This week's highlights are a bit jazzier than usual. Nothing wrong with that! We've got some ace improvisers in these parts, after all, as well as some joints that welcome fine touring jazzers as well.
Tuesday, October 15
Pity Party (Single Release) with Ninety-Five Ninety-Six and Oceanographer @ Amsterdam
International Reggae All-Stars @ Bunker's
Krizz Kaliko, Dizzy Wright, & Whitney Peyton @ Cabooze
Prudence Johnson & Dan Chouinard: Gershwin! @ Dakota
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Le Jazz Est Mort ft. Cortex with DJ Brian Engel of Hipshaker @ Fine Line
Benjamin Tod and Lost Dog Street Band with Nolan Taylor @ First Avenue
Bryn Battani Birthday Show with Goon Tribune, Jojo Green, Hank Donato @ Green Room
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
In Lieu, Kal Marks, Oyster World, Battery Eyes @ Mortimer's
Healy with Buppy. @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime with Becky Kapell @ 331 Club
October Conspiracy Theory featuring Ditch Pigeon, teeth.irl, frank & janea @ 331 Club
Joshua Hyslop with Katacombs @ Turf Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Homunculus Rex (Tuesday Residency) with Jonger, Sol, Boss’ Daughter @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, October 16
Shady Baby's Open Mic @ Acadia
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Dennis Curley Sings the Music of John Denver @ Crooners
Kitchen Patrol & Joe @ Day Block Brewing
Senor Blues, Ask Carol @ Driftwood
Lena and the Lovekills @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Pokey LaFarge with The Tailspins @ Fine Line
- Superchunk with Quivers @ First Avenue—The indie-rockiest of ’90s indie rockers are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Foolish on this tour. And that album, recorded right (near) here at Pachyderm Studios, is well-worth celebrating. But! I would like to take this occasion to share my considered judgment that the albums Superchunk released since they began recording again are actually better—more focused, catchier, more engaged with the world, and less, you know, slack—than their Clinton-era classics. That view is not shared by the rest of the Racket staff, but since I was there the first time around, really, who are they to say? Anyway, it’s one of the greatest comeback stretches in rock, indie or otherwise, and that’s not taking anything away from Foolish. In closing, harrumph.
Jim Henson's Labyrinth in Concert @ Fitzgerald Theater
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics @ Granada
WINGTIPS, Finesse, shadingthesun @ Hook and Ladder
- Riley Mulherkar with Andy Clausen @ Icehouse—Trumpeter Mulherkar made his name as part of the Westerlies, who became a sort of on-call backing brass for name performers Fleet Foxes or Common when they needed some brass. On his solo debut, Riley, he modernizes "King Porter Stomp" and "Stardust" without sacrificing any of his blues chops, and shows he knows his way around a studio too. Yet another great young player proving how useless the trad/out dichotomy always was.
JCS: Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central
Violets Are Blue @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Lazy Scorsese (October Residency) @ Mortimer's
The Magic of Motown @ Pantages Theatre
Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
French Cassettes with Luke Enyeart & Chutes @ Studio B
Breakers Paradise @ Terminal Bar
Metalachi with Borrachoz Inc @ Turf Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Cooker John and Friends @ 331 Club
Metalcore Night @ Underground Music Cafe
Wave to Earth @ Uptown Theater
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Reverend Poky Budge with Lisa Fuglie & Friends @ White Squirrel
Walker Rider with Kat and the Kodachromes, Makin Out, Bathtub Cig @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, October 17
Kishi Bashi with Sweet Loretta @ Amsterdam
Tim Sparks & Ben Abrahamson @ Berlin
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker's
Theology Thursday @ Can Can Wonderland
Lutheran Heat, Grassface, Panel @ Cloudland
Autumn Leaves with Steven C & Friends @ Crooners
Renegade: Tribute to Classic Rock @ Crooners
Going to the Sun with Brian Larson @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Drug Church with Modern Color, Soul Blind, and Pony @ Fine Line
Montell Fish with Clip @ First Avenue
Rick Wakeman @ Fitzgerald Theater
Kinda Fonda Wanda + Alan Subola @ Hook and Ladder
Traiveon & Candi featuring BAKKWOODDRIFT @ Icehouse
Curtiss A @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Psychedelic Furs & The Jesus and Mary Chain with Frankie Rose and DJ Jake Rudh @ Palace Theatre
Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach @ Palmer's
Mania: The Abba Tribute @ Pantages Theatre
Prairie Clamor with Pyrrhic Victories, and Hot Bagels @ Pilllar Forum
Mubbla Buggs, the Rodents @ Schooner Tavern
Hello Mary with Bleary Eyed @ 7th St Entry
Anne Wilson with Jordan Rowe @ State Theatre
Cross Pollination, Knife Emoji @ 331 Club
- Adeem the Artist with Harley Chapeau @ Turf Club—Adeem is at the forefront of a generation of queer country songwriters, and maybe what makes them so revolutionary is that you might not know that from listening to most of their new album, Anniversary, which sounds like forthright heartland singer-songwriter rock. But throughout these songs, Adeem hooks up with (and occasionally falls for) both men and women—the most moving cut here is about a “One Night Stand” they wish would be more. “Don’t do us like Jesus,” they implore Christians on “Nightmare,” while “Wounded Astronaut” is an extended apology to the women they’ve wronged in the past that’s never self-serving. The revolution begins in your own actions, after all
Slift with Meatbodies @ Underground Music Cafe
Madeleine Kelson, Alaina Stacey with Creekbed Carter @ Underground Music Cafe
Dany Laj and The Looks, The Boot R&B, Hot Press @ Uptown VFW
Carnifex with Cryptopsy, Mental Cruelty, Organectomy, Heavy//Hitter @ Varsity Theater
- Eliza Blue @ White Squirrel—You might remember Eliza Blue from her constant gigging in the Twin Cities through the ’10s. These days, the folk singer-songwriter tells Racket she “spends most of my time herding sheep and writing about it. I just released my second book and I am coming to Minnesota next month to sing some songs, tell some stories (and sell some yarn from my flock).” As you might have deduced, Blue has since relocated to a ranch in western South Dakota, where she tends to those sheep, hosts a SDPB TV show plus a podcast, and writes books like Little Pasture on the Prairie, a new compilation of her smart, heartfelt syndicated columns. She’ll be promoting Little Pasture tonight at White Squirrel with fellow South Dakotan Christopher Vondracek, our favorite Strib ag reporter.—Jay Boller
Devaney & Friends with the Silverteens, Tim Casey & the Martyrs @ White Squirrel
Friday, October 18
Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners with Gigi Perez @ Amsterdam
Sofi Tukker with Shermanology and Carola @ Armory
Ben Cook-Feltz + Jillian Rae @ Aster Cafe
Cyber City Disco: Lauryn Lesley, Ryote, Jobot @ Beast Barbecue
Patrick Adkins / Toivo Hannigan @ Berlin
Dan Ristrom & the Big Throwdown @ Bunker's
International Reggae All Stars @ Cabooze
- L.A. Buckner & Big Homie (Album Release) @ Capri Theater—Finally! North Side born and raised, this jazz-and-then-some drummer has been busy since his 2020 album Big Homie, performing locally in just about any conceivable space. But we've all been waiting for his followup, Norfside, and after tinkering with and perfecting the recordings for months and months he's finally celebrating its release with this homecoming concert.
Max Rewitzer, Haas Vita, Joe Hoops @ Caydence Records & Coffee
The Arab Blues with Amwaaj @ Cedar Cultural Center
Murf, Missouri Executive Order 44, Mold @ Cloudland
The Latin Soul Vibe @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Judy Vinar with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The R Factor: Remembering Prince @ Crooners
St. Paul Peterson 60th Birthday Bash @ Dakota
Wood Hoops (Album Release) @ Day Block Brewing
The Long Honeymoon, Mossonello @ Driftwood
Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34
Emo Nite with Forrest Kline (of Hellogoodbye) @ Fine Line
Stopping Short, A Long Way Back, My Kid Banana @ The Garage
ZEPPO with Scott Allen and The List @ Green Room
Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder
Jon Sullivan Band, Modern Joey @ Hook and Ladder
Katy Tessman + Laura Hugo @ Icehouse
Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet @ Metronome
Wayward Boyz Club & Cursed by Lightning @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Shostakovich Symphony No. 12 @ Orchestra Hall
When We Were Trees with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Johnny Marr and James @ Palace Theatre
The Changeups, Red Eye Ruby, and Spit Takes @ Palmer's
Tommy Bentz Band @ Schooner Tavern
Daniel Nunnelee with Shane T @ 7th St Entry
Danger Pins, Mary Stone, Dan Kowalke @ 331 Club
Stop Light Observations with Doc Robinson @ Turf Club
Labrador Wild, Avantide, & John Forrest @ Underground Music Venue
Feral Dance Halloween Dance Party @ Uptown VFW
The Quantum Mechanics with Socktopus @ White Squirrel
Gentleman Speaker (Album Release), Oftener, Poolboy, Kid Dakota @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, October 19
The Moss with hey, nothing @ Amsterdam
Gryffin with ALOK + Nostalgix @ Armory
Jovon Williams Quartet @ Berlin
The Good the Bad and the Funky @ Bunker's
Larry Wish with Obchod and P. Larkin @ Can Can Wonderland
Social Cinema, Allergen, Melanerpes @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Rachel Yamagata with Sandy Bell @ Cedar Cultural Center
Coward's Women with Erin Schwab, Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Judy Vinar with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Blue Hazard, North Ridge, Wayward @ Day Block Brewing
SC and the Spooky, Alien Road Trip @ Driftwood
The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's
Joust, the Slow Death, Laugh track, Panel @ Eagles 34
NRA, Cigar, Hideous Figure, Soil 77 @ Eagles 34
- Andre 3000 with serpentwithfeet @ Fillmore—The inveterate flautophobe writing this blurb is not the guy to weigh in on 3 Stacks' 87-minute ambient jazz/new age/etc. project New Blue Sun. But people who dig this stuff will recognize many of the players he worked with, especially Carlos Niño, whose music Pitchfork calls "technically complex and spiritually sincere," two qualities I've never found essential (though they're not necessarily liabilities). And by all accounts it's an earnest if not always expert foray into the styles he appreciates rather than a superstar indulgence. The show proved too big for the Northrop and migrated across town to the maybe less ideal Fillmore—I don't think you should have to stand up while listening to this music, though that might keep you from dozing.
The Lemon Twigs with Brower @ Fine Line
St. Peter Street Stompers Jazz Band @ Gambit Brewing
Sam Joson, Bloodline, Saint Lydia @ The Garage
Cliff Eberhardt @ Ginkgo Coffee
Festival de las Calaveras: Twin Cities Latinx Music + Arts Festival @ Hook and Ladder
Sabai with Ghostdragon @ The Loft
Classica Chamber Players @ Metronome
Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Fall Sensory-Friendly Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Shostakovich Symphony No. 12 @ Orchestra Hall
When We Were Trees with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Art Beagle Backup Band @ Padraigs
Tech N9ne with X-Raided @ Palace Theatre
The Dalmation Club, Max & The Fellow Travelers, Filthy Kittens, and Anna Devine @ Palmer's
Stayin' Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees @ Pantages Theatre
The Shabby Road Orchestra @ Parkway
The Stinkeyes with New Confusion and Extraterrestrials @ Pilllar Forum
Cindy Lawson, Holly & the Nice Lions, the Sex Rays @ Schooner Tavern
vaultboy with John Michael Howell @ 7th St Entry
HOL! with SHIVERZ, Aweminus B2B Mad Dubz @ Skyway Theatre
Fistful of Datas, Carnage the Executioner, DJ Piecemeal @ 331 Club
- Kokoroko @ Turf Club—This London octet gets filed under Afrobeat, often with "jazzy" appended, but the elasticity of their improvisations isn't all that sets them apart from Fela disciples. Their style is Pan-African, or at least Pan-West-African, re-emphasizing musical elements that were earlier fusioned into unrecognizability. Good stuff.
Mary Cutrufello, The She Haws, Howdy Partner Dance @ Uptown VFW
tanzlub. volume 2. @ Uptown VFW
Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion @ Walker Art Center
Cole Allan with B4U @ White Squirrel
Pop Wagner & the Tavern Trio @ White Squirrel
Chutes with Mike Kota @ White Squirrel
Connie Evingson and Mary Louise Knutson @ Woman's Club of Minneapolis
Bizarre: Halloween Special @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, October 20
BANE, Stick to Your Guns, Combust, Lack @ American Legion VFW Post 577
Skillet & Seether with Tim Montana + Royale Lynn @ Armory
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
The Big 70s Singalong @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Mad Combo, Don't Tell Ma @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
The Elovaters with Cisco Adler and Bikini Trill @ Fine Line
Everclear with Marcy Playground and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack @ First Avenue
Synastry Sundays with DJ GirlBlunt @ Green Room
Twin Cities Flamenco Collective with José Cortés & Anna "Mamá de los Gatos" @ Icehouse
Red Hot Django Peppers @ Metronome
When We Were Trees with Abel Selaocoe @ Ordway
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
System Exclusive, Toilet Rats, and Kurt Russell's Muscles @ Palmer's
JW Francis and Jaguar Sun @ 7th St Entry
Dayseeker with Alphawolf, Catch Your Breath, and Kingdom of Giants @ Skyway Theatre
North Country Singers @ White Squirrel
Seaside Tryst, speakeazie, Anothernight, Dedicated Enemy @ Zhora Darling
Monday, October 21
Quarters of Change with aldn @ Amsterdam
Queer Cumbia Dance Party Night with DJ Queen Duin @ Black Hart
Rebecca Merblum & Judith II @ Berlin
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Other Country Ensemble @ Eagles 34
Touché Amoré with Soul Glo, Portrayal of Guilt, and Soft Blue Shimmer @ Fine Line
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's
nobigdyl. with Jon Keith and Aklesso @ 7th St Entry
Acoustic Jam Session @ Utepils Brewing
