Farm Aid. The Powderhorn Porchfest. The Dakota 40th Anniversary Block Party. Those are just a few of your outdoor music possibilities for this weekend. It's hotter than it was for most of the summer, so why not stay outside?
Tuesday, September 16
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Buena Vista Orchestra @ Fillmore
- The Rapture @ First Avenue—This is billed as a reunion show, but from what I can tell the only member from the band's prime you'll see is singer-guitarist Luke Jenner, who's done quite a bit to alienate his fellow Rapturees over the years. I'm have no doubt that whatever pros are backing Jenner will execute that neo-retro postpunk with just the right amount of jaded hysteria. Still, deserves a lil asterisk.—Keith Harris
Anything You Want, Cain & Co., Embahn, Self Titled @ Green Room
Explosion Big Band @ Jazz Central
Unique Vibrationz with Kefin and Scotty Pierre @ Pilllar Forum
Steve Lehto & John Wright with Chris Olson @ Metronome Brewery
River City Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Grooves ft. DJ Jen-E @ Mortimer’s
Steven Wilson @ Orpheum Theatre
Old TImey Music Session @ Padraig’s
- Rilo Kiley @ Palace Theatre—I haven’t been this excited for a reunion since seeing the Replacements get back together at Riot Fest 2013 in Chicago. The broad strokes of Rilo Kiley history are well-documented: Frontwoman Jenny Lewis and guitarist Blake Sennett, both ex-child actors, formed the band with bassist Pierre de Reeder and drummer Jason Boesel in L.A.'s late '90s indie rock scene. (Fleetwood Mac-ian implications would follow Lewis and Sennett, who once dated.) Ruddered by Lewis’s crystalline voice and influential songwriting style, all the band did between 2001 and 2007 was release four near-perfect albums. In 2011, after years of dormancy, Sennett compared Rilo Kiley to a corpse, downplaying hopes of a reunion ever happening. Finally, earlier this year, news dropped of the current Sometimes When You're On You're Really Fucking On Tour… tour. “It couldn't have happened any sooner. It feels like now is the time to share that joy and love with each other and with everyone else,” Lewis told Spin, with de Reeder adding that it feels like “reconnecting with family.”—Jay Boller
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Ditch Pigeon & Friends @ Terminal Bar
September Conspiracy Series featuring We Are the Willows and Creekbed Carter @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with Jeff Ray @ 331 Club
Lagrimas, sissysissysissy, Infuriate, Mold @ Underground Music
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Kneeland & Moreno (Residency) with Boe Ross & UfAudio @ White Squirrel
Anothernight, Society of the Silver Cross, Observant, & Vanishing Earth @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, September 17
Quinn XCII with Goth Babe @ Armory
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Damon Smith/Art Edmaiston/Steve Hirsh @ Berlin
Brass Messengers @ Bryant Lake Bowl
1 Mic, 1 Cable, 30 Minutes @ Carbone’s
Simon Joyner & the Nervous Stars, Leah Senior, IE @ Cloudland
Mark Joseph Presents Paul Simon’s Graceland @ Crooners
Kitchen Patrol & Joe @ Day Block Brewing
Surge and the Swell, the Jury @ Driftwood
The Twin Cities Céilí Band @ Dubliner Pub
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
- The Baseball Project with the Minus Five @ Fine Line—If "Let's Remember Some Guys" were a band, it would be The Baseball Project. Nearly two decades ago, an all-star lineup of college-rockers (Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, and Linda Pitmon) started quipping and emoting in song about childhood hardball memories and current stars. Like all baseball fans, they love nicknames, familiar lore, catchphrases, and corny lingo, not to mention nostalgia and sentimentality. The conceits feel like a bit more of a stretch each time out, and the hits on their fourth and latest album, Grand Salami Time, are more fielder's choices than doubles down the left field line. But remember, in baseball if you hit .333 you're a hall of famer. Glad they're still in there swinging.—Keith Harris
Max McNown with Austin Mackay @ First Avenue
Open Mic with Host Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
The Orange Goodness with Matt Patrick @ Icehouse
Ken Takata Ensemble @ Jazz Central
Live Music After MNUFC @ Midway Saloon
Karaoke Blast with Chazz @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Viagra Boys with Die Spitz @ Palace Theatre
Mania: The Abba Tribute @ Pantages Theatre
Slime Monsters From Outer Space with Larrikins and Distress Tolerance @ Pilllar Forum
The Swamp Poppas @ Schooner Tavern
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Daniels and Baker @ 331 Club
Uncle Lucius with Ryan Culwell @ Turf Club
Modern Wildlife, Charlieboy, & Circle Cirlce @ Underground Music
The Waterboys @ Uptown Theater
St. Paul Mudsteppers @ White Squirrel
Tumbling Daisies @ White Squirrel
Thursday, September 18
TK Rose & the Fighting Chances with Katy Tessman @ Acadia
Ben Cook-Feltz & Nikki Lemire @ Aster Cafe
Proper-T (Album Release) @ Berlin
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Mipso with Courtney Hartman and Shane Leonard @ Cedar Cultural Center
Hibou, Lana Leone, Canary Room @ Cloudland
Joyann Parker: The Music of Patsy Cline @ Crooners
Mayyadda & Bakkwood Drift @ Dakota
Freezerburn, Sheng Belmonte Jones @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
The Drugs, ERRL, BUSEY, Living Through Ghosts @ Eagles 34
The Damned with the BellRays and TRAVORAMO FA FA FA @ First Avenue
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Mayoral Mosh: Get Out the Vote for Omar Fateh @ Green Room
Becky Schlegel & the 48's @ Midway Saloon
No Limits - the B Side @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Aszure Barton & Ambrose Akinmusire @ Northrop
Søndergård, DiDonato and Strauss @ Orchestra Hall
Alex G with Nilüfer Yanya @ Palace Theatre
- Lene Lovich Band with DJ Jake Rudh @ Parkway—A genuine new-wave eccentric, Lovich was always more than the sum of her idiosyncrasies, though her gulpy vocals and jerky beats (kinda like Devo without the misanthropy) were so arresting that's what she's still treasured for. On her debut album, Stateless, she owned her sexuality without getting all hot-cha-cha about it, offering "Let's go to your place" on "Home," then reminding the guy "I say when to stop/Hey, I call the shots/Baby, I say when" a few tracks later. And that's not to mention a version of "I Think We're Alone Now" that's as good as Tiffany's, maybe even Tommy's. I guarantee you that one of your favorite weirdoes owes her big.—Keith Harris
Surrounded by Water, Visa, Massive Green @ Pilllar Forum
2428, Danser @ Schooner Tavern
The Back Alley with Creeping Charlie and Greentop @ 7th St Entry
Cross Pollination with Knife Emoji and Ringlet @ 331 Club
Gareth with Adam Brandt @ Turf Club
Xoth, Inoculation, and Nothingness @ Underground Music
Devaney & Friends @ White Squirrel
JVK, Oister Boy, & Lydia @ Zhora Darling
Friday, September 19
Big Wiz & Mike the Martyr @ Acadia
Callback (Single Release) with Careful Gaze, Squirm, and Lake Drive @ Amsterdam
Patty Peterson & Friends @ Aster House
Jorge Luis Pacheco Trio @ Berlin
The Local Music Scene Presents: Joan of Profile @ Bryant Lake Bowl
DJ D-Mil and Maiden Dixie @ Boardwalk
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Bunker’s
Windfall and Marimba Matt @ Can Can Wonderland
Katie Gearty and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Ladies of the 80s with Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs @ Crooners
Joyce Lyons & the Phil Aaron Trio @ Crooners
The Rockin’ Iguanas, the Symptones @ Driftwood
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
Shoudlerbird, Emma Jeanne of Yonder @ Eagles 34
Spacey Jane with The Belair Lip Bombs @ First Avenue
- Evanescence @ Grand Casino Arena—This new venue name is gonna take some getting used to. Sounds like it should be out in Moorhead. (No offense to Moorhead!) Anyway, wild that Evanescence played such a huge role in the latest season of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal.
Bitchslap, Elour, Whiskey Rock N Roll Club, Cindy Lawson, The Rumours @ Grumpy’s NE
Trapper Schoepp (Album Release) with Wild Lyre @ Hook and Ladder
Hipshaker MPLS @ Hook and Ladder
NITE with Immortal Girlfriend & Toilet Rats @ Icehouse
Abinnet Berhanu Trio @ Jazz Central
Sugar Buzz @ Mainstreet Bar & Grill
Maya & Lovehouse @ Memory Lanes
R Factor @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Conjunto Primavera @ Myth Live
Søndergård, DiDonato and Strauss @ Orchestra Hall
Bonnie Drunken Lad @ Padraig’s
- Ethel Cain with 9Million @ Palace Theatre—Hayden Anhedönia is a trans woman from Florida who, as alter ego Ethel Cain, makes Lizzie Grant's Lana Del Rey sound like she's singing for an "after" scene in a Lexapro ad. Cain achieved a distinctive gothic realism on her debut, Preacher’s Daughter, that she doesn't always try for on its "prequel," her new album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. At her best—the extended "Fuck Me Eyes," about a girl she idolizes/fears/pities—the music can almost stop time. At its dullest—I predict a long bathroom line during the long ambient stretches, which are static if pretty—you can feel each second of your life ticking away. As a chronic anhedonic myself, I've never found depressing music did much to counter your depression. But whatever gets you through the night.—Keith Harris
Ira Haze and the Straze with Woodzen and Nathan Walker @ Pilllar Forum
Everett Smithson @ Schooner Tavern
The Gated Community, Burt ‘Em Deep, King Sized Coffin, Boots and Needles @ Terminal Bar
The Owl- Eyes, Record Prophets, Dave’s Manual @ 331 Club
Kelsey Waldon with Grayson Jenkins @ Turf Club
Oasis: Lovers & Friends Y2K Party @ Uptown VFW
Mid Death Calm with Garf & Unattractive Giant Monster @ White Squirrel
Chris Holm & Friends @ White Squirrel
Dad Bod, daarling, & Lily Blue @ Zhora Darling
Huhroon, Jonny Darko, & Whistler Isaiah @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, September 20
Foxtrap, Gauze, Existential Meltdown, Nightmarket, Baddiver @ Acadia
- Pulp, Hamilton Leithauser @ Armory—I still remember the first time I heard “Common People” on the radio 30 years ago—at first, I mistook those tinkling synths for the intro to Men Without Hats’ “Pop Goes the World” (a compliment). Then a tetchy Brit started ranting eloquently against a posh poverty tourist (not before letting her sleep with him, of course) and the synths accelerated to a thrilling crescendo. The rest of Pulp’s Different Class, a collection of threats and plaints and come-ons from so-uncool-he’s-cool romantic outcast Jarvis Cocker set to cheesy keyboards and fueled by limitless class animus, leapt nimbly over the lumpen Britpop norm. Yet try as I might, I’ve never warmed to the rest of Pulp’s catalog, which skates by on Cocker’s charm and less undeniable hooks. That includes their solid latest album, More. Cocker is up to his old tricks, venting anxieties about aging, pining for lost loves, turning verbal excesses into sexual propositions (“I haven’t got an agenda/I haven’t even got a gender”), and raising his breathy baritone to a yearning yelp. If that’s enough for you, I totally get it. And if you’re peeved that this reunion isn’t exactly priced for the common people, well, hey, nothing’s too good for the working class, right?—Keith Harris
The Long Goodbyes @ Aster Cafe
Worldwide Discotheque @ Black Hart
DJ Skriblz and Maiden Dixie @ Boardwalk
Super Floor, Babytooth, the Star Family Singers @ Bryant Lake Bowl
Smoke & Chill: Summer Session @ Cabooze
Mac Santiago Latin Soultet @ Capri Theater
Siems, Walsh, & Hauer with Blair Krivanek @ Carbone’s
American Cream, Terry Gross, Mullet, Laura Larson @ Cloudland
Dorothy Doring & Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Jazicality Featuring madameblu @ Crooners
- 40th Anniversary Block Party @ Dakota—Do we talk enough about how fucking great the Dakota is? I hadn’t been in years before last fall, when I attended a spellbinding Jessica Williamson show there, and I left with a renewed appreciation for the classy-yet-comfortable jazz joint that happens to book every genre short of grindcore. To celebrate 40 years (22 of which spent at its current Nicollet Mall home), the Dakota is throwing an absolute humdinger of a free block party inside and outside of the venue. “This anniversary is a celebration not only for Dakota but also for the incredible Twin Cities music community that has contributed so much to reaching this historic milestone,” Dakota founder Lowell Pickett explains. “We’re celebrating 40 years of unforgettable music, and paying tribute to the New Orleans roots that have long inspired our stage and our kitchen.” That means live music from the Suburbs, Glen David Andrews, Jamecia Bennett, Davina and the Vagabonds, Kavyesh Kaviraj & Omar Abdulkarim, L.A. Buckner, and others, plus NOLA-style food, craft markets, and kid-friendly activities. Here's to at least four more decades.—Jay Boller
The Flaming Doublewides @ Driftwood
Miss Georgia Peach, Baby Grant Johnson, John Ewing, John Magnuson @ Dusty’s
Kajunga Records presents Choices @ 56 Brewing
Austin Snell with Brandon Wisham @ Fine Line
Reventón: Reggaeton Party ft. DJ Cristian Baca @ First Avenue
Toadstool, Fiona Hayes, The Lamellas, Velvet Ghoul, Boxed Goods @ Flying V
Sultan & Shepard Uptown Block Party @ Green Room
Lamb of God @ Hinckley Grand Casino
- Farm Aid 40 @ Huntington Bank Stadium—Well, it was touch and go for a minute there: When unionized service workers declared a strike against the University of Minnesota, festival staff righteously refused to cross a picket line, imperiling this event. But after a nudge from Willie Nelson, the U reached a tentative agreement with the striking Teamsters, and now the show can go on. Not to be morbid, but this could be among your last chances to catch a few legends: Even Willie can’t stay on the road forever (can he?). Then there’s Neil Young, turning 80 this November, fronting the latest of his many bands, the Chrome Hearts, while celebrating electric cars and somewhat half-assedly trying to reunite his estranged family on his latest, Talkin to the Trees. And let’s face it, John Mellencamp ain’t a kid anymore. Rounding out the schedule are Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews, Trampled by Turtles representing Minnesota, and relative youngsters like Margo Price, Waxahatchee, and Billy Strings. It’s all for a good cause, as the event’s mission is to support family farms, and the 40th Farm Aid fest is sort of bringing it all back home, since some snippy comments by son of the North Country Bob Dylan during Live Aid inspired the fest and the organization behind it to begin with.—Keith Harris
Jered Byford Drumless Quartet @ Jazz Central
- Francis Fest @ Indeed Brewing—This weekend at Indeed, it’s time for the fourth-annual Francis Fest! Catch live music from Sean Anonymous, Products, Carnage, POWERDAM, and others, which you can take in while enjoying delicious vegan burgers from Francis. Indeed’s Pizzeria Lola truck will have a one-time-only vegan menu for the event, and if you’re craving something sweeter, The Donut Trap has you covered there. Inside, there’s a market where you can shop vegan treats (Red Eye Hot Sauce, Garden Witch Co.), art (Artifacts of Joy, Lianna Rosa Art), and more. Free. Noon to 10 p.m. 711 NE 15th Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel
The Chubs @ Mainstreet Bar & Grill
Jenna Graves & the Loons @ Memory Lanes
Jaybee & the Routine @ Minnesota Music Cafe
After Hours (Birthday Edition) @ Myth Live
Steam Powered Giraffe @ Parkway
Courier with Vapid Soul, Giants Knife, and Druid @ Pilllar Forum
Becky Kapell & the Fat 6 @ Schooner Tavern
DOUBLECAMP with Adam Paddock @ 7th St Entry
Shredders, Bad Bad Hats, White Boy Summer, Christy Costello, Sophie Hiriko @ Surly
Pearl Monkey, Powersock @ Terminal Bar
Savage Aural Hotbed @ 331 Club
Punk Black Minneapolis @ Underground Music
Vision Video, Panic Priest, Treasvre, Cody, Gwiingwans b-to-b @ Uptown VFW
Los Amigos Invisibles, Maria Isa @ Viva La Vida
D.C. Leonhardt and the Night Shift with the Weeping Covenant @ White Squirrel
Good Morning Midnight with Hannah Frey, Embahn, Bornguesser @ White Squirrel
Harf. with Sierra Carson @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, September 21
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Effy + Kwey Present: Off Wax (feat. Sumer) @ Berlin
Demon Hunter with War of Ages, Convictions, Cultist @ Cabooze
Psychic Vampire, VHS Dust @ Cloudland
Music of Earth Wind & Fire @ Crooners
Natania & Ticket to Brasil @ Dakota
Phine and Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Pool Culture, Sunnbather, and Bobby Rethwish @ Eagles 34
The Jazz Room: A Journey to the Heart of New Orleans @ Granada
Candis iPod Playlist with Traiveon & Candi and DJ Yanni D @ Green Room
Girl Blunt, Techno Doll, Jam.la, and Starthir @ Hook and Ladder
Revelacíon by Twin Cities Flamenco Collective @ Icehouse
Landmvrks with Novelists, Silly Goose, and Resolve @ The Lyric
Here Come the Mummies @ Pantages Theatre
Prairie Fire Choir and Roe Family Singers @ Parkway
- Powderhorn Porchfest @ Powderhorn Neighborhood—When it comes to its annual Porchfest, Powderhorn does not fuck around. There are three official stages: husband-wife hip-hop act ILLism will headline one and play an earlier set on another, where a "KRSM Mystery Artist" will headline. Disabled experimental musician Freaque gets the spot of honor on stage three.—Keith Harris
Guerilla Toss with Melkbelly @ 7th St Entry
Salsa del Soul, International Reggae Allstars @ Viva La Vida
Open Jazz Jam with Abinet Berhanu @ Volstead’s
Velahsa with the Silverteens, the Best Meds @ White Squirrel
Karaoke with Ally @ White Squirrel
Wombo with Smut & Products Band @ Zhora Darling
Monday, September 22
Glare with Cloakroom, Jivebomb, Destiny Bond @ Amsterdam
Jennifer Grimm Sings Judy Garland @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Midway Saloon
Jason Anderson with Laura Hugo @ Pilllar Forum
Quannnic with kmoe @ 7th St Entry
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
- NBA YoungBoy with Offset, Toosii, DeeBaby, Mellow Rackz, Lil Dump, and k3.@ Target Center—If you're going to this one, uh, I guess thank rap fan Donald Trump, who pardoned this Baton Rouge star for federal gun charges earlier this year. I'm no one to judge the slack enunciation, high-strung rhyming, and ticky-tock 808s of YoungBoy's latest, MASA ("Make America Slime Again"), which became his 16th album to hit the top 10 of the Billboard 200. But I can say that that's too damn many albums for anyone to have released before he turns 26.
Tyler Hilton and Kate Voegele with Corey Balsamo @ Turf Club
