The hardest part of my job? Writing a little intro here that doesn't feel like it's just taking up space. Yet some weeks (like this one) that's all it does.
Tuesday, February 3
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Bill Simenson Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Red Planet @ Metronome Brewery
Bluewater Kings Showcase @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
February Conspiracy Series featuring Drew Peterson @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Sarah Morris @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Ditch Pigeon (Residency) with Old Smugglers, Whispered the Rabbit @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, February 4
Du Fromage, Landing Pad, Side.Door @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
The Headhunters, Room3 @ Dakota
Jim Walsh, Zoe Says Go @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Diplomacy @ Dubliner Pub
Del Water Gap, Hannah Jadagu @ First Avenue
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
- Practice As A Show: Poliça Residency @ Icehouse—Ever wonder how Poliça records an album? Well, during this three-week residency, you’ll get a little peek behind the scenes. The band is taking over Icehouse to craft a followup to 2025’s Dreams Go. "Audience participation will be welcomed," they say. The material won’t be entirely unfamiliar—they’ll warm up with some of your Poliça faves before they get to work on the new stuff.—Keith Harris
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Tytus Canby @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Postal Bois, Discombobulators, Disappearing Wings @ Pilllar Forum
OVRFWRD, Twin Citizen @ Schooner Tavern
Olivia Barton, Bridey Costello @ 7th St Entry
Open Mic with Grant Dawson @ 318 Cafe
Bosso Poetry Company @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Kismet Rendezvous @ 331 Club
The 2nd Stringers @ White Squirrel
Thursday, February 5
Takeover Thursdays: Simshows @ Abi’s
Aaron James & Katie Marshall @ Acadia
David Huckfelt’s Mystery Lights @ Animales
Jaspar Lepak & Zippy Laske @ Aster Cafe
- A Celebration of Giorgio Moroder @ Berlin—You gotta love a collab between two great orgs. Over the course of the month, the Trylon will screen four films that were scored by the disco godfather: two sexed up Paul Schrader entries (Cat People, American Gigolo) along with freaky children’s tale The NeverEnding Story and Alan Parker’s brutal Midnight Express. And on Thursday, Berlin is getting in on the action with a tribute to the disco pioneer’s musical legacy. Leopard Tree Dream will explore Moroder’s affinity with Krautrock, Mudd will perform a set drawn from his film scores, and Dory Kahalé will close the night with a Moroder DJ set.—Keith Harris
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Nani Vazana with Lev & Olga @ Cedar Cultural Center
Burnt Orange @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Simon Croppe and Friends @ Eagles 34
- In Defense of Our Community ⏤ A Benefit for ACLU-MN @ Fine Line—A dance-forward night of local music for a good cause, the ACLU-MN. Performers include Cristian Baca, Gustavo Villegas, DJ Mickey Breeze, Lady Midnight, and Jada Brown.
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Turn Turn Turn (Album Release Residency), Jillian Rae @ Icehouse
- Obi Original and the Black Atlantics @ Mia—Cracking the notoriously icy social shells of Minnesotans? Not easy, and something we explored in great detail last summer. Making friends is even tougher in the wintertime, so the folks at Mia organized this free series aimed at “creating, connecting, and kicking back… No registration or secret handshake required.” Timed to Black History Month, this week’s installment features a concert from Obi Original and the Black Atlantics; learn more about Obi's local Afrobeats takeover in Keith's lovely profile. Poet Dralandra Larkins will be there helping attendees craft watercolor affirmation cards, special tours will take you to works by great Black artists, and DJ McShellen will kick off the party inside the museum lobby. Food and drink? You bet your friend-making ass those’ll be available for purchase.—Jay Boller
Young Relics, Lowdown Dirty Blues @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Danser, Institutional Green @ Schooner Tavern
Sarah Morris & Becky Schlegel @ 318 Cafe
Northeast Invitation @ 331 Club
Chuee, KALiEDASCARE, Lil Censei @ Underground Music
Dusk Rat, USPOP @ White Squirrel
Spaceport, Witness, the Cottonwood Shivers @ Zhora Darling
Friday, February 6
The Brothers Burn Mountain @ Amsterdam
Maria and the Coins @ Animales
Wren & Wilde with Matthew French @ Aster Cafe
JC Sanford/Dean Granros @ Berlin
Yohannes Tona & Kenni Holmen @ Berlin
Drinkwine with Friends Band @ Blues Saloon
- Drone Not Drones @ Cedar Cultural Center—How long has this annual 28-hour event been around? *Mary J. Blige voice* E-le-ven years! And if you need a primer, there's none better than Dustin Nelson's oral history of the event, which Racket published this time last year.
Dorothy Doring and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Anya Menk and Friends @ Crooners
Charlie Chaplin & Classic Hollywood Hits @ Crooners
Maryk & the Realists, Randy Casey & Swamp Donkeys, Witness Trips, Compass Rose @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
The Northerly Gales @ Dubliner Pub
Club 90s Presents Heated Rivalrave @ Fillmore
Dancing in the Moonlight ⏤ A Yacht Rock Party ft. DJ Jake Rudh and Private Oates @ Fine Line
The Runarounds with the Back Alley @ First Avenue
Riot! at the Disco @ Green Room
Winter Breeze Yacht Rock Party with the Lonesome Losers @ Hook and Ladder
Erik Koskinen (Residency), Martha Scanlan, Jon Neufeld @ Icehouse
Serenity Now, Agony in the Living Room, Spiderlily @ Memory Lanes
Lost Golden Toads @ Metronome Brewery
The Johnnie Brown Experience @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Lazy Scorsese, Dot Operator, Squinny @ Mortimer’s
The Music of Pink Floyd @ Orchestra Hall
Admiral Fox, ¿watches?, Malamiko, Critterthing @ Pilllar Forum
Metal Weekend Night 1 @ Schooner Tavern
The Rumors, Lasalle, Sophie Hiriko, headtriiip @ 7th St Entry
Paul Frantzich: The Heart Elevation Experiment @ 318 Cafe
Fireside Shadow, GOSSAMER, MVRROW @ 331 Club
Highway Heroes⏤A Tribute to the Outlaw Poets @ Turf Club
Justin Bieber Night @ Varsity Theater
Vittorio and the Bridges @ White Squirrel
Saturday, February 7
Red Fletcher, Tin Whiskers, Lapse of Fate, Next Chapter @ Acadia
Hot Flash Dance: a Dance Party for Divas of a Certain Age @ Amsterdam
Cornbread Harris & Friends @ Animales
Pandora’s Other Box @ Aster Cafe
Yuasa-Exide, Hot Press, Rank Strangers @ Barely Brothers
For the Love of Afro & RNB @ Bazemnt
Adam Linz/Benny Weinbeck @ Berlin
Yohannes Tona & Kenni Holmen @ Berlin
Jumpsuit: Funk & Disco Party @ Black Hart
33rd Annual Songs Of Freedom - Bob Marley Remembered @ Cabooze
Dandelion Joy Music Ukulele Student Showcase @ Can Can Wonderland
Aimee K. Bryant @ Capri Theater
Battery Eyes (Album Release), In Lieu, Unstable Shapes, Laura Larson @ Cloudland
Martin Zellar and the Hardways @ Crooners
Pop Wagner & Corpse Reviver @ Crooners
Fighting the Urge, Steve Soleka, Hauliwood Dreams @ Driftwood Char Bar
Last Horse, Mid Death Calm, Northern Hammer @ Dusty’s
New Riverside Ramblers @ Eagles 34
- Sudan Archives, Cain Culto @ Fine Line—“Hey, it’s me,” Brittney Parks announces on the lead track to her latest album, The BPM. “Did you miss me?” And you know, I kinda did. As its title suggests, the follow up to Sudan Archives’ 2022 breakthrough, Natural Brown Prom Queen, is more focused on the dancefloor. More explicitly, it’s about a life in motion, about figuring out who you are on the fly, partly by using the women you idolize and desire as mirrors into your beliefs and ambitions. Parks livens up a truckload of Rust Belt dance styles with her violin, which can conjure up disco strings, East African folk, or country fiddle. I caught her at the Fine Line in 2022 and it was the best show I saw that year.—Keith Harris
The Elovators, Shwayze, JARV @ First Avenue
DJ Oracle X DJ Alfrred X DJ MKZ @ Gidi
Eric Church @ Grand Casino Arena
Dutchess Presents @ Hey Y'all Tipsy Taco Bar
Decades Dance Party with DJ Shane Kramer @ Hook and Ladder
About to Run: Phish Beneath the Ice @ Icehouse
Chris Graham Trio @ Jazz Central
Million.point.Million, Gills, Elbow House, and Baumgardner @ Klash Coffee
Wicked Garden @ Mainstreet Bar
Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Baby Mahi & The Sitters, Soctopus, Deletist, Clung Tight, Change Of @ Mortimer’s
The Music of Pink Floyd @ Orchestra Hall
12th House Sun, Berzica, I have no love for men like you, Ladyslipper @ Pilllar Forum
Metal Weekend @ Schooner Tavern
Left to Suffer, the Last Ten Seconds of Life, Larcɇnia Roɇ, Fr3ak @ 7th St Entry
Billy Johnson, Angie Gislason, Scott Best, Kate Snyder @ 318 Cafe
The Crimson Boys, Porch Nights @ 331 Club
Nivrana, Dissident, Pleezer @ Turf Club
Facing Greatness with Twain, Verb @ Uptown VFW
February Synastry @ Uptown VFW
Arcola, Glass Eyed Brother, Sawtooth Witch @ White Squirrel
Not Your Baby, Flowtus, Butter Boys @ White Squirrel
Freak of the Week @ Zhora Darling
MC PIRATE PANTS, Virginia's Basement, SURLY GRRLY, Pinched @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, February 8
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Ryan Picone Quartet @ Aster House
Feeling Groovy: Simon & Garfunkel Tribute @ Crooners
Swinging Motown Celebrates Black History @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
North Star Jazz Community Jam Session @ Dual Citizen
The Inland Seas @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Cabaret with Jen Burleigh Bentz @ Metronome Brewery
Minnesota Youth Symphonies Winter Concert @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
Emmy Woods and Friends @ 331 Club
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School @ 331 Club
Simple Motions, Muffleur, Borrowed Time @ Underground Music
Cold Sweat, Love Lake @ White Squirrel
Sam & J, Squinny, The Daily Norm @ White Squirrel
Nomolos, Anything You Want, Nice and Blue, Embahn @ Zhora Darling
Monday, February 9
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
Ye Vagabonds, Red Thread @ Cedar Cultural Center
Club Day Monday Cabaret with Doug Anderson, Lori Dokken, & Friends @ Crooners
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Sea Shanty Sing @ Dubliner Pub
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Other Country Ensemble @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Jam Society @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Nothing To Do, Pure Shifter, justhand @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
Greg Volker & The River @ 331 Club
