Shhh, don't tell anyone, but it looks like we're midway through September, just about.
Tuesday, September 13
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
THREE: feat. Lori Dokken, Judi Vinar & Rachel Holder @ Dakota
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
- Jimmy Eat World, Charly Bliss @ First AvenueAn important part of your youth, Jimmy Eat World shoehorn approximations of emotional maturity into choruses anthemic enough they could feel like genuine insights. (Maybe less often than it might have seemed when you were 16, but who’s counting?) I have no such reservations about openers Charly Bliss, who burble with pop ingenuity, making good on the melodic promises of ’90s alt-rock that nu-metal and teenpop cut short.
Jaspar Lepak Duo + the OK Factor @ Icehouse
Perturbator + Health @ The Lyric
August Conspiracy Series featuring The Common Practice, Kinder Dosage, Roz @ 331 Club
Workers Playtime, Jeff Ray @ 331 Club
The Homeless Gospel Choir with Short Fictions and Parachutes @ Turf Club
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
Kinda Fonda Wanda (Tuesday Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, September 14
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
John Craigie with Maya De Vitry @ Cedar Cultural Center
Ann Reed and Claudia Schmidt @ Crooners
Louis Armstrong Night with Southside Aces @ Dakota
Candlelight: The Best of Frank Sinatra & Nat King Cole @ Granada
- Benefit for Chris Bierden @ IcehouseAs we reported last week, Bierden—the bassist for Poliça, an integral part of several local musical projects, and a dynamic songwriter in his own right—recently had emergency surgery for a brain tumor. Medical care, as you know, ain’t cheap, and so, as he recovers and anticipates further treatment, the Cactus Blossoms, Sid Sriram, and Centrific (along with “special guests”) are throwing a little benefit on his behalf.
Colonel Mustard's Mechanical Orchestra @ Palmer’s
NOTD with Grey Zeigler @ 7th St Entry
- The National with Indigo Sparke @ Surly Brewing Festival FieldMatt Berninger remains dad rock’s greatest sad sack, his lyrics enacting the eternal battle between insight and self-pity that leads inevitably to a stalemate. The National have been largely mum since their 2019 album, I Am Easy to Find, which was like opening a window into their claustrophobic settings, with women guest vocalists completing the other halves of Berninger’s baritone monologues. Along with Berninger’s wife and writing partner, Carin Besser, they did find time to write the music for the Peter Dinklage vehicle Cyrano, which I guess is classier than a jukebox musical, if you’re keeping score. The band recently returned with “Weird Goodbyes,” a collaboration with Bon Iver.
KFAI House Party Presents Jimmi and the Band of Souls @ 331 Club
Tonstartssbandht with Miradores del Sol @ Turf Club
The Sparks w/ The Del Viles & Francis Emil Johnson @ White Squirrel
Panic! At the Disco @ Xcel Energy Center
Thursday, September 15
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Them Dots, No Countries, Dangerbad @ Driftwood
Russian Circles with BirdHands @ Fine Line
Osees with Bronze @ First Avenue
Ninja Sex Party with Super Guitar Bros @ Fitzgerald Theater
Davy Knowles with the Claudettes @ Hook and Ladder
Ty Pow & The Holy North, Marv + Kaat, George Faber @ Icehouse
A Night of Synthwave and Post-Punk @ Mortimer’s
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
13 Fridays, Mickyle James and Cold Casuals @ Palmer’s
Cole Diamond's "Tropical Depression": An Alan Jackson Tribute @ Uptown VFW
Pig’s Eye Records presents… Swallows and Craig Paquette @ White Squirrel
- My Chemical Romance @ Xcel Energy CenterCongrats to Gerard Way and the boys for calling it quits before embarrassing themselves—no “Uma Thurman” or “High Hopes” in their closet, thank you very much. The reward for their good judgment is this reunion tour, met enthusiastically by fans who get to pay tribute to their weirder, younger selves in venues big enough to reveal that they were never as alone as they thought they were. And unlike their fans, MCR’s mix of glam, prog, goth, and punk hasn’t aged a bit.
Friday, September 16
Ginger Root with King Pari @ Amsterdam
Nick Hensley & The Love Songs For Angry Men + Laura Perkins @ Aster Cafe
Earth Wind & Fire Tribute @ Bunkers
Texas Hippie Coalition @ Cabooze
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue @ Canterbury Park
Lucibela with Douala Soul Collective @ Cedar Cultural Center
It Was a Very Good Year: With Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners
The Mystery of Etta James with Kathleen Johnson @ Crooners
DOJO/Returns, Jim Walsh (CD release), Doug Collins & the Receptionists @ Driftwood
Sinatra to Slayer Presents: Step On - Madchester/Shoegaze/Neo-Psychedelia/Britpop @ Dusty’s
William Elliott Whitmore with the Local Honeys @ Fine Line
Highly Suspect with Artikal Sound System @ First Avenue
Flamin’ Oh’s @ Hook and Ladder
J.E. Sunde + Under Violet @ Icehouse
Big Salt + the Swongos + Jung Yeller @ Icehouse
Foe with Dani Erin @ KJ’s Hideaway
Rank Strangers, Pals, Trash Catties, Leslie @ Mortimer’s
Rebel Queens with Fistful of Datas @ Palmer’s
DJ Nanobyte Presents Byte Nite @ Palmer’s
Jeff Ray and the Stakes @ 331 Club
Daphne Jane with Rhino Shrine & Parachutes @ The Treasury
- A Tribute to Shania Twain @ Turf ClubI love the way time turns pop upstarts into elements of a new country music tradition. In Shania’s heyday, the idea of a crew of mostly country- and folk-identified singer-songwriters toasting her at the Turf Club would have been sacrilegious. A quarter-century later, she’s just the latest in the long line of stars who modernized country music, with the great songbook to prove it. And so Faith Boblett, Jaedyn James, Jillian Rae, Laura Hugo, Leslie Vincent, Savannah Smith, and Siri Undlin will turn out to honor that heritage. As a little bonus, there’s not just a DJ set from Hold You Lady Tight Night, but line-dancing lessons.
Hipshaker MPLS: 20th Anniversary Party @ Uptown VFW
Kinder Dosage @ White Squirrel
Saturday, September 17
- Alice Glass @ AmsterdamGlass’s debut full-length, Prey//IV, is as grueling a listen as anyone familiar with the Crystal Castles’ member’s recent history might expect: When she left the group, she leveled allegations of rape and long-term abuse against bandmate Ethan Kath. The album is a harrowing survivor’s account set to a steady, danceable beat.
Cassandra Cole + Colin Bracewell @ Aster Cafe
Reed Brixx and Friends @ Cabooze
That Trip To France with Maria Jette and Friends @ Crooners
Sinatra! with Andrew Walesch Orchestra @ Crooners
Classic American Rockers @ Crooners
- Julian Lage Trio @ DakotaA former child prodigy who performed at the Grammys when he was just 12, Lage (now 34) has become one of the pre-eminent jazz guitarists of his generation. On his second album as a bandleader for Blue Note, View With a Room (out this Friday), he once more works with bassist Jorge Roeder and (local angle!) drummer Dave King, playing with an expressive fluidity no matter how many ingenious detours he takes.
The Dagnabits, The Reckoning Crew @ Driftwood
Highly Suspect with Artikal Sound System @ First Avenue
MURF with The Soviet Machines, M.A.Y, & Honey @ The Garage
James Eugene Russell & Blair Krivaneck @ Icehouse
Space Monkey Mafia + Beneath Green @ Icehouse
Tommy Bentz Band @ KJ’s Hideaway
Steve Kenny Quintet @ KJ’s Hideaway
The Assortment feat. DJ Michael Grey @ Mortimer’s
- Rock It For Ukraine! @ Palmer’sWith three mighty women up atop the bill—Monica LaPlante, Christy Costello, and Cindy Lawson— “it” will definitedly be rocked. The rest of the lineup ain’t too shabby neither: Murzik, Whiskey Rock and Roll Club, Mad Mojo Jett, The Unnamed, and Tiny Daggers. Proceeds go to the Protez Foundation, which provides free prosthetics to victims of the Russia-Ukraine War.
The Nitty Gritty with DJs Brian Engel and Blue Funk @ Palmer’s
Gabriel and the Apocalypse @ Studio B
Porch Knights, Super Flasher @ 331 Club
Voltage Controller Vol. 9, Lo Mismo, Outcidr, and 4LF @ 331 Club
Twin Citizen with the Soviet Machines, M.A.Y, & Honey @ The Treasury
Momma with waveform* @ Turf Club
Come As You Are: A ’90s Alternative Party @ Uptown VFW
Sunday, September 18
Thick with Skating Polly and Vial @ Amsterdam
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
- Balaklava Blues with Ukrainian Village Band @ Cedar Cultural CenterSpeaking of Ukraine: Canadians Mark and Marichka Marczyk have a history of wild folk-electronic fusions, both as instigators of a “folk opera” and with the massive Balkan punk of the Lemon Bucket Orkestra. Their latest project combines brash Ukrainian folk melodies with modern electronic beats.
Lori Dokken Presents: Our Voices – Our Choices @ Crooners
The Sounds of New Orleans with the Southside Aces @ Crooners
The Legendary Johnny O'Neal @ Crooners
Super Duty, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Destroy Boys with Softcult and bugsy @ Fine Line
Chet Faker with Adi Oasis @ First Avenue
Rum Punch Sundayz with Live Music and DJs @ Granada
Dale Watson and His Lone Stars @ Hook and Ladder
Hanging Hearts + Dosh @ Icehouse
Colores: A Service Industry Dance Night @ Icehouse
Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
Mike Younger with Annie Mack and the Ray Barnard Band @ Palmer’s
Flasher with Products, Pig in the City and Pleasure Cube @ 7th St Entry
St. Paul Songwriter Rounds @ White Squirrel
Monday, September 19
Pick-a-Rib Three: The Music of The Benny Goodman @ Dakota
Brian Nichols’ Jazz Mondays @ Icehouse
- Porridge Radio with Adam Gnade @ 7th St EntryA spooky organ drone runs intermittently throughout this moody and exasperated Brighton band’s latest, Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky, but it’s practically redundant: lead vocal droner Dana Margolin accomplishes the same effect with her singing. The fact that their catchiest chorus goes “I don’t wanna be loved,” over and over and over, suggests some room for emotional growth; similarly intoned refrains of “I don’t wanna go back,” “It stops the rot from spreading,” and “I associate you with good things” suggest they’re getting there.
Tenacious D with DJ Douggpound @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
spill tab with Boyish @ Turf Club
Sciurus Sequencia: Monday Night Jazz and Improvised Music Series @ White Squirrel
