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What’s This? Why It’s a Complete Concert Calendar: Oct. 17-23

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

Promotional photos|

Kevin Gates, Lil Uzi Vert

Several of the shows I wanted to highlight this week are already sold out. Good for them! Bad for you! (Unless you've already got tickets.)

Tuesday, October 17

Shawn James with Evan Bartels @ Amsterdam

  • Kevin Gates, BigXThaPlug, and DJ CHOSE @ ArmoryNot long after this Baton Rouge rapper released his fantastic debut Islah in 2016, a felony weapons charge sidelined him. Much of what he released after he became a free man again, including the rat-a-tat “Intro” track that leads off Khaza, his latest, had me worried that time served had excessively hardened a rapper whose great strength was his three-dimensional emotional range. Good news, though: That album showcases the same alternately warm and prickly personality of a committed Muslim with a soulful drawl and a honeyed flow that won so many of us over on Islah. The hooks aren’t as bountiful as they were seven years ago, but whether demonstrating his criminal bona fides or softening up on a track called simply “I’m in Love,” Gates remains a singular rapper. So far this year, he’s re-released two 10-year-old mixtapes, The Luca Brasi Story and Stranger Than Fiction, and a handful of singles, including the firm but not quite arrogant “I Don’t Apologize.”

International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers

Hawktail with Vasen @ Cedar Cultural Center

Nature Boys, VHS Dust, Mold Wine, Pleasure Cube @ Cloudland

Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience @ Dakota

St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood

Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

Carbon Leaf @ Fine Line

Polyphia with DOMi & JD Beck @ First Avenue

Tommy Emmanuel, CGP with Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams @ Fitzgerald Theater

Kevin Gamble Trio @ Green Room

Mutual Identities + Jesse Whitney + Judith II @ Icehouse

Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central

River City Jazz Orchestra & Century Big Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), Lisa Batiashvilli (violin), and Gautier Capuçon (cello) @ Ordway

New Band Night @ Palmer's

Morgan Jay @ The Parkway

Jordana and Dev Lemons @ 7th St Entry

Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar

Worker’s Playtime with Dan Israel @ 331 Club

October Conspiracy Series featuring the Ya Ya Boys @ 331 Club

Bell Witch with Spirit Possession and Aberration @ Turf Club

Temple of the Fuzz Witch & Friends @ Underground Music Venue

My Kid Banana @ White Rock Lounge

Two Steppin’ Tuesdays feat. Dan Lowinger with Mary Cutrufello, Randy Engelmayer @ White Squirrel

Whispered the Rabbit Tuesday Residency with Viv Piston, Mad Mojo Jett @ White Squirrel

Wednesday, October 18

The Rose @ Armory

MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe

Dylan Salfer @ Bunkers

Rami Khalifé @ Cedar Cultural Center

Maggie's Wednesdays: Tom Hunter @ Crooners

Ravi Coltrane @ Dakota

Scott Hefte Band @ Driftwood

Senor Blues @ Driftwood

Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34

Wompus, Middle Sattre, Pyrrhic Victories @ Eagles 34

Lena and the Lovekills @ Eagles 34

The Aces with Carol Ades @ Fine Line

Tom Odell with Isabel LaRosa and Jane's Party @ First Avenue

Fever Candlelight Concert @ Granada

Uptown Blues - Cornbread Harris, Kevin Gamble Trio, Burning Blue Rain @ Green Room

Bryan Nichols Trio @ Icehouse

Townball + BZ3 Trio @ Icehouse

JCS Creative Collaborations @ Jazz Central

Janelle Burrell Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe

The Better Mistakes @ Palmer's

B2B: Dance Church Open Decks @ ROK Music Lounge

Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern

Jervis Campbell with Nathan Colberg @ 7th St Entry

Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Tony Cuchetti Band @ 331 Club

Rat Castle Jazz Ensemble, David von Schlegell & The Everything Bagel, and Clare Doyle @ 331 Club

Mudhoney with Hooveriii @ Turf Club

Amigo the Devil @ Varsity

St. Paul Mudsteppers Monthly @ White Squirrel

Wu Wednesday @ White Squirrel

Thursday, October 19

Kim Petras @ Armory

Cryote with the Walker Brothers Band @ Aster Cafe

Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers

Tommy Goodroad, Brandon Good @ Cloudland

Dan Cavanagh and Dave Hagedorn @ Crooners

Maurice Jacox and We Still R @ Crooners

Ravi Coltrane @ Dakota

The Outcats @ Driftwood

Plague of Carcosa @ Driftwood

Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34

LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34

P. Larkin's Comic Blip @ Eagles 34

Stephen Sanchez with Stephen Day @ First Avenue

Can't Swim + Belmont with House Parties + New View @ The Garage

Fever Candlelight Concert @ Granada

Flavorjam @ Green Room

Does Anybody Stay in One Place with XAVEIR, Tristan Price, and Sumer @ Hook and Ladder

Dan Schwartz and Nick Salisbury @ Icehouse

Ian George with Beemer @ Icehouse

Toronzo Cannon with PK Mayo and Dylan Salfer @ KJ's Hideaway

Young Relics @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Jordan Johnston @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Freak Hoe Horror Show @ Mortimer's

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

Cave Canery @ ROK Music Lounge

Bryan Casey @ Schooner Tavern

Mike Viola with Dusk @ 7th St Entry

Cross Pollination: Awful Offal @ 331 Club

May Erlewine with Packy Lundholm @ Turf Club

The Makeouts + Skatepark @ Underground Music Venue

Devaney & Friends with Martin Devaney, Rich Mattson, the Northstars @ White Squirrel

Friday, October 20

The Mary Wallopers with Sam Shackleton @ Amsterdam

Motionless in White with Knocked Loose, After The Burial, and Alpha Wolf @ Armory

Wilkinson James @ Aster Cafe

The '70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Bunkers

Brandy Clark with SistaStrings @ Cedar Cultural Center

Dead History, Last Giant, Lovely Dark, Closetalker @ Cloudland

The R Factor: Michael Jackson Family Review @ Crooners

Choro Borealis @ Crooners

Monstrous Melodies Cabaret @ Crooners

Maggie's Afterglow: Judi Vinar and Adi Yeshaya @ Crooners

T. Mychael Rambo @ Dakota

Team Larry House Band @ Driftwood

The Record Club @ Driftwood

Swingin' on a Star @ Eagles 34

Mechanix @ Eagles 34

Colter Wall @ Fillmore

Emo Nite with Travis Clark (of We The Kings) @ Fine Line

First Avenue's 50 Years Of Hip-Hop Celebration @ First Avenue

Laufey with Adam Melchor @ Fitzgerald Theater

¡What!, Nemesissy, and Weeklong Weekend @ The Garage

The Federales with Becky Kapell & Goatroper @ Granada

Sovereign: A Body Power Reclamation @ Green Room

The Heavy Sixers, Gini Dodds and the Dahlias, and Ylvisaker @ Hook and Ladder

Mark Mallman + Stranger Gallery @ Hook and Ladder

My Brightest Diamond with Stephen Steinbrink @ Icehouse

Peter Goggin @ Jazz Central

Joyann Parker Band @ KJ's Hideaway

Ivy Ford @ KJ's Hideaway

PhaseOne @ The Loft

Sumo Seven @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Barber Violin Concerto @ Orchestra Hall

Anthony McGill Plays Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto @ Ordway

Chris Cresswell with John Snodgrass and Seth Anderson @ Palmer's

Martin Zellar (Album Release) with Presley Haile @ The Parkway

Beggars, Rag Woman, Northern Hammer @ Pilllar

INFULLMOTION Collective @ ROK Music Lounge

Stop Light Observations with Scalise @ 7th St Entry

5 Cent Reality with East Lakers @ Schooner Tavern

Tim Cheesebrow, Cassandra Cole, Tarius and the Sound @ 331 Club

Tom vs. Thom—Birthday Celebration @ Turf Club

Sad Park, Chapped Lips, & The Cold Casuals @ Underground Music Venue

  • Bruce Hornsby @ Uptown TheaterBack when I was touring colleges with my dad in 1986, "The Way It Is" was often the only song you could find on the radio when you were driving through rural parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. No reason why that should be of interest to you, I guess, but that's what comes to mind when I think of Hornsby.

Hexxa, Neuphorix, Phoenix Fir3, FlexZone, Cyclone Dubz @ Uptown VFW

R&B Only Live @ Varsity Theater

Unstable Shapes, 120 Minutes, Butter Boys @ White Squirrel

Rod Wave @ Xcel Energy Center

Saturday, October 21

By The Thousands with Evernorth, Intercessor, Rot, and Soulkeeper @ Amsterdam

  • Lil Uzi Vert @ ArmorySix years ago, with "XO Tour Llif3” and its haunting chorus of “Push me to the edge/All my friends are dead,” Uzi devised a kind of fist-pumping goth-rap that you might classify as this era’s nu-metal. In 2020, with Eternal Atake, the Philly rapper proved they had enough tricks at their command to fill an entire album. But Uzi’s best-selling 2022 follow-up, Pink Tape, is one of those overlong monstrosities that critics politely call “ambitious” before never listening to it again. They cover System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” They cop a melody from “I’m Blue” in the same year Bebe Rexha scored a hit by doing the same. Their guests include not just Travis Scott and Nicki Minaj but Babymetal and Bring Me the Horizon. Mess that Pink Tape is though, a fair amount of Uzi’s charisma and talent pokes through, and anyway most of its material is meant to be chanted along to in throngs at shows like this one.

Conor Lee (Single Release) with Rachel Bearinger @ Aster Cafe

Chase & Ovation @ Bunkers

  • Champagne Confetti (Album Release) @ Cedar Cultural CenterAby Wolf always has something going on, and Champagne Confetti is quite a something: “a 12-piece progressive chamber ensemble” that showcases melodies that range from accessible avant-garde to abstract pop, vocal timbres that vary from cool keen to drama club gleam, and settings that spike minimalism with more expansive experimentalism.

Tony London @ Crooners

Lynn Rothrock @ Crooners

Maggie's Afterglow: Judi Vinar and Adi Yeshaya @ Crooners

Stanley Jordan and Jackie Venson @ Dakota

Superior Genetic Party @ Driftwood

Ausgang City @ Driftwood

The Bill Patten Trio @ Dusty's

Cobra Czar, Ice Everlasting, onlytime, WILBUR @ Eagles 34

Tzatskees @ Eagles 34

Men I Trust @ Fillmore

The National Parks with Zach Seabaugh @ Fine Line

TV Girl with Monster Rally @ First Avenue

Homecoming Fundraiser feat. Colin Bracewell, Grayson DeWolfe, Tanner Peterson @ The Garage

Skarlett Woods (Album Release) @ Ginkgo Coffee

Leslie's Halloween Extravaganza @ Granada

Sultan + Shepard @ Green Room

The Belfast Cowboys @ Hook and Ladder

The Dollys @ Icehouse

Abinnet Berhanu Trio @ Icehouse

HighStyleKyle Presents Time and Space Vol. 1 @ Icehouse

Jeff Rinear @ Jazz Central

Erin McCawley’s Harrison Street Band @ KJ's Hideaway

Ivy Ford @ KJ's Hideaway

Kompany @ The Loft

Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe

Dance Like Leekong Xiong @ Myth Live

Barber Violin Concerto @ Orchestra Hall

Anthony McGill Plays Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto @ Ordway

Erik's Iridescent Tent, Eggs on Mars, and Time Room @ Palmer's

Martin Zellar (Album Release) with Presley Haile @ The Parkway

Neighbor Dog, FeeGee, Turquoise, VIN @ Pilllar

Source and Sons of Ra @ ROK Music Lounge

Geese with PACKS @ 7th St Entry

Hurricane Harold's All-Star Revue @ Schooner Tavern

MANIA: The ABBA Tribute @ State Theatre

Silva @ Studio B

Joji with Kenny Beats, Savagerealm, Lil Toe (ammo) @ Target Center

Dr. V and the Prescriptions, Dharma Hounds @ Terminal Bar

Tiger Blue (Album Release), The Great Went, Stay At Home Astronaut @ 331 Club

Molly Burch with Christelle Bofale @ Turf Club

Royal Skyyy, ShaVunda Thunda, Atim Opoka @ Underground Music Venue

ELnO with Heartless @ Uptown VFW

Peter McPoland @ Varsity Theater

Blame the Witness @ White Rock Lounge

Yonger, Sunset Over Flowers @ White Squirrel

The 241 (Vinyl Release) with Boots & Needles, Jeffery Robert Larson @ White Squirrel

Sunday, October 22

Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

John Magnuson Trio with The Hang Ups (acoustic set)@ Aster Cafe

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

Le Vent du Nord @ Cedar Cultural Center

Sara Renner Presents: The Winans Songs We Love @ Crooners

I Am Woman: The Music of Helen Reddy @ Crooners

Michelle Willis @ Crooners

Michael Kaeshammer @ Dakota

Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

Johnny No Cash @ Eagles 34

Rogue Tango @ Eagles 34

Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34

Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34

Music of Green Day for Kids with 21st Ave Breakdown @ First Avenue

Adam Moe @ Icehouse

Annie and the Bang Bang with Turn Turn Turn @ Icehouse

Dr. Jay’s Cabaret Presents: The Big 5 Year Anniversary Show @ KJ's Hideaway

Grupo Frontera with Milla 22 @ Orpheum Theatre

Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's

Black Widows Open Mic @ Palmer's

Madison McFerrin with XINA @ 7th St Entry

Luke Callen @ 331 Club

The Real Chuck NORAD @ 331 Club

The Georgia Thunderbolts @ Turf Club

Jockey with Anita Velveeta @ Underground Music Venue

Kaylee Kitzman with Daguerreotypes, Gabe Keller Flores @ White Squirrel

Halloween on Planet Venus with Venus DeMars, The Tender Years, Petals @ White Squirrel

Monday, October 23

15 Minutes of Fame Open Mic @ Driftwood

Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34

World Music Monday @ Eagles 34

Twin Talk + Alpha Consumer @ Icehouse

RiFFs: Jazz and Comedy @ Jazz Central

Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s

Organ Repertoire Class with Alcée Chriss III @ Northrop

Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's

Alice's Escape @ Pilllar

Erin Rae with She Returns From War @ 7th St Entry

Open Mic @ Terminal Bar

Pop Wagner's Honky Tonk Ranch @ 331 Club

The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club

Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club

Minka, Dalmatian Club, and Dilly Dally Alley @ Underground Music Venue

Charlie Parr @ White Squirrel

Enter the Void Third Monday: Akira Yamaoka @ White Squirrel

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