We're taking an extra-long weekend at Racket next week, so this calendar also includes next Tuesday, July 4. And while that's not a big music day, as you might expect, you'll find a surprise or two in the J4 listings.
Tuesday, June 27
Psylo, 12th House Sun, She’s Green @ Amsterdam
Preston Gunderson @ Bryant Square Park
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra Open Rehearsal @ Jazz Central
Dirty Shorts Brass @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Tandy with Freqq, Jayoo, XAVEIR @ 7th St Entry
Conspiracy Series featuring Dilly Dally Alley, Hemma @ 331 Club
Worker's Playtime, Mikkel’s Book Show @ 331 Club
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
Los Pinches Gueys (Tuesday Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, June 28
Scott Allen & The List + Dark Pony @ Aster Cafe
Hassan Shahid and Alicia Thao @ Cedar Cultural Center
Maggie's Wednesdays: Joe Weismann and Jimmy Kennedy @ Crooners
Senor Blues, the Tender Years, Mad Combo @ Driftwood
- Wednesday with Tenci @ First Avenue—The most celebrated young indie-rockers of 2023 ain’t exactly a new band—on the critically acclaimed Rat Saw God, this Asheville, North Carolina quartet’s fifth album, you can hear a group that’s both worked out some kinks and fallen into some habits. At Wednesday’s mossy, humid core is the expressive drawl of singer/songwriter Karly Hartzman, whose yelps occasionally hint at Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan, though more grounded (good) and less transcendent (less good). As guitarist MJ Lenderman inflects his noisemaking with just the slightest hint of twang, they sound like they learned everything they know about Crazy Horse and Skynyrd from the Drive-By Truckers. And yet, they probably didn’t, judging by their adventurous taste in covers on their 2022 album, Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling 'em Up. When’s the last time you heard anyone under 40 mention Gary Stewart, let alone try their hand at “She’s Acting Single (I’m Drinking Doubles)”?
- Rock Your Ride 2023 with Gully Boys and Why Not @ Hook and Ladder—The Hook’s summer Under the Canopy series is a great way to catch live outdoor music, and it continues this week with the very cool transportation justice org Move Minnesota’s annual fundraiser. Performing as part of the affair are Gully Boys, who you’ve read enough about on Racket that we needn’t go into too much detail here. Their summer tour with Destroy Boys starts out east in July so this’ll be your last chance to see them locally for a spell. They’re joined tonight by energetic guitar poppers Why Not, who’ve been friends since middle school and released a snazzy self-titled 2022 album. Their latest single is a fun remake of “Nauseous,” originally by Annie DiRusso, who they opened for last year. Oh, and if you don’t have time to grab dinner beforehand, there’ll be a food truck nearby.
Aiden Intro (June Residency) with Caleb Dee, TYSM! @ Icehouse
Atomic Beat @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Maurice Jacox the Soulman and the We Still R Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Surly Grrly Residency with Venus deMars & All the Pretty Horses, Rebel Queens @ Mortimer's
Trevor Hall and The Great In-Between with The California Honeydrops @ Palace Theatre
Theyself/P0p$tar/Pals @ Palmer's
User Unauthorized, Hallux, Identity Crisis @ Pilllar
Boyish with BEL @ 7th St Entry
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Brother Jon and Frensz @ 331 Club
Ogbert the Nerd, Raccoon Tour, Goodbye Mordecai, Joe Bartel @ The Treasury
Nights With Tim @ White Squirrel
Thursday, June 29
Errors Of Humanity with Thutch, Xkwizite, & Defiled Sacrament @ Amsterdam
The Thirsty River @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Quintessence: The Martial Besombes Quintet @ Crooners
Kathleen Johnson Presents Hotter Than July: The Album @ Crooners
Rock n Roll for President, Albacore, Lixus Macer, Sifthouse @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Atomic Lights, Phase Meridian, Oak Pantheon @ Eagles 34
Jeremy Harvey and Bad Dad Band @ Green Room
Jeremy Messersmith with Rascal Miles @ Hook and Ladder
Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs + Javier Trejo & the Purdy Vibes @ Icehouse
Moise (Album Release) @ Icehouse
Janelle Burrell Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
BobaBoba (Single Release) with Hella Reptilian!, Dingus, Silt @ Mortimer's
- Tink with Jacquees @ Orpheum Theatre—After making a splash in 2014 with her mixtape Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours, Tink was inducted into XXL's Freshman Class the following year and signed with Timbaland. Then, as with too many talented female rap/R&B performers, her career has been derailed by label issues. She's regained her footing as an independent artist since, and as she shows on her latest, Thanks 4 Nothing, she's learned to protect herself, on guard against "Fake Love" and realizing "Streets Ain't for Me."
STARDUST, Witch Hunter General, and Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty @ Palmer's
Matt Heckler with Jason Dea West and Johno Leeroy @ 7th St Entry
Hyooman, Wish Wash, Is This Thing On?, Dot Operator @ 331 Club
Southerland with Hailey James @ Turf Club
Christmas on Neptune, Blow the FM Radio, Lost Evidence, and Waar Pary @ Underground Music Venue
Phantom Fields with Clare Doyle @ White Squirrel
Friday, June 30
Throw The Fight (Album Release) with The Failsafe, Denny, & Weekend Picnic @ Amsterdam
Erin and Jay Cabaret @ Crooners
Dane Stauffer and Dan Chouinard @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Arne Fogel @ Crooners
Dream Addict, Louie Broughten Band @ Driftwood
Hold Your Lady Tight Night @ Eagles 34
Bad Idea!, Petty Larcenists, Temporal Riff @ Eagles 34
Fit For An Autopsy and the Acacia Strain with Escuela Grind @ Fine Line
The Honeydogs (Vinyl Release) with Humbird and Jake La Botz @ First Avenue
Eli Gardiner (Album Release), Goatroper (Video Release) with Willow Creek Brothers @ Green Room
Selwyn Birchwood with Joe Roberto's Poverty Hash @ Hook and Ladder
J.E. Sunde (Album Release) with Nat Harvie @ Icehouse
Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson @ Icehouse
Jack Barrett with Jack Breen @ Jazz Central
Kinda Fonda Wanda (EP Release) @ KJ’s Hideaway
Paul Barry Blues Band @ Lake Harriet Bandstand
Birds in the Wind @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Johnnie Brown Experience @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Gothess Club Kids @ Mortimer's
Rebelution with Iration and DJ Mackle @ Palace Theatre
Crush Scene, Vinnie Franco, North by North, and Dog Gamn @ Palmer's
Ginger Bones, Willow Water and The Earthtones and See More Perspective @ Palmer's
Jon Garon and the Prairie Ferrets with Dakota Dave Hull @ Parkway
Smallfoot, Crash Cuddle, Emma Jeanne, Lana Leone @ Pilllar
Kainalu with The Get Together and Nina Luna @ 7th St Entry
Wailing Loons, Cat Tales @ 331 Club
Beemer (Album Release) with Kate Malanaphy, Lucid VanGuard and MINIGOLF @ Turf Club
Kornbread with Kaviar @ Uptown VFW
Sun Bear with Controversial New Skinny Pill, Covergirl Hot 100 @ White Squirrel
- Erykah Badu @ Xcel Energy Center—Will we ever get a new Badu album? Since she released the brilliant New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) in 2010, all we’ve had was the playfully offhand EP Phone. But she’ll remain an unmissable live act even if she never records another note, because it’s in concert that she truly allows her eccentric spirit to range. (When I saw her at the Armory in October 2021, she led us in a chant of “Leave other people’s bitches alone.”) The title “Queen of Neo-Soul”—a sobriquet I don’t doubt she hates, preferring to be addressed by her alter egos like “Badulla Oblongata” and “Sara Bellum”—shortchanges her. Badu’s opening act, once known as Mos Def, hasn’t been prolific himself lately—his last solo album could only be heard at a Brooklyn art exhibit. But his reunion with Talib Kweli as Black Star last year, No Fear of Time, was surprisingly lively. If I’m reading the Ticketmaster visual correctly, Badu is only selling tickets for the floor and 100 level, so this could be slightly more intimate than your typical arena show.
Saturday, July 1
Paul Frantzich & Friends @ Aster Cafe
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
Maud Hixson Presents The Moods of Mancini @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Judi Vinar and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Handsome Devils, Peech & Friends @ Driftwood
Airspace Caravan, Polar Red, Sippin' on Sunflowers @ Eagles 34
Brotherhood Of Birds, Danny Frank & The Smokey Gold, Mountain Fern @ Green Room
The Flamin’ Oh’s with Annie And The Bang Bang @ Hook and Ladder
Wobegon + Bryan Murray Quartet @ Icehouse
DJ Shannon Blowtorch Presents: Y2K @ Icehouse
Paul Silbergleit Trio @ Jazz Central
Hannah Harder's Summit Blue @ KJ's Hideaway
Minneapolis POPs @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Point Black X Blankface @ The Loft
Between the Buried and Me @ The Lyric
Mares Of Thrace, Dragged Out to Sea, Feral Light, Ulkum @ Mortimer's
J4th Hmong Tournament Afterparty @ Myth Live
Minniaux Presents Palmer's Patio Pride Party @ Palmer's
Remixer with DJ Jen-E @ Palmer's
She Rock Stock 2: A Benefit for She Rock She Rock @ Palmer's
The Toss Ups, Half Crown Run, Nothing But Nice @ Pilllar
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers with Dusk @ 7th St Entry
Ruben (Album Release), Cederwell @ 331 Club
Zella Day with Okey Dokey @ Turf Club
Confucisaurus (Saturday Residency) with Time Stream, Jeff Goswitz @ White Squirrel
Sunday, July 2
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
The Larry McDonough Aster Sunday Jazz Series @ Aster Cafe
Tapestry and Blue: Presented by Lori Dokken @ Crooners
Yazmin and Beat Zero @ Crooners
Urban Classic: Michael Bland, G Sharp, Mark Lickteig and Jay Bee @ Crooners
Don’t Stop The Carnival: The Music of Harry Belafonte @ Crooners
Mick Sterling Presents: Born to Run @ Dakota
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Molly Brandt and Eric Carranza @ Icehouse
Honky-Tonk Jump @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Minneapolis POPs @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
- Taste of Minnesota: Day One @ Nicollet Mall—Welcome back Taste of Minnesota, the two-day free festival along Nicollet Mall that city leaders are framing as a Minneapolis-is-back victory lap. The food ‘n’ tunes bash was held outside the State Capitol through the ‘80s and ‘90s, relocated to St. Paul’s Harriet Island in 2003, and, finally, lasted for a couple of years in Waconia before shutting down in 2015. Summoning his trademark peppiness, Mayor Jacob Frey hyped the rebooted event earlier this month to reporters: “This is not getting back to the old normal, we’re attracting new events, new talent, new kinds of experiences—and that's what this Taste of Minnesota is all about.” In practice, that'll mean top-billed acts—'90s rockers Third Eye Blind and Outkast's Big Boi, plus Motion City Soundtrack and Uncle Kracker—who, in terms of draw, seem to be more like First Avenue headliners than festival ones, but who are we to quibble with a free event that'll also boast fleets of food trucks (Animales, Red Wagon, Nixta, Soul Bowl) and wrestling (F1RST Wrestling featuring Colt Cabana)? Curiously, the whole shebang will be made possible by a one-time $1.85 million stipend issued by the state to co-sponsor the Minneapolis Downtown Council, a nonprofit civic booster org. The money is being designated exclusively for Taste of Minnesota, which is expected to draw 100,000 people over two days. Organizers hope to secure a “multi-year commitment” to bring the fest back to downtown following its debut.
Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
Michael Gay's Old Country Buffet @ Palmer's
Super Heater, Mr.Submissive, Gash, and Müllet @ Underground Music Venue
Sean Cosgrove, Bryan Odeen @ White Squirrel
JACKET, Moviehouse, Rosie, Timisarocker @ White Squirrel
Monday, July 3
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Brandon Commodore (Monday Residency) @ Icehouse
Opera Under the Stars @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Minnesota Orchestra @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
- Taste of Minnesota: Day Two @ Nicollet Mall—See Sunday's listings.
Just Dave and the Rockin' All Stars @ Nicollet Island
Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade with The Budos Band @ Palace Theatre
zodiak with zongoso and hbbbssuuuu @ 7th St Entry
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Convert, shadingthesun, Cult Sequence, & Stranger Gallery @ Uptown VFW
Sciurus Sequencia: Jazz and/or Creative Music Series with Baldwin/Harris/Hennig @ White Squirrel
Bryan Adams @ Xcel Energy Center
Tuesday, July 4
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Fleet Foxes with Uwade @ First Avenue
