Anyone else feeling a bit rundown these days? As the Minutemen once wondered, maybe partying will help.
Tuesday, February 24
Permanence, Milk, Spinkick @ Amsterdam
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Apes of the State, Rent Strike @ Cedar Cultural Center
Friends of Peter Ostroushko Stand With Ukraine @ Crooners
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
- Minnesota United FC Kickoff Concert: DURRY, Keep For Cheap, Sophie Hiroko, Sophia Eris @ First Avenue—You don't have to be a soccer fan to get pumped for this one. Among the many righteous protest songs that local musicians released in response to the ICE occupation, Durry's "Told You So" really stands out—maybe because it's not so much a “protest song” as an “everything you ever wanted to say to your dumbass MAGA family member" song. I wrote about Keep for Cheap in last year's Poised to Pop; Sophie Hiroko placed in last year's Picked to Click. Sophia Eris has a new track with MAKR available here. And on top of all that, proceeds benefit Keystone Community Services.—Keith Harris
Iodine, Aly Dyg, Hairless Twin, Quarter Moon @ Green Room
Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Buffalo Traffic Jam @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
February Conspiracy Series featuring Drew Peterson @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with mike munson @ 331 Club
The Twang Express @ White Squirrel
Ditch Pigeon (Tuesday Night Residency), Frank & Janae, Drug League @ White Squirrel
Melpomene, Gates of Dawn, Datura Dread, & VIN @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, February 25
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
Insun Park & Generals, Black Widows @ Cedar Cultural Center
Bring Your Mom, Dude Bods @ Driftwood Char Bar
- Gogol Bordello, Puzzled Panther, Boris and the Joy @ First Avenue—Eugene Hütz isn't just one of the great punk conceptualists (pairing Romani polyphony with breakneck rock 'n' roll rush only seems inevitable in retrospect) but one of its last remaining true believers. If the (terrible) title of his Romani punk outfit's latest, We Mean It, Man!, suggests his heart is triumphing over his mind these days, that emotional overflow gives us the promise that “Life is Possible Again.” Beside, lyrics like "count on me/Like you count to three" and "sometimes a good illusion is all you need" are hardly dumb, and Hütz does rhyme "Heraclitus" with "laryngitis" on "I Have No Time For Idiots." Most importantly, the way horns and percussion and strings and synths rush headlong into the abyss without ever once stumbling over each another remains a wonder—especially live.—Keith Harris
Eric Mayson and Toby Ramaswamy present Rummage! @ Icehouse
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Karaoke with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe
On a Winter’s Night @ Parkway Theater
Sweet Pea, American Cream, 1947 @ Pilllar Forum
BZ3 Organ Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Jillian Rae Band @ 331 Club
Damien Jurado, St. Yuma @ Turf Club
Family Dinner with Doug and Sarah @ White Squirrel
Zach VI, Lilith, Seth Patrick @ White Squirrel
The Lamellas, Agony in the Living Room, Flicker @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, February 26
Becky Kapell & the Fat 6 @ Animales
Tucker Wetmore, Dasha, Jacob Hackworth @ Armory
Maya McDonald & Courtney Yasmineh @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas @ Cedar Cultural Center
The Nunnery, Quiet Takes, St. Anthony Mann @ Cloudland
Sophisticated Lady - A Celebration of the Music of Natalie Cole @ Crooners
Jen & Eric Duo, the Sudd Brothers @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Variety Hour @ Fine Line
- Cat Power @ First Avenue—It’s a familiar tale: Seeking a new direction, a young musician (likely white) sets off to a city with a storied musical reputation (likely southern) to jam with some older (likely Black) musicians. In this case, Chan Marshall checked in at Ardent Studios in Memphis 20 years ago with a crew that included Teenie and Leroy Hodges, the guitarist and bassist, respectively, for Al Green’s biggest hits. Depending on your perspective, the album Marshall emerged with, The Greatest, was either where she found a dynamic context for her drowsy soul or where she abandoned her unique vision for a more familiar traditionalism. No fan of her early work (which seemed rooted in the proposition that misery is a mark of enlightenment), I hear The Greatest as a prime slice of mood music, the stuff the band plays when everyone else has gone home. Sure it occasionally sounds like the fellas wish they could cut loose a little, but they’re all pros and they let Marshall have her moment. She’ll be performing The Greatest in its entirety tonight, as one does these days, and possibly a song or two from Redux, an EP of wan covers recorded during those sessions, released last month.—Keith Harris
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Turn Turn Turn (Album Release Residency) with Lynden Graham @ Icehouse
Acoustic Thursdays @ Mainstreet Bar
Alvaro Henrique, Duo Corda @ Metronome Brewery
Northstar Original Revue @ Midway Saloon
Drums of Navarone @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Lunar New Year @ Minnesota Orchestra
Bugsy, Linus, Huhroom @ Pilllar Forum
Scott Allen & the List, Self Neglecters @ Schooner Tavern
The Ramona Flowers, Callback, clovers daughter @ 7th St Entry
The Flying T, the Midnight Current @ 331 Clubf
Joni Mitchell & James Taylor Tribute @ Turf Club
IdlFlo, Birdland, the Grieving Pines @ White Squirrel
Friday, February 27
Zeitgeist & Renegade Ensemble present Femenine by Julius Eastman @ Anderson Center
Doug Otto & the Getaways @ Animales
Steve Aoki, Audien, Laidback Luke @ Armory
Baptiste Herbin Quartet @ Berlin
Erin McCawley’s Harrison Street Band @ Blues Saloon
Some Shitty Cover Band @ Bunker’s
Rich Mattson and the Northstars, Lone Rock Bride, the Swongos @ Cloudland
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Muun Bato, Manias, Christian Erickson @ Day Block Brewing
Wallace John Band, the Long Honeymoon @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Miss Shannon's Sock Hop with Kinda Fonda Wanda @ Eagles 34
Say She She, Katzù Oso @ Fine Line
Heart to Gold, she's green, Remo Drive, WHY NOT @ First Avenue
Chase Matthew @ Grand Casino Hinckley
Promiscuous: A 2000s Club Bangers Throwbacks Party @ Green Room
- Family Fun-Raiser @ Hook and Ladder—How cute is the poster for this community fundraiser—sorry, fun-raiser—at Hook & Ladder? Tonight, food and funk come together, with a community meal and live music from Obi Original & the Black Atlantics, Purple Funk Metropolis, and TABAH. But your ticket purchase will also help raise rental assistance money for families in need thanks to a network of Community Kitchen volunteers. Gettin’ your groove on while supporting neighbors in need? There’s just no better win/win scenario.—Em Cassel
Erik Koskinen (Residency) with Jeremy Moses Curtis @ Icehouse
Brian Handeland’s BH4 @ Jazz Central
70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Mainstreet Bar
Mill City String Quartet @ Metronome Brewery
Funktion Junction @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Ben Rector: Symphonies Across America @ Orchestra Hall
Kelly Hall-Tompkins @ O'Shaughnessy
Bad Weather, Salt Fangs, Mayfly Moon @ Pilllar Forum
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
Christy Costello & the CC Club, Edging, Mary Jam, Catbath @ 7th St Entry
Sunken Planes, Customers Band, Billy Dankert Band @ Terminal Bar
Gently, Gently, the Old Smugglers @ 331 Club
Flipp, Sunshine Behavior @ Turf Club
Ashbringer, Flayed and Forgotten, Major Malfunction, & Pyrmafrost @ Underground Music
lobsterfight, Jenny Matrix, Keep for Cheap, Bird Hotel @ Underground Music
Mill City Hot Club @ Volstead’s
The Mary Cutrufello Band @ White Squirrel
Iodine. Terravision, Bright Young Things @ White Squirrel
USPOP, Savage Moods, Absolutely Yours @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, February 28
ThirdGoodbye, Iodine, Banana Kicks,Toadstool @ Acadia
Synapse, HOL!, Samplifire, Hurtbox, Flozone @ Armory
The Friend Ship (EP Release) @ Aster Cafe
Ryan Garmoe & Ethan Ostrow @ Berlin
Dan Cavanagh Quartet (feat. Remy Le Boeuf & Shinya Fukumori) @ Berlin
Awa Mally aka The Mayor @ Berlin
Some Shitty Cover Band, DJ Ys @ Boardwalk
Shoeless Revolution @ Bunker’s
- Twin Cities BIPOC Music Showcase @ Can Can Wonderland—With everything else going on right now, let's not forget that it's Black History Month. And as February wraps up, this Can Can showcase is an excellent way to celebrate Black music in Minnesota, with a lineup of Joe Davis, Kouzen, LT Sunnie, Ratliff, and KPW, along with live art from Jigzart. They'll also be accepting donations for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and collecting non-perishable food items.—Keith Harris
The Nadas, Emma Butterworth @ Cedar Cultural Center
Kars for Skids, King Sized Coffin, Clash Minne Rockers @ Cloudland
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Kevin Kling and Victor Zupanc @ Crooners
Ultimate Sinatra feat. Wayne Anthony @ Crooners
Ladies of Soul Vol. 3 @ Dakota
Winter Showcase @ Day Block Brewing
Palomino Breeze, Demolition Means Progress @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Diplomacy @ Dubliner Pub
Yuasa Exide, Visual Learner, Pleasure Cube, Cheap Glue @ Dusty’s
Storm Hip Hop Show @ Eagles 34
Ole 60 with Southall @ First Avenue
Bad Idea, The Dirty Pretty, and Hot Press @ Gambit
Conductor Jack @ Ginkgo Coffee
Zola Rosenfeld @ Ginkgo Coffee
Martenitsa – Bulgarian Dance Party @ Granada
Late Night Takeout @ Green Room
The Wandering Eye, TH3 @ Hook and Ladder
Ozone Creations Presents Silk Lounge @ Icehouse
Momzilla, Aphid, Bunny Blood, Waking Hours @ Klash Coffee
Tim Mahoney and the Meenies @ Mainstreet Bar
Grunge Unplugged @ Metronome Brewery
High and Mighty @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Becky Rae Dalton @ Mystic Lake
Ben Rector: Symphonies Across America @ Orchestra Hall
Apollo Club: 130 Years of Brotherhood and Song @ Ordway
Glencircle, the Lamellas, Squirm, Amateur Hour @ Pilllar Forum
Alex Sampson, maryjo, Rikki Lumi @ 7th St Entry
Envies, the Record Club @ Terminal Bar
Richard Kriehn & Mary Cutruffelo @ 318 Cafe
Fistful of Datas, Socktopus @ 331 Club
Lunar New Year Concert @ Treasure Island
Dave Hause and the Mermaid, William Elliott Whitmore, Adeem the Artist @ Turf Club
Pecos & the Rooftops @ Varsity Theater
The Long Goodbyes @ White Squirrel
Red Eye Ruby, Color Chord, Izzy Cruz @ White Squirrel
Morke, Kostnatění, Wanderer @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, March 1
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Laurels String Quartet (feat. Barbara Cohen & Annie Humphrey) @ Berlin
Monthly Bluegrass Jam @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Inatnas Orchestra: The Music of Asuka Kakitani @ Crooners
Yearbook: Class of ’77 @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
- Margo Price, Meels @ First Avenue—Ever since she dubbed her debut album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter in 2016, Price (born in Aledo, Illinois, if you were wondering) has rocked and twanged with a class-conscious edge. But a gal gets restless on the road, and so does her band, which may be why her sound got woolier with the years (or it might just be the weed). In any case, Price trims away the psychedelic extravagances on her latest, Hard Hearted Woman, because she’s got something to say. The anthem here is “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down,” a time-honored credo she credits to Kristofferson and dedicated to Kimmell, but the centerpiece is the obsessive “Close to You,” which aptly namechecks Lucinda Williams and sighs, “We played the jukebox while democracy fell.” Price rarely gets that explicit, but her convictions are firm enough to steel you for the fight ahead, even when she’s borrowing orneriness from George Jones (“I Just Don’t Give a Damn”) and Waylon Jennings (“Take your tongue out my mouth/I’m kissing you goodbye”). Helluva band too, as there had better be.—Keith Harris
Obi Original and the Black Atlantics (Residency) @ Icehouse
Minnesota Youth Jazz Band @ Jazz Central
The Drift: A Night of Vinyl @ Mortimer’s
Mozart & Borodin @ Orchestra Hall
Freedy Johnston, Molly Maher @ Parkway Theater
- Emily Scott Robinson @ 7th St Entry—Robinson’s voice is so gorgeous and pristine she could sing Jason Aldean lyrics and make you love them. Fortunately, she's got her own songs to sing, building off the life experience of a woman who left Greensboro for Telluride after college to practice social work. High points on Appalachia, the followup to her 2021 breakthrough American Siren, include the anti-gentrification number “Dirtbag Saloon,” the way she stretches out the vowels on "Time Traveler" to empathize with a grandmother enduring dementia, and this crucial message: “There are days despair will win/But the time for flowers will come again.”—Keith Harris
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
Bad Weather, Chemical-X, the Asshats, Popsiclestick @ Underground Music
Duck Bomb, Handsome Midnight, Space Motel @ White Squirrel
Galactic Cowboy Orchestra @ White Squirrel
Monday, March 2
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
Monthly Bluegrass Jam @ Caydence Records and Coffee
Trish Sisson and Phil Kadidlo @ Crooners
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
The Creekside Ruffians, Access Otherwise, the Paperbacks @ 331 Club
Glitterer, Graham Hunt, Prize Horse @ 7th St Entry
