Two highly recommended local release shows this week—and both on Friday. Whether you choose to check out Nur-D or Ber, I think you'll be happy.
Tuesday, March 28
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo @ Dakota—If you know nothing else about South African music you're familiar with this all-male Zulu choir, who popularized isicathamiya in the wake of Graceland and have become an international institution. Founder Joseph Shabalala retired in 2008 and died three years ago, but Ladysmith has forged onward while maintaining the mix of showmanship and artistry he pioneered, because that's what institutions do.
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Airlands (March Residency) with Stardust and Jeremy Ylvisaker @ Icehouse
January Conspiracy Series featuring Chemistry Set @ 331 Club
Worker's Playtime, Theyself @ 331 Club
Robyn Hitchcock with Kelley Stoltz and DJ Jake Rudh @ Turf Club
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
Trash Catties (Tuesday Residency) with Christopher Schuck, Chokecherry, Unguided @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, March 29
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Maggie's Wednesdays: Jimmy Kennedy and Joe Weismann @ Crooners
Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade @ Dakota
Jackie Greene with Lilly Winwood @ Fine Line
Candlelight: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Scores Shows @ Granada
JFLAD Birthday Show @ Icehouse
Snarky Puppy with C4 Trío @ Palace Theatre
- Algiers with Party Dozen @ 7th St. Entry—Who says there's no such thing as political rock anymore? Not that these soulful Atlanta humanists play straight-up rock, if such a thing is even possible in 2023—more like gospel postpunk for a hip-hop era, if that’s not too much of a marketing-ese capsule description for you. Their fourth album, Shook, released in February, is the best distillation of what Algiers has to offer since their debut. Franklin James Fisher continues to exhort with earnest abandon, and drummer Matt Tong shifts seamlessly from funk to rock to some jittery amalgam of both, and they bring their own noise to a party that’s attended by plenty of fellow rads: billy woods and Zack De La Rocha, Canadian rapper Backxwash and D.C. multi-instrumentalist Mark Cisneros, members of Future Islands and Boy Harsher, and plenty more. But the most crucial invitee is Dungeon Family's Big Rube, whose downhome rumble you may remember from Outkast records, demonstrating that though Algiers had to form their band in London, they’re committed to their Georgia roots. With Party Dozen.
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Dan Rumsey and Backbeat Harris @ 331 Club
They Are Gutting a Body of Water with Knifeplay and Anita Velveeta @ The Treasury
Satan with Night Demon and Haunt @ Turf Club
John Magnuson Trio with Doug Collins @ White Squirrel
Thursday, March 30
Amanda B. Perry | International Treasures @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
The Hemingway Project: Rick Carlson, Gary Schulte and Graydon Peterson @ Crooners
Co-MingL Presents: Back To Soul, Featuring a Special Tribute to Sam Cooke @ Crooners
Funkin Right, Meanest Genius, Cellar Door @ Driftwood
Candlelight: Romantic Jazz feat. Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald @ Granada
Space Between 1 Year Anniversary Fundraiser Celebration @ Hook & Ladder
Grand Courriers, Hyooman @ Icehouse
Lisa Deguiseppi (EP Release) @ KJ's Hideaway
Pink Martini featuring China Forbes @ Pantages Theatre
Bailen with Rhett Madison @ Parkway Theater
Stay Outside with Lapdogs and Parachutes @ 7th St Entry
Eli Gardner, The Sparks @ 331 Club
Products with Sass and Killed By Kiwis @ Turf Club
PUNX with Skalectric Company @ Uptown VFW
Driftless Revelers @ White Squirrel
Friday, March 31
- Nur-D (Album Release) @ Amsterdam—Tonight, the beloved Twin Cities rapper will debut his latest album, Crush, about being in love. Aww. This follows a productive few years during which he put out the mixtape Just for Fun, the politically minded albums Chicago Avenue and 38th, and his own version of Bo Burnham's "That Funny Feeling" ("Cash App me your pity, burning city, i'm alright/Derrick Chauvin guilty so they murder Daunte Wright").
Whale in the Thames + 5cent Reality @ Aster Cafe
Emma Donovan & the Putbacks with Kevin Gastonguay @ Cedar Cultural Center
Kate and Bradley Beahen Sing Broadway and More @ Crooners
Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs Present Ladies of the '80s @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Ginger Commodore @ Crooners
Anthony James Roos & the Red Quarters, Hay Bale @ Driftwood
Nothing Was The Same ⏤ A Drake Dance Party with dj izzie p and DJ Slumpa @ Fine Line
Big Bubble Rave @ First Avenue
Rossi Final Fridays @ Green Room
Johnny Sincerely’s Birthday Extravaganza @ Hook and Ladder
The Get Together with Grant Glad & Dellwood @ Hook and Ladder
Houston + Poster Children @ Icehouse
Haley E Rydell (Album Release) with Riley Skinner @ KJ's Hideaway
Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
The Simon & Garfunkel Story @ Orpheum Theatre
- Ber with Max Leone @ 7th St Entry—There's plenty of buzz about Bemidji-raised Berit Dybing, and her witty, poppy new EP Halfway makes good on it. Lyrical highlights include "Everybody needs a slutphase while they're young and hot," complaining about boys who always want to talk about their bands after they make out with you, and the boast that "Minnesota has seasons."
Casket Robbery, Illusion of Fate, Descent of Man, Moloch @ Studio B
Lovely Dark, Cult Sequence, Another Night @ 331 Club
Friends vs the Bill @ The Treasury
The Wandering Eye (A Tribute to Ween) with Count Spookula @ Turf Club
Signals Midwest, Victor Shores, Telethon, & Feegee @ Underground Music Cafe
Ballentine's Burlesque @ Uptown VFW
Pelicant w. Ghost Kitchen, Uncle Jesse’s Comb @ White Squirrel
Saturday, April 1
Kraig Jarret Johnson and Friends @ Aster Cafe
The Sudden Lovelies @ Aster Cafe
Mick Sterling & the Stud Brothers @ Bunkers
The Shabby Road Orchestra @ Crooners
What A Fool Believes: Erin Schwab and Dane Stauffer with Jay Fuchs @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Erin Livingston @ Crooners
Jay Young & The Lyric Factory @ Dakota
Zipper Merge, Jacket & Foxby @ Driftwood
- Danceteria Through the Decades @ First Avenue—If you’ve not yet watched the 2020 TPT doc First Avenue: Closer to the Stars, what the hell are you doing with your life? It’s great! And it also reveals the deep dance DNA of Minnesota’s best rock club. Tonight’s decade-spanning dance party features DJs who’ve spun throughout First Avenue’s 53-year history. In reverse-chronological order: DJ Jeezy (The Klituation), Sophia Eris (Grrrl Prty), TML (Too Much Love), Bryan Gerrard (Beatopia, Dig Deep), Dean Vaccaro (System33), and Roy Freedom (More Funk). Freedom’s association with the nightclub dates all the way back to its ‘70s disco era, when it was known as Uncle Sam's. Fun fact from the doc: At one point actual swimming pools were placed on the dance floor, so partiers could splash around as Chic blasted from the speakers. Bring 'em back!
Ghais Guevara, Student 1, Tabby, Defo @ Green Room
- Haley and Friends @ Hook and Ladder—She's got a lot of friends, and you might recognize some of their names: DIANE, Lamar, Tender Ness, Ian Martin Allison, Al Church, "and more." Tonight the local singer-songwriter will pair off with them on originals and covers. The show description also notes that you won't be catching Haley live for a while after this: She's having a baby in June.
Carnage the Executioner @ Hook and Ladder
Glittercakes Productions Presents: Burlesque Brunch @ Icehouse
DJ Shannon Blowtorch Presents Y2K @ Icehouse
A Tribute to Whitney Houston by Julia Wheaton @ KJ’s Hideaway
Mississippi & JazzINK Youth Jazz Showcase – Walker West Ensembles @ KJ's Hideaway
Gravey's 40th Bday Bash with Oyster World, Hardcore Crayons, tacklebox, Cult Vibes @ Mortimers
Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
The OK Factor + Sprig of That (Double Album Release) @ Parkway Theater
Enumclaw with Nitefire and Interlay @ 7th St Entry
Woodzen, Emmy Woods and the Red Pine Ramblers, Sammie Jean and the Moonshiners @ 331 Club
King Tuff with Tchotchke @ Turf Club
Archer Oh, Surely Tempo, New Locals@ Underground Music Cafe
90s Spring Break with You Oughta Know + The 90s Preservation Society @ Uptown VFW
Dilly Dally Alley @ White Squirrel
Confucisaurus @ White Squirrel
John Mayer @ Xcel Energy Center
Sunday, April 2
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Maggie's Afterglow: Winter Jazz Fest Edition @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Garden Street Band @ KJ’s Hideaway
The Royal Dumpsters @ Mortimers
Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
Chiiild with Isaia Huron @ 7th St Entry
Conduit Presents: Minds on Fire Live @ White Squirrel
Pine & Fire w. Knee-High July @ White Squirrel
Monday, April 3
- Coco & Clair Clair with Grandma @ Amsterdam—These two bratty suburban Atlanta besties, one Black and one white, speak fluent internet on Sexy, a hip-hop-as-TikTok collection of boasts ("Pull up to the party, bet your boo wanna leave with me/I got lots of friends, and they all wanna die for me") and roasts ("'Ur So Gay' by Katy Perry/That's your favorite song"). Kreayshawn's legacy lives on!
Café Accordion Orchestra @ Dakota
Monday Jazz with Noah Ophoven-Baldwin @ Icehouse
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Sciurus Sequencia: Jazz and Creative Music Series @ White Squirrel
