As the Basilica Block Party returns this week, I must speak out against the critical rehabilitation of the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows by people who should know better. While it's not the worst of what the '90s had to offer, there's no reason to treat this sort of alt-rock filler like the good stuff. I don't care that "Iris" was your first slow dance in middle school!
Tuesday, July 30
The Sounds of Many with Gentleman Speaker & My Buddy Eric @ Acadia
- Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot @ Armory—Following the much looser 2019 album Father of the Bride, the 10 compact songs on Only God Was Above Us, coming in at a taut 47 minutes, suggest a return to the clockwork-precise Vampire Weekend of the past. But these geegaw-crammed arrangements feel cluttered rather than curated, and intentionally so—these are cluttered times, after all, and Ezra Koenig is too self-aware an aesthete to think the fascists at the gates need another well-wrought urn to smash. Always thoughtful, often perceptive, increasingly loath to fully enunciate, Koenig recognizes the darker parts of history rising from the murk around him, musing on “how the cruel, with time, becomes classical,” without offering much solace. “I hope you know your brain's not bulletproof” is how he ends the one called “Pravda,” which he absolutely knows is more than just the Russian word for truth.
Jojo Green @ Bryant Square Park
International Reggae All-Stars @ Bunker's
Flamingo Pier with 26 Bats! @ Cedar Cultural Center
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Homeward Bound @ Father Hennepin Bluff Park
The Strike with Solid Gold and Alt Bloom @ First Avenue
Two Sundays Big Band @ Jazz Central
Colonel Mustard's Mechanical Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Big Woods Brass Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Serpents Of Serenity, Squirm, Rosie, Self Titled @ Pilllar Forum
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Doyle Turner @ 331 Club
July Conspiracy Series featuring The Infernos, The Gated Community @ 331 Club
Heavy Temple with Valley of the Sun @ Turf Club
Pagan Athletes & Friends @ Underground Music Venue
Alexandra Kay @ Varsity Theater
The New Halvoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Shrimp Olympics (Tuesday Residency) with Larry Wish @ White Squirrel
Time Room, Modern Wildlife, Red Lovely, Landing Pad @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, July 31
- Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot @ Armory—See Tuesday's listings.
Mississippi (Kevin Washington/Jeff Bailey/Kavyesh Kaviraj/Pete Whitman) @ Berlin
Marimba Matt @ Can Can Wonderland
Sistastrings with Brianna Lane @ Cedar Cultural Center
We3: A Tribute to the Ink Spots @ Crooners
- GZA & The Phunky Nomads @ Dakota—GZA, aka the Genius, made his name as perhaps the most lyrically knotty member of the Wu-Tang Clan, combining a versatile flow with dense, biting rhymes. As all too-online people know, GZA’s 1995 classic Liquid Swords is Joe Biden’s favorite Wu-Tang album, and like many instant classics, that album has overshadowed the rest of GZA’s output more than it should—check out 2008’s Pro Tools (his most recent album) if you don’t believe me. He’s been touring with a full band to expand his sound, and I heard great things about his last stop at the Dakota.
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Moonshine Prophets @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
School of Rock @ Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
The Janelle Burrell Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
My Kid Banana, New Locals, and Clash Minne Rockers @ Palmer's
Molly Martin with Alina Maira @ 7th St Entry
Muscle Fork with Ken Kartak @ Terminal Bar
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Luke Callen @ 331 Club
Carter Winter @ Turf Club
Leisure Hour with Dial Tone & Weeklong Weekend @ Underground Music Venue
Infuriate, Contracharge, It Is Dead, Ice Everlasting, Malignant Hangover, Oath @ White Rock Lounge
Hunny Bear with The Th3, J-Mo on the Beat, & The J-Lighters @ White Squirrel
- Future & Metro Boomin @ Xcel Energy Center—“No mistaking it: We are in the era of post-peak Future,” I wrote last year, when Nayvadius Cash was set to bring his “Future & Friends” tour to Target Center in April. Well, a lot has changed since then. First off, that show was canceled. And this year, Future and the big-name producer who shares the bill here released two hit albums together: We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You. Thing is, Future got a little overshadowed in the process, and not by Metro Boomin—with a special guest verse from Kendrick Lamar, “Like That” launched the rap feud of the year. But though folks seem a little more enthusiastic about Future’s own output than they have been in years, that doesn’t mean they won’t be showing up for the oldies. If they show up at all.
Shiner, Another Heaven, Popstar @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, August 1
The Burney Sisters feat Ryan David Young, Jed LaPlant @ Amsterdam
Tate McRae, Pressley Regier @ Armory
Sarah Navratil Quartet @ Berlin
Meatraffle Ska @ Bryant Square Park
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker's
Chris Smither with Betty Soo @ Cedar Cultural Center
Lifestyle Shakes, Mouthful, Pyrrhic Victories @ Cloudland
And The Melodies Still Linger On… with Ginger Commodore @ Crooners
Arne Fogel Singing Sinatra @ Crooners
Michael Monroe Presents: The Music of Gordon Lightfoot @ Crooners
Sophia Shorai & Tommy Barbarella @ Dakota
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Snapped: Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Chokecherry with Constant Insult, Fletcher Coulee, & Jeffrey Robert Larson @ Hook and Ladder
Derecho Rhythm Section @ Icehouse
Annie and the Bang Bang with Keep for Cheap @ Mears Park
Peter Ruddy @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Dirty Lowdown Fools @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Mary Elias's Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Grand Piano Spectacular @ Orchestra Hall
Valentine Ephemeris @ Peavey Plaza
Lena & the Lovekills @ Schooner Tavern
Infinity Song with Hemma @ 7th St Entry
Northeast Invitational @ 331 Club
Nate Amor with WESTON WOLD @ Turf Club
Pandelion with Sho @ White Squirrel
Friday, August 2
Tedeschi Trucks Band with Margo Price @ Armory
House Proud with E-Tones @ Beast Barbecue
- Basilica Block Party @ Boom Island Park—Just last year Racket published a longform story headlined “What Killed the Twin Cities Music Festivals?” and Basilica Block Party—which disappeared from 2022 to 2023— was listed among the many casualties. This year music fests are making a huge local comeback, with BBP rising, Christ-like, from the dead at a new location and with no Cities 97 affiliation. The boozy collection plate will resume fundraising for the beautiful Basilica of St. Mary over at Boom Island Park via its usual two-night, pop-rock format: Goo Goo Dolls and the Fray top Friday's bill, Counting Crows and Needtobreathe top Saturday's. If that sounds… less than ideal, artistically speaking… the local stage featuring Run Westy Run, Black Widows, Nur-D, Cindy Lawson, and others is legit loaded with talent.—Jay Boller
OSFNA Weekend Kickoff Party @ Cabooze
4th Annual Music Fest @ Carbone's
Brandyn Tulloch, Lighter Co., Room3, Ozone Creations @ Chop Shop
Continuals, Dug, Battery Eyes @ Cloudland
Maggie's Afterglow: Dorothy Doring and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
J-Mo on the Beat, Wyly Bigger @ Eagles 34
Mayda,GUP! (Lizzie Semington), Colin Bracewell @ 50th & France
Hot in Herre ⏤ 2000s Dance Party @ First Avenue
Dan Schwartz & Nick Salisbury @ The Freehouse
V:hind: Love and Tears @ Granada
Twin Citizen and Faith Boblett with Elour and Juniper Fly @ Green Room
Dr. Mambo’s Combo: Tribute to Sly & The Family Stone, Rufus & Chaka Khan @ Hook and Ladder
Joel Shapira: Open Lines Quartet @ Jazz Central
Gypsy Swing Jazz @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
The Undergroove @ Minnehaha Bandstand
The Johnnie Brown Experience @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Gershwin and Gatsby @ Orchestra Hall
Groovy Tuesday @ Padraigs Brewing
Ms. Dorothy & The Sky's the Limit @ Papa Legba
Sunsets Over Flowers, Damn Phibian, Critterthing, Jazicality @ Pilllar Forum
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
Jersey Club Night ft. DJ McShellen, DJ MOJO JOJO, and DJ Sasha Bangzz @ 7th St Entry
- Peso Pluma @ Target Center—OK, fingers crossed on this one. First Bad Bunny canceled his March show at Target for unannounced reasons (likely weak sales), then Doble P postponed his appearance, originally scheduled for May. It’s beginning to seem as if the Twin Cities may not be the burgeoning market for Latin music that it had seemed. This Mexican star is the foremost trafficker in corridos tumbados, which combine the aggressively strummed acoustic ballad tradition of corridos, their heavy brass very much included, with Latin trap and other up-to-date beats. On last year’s hit album, Génesis, Peso Pluma compared himself to “Lady Gaga” and “Zapata” in the titles of two consecutive tracks while boasting with enough flash and swagger to make most rappers sound like diffident homebodies.
Staboteurs, Bad Idea, Couch Potato Massacre, Atomic Lights @ Terminal Bar
The Sparks (Album Release), The Symptones, The Del-Viles @ 331 Club
Taylor’s Version ⏤ A Swiftie Dance Party @ Turf Club
Chuck Mead, Jason Ringenberg @ Uptown VFW
Joan of Profile & Sylvia Dieken @ Utepils Brewing
Mutt IA, Final Decision, Stag, A Martyr's Decision @ White Rock Lounge
Womanish Girl with Ken Valdez @ White Squirrel
Barry Manilow @ Xcel Energy Center
Saturday, August 3
Reaping Asmodeia with Begravement, Mirror of Being, Cobra Czar, and Defiled Sacrament @ Amsterdam
Tedeschi Trucks Band with Margo Price @ Armory
Dan Murphy, Marc Perlman, and Kraig Johnson @ Aster Cafe
Liz Draper/Tasha Baron @ Berlin
Jumpsuit: Private Guy, Real Girl, Blue Funk @ Black Hart
- Basilica Block Party @ Boom Island Park—See Friday's listings.
4th Annual Music Fest @ Carbone's
King Caesar, Stone Ark, Weald @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Tinariwen with Lone Pinon @ Cedar Cultural Center
Thomasina Petrus & The Selby Ave Brass Band @ Crooners
Joan Hutton and Sue Orfield (Album Release) @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Dorothy Doring and Laura Caviani @ Crooners
Backyard Bluesfest @ Dual Citizen Brewing
50Cal.Kyle, Tarias and The Sound, The Chalkboys, Labrador Wild @ Eagles 34
Protest The Hero with '68 and Greyhaven @ Fine Line
Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers with Remo Drive and So Much Light @ First Avenue
Built to Last Festival: Jerry Day 2024 @ Hook and Ladder
Rise Up Reggae Festival with Socaholix, INTL Reggae All-Stars, Innocent @ Icehouse
The Von Tramps @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
BroMosapien x GRGLY @ The Loft
Gryzor, the Dirty Pretty, Fragged Out @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Life on a String @ Padraigs Brewing
Allergen, 26 Bats!, Trash Date, Mouthful @ Pilllar Forum
Ray Barnard with Jon Rodine @ Schooner Tavern
Nelson Devereaux (Single Release) with Beemer and room3 @ 7th St Entry
Autumn, Bonefire, Beula Rue, DJ Staple @ Terminal Bar
The Kid Is Hot Tonight @ 331 Club
Airship Caravan, The Real Chuck NORAD, Pandelion @ 331 Club
Good Trouble @ Underground Music Venue
- Music Heals Us 01: Chance York, Lady Midnight, Annie Fitzgerald @ Uptown VFW—Three top-notch local singer-songwriters present a varied multimedia evening that includes a "sound journey, an acoustic set, a VR short film called Pursuit & The Elusive, a movement workshop, and a rap set." Intriguing.
Electric Feel: 2000’s Indie Rock & Pop Party @ Uptown VFW
Minor Mischief A Cappella @ White Squirrel
Ear Candy: Vol. 7 @ White Squirrel
Sunday, August 4
Impaler with Blodwar, Hate Beast, & Domidium @ Amsterdam
Dan Murphy, Marc Perlman, and Kraig Johnson @ Aster Cafe
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Bluegrass Jam @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Story Tellers: The Great Songs of Elton John and Neil Diamond @ Crooners
Ryan Picone Quartet (Vinyl Release) @ Crooners
Nicolas King & Jennifer Grimm @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Slaphazard, USPOP, The Slashies @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Old Country Buffet @ Green Room
Ashley DuBose Entertainment Presents: JazRnB @ Icehouse
Purple Queen @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
The Way Way Back Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
NxJazz Gen @ Metronome Brewing
Global Jazz Colloquium (Album Release) @ Metronome Brewing
- Faye Webster with Benét @ Palace Theatre—Webster's latest, Underdressed at the Symphony, allows her slightly spacey but also acutely aware personality to blossom while she tries to recuperate from heartbreak. My fave track is "But Not Kiss," which varies elongated fantasies of intimacy like "I want to sleep in your arms" with curt boundary-establishing like "but not kiss."
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
Uma, Wet Denim, Two Shoes, and Dead Fashion @ Palmer's
MC Chris with Crunk Witch @ 7th St Entry
Magic Sword with Essenger, North Innsbruck and Magenta Vice @ Turf Club
Graden Hill, Bark Point, Slapdash Bluegrass @ Underground Music Venue
Hong Kong Fuck You, Deterioration, Infintile Disease @ White Rock Lounge
Majoon Travellers @ White Squirrel
Monday, August 5
The Fine Dials, The Makeouts, Hiving, & Landing Pad @ Amsterdam
All Terrain Vehicle (Zacc Harris/Dave Power/Cody McKinney) @ Berlin
Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
- Killer Mike and the Mighty Midnight Revival @ First Avenue—I haven't heard Mike's new album, Songs for Sinners & Saints, which drops this Friday, but the lead single, "Humble Me," suggests a growth from his 2023 album Michael. And in fact he's calling this 10-cut release an "epilogue" to that Grammy winner, and sharing credit with his gospel group, the Mighty Midnight Revival.
Claire Eileen, Dalmatian Club, Callback @ Green Room
Mike Baggetta & Peter Distefano @ Icehouse
The C Notes @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
The MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's
Speedriders, Skulpture, Superheaters @ Pilllar Forum
