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Welcome to a Very Special Keith’s Birthday Edition of Your Complete Concert Calendar: January 16-22

Pretty much all the live music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

Wikimedia Commons; photo provided|

Travis Scott; Vijay Iyer

It's true: Today is my birthday. How old am I exactly? That's beside the point. What's important is that today is all about me—and Jennie from Blackpink, John Carpenter, Sade, and Jack McDowell, just to stick to my living birthday-sharers. (RIP Juliet Berto, Aaliyah, Susan Sontag, and Emperor Sheng Zong.)

Tuesday, January 16

International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers

Billy Prine Presents: The Songs of John Prine @ Dakota

St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood

Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central

River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe

New Band Night @ Palmer's

All Nighter Tuesdays @ ROK Music Lounge

Burning Blue Rain, Beneath Green, Covalent Blonde, and Kevin Gamble @ 7th St Entry

Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar

Worker’s Playtime: Phil Heywood @ 331 Club

January Conspiracy Series featuring Ben Cook-Feltz, Ruby Blu @ 331 Club

The New Havoline Supremes! feat. Mary Cutrufello, Dan Lowinger @ White Squirrel

Pure Shifter (Tuesday Residency) with Wish Wash & Deletist @ White Squirrel

Wednesday, January 17

MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Maggie's Wednesday: Lori Dokken @ Crooners

Najee @ Dakota

Switchgrass, Best New Band of 2024 @ Driftwood

Patty and the Buttons @ Eagles 34

Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34

  • Yellow Ostrich 3rd Annual Winter Shindig Night #2 @ IcehouseFor the third year, Alex Schaff's Yellow Ostrich is hunkering down at Icehouse for a weekly January residency. For week two, Zak Khan and Honeybutter will be in the house. Max + Jeremy Ylvisaker and Trash Date join Yellow Ostrich for the third week, and for the finale, Aesha Minor and Nat Harvie are on hand.

JCS: Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central

Steve Daly's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Cole Diamond Presents Whiskey Wednesdays @ Palmer's

Rosie Rossi @ Pilllar

Dance Church Open Decks @ Rok Music Lounge

Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern

Lounge Lovers feat. Thor CB, Uncle Squidz (they/her edition ), amber dregs, and Galaxy’s Bachelor @ 7th St Entry

Freight Train @ Terminal Bar

Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Tom Pevear @ 331 Club

Maybe Nebraska @ 331 Club

CASTER VOLOR with KILLING RAPUNZEL, FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, and MALACHITE @ Turf Club

Saint Paul Mudsteppers Monthly @ White Squirrel

Wu Wednesday with DJ That Dude Trey @ White Squirrel

Thursday, January 18

  • Corey Harris & Cedric Watson @ Cedar Cultural CenterHarris was among the most exciting young blues revivalists of his era, a Taj Mahal for his time, with his artistic ambit stretching from the Delta to West Africa. At his old age of 54 he's settled down some, but with Insurrection Blues in 2021 he showed he can still blend trad blues to a topical end. Here he teams up with multi-instrumental zydeco master Watson, a formidable collaborator.

Squanchy, Kalot, Bad Supremacy @ Cloudland

Charmin Michelle Trio @ Crooners

A Tom Waits Revelry: Jake Endres and the Mean Rhythm Masters @ Crooners

Jesús Molina @ Dakota

Honey Tree, Just the Shameless @ Driftwood

LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34

Snapped: Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room

Samuel Wilbur (Album Release) with full catholic + Kiernan @ Icehouse

A Tribute to Jazz Rock Fusion of the 1970s @ KJ's Hideaway

The Forest Radio Presents the House Party @ Minnesota Music Cafe

My Vigilante Superego, Poison Ivy & The People, The Confused, Majoon Travelers @ Mortimer’s

Riddim Driven with DJ I Roach and Friends @ Palmer's

Mubbla Buggs @ Schooner Tavern

Descend Darkwave Night @ ROK Music Lounge

Dad Bod, 12th House Sun, glowingtide, and Oddysseys @ 7th St Entry

Cross Pollination: Awful Offal @ 331 Club

Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty, Jillian Rae, and Maygen & The Birdwatcher @ Turf Club

Secret Menu, Tricksy, easeupkid, The Dalmatian Club @ Underground Music Cafe

Restless Road @ Varsity

Devaney & Friends with Pleasure Horse, Tyler Haag @ White Squirrel

Friday, January 19

Barrel Flash @ Acadia

Zoë Says Go + Freaque @ Aster Cafe

Is This Thing On (Album Release) @ Bryant Lake Bowl

Shoeless Revolution @ Bunkers

Rachel Baiman + Lillie Mae @ Cedar Cultural Center

Rigby, E.T., Saffron Dealer, Ice Climber @ Cloudland

Doug Anderson and Lori Dokken @ Crooners

Marilyn Maye @ Crooners

Maggie's Afterglow: Judy Vinar and Rick Carlson @ Crooners

  • Vijay Iyer Trio @ DakotaVijay Iyer is the kind of 21st century improvised music performer you can’t sum up in a blurb. His corpus demands something more formal—a CV, or a testimonial, something like that. I’m not teasing—Iyer is one of the finest examples of the new breed of musician, equally at home in the academy or the club, committed to an overarching vision that hews to no particular style. He’s done the trad thing, he’s done the jazz with electronics thing, he’s done all manner of unclassifiable in-between things. Most recently, Iyer, Arooj Aftab, and Shahzad Ismaily recorded Love in Exile, which made ripples outside of the typical jazz/improv circles; the three musicians played a sold-out show at the Cedar in October. For tonight’s performance, which was originally scheduled for November 2022, he’s performing with bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Jeremy Dutton.

Twin Town Guitars Singer-Songwriter Night with Stone Arch Rivals @ Driftwood

Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34

Mechanix @ Eagles 34

The Taylor Party: The TS Dance Party @ Fillmore

A Tribute to Dolly Parton @ Fine Line

Carlos Ballarta @ First Avenue

Anita Velveeta, Huhroon, Bugsy @ Green Room

RRDB Winter Warm-Up featuring Kent Burnside, Alexander Craig & The Lifters, Train Wreck Boys, & Jaw Knee Vee @ Hook and Ladder

  • Hamell on Trial @ Hook and LadderDo I cover this loudmouth troubadour too much? He swings through town plenty, and each time he visits the Hook I write something like: "For 30 years, Ed Hamell has been hammering away, furiously and unaccompanied, on his 1937 Gibson L-00 acoustic, yammering hilariously and insightfully away in his broad Syracuse, New York accent." But every time he's here, Hamell seems to always have a new, noteworthy collection of timely tunes on offer. In late 2023 he released Bring the Kids, which takes on some familiar targets (billionaires and selfish Christians, gun-nuts and Tucker Carlson) but he also listens to what riot grrrls actually have to say, supports shoplifting, and writes a catchy little number about "Nazi killer girl gangs."

Abinnet Berhanu’s Ahndenet አንድነት Featuring Genet Abate + Kevin Washington & RA Spirit @ Icehouse

Quarteto Carioca @ Jazz Central

Luke Hendrickson and the Crop Circles with Jeremy Jewell @ KJ's Hideaway

Stefan Geisinger Band @ KJ's Hideaway

Buku with Smith @ The Loft

The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Ray Gun Youth, The Del-Viles, and Unattractive Giant Monster @ Palmer's

Mallrats Present MTV Unplugged @ Parkway

J.E. Sunde, Val Son, Paul Spring @ ROK Music Lounge

Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern

Darren Kiely with Kyndal Inskeep @ 7th St Entry

Godly the Ruler X Groupthink @ Studio B

Ginny and the Fizz, Nina Luna, Aesha Minor @ 331 Club

FènixDion with Extraterrestrials, Lighter Co., and Services @ Turf Club

Riptide's Wild Ryde @ Uptown VFW

Crush Scene with Jeffery Robert Larson @ White Squirrel

The Gated Community with Anthony Kaczynski @ White Squirrel

Saturday, January 20

Gabo Hold @ Acadia

The Wise Man’s Fear with The Motion Mosaic, Evernorth, & Southpaw @ Amsterdam

The High 48’s Bluegrass Brunch @ Aster Cafe

Jenna Graves and the Loons @ Aster Cafe

The Good, the Bad & the Funky @ Bunkers

Shadow Lake, Lost Evidence, The Royal Dumpsters, Waar Party @ Caydence

Los Rolling Ruanas with Smellkin Ernesto @ Cedar Cultural Center

Lifestyle Shakes, Texture Freq, Oyster World, Blood Cookie @ Cloudland

Arne Fogel @ Crooners

Marilyn Maye @ Crooners

Maggie's Afterglow: Judy Vinar and Rick Carlson @ Crooners

Jay Young & The Lyric Factory @ Dakota

Old School, Hazy Phase, Noslo @ Driftwood

The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's

Jared Justen (Record Release) Admiral Fox, Freaque, and FINICK @ Eagles 34

Everyday Trebles, Kill Palace, Will Roberts @ Eagles 34

Can't Feel My Face: 2010s Dance Party @ Fine Line

Dead Man Winter with Spaceport @ First Avenue

Free Falling: The Tom Petty Experience @ Green Room

Gathering Darkness: The Rope, Lovely Dark, Cult Sequence, Stranger Gallery, Anothernight @ Hook and Ladder

SoundShapes (EP Release) with Lost Marbles @ Hook and Ladder

The Dollys @ Icehouse

The Avant Garde Presents: The Vibeout Suite @ Icehouse

Alex Meffert Quartet @ Jazz Central

Mississippi Hot Club @ KJ's Hideaway

SweetTooth @ The Loft

The Tyte Phitt @ Minnesota Music Cafe

The Assortment feat. Michael Grey @ Mortimer's

Foe, Rat Castle Jazz Ensemble, and Brother Means Ally @ Palmer's

Lissie's Midwinter Residency with minigolf @ The Parkway

Mean Magic @ Pilllar

Crimes Against Ravers Presents BPM Above Safe Levels @ ROK Music Lounge

Seventh Street Shuffle @ Schooner Tavern

Squirrel Flower with Goon and Products Band @ 7th St Entry

Ignescent @ Studio B

Will Skoog, North Country Singers, Michael Rendhal @ Terminal Bar

The Jorgensens with Harrison Street @ Turf Club

Stringdingers @ 331 Club

Willow Creek Brothers, Poolboy, Blue Red Roses, and Gladden @ Turf Club

ECHOBASS: Nocturnalia @ Uptown VFW

Gasolina Reggaetón Party @ Varsity

TJD Trio, Catacombs, ROSIE @ White Squirrel

Pop Wagner Tavern Trio @ White Squirrel

Altruit & Friends with the Bryan Murray Trio @ White Squirrel

  • Travis Scott @ Xcel Energy Center"What if a guy with no real personality desperately wanted to be Kanye West?" is Travis Scott’s one and only bit, but it’s a surprisingly entertaining one. Scott released his latest epic punchline to that setup, UTOPIA, last year, a typically overstuffed affair with a truly impressive guest list (Drake of course, but also Beyoncé) and no real identity at its core, unless somehow you catch a glimpse into Travis’s soul from lines like “I like a bi girl on a bi-cycle.” And it’s sadly unsurprising that his music doesn’t address last year’s Astroland Festival disaster, where 10 died and many more were injured. But as sensory amusement parks go, UTOPIA is, well, amusing. Since its release, Scott has kept staying active, showing up with some high-profile Playboi Carti productions. Opening is Teezo Touchdown, who makes a few emo noises on UTOPIA

Sunday, January 21

Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

  • Cloudland Jazz Matinee Series @ CloudlandWhat’s more punk rock than turning a punk club into an afternoon jazz hangout? (Literally speaking, keeping it a punk club and playing punk music inside… but you get our point.) Newish venue Cloudland is already taking some fun, freewheelin’ artistic swings, like movie screenings (catch a doc on Minnesota hardcore this Tuesday) and the aforementioned jazz hangs. Appearing this Sunday inside the 150-capacity room: A set from local jazz dudes Steve Kenny and Jake Baldwin, followed by a second set by local power trio '58 Belvedere. And another thing! Given this website’s firm editorial stance on concerts running far too late, it’s important to support the terrific idea of musical entertainment taking place during non-witching hours

Nathan Griner with Matthew Probst @ Como Zoo Conservatory

Marilyn Maye @ Crooners

Jennifer Grimm and Joe Cruz @ Crooners

Keb’ Mo’ @ Dakota

Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

Tailspin @ Eagles 34

Irish Set Dance @ Eagles 34

Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34

Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34

Music of David Bowie + More for Kids @ First Avenue

Mineral Man, Yonder, Greentop @ Green Room

Darnell Davis Presents, James Grear & Company @ Icehouse

Twin Cities Flamenco Collective with Marija Temo & La Bárbara @ Icehouse

Bryn Battani @ KJ's Hideaway

Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's

West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's

The Dust of Suns @ Parkway

ALLERGEN, Melanerpes, Lana Leone, The Briefly Gorgeous @ Pilllar

Music Jam @ Schooner Tavern

Nabihah Iqbal @ 7th St Entry

Stephanie Was @ 331 Club

Switchyard @ 331 Club

Sean Cosgrove with Darryl Cornell @ White Squirrel

Carlaoke @ White Squirrel

Monday, January 22

Keb’ Mo’ @ Dakota

Open Mic with Vicki Dischler @ Driftwood

Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34

World Music Monday @ Eagles 34

Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s

Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's

JAMuary Residency with Built to Last All Stars, Dead Larry, and Time Stream @ 7th St Entry

Open Mic @ Terminal Bar

The Cactus Blossoms with Lamaar @ Turf Club

HonkyTonk Ranch @ 331 Club

Nikki Matteson and Rich Rue @ 331 Club

Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club

The Dans: Dan Newton, Dan Lowinger, and Pat Donohue @ White Squirrel

Bryan & the Haggards @ White Squirrel

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