August is when we all try to squeeze everything we can into the weekend before summer ends. And the number of fests this week reflects that.
Tuesday, August 6
Bryn Battani, Leslie, & About You @ Amsterdam
International Reggae All-Stars @ Bunker's
Elephant Sessions @ Cedar Cultural Center
Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers @ Dakota
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Lakewood Cemetery @ Father Hennepin Bluff Park
League Two (August Residency) with Products Band, True Lust @ Green Room
Bill Simenson Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Bluewater Kings @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Shallow Alcove with Hana Eid @ 7th St Entry
Mt. Joy @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
- Blink 182 with Pierce The Veil and Astronoid @ Target Center—The latest much-ballyhooed Blink-182 reunion tour—this one featuring the return of prodigal son Tom DeLonge—got off to a rocky start when the band’s all-world drummer, Travis Barker, injured his finger so badly it required surgery. Now, finally, the world’s greatest pop-punk band is at full power. “Edging,” the lead single from last year's comeback album, suggested a return to their self-titled artistic opus from 2003. (One More Time... ended up being... just OK.) Never mind mercurial DeLonge’s (increasingly non-crackpot) extraterrestrial obsession, and forget Barker’s odd turn as a tabloid fixture: Following co-frontman Mark Hoppus’s victory over cancer, the vibes in Blink land appear stronger than ever. The trio’s fun, muscular Coachella set felt like celebratory fan service.—Jay Boller
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Mike Munson @ 331 Club
August Conspiracy Series featuring Ruby Blu & Debbie Briggs @ 331 Club
Briscoe with Wells Ferrari @ Turf Club
The New Halvoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Time Room, Modern Wildlife, Red Lovely, Landing Pad @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, August 7
Fabus/Baldwin/Peterson/Hey @ Berlin
Enter the Void @ Can Can Wonderland
Demolition Means Progress @ The Commons
Beyond the Sea with Wayne Anthony @ Crooners
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Lena and the Lovekills @ Eagles 34
Open Mic with Neal Dimick @ Ginkgo Coffee
Ani Mari, Daphne Jane, Emma Jeanne @ Green Room
- Rock Your Ride with Kinfu and Minigolf @ Hook and Ladder—This third annual fundraiser for public transportation nonprofit Move Minnesota is a reliable blast, and this year you can catch two exciting new local acts: KINFU and Minigolf.
Shaun Johnson + the Big Band Experience @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
School of Rock @ Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
Smiling Cowboys Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
The Ineffable Residency of Josh & Ivy @ Mortimer's
The Revivalists with flipturn @ Palace Theatre
Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer's
Whabarr, Mortura, Cynasid @ Pilllar Forum
King Kustom & the Cruisers @ Schooner Tavern
BIG|BRAVE with Another Heaven and LUNGS @ 7th St Entry
Tower, Slog, Anita Velveeta, Ledges @ Seward Cafe
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Connor McRae Trio @ 331 Club
Lydia Liza & Big Cats and Kate Malanaphy with Freaque and full catholic @ Turf Club
Black Wine, fth, and Popsiclestick @ Underground Music Venue
Mormon Mincers, Deterioration, Stern Look @ White Rock Lounge
The Second Stringers @ White Squirrel
Mothobsidian with Frank & Janea, D.C. Worm @ White Squirrel
Shiner, Another Heaven, Popstar @ Zhora Darling
Thursday, August 8
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker's
AJ Stone, Record Prophets, and The Burn Vault @ Can Can Wonderland
Doll Chaser, Jenny Matrix, Critterthing @ Cloudland
Niney Salem Trio @ The Commons
Country Blues Roots with Bobby Schnitzer & Dan Neale @ Crooners
Peanuts: The Music of Vince Guaraldi @ Crooners
Michael Monroe Presents: The Music of Gordon Lightfoot @ Crooners
Albert Lee & Jeremy Clyde @ Dakota
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Washed Out with Babehoven @ First Avenue
Raretripp, Vartam, Tweeba, Qula, VonBoi @ The Garage
Fever Candlelight: A Tribute to Queen @ Granada
Snapped: Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
Bear Ghost with Erik’s Iridescent Tent @ Hook and Ladder
Luke LeBlanc & Thomas Sticha @ Icehouse
Champagne Confetti, Eric Mayson with Aby Wolf @ Mears Park
Kung Fu Hippies @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Smiling Cowboys Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Boobless, Jumbos, Ray Gun Youth, Big Lex Noens @ Mortimer's
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Annie Fitzgerald @ Peavey Plaza
Doug Collins & the Receptionists, the Driftless Area @ Schooner Tavern
Samuel John Band (EP Release) with Adam Brandt, Cole Diamond and Aaron Simmons @ 7th St Entry
Creed Fisher with Luke Lynell @ Turf Club
Zander, An American, Melayz, Ajanimf @ Underground Music Venue
Papa Roof & The Soul Villains @ Victory Park
Bleak Sabbath @ White Squirrel
Friday, August 9
Caleb Dee with Modern Joey, Pullstring, & Dial Tone @ Amsterdam
Ava Levy + Anna Devine + Seven Pines @ Aster Cafe
Freak of the Week @ Beast Barbecue
Straight, No Chaser: An Evening of Thelonious Monk @ Berlin
Steve Solkela's "Overpopulated" One-Man Band @ Can Can Wonderland
Fever Field, Dude Lagoon @ Caydence Records & Coffee
The Folk Implosion, Lou Barlow, John Davis @ Cloudland
- Lakeside Guitar Festival @ Como Pavillion—This annual showcase of guitar wizardry is full of surprises. The local musicians are always top-notch and at least one of the out-of-towners is a “Wow, really?” booking. This year that honor belongs to Jamaaladeen Tacuma, the veteran bass innovator who’s probably best known for his work in Ornette Coleman’s electric jazz group, Prime Time. But that’s not to slight Ava Mendoza, the avant-gardist who was just in town in May with Bill Orcutt’s electric guitar quartet. As for the Minnesotans, Paul Metzger will improvise experimentally on banjo, Alan Sparhawk will jam with an undisclosed set of “friends,” and guitarist Yohannes Tona presents his new project Made In Abyssinia.
Kate Beahan and Friends @ Crooners
Emilie-Claire Barlow @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Outside Sounds @ Dual Citizen Brewing
Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
Classically Tamed with Nick Gaudette, EHS Quartet, Katy Vernon Duo @ 50th & France
- Old 97's with John Buffalo @ First Avenue—"You've got to dance like the world/Is falling down around you/Because it is." So begins American Primitive, though the thirteenth album from the Dallas-spawned Old 97's is less about partying through hard times than sheer joyful persistence. Thirty-two years in, the band hasn't lost a step, or a member—their sound is still built on Rhett Miller's robust romanticism, Ken Bethea brawny roadhouse guitar, and the hard-swinging rhythm section of Murry Hammond and Philip Peeples.
1947, Rigby, Kyrie Nova & the Defiant, Cilician Gates @ The Garage
Truth, DMVU, Wraz, & J. Adjodha @ Granada
Mark Joseph, Mutlu, Superior Siren @ Hook and Ladder
New Primitives (Album Release) with Duala Soul Collective @ Hook and Ladder
Riley Helgeson Quartet feat. Jason Fabus @ Jazz Central
- Ber with Anni XO @ Lake Harriet Bandshell—If I worked for the upper Midwest’s largest media organization, I would simply put an iota of marketing muscle behind the very cool music/movies series my news org plans each August. But hey, I don’t and the Strib doesn’t, so we’re here to let you know that the annual Lake Harriet Bandshell bash kicks off today with a killer pairing: exciting local pop musicians Annie XO and Ber, followed by Steven Spielberg’s endlessly rewatchable 1975 shark romp Jaws. As the Strib marketing team promises/threatens: “Bring the whole family and get ready for a boatload of fun and a night that’ll keep you bobbing up for more!”—Jay Boller
TC Jazz Workshop Student Showcase @ Metronome Brewing
Side by Side @ Minnehaha Bandstand
The Maxx Band, Ray Covington, Kendra Johnson Glenn @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Valerie Evans and Will DeBlaey Duo @ Padraigs Brewing
Dog Gamn, Sleepy Gaucho, Rabeca, Crush Scene, Drug League, and Larry Wish @ Palmer's
Mason Jennings @ Parkway Theater
Forest Fire, Bad Kitchen, MK Ultra @ Pilllar Forum
Thunderheads @ Schooner Tavern
Mati (EP Release) with GR3G and Qadiym @ 7th St Entry
Stone Arch, POPSICLESTICKLE, Tin Whiskers @ Terminal Bar
SOLIDSTATE, SUPERMODIFIED, Audrey Robinson @ 331 Club
A Tribute to Shania Twain @ Turf Club
In Memoriam, Agony Reigns @ Underground Music Venue
Goldpine @ Underground Music Venue
Crown the Empire @ Varsity Theater
Jared Miles & The Ancient Waves @ White Squirrel
Saturday, August 10
Jenna Graves + Dude Lagoon @ Aster Cafe
Jesse Whitney & Wicker's Portal (Album Release) @ Berlin
Strictly R&B: The Summer SZN Day Party @ Cabooze
The Audacity @ Can Can Wonderland
Fluorescents and Four Stars @ Caydence Records & Coffee
The Pangelic Duo @ Cedar Cultural Center
Steel Drum Concert with Liam Teague @ Cedar Cultural Center
Haters Club, Cult Vibes, Full Catholic @ Cloudland
- Lakeside Guitar Festival @ Como Pavillion—See Friday's listings.
Endless Summer: Songs of My Early Years with Maud Hixson @ Crooners
Steve Kenny Quintet Coltrane Show @ Crooners
A Tom Waits Revelry @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Arne Fogel with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Dead Days of Summer: The Wall of Summer @ Day Block Brewing
Tunesquad Fest @ Day Block Brewing
Boot Cut with Snowshoe @ Dusty's
Shrimp Olympics, Anthony Worden, All Golden, DJ American Cream @ Eagles 34
Hush Victoria, Black Widows, Couch Potato Massacre @ Eagles 34
Atmosphere with NOFUN!, Wave Chapelle and DJ Stage One @ First Avenue
Truth, Youngsta, Basura, & Desync @ Granada
CHUTES (EP Release), Aiden Intro, Kiernan @ Green Room
TransSpace Pride Festival @ Hook and Ladder
- TGNP Party 2024 @ Icehouse—Totally Gross National Product has been around for two decades (a little longer actually) and the adventurous Minneapolis label is throwing itself a belated 20th anniversary party with DJs, solo acts, and bands playing inside and outside of Icehouse throughout the afternoon and evening. The lineup includes label linchpins like Marijuana Deathsquads, MCs like Greg Grease, veterans like Alan Sparhawk, and relative newcomers like Papa Mbye. Plus the ever-versatile Andrew Broder, a solo set from Poliça’s Channy Leaneagh, and, as they say, much more.
- Nershfest @ Inbound BrewCo—Nershfest was once a collection of friends who, loosely inspired by Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident, crafted Spotify playlists to blast from stages in their backyards. Nowadays, the party has grown into a first-rate Twin Cities block party with a rock-solid lineup of live music (Bad Bad Hats, Raffaella, Lupin, Sleeping Jesus, and China Rider) and a deep roster of food trucks (Cuchillo, KCM Egg Rolls, and Bad Rooster, the latter of whom’s owner has been the subject of culty speculation). An exclusive Mexican Lager riff, Nershi Nectar, will be on tap for the party, which features the titular Nersh on posters as some sort of demonic party animal. We love you, Nersh!—Jay Boller
- Flavor Fest 2 @ Indeed Brewing Company—Flavor World was just a clothing brand when it launched in 2018, but six years later it’s a whole lot more: In addition to offering printing services, they’ve hosted fashion shows, music fests, art exhibits, and even released a magazine called Flavor Mag. For a look at everything the south Minneapolis-based creative brand has been up to over the past several years, swing by Flavor Fest 2 at Indeed, where they’ll have live music from Miloe, Creeping Charlie, Jonny Darko, and more, along with the release of the second edition of Flavor Mag.—Em Cassel
Mila Vocal Ensemble @ Metronome
The Good the Bad & the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Backyard Boombox @ Modist Brewing
Oyster World, Smart Shoppers, Spit Takes, Chub @ Mortimer's
Art Beagle Backup Band @ Padraigs Brewing
Whispered the Rabbit, You Bred Raptors?, and The Great Went @ Palmer's
Los Chili Dogs and Money Chicha with AMÉRICA Y LOS SENTIMIENTOS and DJ Miguel Vargas @ 7th St Entry
Doug Otto and The Getaways, John Till @ 331 Club
Wild Horses and Erik Koskinen with Nicky Diamonds @ Turf Club
Strongly Disagree, The Sparks, Mellow Cassette @ Underground Music Venue
Flesh Hoarder, Pantheon @ White Rock Lounge
Eldest Daughter @ White Squirrel
Bethany Larson & The Bees Knees with Johanna Mathews @ White Squirrel
Danger Club with Enemy In The Sky, Burning Peasant @ White Squirrel
Careful Gaze, Toilet Rats, Father Melissa, Cheap Bouquet @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, August 11
Gooseberry with Trash Date & Dot Operator @ Amsterdam
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
TSR Time (feat. Eric Mayson and Anna Dolde) @ Berlin
Here Comes the Sun: Presented by Lori Dokken @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
SeeYouSpaceCowboy with The Callous Daoboys, Omerta, Stateside @ Fine Line
Micah Emrich with Daphne Jane, Colin Bracewell @ Green Room
Percolators Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Kenwood Symphony Orchestra @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
NxJazz Gen @ Metronome Brewing
Fuzzy Math @ Metronome Brewing
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer's
Stacked Like Pancakes with Space Monkey Mafia, The Prizefighters, Rhino Shrine @ 7th St Entry
Eldest Daughter, Emmy Woods @ 331 Club
GIuda, Beebe Gallini, & DJ Rock The Monkey @ Uptown VFW
Deterioration, Virgin Whores, and more @ White Rock Lounge
St. Paul Songwriter Rounds @ White Squirrel
Monday, August 12
Self Evident, Play Dead Season, Skulpture @ Cloudland
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
Emerging Artist Night @ The Garage
League Two (August Residency), Filthy Kittens, Anna Devine, Jenny Matrix @ Green Room
deVon Gray: Jazz Implosion Mondays @ Icehouse
Jaspar Lepak @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
OpenMic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Works
Cage the Elephant with Young the Giant, Bakar, and Vlad Holiday @ Target Center
Oriska, Baltic to Boardwalk, Victor Shores, Dashed @ Zhora Darling
