This week's theme is nostalgia. Whether you're wistful for the '80s, the '90s, or even the '00s, many of the picks below will have you remembering supposedly simpler times. As someone who made his peace with reunion tours and the like ages ago, enjoy the memories. But remember there's a lot going on in the present, too.
Tuesday, September 6
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
- Echo and the Bunnymen @ FillmoreIn their early days, Interpol got compared a bunch to Joy Division (they wish), but to ears that actually grew up on doomy Brit new wave, singer Paul Banks clearly had delusions of Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch. Thanks to the Liverpool psych-rockers' sharp pop sense "Lips Like Sugar" and "The Killing Moon" conquered college radio in their day and retain the ability to summon feelings of epic angst in grown-up '80s teens. However, I'm a little miffed that their current setlist omits "Do It Clean" and "Villiers Terrace."
Living Hour + Products + Robot Slide @ Icehouse
The Amity Affliction and Silverstein @ The Lyric
Phoenix with Porches @ Palace Theatre
August Conspiracy Series featuring The Common Practice, Admiral Fox @ 331 Club
Workers Playtime, Jeff Ray @ 331 Club
Squeezy Jibbs and Adam Pasi @ Turf Club
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
Kinda Fonda Wanda (Tuesday Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, September 7
Hannah von der Hoff @ Aster Cafe
Trailer Trash, Moxie @ Driftwood
Kenne Thomas’ Lifeforce @ Icehouse
Kid Villain + Lanue + Jeremy Ylvisaker @ Icehouse
Mad Mojo Jett (Residency) with Trim Reaper, Couch Potato Massacre, Tang and the Tabs @ Mortimer’s
Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue @ Northrop
NO/MÁS with Graveslave and Maniacal Force @ 7th St Entry
KFAI House Party Presents Jimmi and the Band of Souls @ 331 Club
- The Joy Formidable with Tres Leches @ Turf ClubFive albums into their career, this Welsh trio is sticking with what they do best. On last year's Into the Blue, musical focus Ritzy Bryan alternates between big riffs and a scrim of shoegaze fuzz on guitar, her vocals not quite dreamy, not quite chipper, but more emotionally nuanced.
Bob Frey (Record Release) with Faith Boblett @ White Squirrel
Michael Bublé @ Xcel Energy Center
Thursday, September 8
The Challenger Disaster Conspiracy with Goodnight Ritual and Them That Dare @ Amsterdam
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
An Evening with Judi Vinar, Pat Donohue, & Dean Magraw @ Crooners
Maria Jette and Phillip Brunelle @ Crooners
- John Scofield @ DakotaScofield has been at the forefront of jazz guitarists for 40-some years now, since Miles Davis enlisted his services in the '80s. His elegant playing can be a little too classy for rock-centered tastes, but in the right mood and the right setting he'll entrance ya. And like his fusion mentor, he's never been afraid of a good pop tune: His latest album, simply titled John Scofield, contains titles as familiar as "Danny Boy" and "You Win Again."
Donovan Eidem, Mellow Cassette & the Dirty Bottles @ Driftwood
Haley Reinhart with Maria and the Coins @ Fine Line
Bambi Alexander & Co. @ KJ’s Hideaway
Watchhouse with the Onlies @ Palace Theatre
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
Adam & Ava Levy (Thursday Residency) @ White Squirrel
Florence + the Machine @ Xcel Energy Center
Friday, September 9
Crywank & Chastity @ Amsterdam
- Kevin Gates @ ArmoryNot long after this Baton Rouge rapper released his fantastic debut Islah in 2016, a felony weapons charge sidelined him. And the rat-a-tat “Intro” track that leads off Khaza, his latest, had me worried that time served had excessively hardened a rapper whose great strength was a three-dimensional emotional range beyond most of his peers. Good news, though: The album showcases the same alternately warm and prickly personality of a committed Muslim with a soulful drawl and a honeyed flow that won so many of us over on Islah. The hooks aren’t as bountiful as they were six years ago, but whether demonstrating his criminal bona fides or softening up on a track called simply “I’m in Love,” Gates remains a singular rapper.
John Swardson and Bad Blood @ Aster Cafe
Frogleg with Nicholas David @ Bunkers
Texas Hippie Coalition @ Cabooze
Yonder Mountain String Band and the Lil Smokies @ Canterbury Park
Margo Mayhem featuring Why Not, Mike Kota, Marmalade & Heart to Gold @ Cedar Cultural Center
Dane Stauffer & Friends - Featuring Dan Chouinard @ Crooners
Joe Germ, Lucy Red & Pullstring @ Driftwood
- The Afghan Whigs with Pink Mountaintops @ Fine LineDon't call it a nostalgia tour. OK, sure, you'll probably be attending for' 90s faves from Gentlemen and Black Love rather than to hear the band's latest, How Do You Burn?, out this Friday. But Greg Dulli and the gang are still at it, and their new material still thrums with the brooding intensity that made Dulli the thinking indie woman's imaginary nightmare boyfriend back in the day. Covered on this recent tour: Bo Diddley, Jesus Christ Superstar, and the Smiths.
- Yola with Jac Ross @ First AvenueThis U.K. soul revivalist's ominous take on Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Things Are Happening Every Day" is a musical high point in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis that will hopefully expand her audience a titch. Her two albums, Walk Through Fire and Stand for Myself, are collections of meticulously arranged tracks that never slight songcraft in favor of vibe, and she sings the hell out of them.
Lovely Dark (Album Release) with Careful Gaze @ Icehouse
Loss Leader, No Encore, Battery Eyes @ Palmer’s
Present Company (Album Release) with Keep For Cheap and Emma Jeanne @ 7th St Entry
Jeff Ray and the Stakes @ 331 Club
Giovannie & The Hired Guns with David Quinn @ Turf Club
Um Hello?: A Jersey Shore Party @ Uptown VFW
Night Jobs with Rad Owl, Short Timer & Sax @ White Squirrel
Saturday, September 10
Golden Garters Burlesque Revue @ Amsterdam
Reed Brixx and Friends @ Cabooze
Kevin Burt and Ken Valdez @ Crooners
The Belfast Cowboys @ Crooners
Jearlyn & Jevetta Steele @ Dakota
Fabulous Hackmasters @ Driftwood
Noche de Verano Sin Ti: Celebracion de Bad Bunny with Cristian Baca @ Fine Line
Buffalo Function Music Band @ Icehouse
Toivo Hannigan Trio @ Icehouse
William Fitzsimmons + Stuart Smith @ Icehouse
Zacc Harris Group with Hannah Harder Quintet @ KJ’s Hideaway
Wannabianca, Closetalker, Friendly Spectres, Briefcase @ Mortimer’s
- The Shins @ Orpheum TheatreJames Mercer’s breakthrough album, Oh Inverted World, turns 21 this year, and if that makes you feel old, let me, an actual old person, assure you that this means you’re actually not. Anyway, if you do it right, getting old means getting better at what you do. That’s certainly the case with Mercer, whose craft would actually improve by 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow. But the album Mercer and whoever he's calling the Shins these days will play through tonight birthed the untoppable “New Slang,” which remains what I once called it: "a beacon of unthreatening strangeness for kids still stuck at home," even coated in regretful Garden State schmutz.
Extraterrestrials, Fletcher Coulee, and Chokecherry @ Palmer’s
Last Chance for Love @ Palmer’s
Mayyadda with Dahlia Jones @ Parkway
Longshot (Album Release) with One Be Lo, Voice of Culture, Oso @ 7th St Entry
Gabriel and the Apocalypse @ Studio B
Porch Knights, Super Flasher @ 331 Club
Voltage Controller Vol. 9, Lo Mismo, Outcidr, and 4LF @ 331 Club
Steve‘n’Seagulls with VOLK @ Turf Club
C-Kan, MC Davo, Dharius @ Varsity
The Skalectric Company with La Mamá Diabla & Goodbye Mordecai @ White Squirrel
Sunday, September 11
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
- RONDO ’56: Remembering St Paul’s Black Main Street @ CroonersWritten and narrated by Dan Chouinard, this musical revue is a tribute to St. Paul's decimated Black neighborhood. Mychael Rambo, Thomasina Petrus, and Charmin Michelle perform the music of Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole, Ruth Brown, Dinah Washington, and Mahalia Jackson to create the atmosphere of a time and a community lost.
The Gospel According to Elvis @ Crooners
Super Duty, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Lizzy McAlpine with Carol Ades @ Fine Line
Gary Numan with I Speak Machine and DJ Jake Rudh @ First Avenue
Red Hot Django Peppers @ Icehouse
Dr. Jay’s Cabaret @ KJ’s Hideaway
Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
Kai Brewster’s Millions @ Palmer’s
Angelus Apatrida with NERVOCHAOS and Hidden Intent @ Turf Club
Cicada Collective Presents: Friends & Friends Again @ White Squirrel
Post Malone @ Xcel Energy Center
Monday, September 12
Pick-a-Rib Three: The Music of The Benny Goodman @ Dakota
- Boris with Nothing @ Fine LineHeavy Rocks is such good name for a Boris album, they've used it three times now: first in 2002, again in 2011, and now this year, to celebrate their 30th year as a band. As a philistine who believes this Japanese trio is best when playing fast and loose rather than tinkering with experimental noise, I respect this return to their roots. It's heavy. It rocks. What more do you want?
Brian Nichols’ Jazz Mondays @ Icehouse
Charlotte Sands with No Love For The Middle Child @ 7th St Entry
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
