hop, into jazz. Ismaily is a distinguished multi-instrumentalist who has worked with Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits, and Nels Cline. These three big names teamed up this year for Love in Exile, on which Aftab’s husky anti-grav voice floats over Iyer’s inventive piano figures and synth textures while Ismaily’s supportive bass holds everything together. They don’t exactly groove, but this music isn’t static either; it drifts, probes, and queries. In a live setting it may well be transporting.
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Kevin Gamble Trio @ Green Room
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Teddy Bear Orchestra @ Mortimer's
Snõõper with Citric Dummies and Dummy @ 7th St Entry
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime with John Louis @ 331 Club
October Conspiracy Series featuring the Ya Ya Boys @ 331 Club
Margo Cilker with Christy Hays @ Turf Club
- Thank You, I'm Sorry (Album Release), Keep for Cheap, She's Green @ Underground Music VenueRead more about the (mostly) local pop-punk band and their new album, Growing in Strange Places, here.
- The Chats @ Varsity TheaterI checked out these acerbic Aussies' latest album, Get Fucked, because I giggled at this (approving) review of “I’ve Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane” from Pitchfork's Stuart Berman: "Kind of what Wire’s Pink Flag would sound like if all the lyrics were Yelp reviews." The only other tracks I remember vividly is "Panic Attack," which sounds like one, and "The Price of Smokes" (too high!) but that's enough to convince me that their hearts are in the wrong place and they're tickled to be getting away with the nasty din they kick up. Are there countless punk bands out there doing this same exact thing better? Probably. Are there countless punk bands out there doing this same exact thing worse? Absolutely
Two Steppin’ Tuesdays feat. Dan Lowinger with the Cole Diamond Band @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, October 11
Christian French with Devon Gabriella, Lisa Heller @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Bitch with Crys Matthews @ Cedar Cultural Center
Maggie's Wednesdays: Andrew Crowley @ Crooners
- Nellie McKay @ DakotaSeems just like yesterday that McKay emerged as the enfant adorable of self-conscious neo-cabaret with Get Away From Me. (It was 20 damn years ago, actually.) After establishing her songwriting bona fides with a few tartly comic albums, she began showcasing herself as a smart interpreter on her terrific 2009 Doris Day tribute Normal as Blueberry Pie and her only slightly less terrific collection of reinterpreted '60s rock, My Weekly Reader, a few years later. This summer, McKay released her first album of original material in over a decade, Hey Guys, Watch This, a collection so sprightly and lulling on its surface that you'll be compelled to go back and listen again more closely when you hit the closer, the story of a young black woman who wants to be Jeffrey Dahmer (and, sure, President of the United States, why not?) when she grows up.
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
The Bad Companions @ Eagles 34
- Christopher Cross @ FillmoreHe'll make you jump, jump.
Ava Levy, Lana Leone, Dark Bunny @ Green Room
Bob Frey & Friends with Emmy Woods @ Icehouse
Monique & Xperience @ Minnesota Music Cafe
- Sir Hiss, Wissota, Beargod, Thysbe @ ROK Music LoungeI don't know much about UK DJ Sir Hiss, but what a great name.
Connor McRae Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Próxima Parada with Olive Klug @ 7th St Entry
- Bonnie Raitt with Roy Rogers @ State TheatreIf your Raitt familiarity starts with her Grammy-winning 1989 comeback Nick of Time, you’re in for a treat—her run of ’70s albums, where she explored a warmer and folkier version of the blues than was being warped into hard rock and metal elsewhere at the time, stacks up against the work of just about any of your faves, especially the white ones. And if you stopped listening sometime in the ’90s when “Longing in Their Hearts” and its ilk suggested she’d committed the rest of her years to VH1 adult mush, you’re missing out too. In fact Just Like That… (not to be confused with the similarly titled Sex and the City sequel), the 2022 album her tour is named for, is the kind of ace collection of songs that seems so easy to put together till you realize how few others do—plus the usual killer slide guitar and a voice that made her sound mature back when she was a kid.
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Drew Peterson @ 331 Club
Todd Snider Tribute with The HIGH Rev and Brady Perl @ 331 Club
Rum Ragged with Jeff Plankenhorn @ Turf Club
CMJ's Sub Art For Mass Consumption, Vol. 3 @ Underground Music Venue
Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers @ White Squirrel
John Prine & Tanya Tucker Tribute Night @ White Squirrel
Thursday, October 12
Dead On A Sunday with Night Spins & Andrew Paley @ Amsterdam
Kismet Roundezvous + Emmy Woods @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Arne Fogel Presents Kinda Dukish: A Duke Ellington Songfest @ Crooners
Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women with Guests Pat Miles + Kelley Hunt @ Crooners
Jordan Johnston and The Elevation @ Crooners
Mark Nesse & Friends @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Joseph Walker + Friends @ Eagles 34
- Genesis Owusu with Godly the Ruler @ Fine Line"Better run/There's a god/And he's comin' for me" Owusu sings on the opening track of his latest album, Struggler, over a bassline that does indeed sound like it's chasing him. I don't always know what to make of the spiritual battles of a guy who quotes Kafka and the Killers in the same verse, but this Ghanaian-Australian's melange of rap, rock, and funk is always immediately engaging.
Bahamas with Fortunate Ones @ First Avenue
Whiskey Rock 'n' Roll Club, 13 Arrows, Valors, Gentleman Speaker @ Green Room
Dale Watson with Matt Hillyer @ Hook and Ladder
Chokecherry, Lifestyle Shakes, Goatroper @ Hook and Ladder
Collin Roycroft @ Jazz Central
Smiling Cowboys @ Minnesota Music Cafe
No Limits: The B Side @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Freak Hoe Horror Show @ Mortimer's
Haydn’s Evening Symphony with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Basketball Divorce Court, Diet Lite @ Pilllar
Speakeazie (EP Release) @ ROK Music Lounge
The Zillionaires @ Schooner Tavern
Skizzy Mars with Luke Wild and Matt Corman @ 7th St Entry
Minneapolis Songwriter Round, Hosted by Alexis Politz @ 331 Club
Noah Gundersen with Casey Dubie @ Turf Club
Bella Larson and the Scene Kids @ White Rock Lounge
The Monday Club @ White Squirrel
Friday, October 13
Mustard Service with JW Francis @ Amsterdam
Luther Vandross Tribute @ Bunkers
CorVoce Presents “Words That Sing” @ Capri Theater
Adrian Legg with Phil Heywood @ Cedar Cultural Center
Ahmed and the Creators @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Jennifer Grimm and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Betty & the Rubble @ Driftwood
Steve Clarke and the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
They Live, Die Ghost, The Gubers, Mommy S3z No @ Eagles 34
Emo Nite with Travis Clark (of We The Kings) @ Fine Line
Jessie Murph with Henry Verus @ First Avenue
The Zombies with Turn Turn Turn @ Fitzgerald Theater
Chutes, Dom Mooney, Colin Bracewell, Green @ Green Room
14th Annual Big Fat Love: Celebrating John Prine’s Birthday @ Hook and Ladder
Rogue Valley (Album Release) with Molly Maher @ Icehouse
Joe and the Mechanics @ KJ's Hideaway
Alexander Craig Trio @ KJ's Hideaway
R Factor @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Dingus/Boss’ Daughter/The Slow Death/Tim Schumann (Loss Leader) @ Mortimer's
Valčuha Conducts Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 @ Orchestra Hall
Haydn’s Evening Symphony with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Ghost Kitchen, Fern Spores, and High Tiny Hairs @ Palmer's
Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin @ Pantages Theatre
Pals, Falcon Arrow, Strange Frequency @ Pilllar
Descend: Darkwave Night @ ROK Music Lounge
Easy Honey with FènixDion and Connor McLaren @ 7th St Entry
Brian Setzer with Yates McKendree @ State Theatre
King Sized Coffin, Gentleman Speaker @ Terminal Bar
Dashed, HOLYROSE, ahem @ 331 Club
underscores with torr @ Turf Club
Welcome to the Dark @ Uptown VFW
Everything Everything @ Varsity Theater
Twin Citizen with Moonlit Mushroom, Labrador Wild @ White Squirrel
Saturday, October 14
Jo Jo Green with Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty, and Cassandra Cole @ Amsterdam
Katy Tessman and the Turnbuckles Album Release Show with Nikki Lemire @ Aster Cafe
Luther Vandross Tribute @ Bunkers
Sonia De Los Santos and the Okee Dokee Brothers @ Cedar Cultural Center
Cafe Accordion Orchestra: Afternoon In Paris with Diane Jarvi @ Crooners
Maud Hixson Presents: Moon River and Mercer @ Crooners
Kieran and Zach's Rock and Roll Call @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Jennifer Grimm and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Fab Hackmasters @ Driftwood
The California Honeydrops @ First Avenue
The Dalmatian Club, Rosie, Daphne Jane, Soul Flower @ Green Room
Signal Decode 1 Dance Party @ Hook and Ladder
Gypsy Mania Hot Club @ Icehouse
Model/Actriz with Conjunto Primativo @ Icehouse
Take That Back featuring Joan Hutton and Sue Orfield @ Jazz Central
The Gated Hideaway @ KJ's Hideaway
Manzanita Quintet @ KJ's Hideaway
The Good, the Bad & the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Assortment feat. Michael Grey @ Mortimer's
Fall Sensory-Friendly Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Valčuha Conducts Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 @ Orchestra Hall
Haydn’s Evening Symphony with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Travorama Fafafa a Go-Go @ ROK Music Lounge
Geese with PACKS @ 7th St Entry
Garden Street @ Schooner Tavern
Sunken Ship Irony, Heatwave and the Landmen @ Terminal Bar
Voltage Controller Vol. 22 @ 331 Club
Inland Coastal, Dave’s Manual, The Owl-Eyes @ 331 Club
Molly Burch with Christelle Bofale @ Turf Club
Phillip Phillips @ Varsity Theater
Pelicant with Fairy Boat @ White Squirrel
Luke Bryan @ Xcel Energy Center
Sunday, October 15
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
David Harland with Cierra Alise Hill @ Aster Cafe
Esmé Patterson with bathtub cig @ Cedar Cultural Center
Joyann Parker Presents Acoustic Gospel Roots @ Crooners
Red Hot Django Peppers @ Crooners
Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Swinging Country Band @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
tobi lou with grouptherapy. @ Fine Line
Gospel Brunch: The Experience with Darnell Davis & the Remnant @ Icehouse
Twin Cities Flamenco Collective @ Icehouse
Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's
Briscoe with Sam Johnston @ 7th St Entry
Protest The Hero with Moon Tooth and The Callous Daoboys @ Turf Club
The Cambion @ White Rock Lounge
Kaylee Kitzman with Daguerreotypes, Gabe Keller Flores @ White Squirrel
Halloween on Planet Venus with Venus DeMars, The Tender Years, Petals @ White Squirrel
Monday, October 16
Adi Yeshaya Big Band feat. Jennifer Grimm @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Claudio Simonetti’s GOBLIN @ Fitzgerald Theatre
Brian Courage with Courageous Endeavors and Polipnick / Courage / Healey. @ Icehouse
RiFFs: Jazz and Comedy @ Jazz Central
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Taylor Ashton with Eliza Edens @ 7th St Entry
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Billy Raffoul with Peter Raffoul and The Indiana Drones @ Turf Club
