Well. It sure has been a January, he understated with a sigh. Yet as the federal goons in town get a new boss, local music soldiers on.
Tuesday, January 27
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Harmony Arcade @ Can Can Wonderland
Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedro Martinez @ Dakota
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Garden Glow, Vice Chair, Rêvefleur, FarFarAway @ Green Room
Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Dirty Shorts Brass Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
January Conspiracy Series featuring Daniels and Baker @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Jack Klatt @ 331 Club
Shame with Ghostwoman @ Turf Club
Ali Gray’s Country Jamboree @ White Squirrel
Embahn (Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, January 28
SigTones, Side.Door, Simple Motions @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Justin Spenner Presents B-Sides @ Barely Brothers
Scott Burton/Erik Fratzke/Nathan Hanson/Steve Hirsh @ Berlin
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
The Bard’s Quartet @ Can Can Wonderland
County Line, Marty & Alex @ Driftwood Char Bar
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Maurice Jacox & the We Still R Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Extra Quartet, JB2 Factor, Wilms/Isler/Folie @ Mortimer’s
Record Prophets, Natl Park Srvc, EFMI @ Pilllar Forum
BZ3 Organ Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Randy Sabien and Gary Rue
Gauze, Liminality, Placeholder, Velvet Ghoul @ Underground Music
Family Dinner with Doug & Sarah @ White Squirrel
Woodzen, Flatwound @ White Squirrel
Thursday, January 29
Girls, Gays, & They’s+ Pajama Party Fundraiser for TC Trans Mutual Aid @ Amsterdam
Bulldozer School (Anthony Cox/Dave King/Brandon Wozniak) @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Dom Flemons Presents The Bronze Buckaroo Film & Songster Show @ Cedar Cultural Center
Jennifer Eckes and Kevin Werner Hohlstein @ Crooners
The Get-Up Mondays, Frannie Crego @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Tyler Braden with Owen Riegling @ Fine Line
Robyn Jamner, Third Date, Big Big Brain @ 331 Club
Molly Dean (Residency) @ Icehouse
No Limits: The B Side @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Dean Lewis, Matt Hansen @ Palace Theatre
Ditch Pigeon, Hunny Bear, Mouthful @ Pilllar Forum
- The Japhies (Reunion Show), the Modern Era, Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club MPLS, DJ Mary Lucia @ 7th St Entry—Fourteen years ago, the Japhies seemed unstoppable. Thirteen years ago, they broke up. That’s rock ‘n’ roll fer ya. Known for its rowdy shows and no-nonsense hard rock, the band was set to release its full-length debut when singer Reed Wilkerson quit, the record got shelved, and grudges were nursed for a decade. But the band members have not only made peace with one another for this reunion show, but they have a new album, Allegations, on the horizon. Accidentally choosing such an unpropitious time for a reunion seems like a perfectly Japhies move to make.—Keith Harris
Scott Allen & the List, Gloria’s Sons @ Schooner Tavern
Terrapin Stallion, the Jones Gang, and Majoon Travellers @ Turf Club
Antoine is 50: A Tribute to Rockin’ Steve Bakken @ Uptown VFW
Kaatwalk, Dani Dahlseid, Nina Luna @ White Squirrel
The Del-Viles, One Big Quilt, the Bury 'Em Deep @ Zhora Darling
Friday, January 30
Sarah Morris & the Sometimes Guys @ Animales
Island Vybz: Waistline Therapy @ Bazemnt Lounge
Reflections on the Life of Bill Evans @ Berlin
Jovon Williams Quartet @ Berlin
Paul Barry Blues Band @ Blues Saloon
DJ Bill Buckles & DJ Vaughn @ Boardwalk
Some Shitty Cover Band @ Bunker’s
Bomja 001: Denim After Dark @ Cabooze
- Ondara Presents the Jet Stone Conspiracy with the Montvales @ Cedar Cultural Center—The artist formerly known as J.S. Ondara suggests that his new band is as much a new concept as a new group of musicians. Since he first moved here from Kenya in 2013, his choice of home inspired by his Dylan fandom, Odara has always been one for reimagination. You can get a taste of what he’s up to with ”Come On And Poison Me (A Seminar In Tokyo Re-Imagined),” a new version of a song from his album Spanish Villager No. 3. Doesn’t feel like a startling departure for me, but maybe more will be revealed in time.—Keith Harris
Billy McLaughlin & Nathan Wilson @ Crooners
Jay Young & the Lyric Factory @ Crooners
Matthew Smith @ Day Block Brewing
Crazy Chester, Baseline Bad @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Irish Diplomacy @ Dubliner Pub
Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
CRIMEWAVE ⏤ A Post Punk & Darkwave Party @ Fine Line
Hot in Herre ⏤ 2000s Dance Party @ First Avenue
Gettin Stabbed, Meat Sweatz, Human Body, VHS Dust, Sublet, Abused Code, Mollywhopped @ Flying V
St. Paul & the MPLS Funk All-Stars @ Green Room
The Wandering Eye (A Tribute to Ween) with TH3 @ Hook and Ladder
Braingiver, White Dune, Pornonono @ Icehouse
Colonel Mustard’s Mechanical Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central
The Long Honeymoon @ Memory Lanes
Ashes Swing @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Rooms on Fire @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice @ Orchestra Hall
SPCO: Frank’s Sandbox @ Ordway
Joan of Profile, Juliet Farmer @ Pilllar Forum
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
Anna Devine, Walker Rider, lily blue @ 7th St Entry
Parkers Picnic, Uxia, Ambivalent Chaos @ Terminal Bar
The Plate, Paul Flynn, Mountain Dancers (aka Mountain Singers) @ 331 Club
American Scarecrows, Sister Species, the Teddy Holidays @ Turf Club
Uffda! Millennial Falcon, Viv Piston, and Duck Bomb @ Underground Music
Lucid Lazer, Squid Monkey, Neighborhood Hippy, Coventree, KGD b2b JIBZ @ Uptown VFW
Betty & the Rubble @ White Squirrel
Lawnchair Dads, Fishing, Pyrmafrost @ White Squirrel
Saturday, January 31
Into Unknown: feat. Death of the Heron, Taste of Vervain, Ysilik, and WILBUR @ Amsterdam
J Streitz and Jimmy Rogers @ Animales
Saturday Night Vibez: Afrofreeze @ Bazemnt Lounge
Reflections of the Life of Bill Evans @ Berlin
Mikel Wright & the Wrongs @ Bunker’s
Linda Peterson & Jason Peterson @ Crooners
The Double Down Daredevils Bluegrass Band @ Crooners
Natania & Ticket To Brasil @ Crooners
Winter Festival @ Day Block Brewing
The Northmen, Loondale @ Driftwood Char Bar
Momzilla, Big Yikes!, Slime Monsters From Outer Space, Adult Video @ Dusty’s
Daemonaut, Crash Cuddle @ Eagles 34
Magic City Hippies, Supertaste @ Fine Line
LUPIN x VLUSH w/ EFFYGASM @ Green Room
- d’Lakes (EP Release), Crush Scene, Boobless @ Hook and Ladder—I've called d'Lakes "new wave with a homemade 'let’s put on a show' vibe" before and I'll call 'em that again. Tonight they're celebrating the release of Crash Boom, a three-song EP that they call "a brief satirical suite of songs highlighting the journey of a 12-year-old boy’s insatiable vice to steal and crash other people’s cars." You also get the wonderful Crush Scene and Boobless, whose terrific EP Surf Powerpoint I am now belatedly listening to and recommend as a healthy source of both nerdy vocals and skewed guitars. Not to mention "tarot card readings, temporary tattoos, and a thematic photobooth." This is gonna be a fun night.—Keith Harris
GRRRL SCOUT Presents: Mature Content @ Icehouse
Sophie Javna Combo @ Jazz Central
Surrounded By Water, Dilettante, Big Chomp, Falcon Arrow @ Klash Coffee
Free and Easy @ Mainstreet Bar
Shotgun Johnny, Locomotion, Piss With Style @ Midway Saloon
Aquarius Bash @ Minnesota Music Cafe
TANNINS + MULLET + SAM & JAMS @ Mortimer’s
DJ Smooth Blendz @ Mystic Lake
Mr. Peter Parker @ Mystic Lake
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice @ Orchestra Hall
SPCO: Frank’s Sandbox @ Ordway
Gus the Bardic Troubador @ Padraigs
The Rush Tribute Project @ Pantages Theatre
Fever Pitch, Danger Pins @ Schooner Tavern
Agnes Uncaged (Album Release), Gramma, Anything You Want @ 7th St Entry
flips for tips, JAT @ Terminal Bar
Ghostmouth, TV for Dogs, the Envies @ 331 Club
McNasty Brass Band, Clean Plate Club, Shane Cox & the Funky Spuds @ Turf Club
The Over Unders, Basement Heroes, Deep Fortune @ Underground Music
THe Hazy Phase, Climbing Trees @ White Squirrel
Bobby Rethwish, Million.Point.Million, Huhroon @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, February 1
Hey, Ily, Waking Hours, Berzica, Bird Hotel @ Amsterdam
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Resonance: A Release Residency (feat. Minneapolis String Project) @ Berlin
It’s a Vibe: Community Sound Bath @ Cedar Cultural Center
The WPK Trio featuring Judi Vinar @ Crooners
Urban Classic presents NATURAL MYSTIC: The Music Of Bob Marley @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
- Atmosphere, Sage Francis, R.A. The Rugged Man, Kool Keith, Mr. Dibbs @ First Avenue—This year marks 30 (!) years of Atmosphere, the most popular hip-hop act to ever emerge from Minnesota. Some old fans, like the one writing this very sentence, might’ve checked out around, say, 2008’s When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. But shark-like, rapper Slug and producer Ant haven't been sleeping; they’ve issued nine (!) full-length albums since then, including last year’s 26-track (!) Jestures. On it, per promo materials, “Slug digs deep into the complexities of life, confronting the unexpected points of friction in middle-aged domesticity and stability. Long past the belief that great art needs great pain, he challenges the notion that creativity must stem from trauma.” And, according to the top-voted review on the Hip-Hop Heads subreddit review: “I'll always have time for my kings.” Longtime friends of Slug and Ant—Sage Francis, R.A. the Rugged Man, Kool Keith, Mr. Dibbs—will all perform at this stop of Atmosphere’s "Winter Carnival Tour.”—Jay Boller
Benefit for Victims of ICE @ Flying V
Obi Original and The Black Atlantics (Residency) @ Icehouse
Jose’s Fight @ Minnesota Music Cafe
2nd Chance Outreach Presents: The Sound Of Gospel @ O’Shaughnessy
AirLands, anni xo, Mike Kota @ Parkway
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
Brass Messengers, Corpse Reviver @ 331 Club
Leslie Rich & The Rocket Soul Choir, Side Saddle Sirens @ White Squirrel
Galactic Cowboy Orchestra @ White Squirrel
Soot & Scratch, Ditch Pigeon, Jaw Knee Vee @ White Squirrel
Monday, February 2
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
Cafe Accordion Orchestra with Prudence Johnson @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Lord of the Lost, the Birthday Massacre, Wednesday 13 @ First Avenue
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Jam Society @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Double Venus!, Bottle Rocket, Gossamer @ Pilllar Forum
Agriculture, Knoll @ 7th St Entry
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
