Valentine's Day? Presidents Day? Groundhog Day? All behind us. But we've still got two weeks of February to enjoy/get through.
Tuesday, February 17
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
Black Belt Eagle Scout, Mato Wayuhi, Ailani @ Cedar Cultural Center
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
Dirty Shorts Brass Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Old Timey Music Session @ Padraigs
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
February Conspiracy Series featuring Drew Peterson @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Becky Kapell @ 331 Club
Dance Your Brass Off⏤Mardi Gras Celebration ft. Brass Messengers and BrassZilla @ Turf Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Ditch Pigeon (Residency), Alpine Shepherd Boy, Paper Chain @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, February 18
Glass Eyed Brother, Manifest Content, Sleepy Eye, Dave’s Manual @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
1 Mic, 1 Cable, 30 Minutes @ Carbone’s
Kitchen Patrol & Joe @ Day Block Brewing
The Outcats @ Driftwood Char Bar
The Twin Cities Céilí Band @ Dubliner Pub
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Sounds of Santana and Drums of Navarone @ Granada
Flavor Jam: Flavor Olympics @ Green Room
Practice As A Show: Polica Residency @ Icehouse
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Karaoke with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Jeremy Messersmith Free Songwriting Workshop @ Pilllar Forum
Doug Collins & the Receptionists, John Magnuson Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Nathan Walker, Aaron Seymours’ Consensual Sextet @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Caitlin Robertson and Wildrose Fox @ 331 Club
Stephen Kellogg and the Homecoming with gutter sinatra @ Turf Club
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Lords of the Universe, Attracted To Gods, Mid Death Calm @ White Squirrel
Thursday, February 19
Takeover Thursdays: Lazyflex @ Abi’s
Caribou Gone, Leslie Rich & the Rocket Soul Choir, Main Street Free Fall @ Amsterdam
Al Church Is a Mystery Light @ Animales
Zeitgeist & Renegade Ensemble present Femenine by Julius Eastman @ Arts on Lafond
Joe Westerlund & Trever Hagen @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
- David Huckfelt & the Unarmed Forces, Channy Leaneagh @ Cedar Culture Center—On his new album I Was Born, But… (ah, an Ozu fan), singer-songwriter Huckfelt temporarily drops the “songwriter” bit. It’s all covers—15 of ‘em, few obvious, even when the writers whose work he performs are familiar. He dips into Street-Legal for Dylan material, tackles “Anything” by Big Thief, and takes a crack as Keith Secola's Indigenous anthem "NDN Kars." And he's got a crack band: JT Bates, Mike Lewis, and Jeremy Ylvisaker.
My Kid Banana, Dingus, Suburban Muscle @ Cloudland
Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet @ Crooners
Masters of Hawaiian Music @ Dakota
The Luck Band, Pitch Blue @ Driftwood Char Bar
Gawker Slowdown – Eric Kalenze @ Dubliner Pub
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Ready or Hot with DJ Tricky Miki and Denzel Belin @ First Avenue
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Dirty P’s Thirsty 3rd Thursdays Club @ Hook and Ladder
Turn Turn Turn (Album Release Residency), Leslie Vincent @ Icehouse
Acoustic Thursdays @ Mainstreet Bar
The Caviani/Milne Quartet @ Metronome Brewery
Mary Elias’s Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Vänskä, Keefe, and Stravinsky @ Orchestra Hall
Jacoozy, Under High Street @ Pilllar Forum
2428, Jeffry Becker & the Gentlemen @ Schooner Tavern
Haffway with RYMAN @ 7th St Entry
Turnpike Troubadours, Dave Simonett @ State Theatre
Conan Gray, Esha Tewari @ Target Center
Cross Pollination: Knife Emoji, Ghost Kitchen, Josie Winett @ 331 Club
- Nur-D & Brass and Boujee @ Underground Music—It’s never a bad time to praise Matt Allen, better known by his nom de rap Nur-D. He’s an outspoken local musician with the courage of his convictions, truly committed to our community. He was on the front lines as a medic during the George Floyd uprising; more recently he was pepper-sprayed and violently detained, essentially just for being present, during the mayhem following the killing of Alex Pretti. “I assumed I was going to die,” he told Rolling Stone. His latest album, Chunkadelic, handily flips an online diss of his weight into a boast, and the rapper also discusses the incidents that led to him publicly cutting ties with First Avenue in December 2023. (Long story short: Nur-D says he was booked to share the stage with an abuser, and was ghosted by the venue when he scheduled a meeting with its reps.)—Keith Harris
"Just For You" with Marvelous @ Volstead’s
Martin Devaney & Friends, Haters Club @ White Squirrel
The Comebacks, Steffi Brill, Palomino Breeze @ White Squirrel
Wraught, Heliocene, the Lamellas, the Dead Ambers @ Zhora Darling
Friday, February 20
InAForeThought, Psychodelic, Domidium, Massive Shadow @ Amsterdam
Eva Markham & Anna Devine @ Aster Cafe
Frequency Friday: Lovers & Friends @ Bazemnt
Painted Vibez—Usher & Beyonce @ Cabooze
J-Mo On The Beat & The J-Lighters with Mwago Kuria @ Can Can Wonderland
Jeffrey Robert Larson & the Kings of Neon, the 241s, the Strait A’s @ Cloudland
Amy: A Tribute to Amy Winehouse @ Crooners
Bruce Henry & Dean Magraw @ Crooners
- Marc Ribot @ Dakota—I should probably stop blurbing Marc Ribot every time he comes to town, which seems to be several times a year. But what makes it hard for me to resist is that he’s always showing up in new formulations. His solo gig at the Cedar last September was wonderful. This time, he’s coming through with his group Hurry Red Telephone, which consists of saxophonist Briggan Krauss as well as the rhythm section of drumer Chad Taylor and Soul Coughing bassist. Sebastian Steinberg.—Keith Harris
The Solicitors, Brunch, Gentle Brass @ Day Block Brewing
Fever Pitch, Wilson Parc @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Redeemer Shane Louis, Anothernight, Whispered the Rabbit @ Eagles 34
SOS: The Recession Pop Party @ Fine Line
The Jazz Room: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong @ Granada
Viva Knievel presents THAW & ORDER @ Green Room
Erik Koskinen (Residency) Amy LaVere, Will Sexton @ Icehouse
Jazz Trumpet Extravaganza @ Jazz Central
Side of Sarcasm @ Memory Lanes
Zeitgeist & Renegade Ensemble present Femenine by Julius Eastman @ Metronome Brewery
The Legendary Free & Easy Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Brother Jon Band @ Mystic Lake
Witness: Eyes Still on the Prize @ Northrop
Vänskä, Keefe, and Stravinsky @ Orchestra Hall
Sounds of Blackness: Music for Martin @ Ordway
SPCO: Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
Nathan Graham Band, Laamar @ Parkway
Wayside, High on Stress, Lips Speak Louder @ Pilllar Forum
Carter Faith, Naomi Carman @ 7th St Entry
Scottie Miller with Cierra Alise Hill @ 318 Cafe
Pew Pew, Unattractive Giant Monster, Wish Wash @ 331 Club
Author & Punisher, King Yosef, Black Magnet @ Turf Club
Dear Maryanne, Cheem, Manor Gates, Flyover States @ Underground Music
VooDoo Bird Family, King James Version @ White Squirrel
Mind out of Time: A Tribute to Bob Dylan @ White Squirrel
Spiderlily, Golden Satellite, the Grieving Pines @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, February 21
Rezz Presents: Portal @ Armory
Kenny Reichert Quartet @ Berlin
Dan Ristrom & the Big Throwdown @ Bunker’s
Strictly R&B: Pisces Party @ Cabooze
Squinny, Mizzy, Real Dirty @ Cloudland
George and Ira: The Brothers Gershwin with Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Blue Lake, the Poudre Canyon Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
The Langer’s Ball @ Dubliner Pub
The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty’s
Monica LaPlante, Knee Highs, Lone @ Eagles 34
Keep Dancing, Keep Marching @ Eagles 34
Beauty School Dropout with Nightbreakers @ Fine Line
Emo Nite with the Click Five @ Fine Line
United We Dance: The Ultimate Rave Experience @ First Avenue
Liminality, Lloyd V, Velvet Ghoul, Fishing With Explosives, I Hope You Die @ Flying V
Adrik and Soleil @ Ginkgo Coffee
Heated: Heated Rivalry Dance Party @ Green Room
Urgent Emergent Performance Art Series: Volume Two, Love & Resistance @ Icehouse
Trench Size Trio @ Jazz Central
Dilator, Sunshine Behavior, Blue Driver, Virginia's Basement @ Klash Coffee
High & Mighty @ Mainstreet Bar
Logan Metz @ Metronome Brewery
Lola Blu & the Boys with Monique Smaz & the Outlaws @ Midway Saloon
The Sterling Club @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Johnny Buffalo Band @ Mystic Lake
DJ Smooth Blendz @ Mystic Lake
Trilogy Tribute Tour: The Doors, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin @ Myth Live
Diaspora: On the Rise @ Northrop
SPCO: Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
Alicia Villarreal @ Pantages Theatre
The Dark Horse Revue @ Parkway
Jeremy Messersmith @ Pilllar Forum
Tommy Bentz Band @ Schooner Tavern
Jimmi & the Band of Souls @ Schooner Tavern
runo plum with Lutalo @ 7th St Entry
Brandi Carlile @ Target Center
Vintagers, Broken Buckles @ Terminal Bar
John Forrest & The Model Citizens, Stardust, Simple Motions @ 331 Club
Schur with Matcha Fever @ Turf Club
Bayker Blankenship @ Varsity Theater
Ethan Ostrow Trio @ Volstead’s
Bonder, Nick Rivers, Club Tric @ White Squirrel
Wyatt Avery, Ambient Toad, Logan Vagle @ White Squirrel
Glass-Eyed Brother, Untainted Whites, J-Mo & The J-Lighters @ White Squirrel
Deep Freeze Tribute Bash @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, February 22
Signals in Ultraviolet @ Amsterdam
Al Church’s Sunday Service @ Animales
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Resonance: A Release Residency (feat. BZ3 Organ Trio) @ Berlin
Steve’s “Overpopulated” One-Man Band @ Can Can Wonderland
The Big 70s Singalong @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
Hurricane Harold Trio @ Dubliner Pub
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
DayFunk: Tyree Cooper @ Eat Street Crossing
Music of Chappell Roan + More for Kids @ First Avenue
Obi Original and the Black Atlantics (Residency) @ Icehouse
Minnesota Youth Jazz Band @ Jazz Central
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Witness: Symphony of Spirituals @ Northrop
- Songs for Our Neighbors: Raising Funds for Food & Rent @ Parkway—Whether or not our long, local Operation Metro Surge nightmare is ending or not, we still live in a vastly unequal country with a threadbare social safety net. As such, it’s (unfortunately) never a bad time to come together and raise mutual aid funds for 50 Twin Cities families in need. Privy to that are the dozen local musicians responsible for this "evening of music and stories of resistance, community, and joy." The includes Bathtub Cig, Faith Boblett, Molly Brandt, Ben Cook-Feltz, Laura Hugo, Jeremy Messersmith, Sarah Morris, Mother Banjo, Jillian Rae, Sabocat, Colleen Somerville, and Leslie Vincent. Lemme put on my hack copywriter hat and say: Pitching in never sounded so good.—Jay Boller
Church of Cornbread @ Schooner Tavern
The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club
Needtobreathe @ Treasure Island
Allison Sounds, Graf @ White Squirrel
Jonii Vermeersch @ White Squirrel
STAT, Economic Headwinds, Buzz Box @ White Squirrel
Monday, February 23
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
New Musical Theatre Exchange New Works Cabaret @ Crooners
Music From “Chopin’s Heart” @ Crooners
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Other Country Ensemble @ Eagles 34
Bryce Vine, OUT IN FRONT @ Fine Line
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Jam Society @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Moderate to Severe, Elbow House, Kurt Russell’s Muscles @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
