The holidays shows are rollin' in, and from VocalEssence filling Orchestra Hall with sounds of sweet reverence to Impaler noisily extolling the joys of Krampus at the Turf, there's a little something for everyone.
Tuesday, December 12
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
A Co-MingL Christmas @ Crooners
José James feat. Christian Sands @ Dakota
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Kevin Gamble Trio @ Green Room
South High Swing Night @ Hook and Ladder
Todd Clouser's "A Love Electric" with Molly Maher @ Icehouse
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
All Nighter Tuesdays @ ROK Music Lounge
Neva Dinova with Doom Flower @ 7th St Entry
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Dan Israel @ 331 Club
- bar italia with Ava Levy @ Turf Club—As you might expect for a band named after a Pulp song, this trio is British. (No way I’d come anywhere near a U.S. band named for a Pulp song.) Bar Italia released their Matador debut Tracey Denim in the spring, and its followup, The Twits, in November, and there’s no discernible growth or drop off: This is a band that has its sound and it’s sticking to it. There’s something wobbly and cobbled together about that sound—the guitars add just enough dissonance to the tunes, typically resonating at a midpoint between Wire and Sonic Youth, while trying to walk the relatively straight line the drums lay out for them. Just as striking is the vocal contrast between dry and cool Nina Cristante and her more desperate male counterparts Jezmi Fehmi and Sam Fenton. Not that Cristante doesn’t have her own worries—“I can't just pick up a story/And make it the whole of who I am,” she laments—but icy decrees like, “You're just not worth the time/You're too scared to immerse yourself” are more her speed. Of course, a lot of the time I can’t tell what they’re singing about, whether it’s because voices are drowned in the din, the lyrics are too cryptic, or their content is too British. But with a band like this a little opacity is part of the charm.
Tuesdays with DL4 @ White Squirrel
Caitlin & Alex (Tuesday Night Residency) with Helen Forsythe @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, December 13
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
The Barefoot Movement Holiday Show @ Cedar Cultural Center
A Nat King Cole Christmas with Bryan Eng @ Crooners
José James feat. Christian Sands @ Dakota
Lena and the Lovekills @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
- Aqua @ Fillmore—What’s more American than a good ol’ fashioned cash grab? Danish Europop band Aqua have capitalized on multiple cultural moments since originally breaking up in 2001—first with the rush of '90s nostalgia, and now with the Barbie zeitgeist that uniquely fits their only hit. After the campy “Barbie Girl” attained ubiquity in the summer of '97, Mattel sued MCA Records; "the parties are advised to chill" Judge Alex Kozinski said while dismissing the case in 2002. These days Aqua seems to be on friendly terms with the toy giant. “Barbie World,” their Barbie soundtrack collab with rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, has earned 374 million Spotify plays, a No. 7 Billboard position, and two Grammy noms. The U.K. tabloids claim that while Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, and Søren Rasted look “unrecognisable” from their Clinton-era heyday (that’s the passage of time for ya), the Aqua trio “delighted fans” on their current reunion tour. Expect plenty of blasts from the past, considering the dance-pop group hasn’t released an album in over a dozen years.—Jay Boller
JD McPherson with Joel Paterson @ Fine Line
Candlelight Pop Holiday Classics and Favorites @ Granada
A Very Merry Kurtz Christmas @ Icehouse
Wind Up Wednesday with Q-Bear @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Whiskey Rock 'n' Roll Club @ Mortimer's
Willow Waters with Luke Callen and Riley Skinner @ Palmer's
Descend: Darkwave Night @ ROK Music Lounge
Connor McRae Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Joe Samba with Joey Harkum @ 7th St Entry
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Pistol Whippin Party Penguins @ 331 Club
Ariel Posen with Brittany Kennell @ Turf Club
Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers @ White Squirrel
Jeremy & the Lords of the Universe w. Shrimp Olympics @ White Squirrel
Full Catholic, Uncle Jesse’s Comb, Corey Avery, Lus Sangules @ White Squirrel
Thursday, December 14
The Laura Caviani Trio @ Crooners
Riverside Swing Band: A Vintage Christmas @ Crooners
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Candlelight Holiday Special feat. The Nutcracker @ Granada
Cornbread Harris & Friends @ Hook and Ladder
J-Mo on the Beat and his J-Lighters @ KJ's Hideaway
Smiling Cowboys @ Minnesota Music Cafe
No Limits: The B Side @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Reformation Dance Night @ Mortimer's
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Tina Schlieske + Friends' VaJamma Party @ Parkway
The Best Meds, The 99ers, fxrmnk @ ROK Music Lounge
Stephanie Was @ Schooner Tavern
- KC Rae (of Now, Now) with Athletic Assistants @ 7th St Entry—There’s a bit of a “lonesome cowboy” vibe to KC Rae’s lyrics on her first solo project, Think I’m Gonna Die, for which she learned to play the mandolin and banjo. (She plays every instrument on the record apart from bass and drums, which are handled by her bandmate in the alt-rock/pop duo Now, Now, Bradley Hale.) Rae’s sitting by the phone knowing it won’t ring; she’s lying in a parking lot, listening to the bark of a lonely dog; she’s got a “masochistic imagination,” dreaming of kissing someone who’s “got your mind changing/What’d you go and do that for?” To be clear, Think I’m Gonna Die isn’t a full pivot to country. Rather, the genre weaves through Rae’s indie pop, coming across stronger on certain songs than others, as she deals with some hard shit. She questions her reality, contemplates disappearing; she thinks the sadness will go away if she ignores it. (It won’t.) At times she sings, heartbroken, directly to you, but the you is prismatic, reflecting Rae’s discontent back to herself. Read our full interview with Rae here.—Lydia Moran
- Nelly, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and T.I. @ Target Center—A little sad to these once-dominant hitmakers all clumped together in the hopes of filling an arena, but such is pop.
Minneapolis Songwriter Round: BJ Solely, Nathanial Ray, Marc Severin, Eric Ross @ 331 Club
The Claudettes and Annie Mack @ Turf Club
New Confusion (Album Release) @ Underground Music Venue
The Monday Club @ White Squirrel
Garden Street with Luke Callen @ White Squirrel
Friday, December 15
Gigi's Fundraiser Fest @ Amsterdam
Jeffrey Foucault + Pieta Brown @ Cedar Cultural Center
Falcon Arrow, Whispered the Rabbit, Tender Comrade @ Cloudland
Lynne Rothrock’s Cool Yule @ Crooners
Karrin Allyson: Wintry Mix featuring Rod Fleeman @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Judi Vinar and Adi Yeshaya @ Crooners
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—A jazz pianist born late enough (1978) to come up on hip-hop and neo-soul, Glasper is probably best known outside of jazz for his keyboard work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which was integral in defining that album’s sound. In the past two decades, he’s achieved crossover success at Blue Note with his feature-heavy Black Radio releases, the third of which, released last year, offered Killer Mike, Jennifer Hudson, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Q-Tip, Esperanza Spalding, and many, many—many—more guests. It’s tempting to call Glasper’s music “fusion,” but that term implies the forced yoking of disparate styles; instead, Glasper treats contemporary Black music as a smooth confluence of genres. He just played a three-night stand at the Dakota in January, and he must have liked it because he’s back for another three nights
Katie Marshall & Bury 'Em Deep Band @ Driftwood
Manifest Content, Mellow Cassette @ Driftwood
Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34
Craig Owens with VOILÀ, Andrés and The Seafloor Cinema @ Fine Line
The Big Wu with Gregg Hall & The Wrecking Ball @ First Avenue
Some Shitty Cover Band @ Green Room
Trailer Trash Trashy Little Xmas @ Hook and Ladder
Luke LeBlanc (Album Release) with Thomas Sticha @ Icehouse
Reid Kennedy Trio @ Jazz Central
A Joyann Parker Band Christmas @ KJ's Hideaway
Louiejayxx x BLVK SHEEP @ The Loft
Sumo Seven @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Frozen in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
VocalEssence: Bach's Christmas Oratorio @ Orchestra Hall
Pagnia in Love: Live in Concert @ Ordway
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas @ Orpheum Theatre
Action Bronson @ Palace Theatre
Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Rambers, Clayton Ryan, and Kaylee Kitzman @ Palmer's
Tina Schlieske & Friends @ Parkway
Safety McGhee (Album Release) @ ROK Music Lounge
Hurricane Harold's All-Blues Revue @ Schooner Tavern
Avery Anna with Lauren Weintraub @ 7th St Entry
SYFN, Sweetalk, Electric Church @ 331 Club
- Impaler with Dumpster Juice, Plague of Stars, and New Rocket Union @ Turf Club—The veteran local shock-rockers return as they do each holiday season to celebrate the rampages of Krampus.
Dillinger Four, Vacant, Buio Omega, & Closetalker @ Uptown VFW
Deterioration, Getting Stabbed, Stern Look, the Big Spit @ White Rock Lounge
Night Jobs, Rad Owl, Powerdam @ White Rock Lounge
Tiny Daggers with Unnamed, TWYG (That’s What You Get) @ White Squirrel
Saturday, December 16
The Way Back Yard with Said Kelley @ Aster Cafe
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunkers
Alma Andina with Noche Chingona @ Cedar Cultural Center
Annie and the Bang Bang, Tender Years, Bev @ Cloudland
Maud Hixson Presents: Happy Holiday @ Crooners
A Christmas Carole Petersen @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Judi Vinar and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—See Friday's listings.
Sleepyeye, Paul Cerar, Citrine Shandy, Portside Dive @ Eagles 34
Shatter, Skimask, Kaldeket, Ruin Dweller @ Eagles 34
- Durry with DNM @ First Avenue—Racket had the scoop on Durry’s wildly viral 2021 rise, when the brother-sister local band blew up with 200,000 plays on TikTok (that figure now soars past 1 million). A grunge-pop shoutalong with vocals that alternately summon My Chemical Romance and Post Malone, the song “Who’s Laughing Now” stirred up attention from “very big name” management firms; the band was booked solid with industry Zoom meetings, and the single scored placement on Spotify-curated playlists. Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune are fans. Durry debuted that July at a sold-out 7th St. Entry, just as live music began its comeback, with singer-songwriter Austin Durry predicting the “post-TikTok” concerts will be wild. He wasn’t wrong: Durry has since graduated to the Mainroom.—Jay Boller
Matt Rogers with Henry Koperski @ Fitzgerald Theater
Battle of the Bands @ The Garage
Alex Rossi, Rion, Gavin Haskin, Wain McFarlane, Brandon Johnson, Jaylen @ Green Room
Trailer Trash Trashy Little Xmas @ Hook and Ladder
- Mark Mallman Presents: Peace on Earth (7th Annual Rock Concert of Joy) @ Icehouse—The consummate showman and earnestly over-the-top pomp-rocker brings you glad tidings once again.
Callum Schultz Quartet with Hamline Jazz Combo @ KJ's Hideaway
Debbie Briggs Vintage Jazz @ KJ's Hideaway
The Maxx Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Assortment feat. Michael Grey @ Mortimer's
K102 St. Jude Fan Cam @ Myth Live
Frozen in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
VocalEssence: Bach's Christmas Oratorio @ Orchestra Hall
Michael W. Smith @ Orpheum Theatre
The Jayhawks with Golden Smog: Electric @ Palace Theatre
Redwing Blackbird's Christmas Spectacular @ Palmer's
Tina Schlieske & Friends @ Parkway
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
helloworld with Asher Postman and Izek Rose @ 7th St Entry
Christmas in Monochrome @ Studio B
Rolling Xmas Revue @ Terminal Bar
Admiral Fox, Kyrie Nova & the Defiant, timisarocker @ 331 Club
Curve, The Great Went, and Do Not Crush @ 331 Club
- Heiruspecs with Dosh, Lady Lark and DJ Eddie Sizza Hans @ Turf Club—Some say Heiruspecs and their annual "Holiday Classic" are the reason for the season.
Busey, The Reachouts, Battery Eyes, and ahem @ Underground Music Cafe
WEEB LIKE IT HARD with Rocky, Hentai, Kiddo, Tequila or Water, Serenity @ Uptown VFW
Thrash, Pursuit, Ice Everlasting @ White Rock Lounge
Sammie Jean Cohen, The Ems, Wild Lyre @ White Squirrel
Muun Bato, Drug League, Nothing But Nice @ White Squirrel
Sunday, December 17
Rosie with League Two, Harlow, & Parachutes @ Amsterdam
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Danger Pins with Ava Levy @ Aster Cafe
Live 4 Love Charities Presents: A Holiday Celebration @ Capri Theater
A Christmas Carole Petersen @ Crooners
Jennifer Grimm: A Christmas with Family and Friends @ Crooners
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—See Friday's listings.
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Irish Set Dance @ Eagles 34
TC Ramblers @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
St. Thomas Pop Music Collective and Guitar Ensemble @ Green Room
Gospel Brunch, The Experience with Darnell Davis & The Remnant @ Icehouse
Twin Cities Flamenco Collective @ Icehouse
Frozen in Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's
Simple Gifts with Billy McLaughlin @ Parkway
White Line Darko with Beneath Green, Motherwind and Vinny Franco and the Love Channel @ 7th St Entry
The Magical Holiday Gala @ Turf Club
Lifestyle Shakes, Jumbos, Gwen @ White Rock Lounge
St. Paul Songwriter Rounds @ White Squirrel
Monday, December 18
Nicotine Addiction with Emery Snow & The Flakes, & 1947 @ Amsterdam
Jennifer Grimm: A Christmas with Family and Friends @ Crooners
A Christmas Carole Petersen @ Crooners
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancers @ Eagles 34
December Mondays with Zacc Harris @ Icehouse
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Kristin Chenoweth @ Orchestra Hall
Odd Prospect and Mom Rock with Natalie Fideler @ 7th St Entry
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Enter the Void: A Night of Sets Inspired by Wendy Carlos @ White Squirrel
