Hi, it's Keith, speaking to you from New Jersey. (Well, not really, I wrote this before I left.) Enjoy all the shows this week that I can't.
Tuesday, August 5
Second Hand Dan, Undefeated, Castor Volor @ Amsterdam
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Kenwood Symphony Orchestra @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
- Sheila E. & The E-Train @ Dakota—One of my favorite State Fair memories comes from 2013, when some friends and I were roaming past the Leinie Lodge, heard Sheila E. performing the irresistibly giddy “The Belle of St. Mark,” ran into some other friends, and wound up dancing stupidly till the end of Sheila’s free set. Dancing at the Dakota, where she'll be performing four (!) time this week, can be a little tricky, but I’m sure you can find a way.—Keith Harris
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra @ Father Hennepin Park
- Horsegirl with Lifeguard and Godcaster @ Fine Line—Horsegirl are maybe the best current example of what critic Michael Tedder has called “the ‘cool parents and after-school music programs to Matador Records’ pipeline.” They’re no longer high school wunderkinder (2/3 of this Chicago trio are now NYU English majors) and if they don’t necessarily sound more adult on their latest, Phonetics On and On and On (produced by Cate LeBon), they do sound more assured There’s plenty of Sonic Youth in their chiming clamor, more than a little Stereolab in their bobbing vocals, and lyrically they say a lot with a little: “In Twos” wafts along with a plaintive repetition of “I try” and if you could even say “Julie” is about the limitations of language (“Julie/Da, da, da, da/Julie/I wish I could tell you what you want”). Considering their influences, it won’t be surprising if there are as many indie dads as arty young femmes at this show. With Lifeguard and Godcaster.—Keith Harris
Cameron Whitcomb with Ben Cottrill @ First Avenue
Bill Simenson Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Bluewater Kings @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Driftless Tango Series @ Padraig’s
Palmer’s Songwriters Showcase @ Palmer’s
Barely Trev with benny bloom (DJ Set), Alex Delzer, and MoonLander @ Pilllar Forum
August Conspiracy Series featuring Laura Hugo @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Adam Kiesling @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
ELOUR (Tuesday Residency) with Christine Hoberg, Littleton @ White Squirrel
Deep Fortune, Chief Opossum, & Sunnbather @ Zhora Darling
- Lifeguard @ Zhora Darling—As you may have read above, Lifeguard is opening for Horsegirl at the Fine Line tonight, but Zhora has snatched this buzzy Chicago trio up for an earlier show as well. Two Lifeguard members were originally in Horsegirl, and drummer Isaac Lowenstein is the brother of Horsegirl’s Penelope Lowenstein. Singer/guitarist Kai Slater also fronts the equally talked-up Sharp Pins. Bassist Asher Case is the son of Brian Case from the art-punk band FACS, whose Mortimer’s set was a high point of this year’s Caterwaul festival. Not counting mentions of the Wipers and the Stone Roses, whose songs Lifeguard has covered (the latter with Horsegirl), Rob Sheffield reels off eight bands from the ’80s and ’90s that Lifeguard recalls in his Rolling Stone review of their latest, Ripped and Torn, named for Slater’s zine (in turn named after a Neu! track). That album was produced by Randy Randall of No Age. All of that information will have you either incredibly excited about or incredibly suspicious of Lifeguard. Me, I like what I hear, and I’m looking forward to hearing them fuse their influences into a style more fully their own as they evolve.—Keith Harris
Wednesday, August 6
Jill Andrews & Annie Fitzgerald @ Aster Cafe
Combo Daguerre @ Cedar Cultural Center
Minnesota State Band @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Jake Scott with MaRynn Taylor @ Fine Line
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Astronomy Town, ForeMother, Monarch, No Regard @ Green Room
The Great Northern @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Smiling Kings @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer’s
Mind Out of Town, John Magnuson Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Wim Tapley & The Cannons with Eli Brunelle @ 7th St Entry
Bosso Poetry Company @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with RLB (Rich Lewis Band) @ 331 Club
Good Sleepy @ Underground Music
The Second Stringers @ White Squirrel
Billy The Shoe with Drug League & Green @ White Squirrel
Birth Order, The Central, Shrive, & Pointless Animal @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, August 7
Zoë Says Go, and Vittorio & the Bridges @ Amsterdam
Steady Range & Embahn @ Aster Cafe
Aida Shahghasemi & Friends with Anna Johnson @ Berlin
Late Night Lounge: Disco Death Records @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
University of Minnesota Band Alumni Summer Band @ The Commons
Dirty Shorts Brass Band @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
ACME Jazz Company: Celebrates the Music of Brian Wilson with Arne Fogel @ Crooners
- Sheila E. & The E-Train @ Dakota—see Monday's listings.
Polivon, Agony in the Living Room, 1947 @ Day Block Brewing
Zoe, Zola, Lexiemodica @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Cervesa Muscular, Jupiter Johnson, Marianna Rose @ Eagles 34
- Clipping. with Cooling Prongs (Christopher Fleeger & Counterfeit Madison) and Freecell @ Fine Line—From its William Gibson album title to its “Dominator” samples, there’s something nostalgically dystopic about Dead Channel Sky, the latest from Clipping, and it’s almost certainly the only album this year with guest spots from both Nels Cline and Aesop Rock. Producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes continue to bring in the funk noise, and Daveed Diggs remains as technically adept a rapper as any of your underground faves. (Sorry, Hamilton-haters.)—Keith Harris
The Strains with Bad Idea, The Cobra Jets, & THE SLOW DEATH @ Hook and Ladder
- Kavyesh Kaviraj @ Icehouse—This jazz pianist was one of our 10 "Poised to Pop" local musical acts back in January. Tonight he'll be celebrating the one-year anniversary of his debut solo album, Fables, with a vinyl release, and he'll be backed by bassist Jeff Bailey, drummer Kevin Washington, saxophonist Pete Whitman, and trumpeter Omar Abdulkarim.—Keith Harris
Rubber Soul: The Tribute @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Kiss the Tiger, Keep for Cheap @ Mears Park
Megastellar Open Mic Night @ Midway Saloon
Prairie Potluck Band @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Lowdown Dirty Fools @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Gimme the Night: One Last Night @ Palmer’s
Bay Faction with Keep @ Pilllar Forum
Cafe Accordion Orchestra @ Rice Park
Pullstring, the Over Unders @ Schooner Tavern
Thomas Sticha & Aaron Clafton @ 318 Cafe
Northeast Invitational @ 331 Club
SYNASTRY: girlblunt, GJ neckdrug, elysium alps, jam.la @ Uptown VFW
Third Date with Conor Lee @ White Squirrel
Iris Blue, Internet Dating, Sugarcoat @ Zhora Darling
Friday, August 8
Emmy Woods + Flamy Grant @ Amsterdam
Live at Art House with Melody Olson @ Art House North
Taylor James Donskey with Frankie & Gwen @ Aster Cafe
Scottie Miller/Dan Carpel @ Berlin
Nudie Nubies Burlesque @ Black Hart
Shoeless Revolution @ Bunker’s
Sweat, Beebe Gallini, Institutional Green @ Cloudland
Geoff Jones and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
‘66: Takin’ Bout My Generation @ Crooners
The Pianist Knows Best with Jearlyn Steele & Billy Steele @ Crooners
The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Crooners
- Sheila E. & The E-Train @ Dakota—see Monday's listings.
Bride, Organelle, Drey DK @ Eagles 34
Dilly Dally Alley, Burden of Youth @ 50th and France
Emo Nite with KennyHoopla @ Fine Line
Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Hook and Ladder
Connection: Bass Music with Feeling with Jocko 69, PRSPHNE, Neil Fox @ Hook and Ladder
Jon Sullivan Band with the Histronic @ Icehouse
Michael O’Brien @ Jazz Central
Paul Barry Blues Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Heavy for the Hawk @ Mainstreet Bar
R Factor @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Cloud Cult, Sweet & Tender Hooligans, DJ Jake Rudh, Alexis Rose @ Minnesota Zoo
Mill City Hot Club @ Padraig’s
Lazy Scorsese, Squinny, Buried Animals, Daguerreotypes, and Porch Knights @ Palmer’s
- Mark Mallman (Album Release) @ Parkway Theater—Mallman’s 11th album is called Magic Time, but really, couldn’t they all be named that? If you’ve not checked in on Mark Mallman in some time, you might be surprised to learn the prolific local piano rocker has blown up on TikTok. You might not know he published a memoir, The Happiness Playlist: The True Story Of Healing My Heart With Feel-Good Music, in 2019. It could catch you off guard to discover that, in 2021, he wrote a song for Rick & Morty. Yet all of this Mallman lore is the god’s honest truth, as is this next bombshell: He’s celebrating his new album, Magic Time, tonight at the Parkway. Littered with references to horror, cryptids, and witches, the brand-new LP "is a supernatural concept record chronicling the weird, gritty, and mythic reality of life as a touring musician in America," according to promo material. Single “Freaks Me Out” is Mallman at his over-the-top best, leaning into campy theatrics while showing off his technical chops.—Jay Boller
Mary Jam with Surly Grrly, Bunny Blood, and Civil Decline @ Pilllar Forum
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
Michael Seyer with The Get Together and IAMJOY @ 7th St Entry
Galleon, the Grieving Pines, Ski Club @ Terminal Bar
ERRL, the Hobbled, Savage Moods @ 331 Club
Will Evans with Sierra Marin @ Turf Club
Atheena & Flatwounds @ Underground Music
Soul Train Night: Disco/House Explosion @ Uptown VFW
The Garrett Jones Electric Quartet with Tommy Boynton @ White Squirrel
Dave’s Manual, Yankee Boar @ White Squirrel
Big Time Rush @ Xcel Energy Center
Topiary Blush, Sweet Heat, Maje Adams, & River Sinclaire @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, August 9
Zao @ American Legion VFW Post 577
Fivefold, Weekend Picnic, Odds of an Afterthought, and Shadow Lake @ Amsterdam
Abinnet Berhanu Group @ Berlin
Mary Brewster’s Sparkle @ Black Hart
Dan Riston & the Big Throwdown @ Bunker’s
The Silent Treatment, Smart Shoppers, Unattractive Giant Monster @ Cloudland
- Lakeside Guitar Festival @ Como Lakeside Pavillion—This often-overlooked two-day event is one of my favorite summer traditions, with a lineup that spices up a sharp selection of local strummers, wailers, and pluckers with some out-of-state ringers. In the past the festival has brought in Jamaladeen Tacuma and James Blood Ulmer, names that won’t mean something to everyone but will mean everything to those who recognize them. This year’s highlights include Mexican guitarist Ehekatl Arizmendi, who you can hear in action here, and local mainstay Mason Jennings, who just released a new album, Magnifier, in June. And the Como Pavillion is just a great place to spend a nice summer day, period.—Keith Harris
The Spirit of Whitney @ Crooners
- Sheila E. & The E-Train @ Dakota—see Monday's listings.
Alexander Natalie with Greentop and Eldest Daughter @ Day Block Brewing
The Fabulous Hackmasters, Wild Lyre, and the Riverbreaks @ Driftwood
Son/Boy, Valors, and Littleton @ Dusty’s
Anchoress, Cache, Flintlock, Kostnateni @ Eagles 34
- Mike Kota (EP Release) with Josephine and Bloodline @ Green Room Mike Kota’s new release, Through Fire, is her third EP in five years, and I appreciate that approach. Why labor over a grand statement when you can keep us posted regular with shorter, well-crafted works? Her sulky yet pliant voice and layered, often unaccompanied electric guitars make for a distinct sound, building up to the album’s centerpiece, “My Love Is Free.”—Keith Harris
Built To Last Festival – Jerry Day 2025 @ Hook and Ladder
- Omar Fateh Fundraiser @ Icehouse—We at Racket would never tell you how to vote—you should rank Omar Fateh, DeWayne Davis, and Jazz Davis in whatever order you want. (I think I’ve made that joke before; I’m sure I’ll make it again before November.) But if you happen to be looking for an excuse to drop a few bucks in Fateh’s campaign account, may as well also see a local lineup of Delicate Friend, Dilly Dally Alley, Huhroon, and Mayyadda and a “very special friend.” Who could that be? (Wrong guesses only.)—Keith Harris
Tre Aaron & the Undergroove @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Tank (Top) Night with DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Lush
Groovy Tuesday @ Mainstreet Bar
The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Summer After Hours (EDM Nights) @ Myth Live
Minneapolis Guitar Jazz Duo @ Padraig’s
Martin Dosh and 24/7 Car Service Present The 2nd Annual Throwdown @ Palmer’s
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers @ Parkway Theater
Mark Cameron Band @ Schooner Taven
Penelope Road with Hollyy @ 7th St Entry
The Minneapolis Molines @ Terminal Bar
Bobby Rethwish, Miloe, Fruit Punch Lover Boy @ 331 Club
RuDeGiRL, The de'Lindas, and Cracked Actor @ Turf Club
The Gooses with Ditchweed, Yuasa-exide, Pleasure Cube @ White Squirrel
Mary Strand & The Garage with Stone Arch Rivals @ White Squirrel
Violets Are Blue with Glitter Pit, Unattractive Giant Monster @ White Squirrel
Qoncert Weekend @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, August 10
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Billy McLaughlin Presents 'The Young and the Rest' @ Aster House
Ted Olsen & Friends: Standards Trio (feat. Omar Abdulkarim) @ Berlin
- Lakeside Guitar Festival @ Como Lakeside Pavillion—see Saturday's listings.
Jimmy Martin and Drew Jansen @ Crooners
Ryan Picone Quartet @ Crooners
The Music of Jimmy Buffett @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Duck Bomb with Emily & The Space Butterflies, Cause for Concern, and Space Motel @ Green Roo
Jeremy Messersmith @ Hewing Hotel
Night Shift Dance Party @ Icehouse
Kenwood Symphony Orchestra @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
SESAY @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Flash Dance with DJ Shannon Blowtorch @ Lush
Opera on Tap @ Metronome Brewery
Retro Rhythms with DJ Kenny D @ Mortimer’s
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
- A Little Night of Nilsson In The Night: Celebrating the Release of Cook-Feltz Sings Son of Schmilsson @ Parkway Theater—In 1972 the eccentric pop-rocker Harry Nilsson followed up his commercial breakthrough, Nilsson Schmillson, with the wonderfully silly Son of Schmilsson. It’s the latter that Ben Cook-Feltz has decided to recreate, and Dylan Hicks, the High 48s, Jillian Rae, Leslie Vincent, Brian Just, and Sawtooth Witch will all be on hand to help him out live. I’ll be the guy in the crowd shouting out requests from the Popeye soundtrack.—Keith Harris
Mal Blum with Charlie Mtn. @ 7th St Entry
Emmy Woods, Kai Brewster @ 331 Club
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School @ 331 Club
Wilkinson James with Al Subola And Lazy Ike @ White Squirrel
Frankie & Gwen with Townsfolk @ White Squirrel
The 8th Ward with Joan of Profile & Attracted to Gods @ White Squirrel
American Progress & St. George's Folly @ Zhora Darling
Monday, August 11
Sing United @ Como Lakeside Pavillion
Purple Funk Metropolis & Gifted Handz @ Dakota
North Star Jazz Community Jam Session @ Dual Citizen
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
Irish Diplomacy @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
- Moscow Puzzles with Vin and Good Morning Midnight @ Pilllar Forum—On Moscow Puzzles’ latest, Vast Space of the Interior, the instrumental Iowa duo stretches six tracks (including a three-parter called “Monumentation”) over 39 thick, layered, unrushed, and never pompous minutes. Local openers Good Morning Midnight and Pilllar fixtures VIN offer more yearning variations of post-rock.—Keith Harris
Kiesza with Bonnie McKee @ 7th St Entry
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ 331 Club
Mumblin' Drew's Oldfangled Orchestrators @ White Squirrel
Carcetti with Jumbles & Marty Foul @ White Squirrel
Sigcell & Pyrrhic Victories with Max Chapman & Matthew Milligan @ Zhora Darling
