January, we all know, means residencies, with notable artists setting up in venues across town and inviting their friends and favorite collaborators along. I count six underway in this weeks listings. It's a good chance for local musicians to stretch out a little—and maybe also a chance for tired club bookers to stretch out their winter vacations a bit.
Tuesday, January 7
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke with On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Bill Simenson Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Red Planet @ Metronome Brewery
Bluewater Kings Showcase @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Songwriters’ Showcase @ Palmer’s
Songbird Series @ Pillar Forum
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
January Conspiracy Series featuring Dot Operator, the Envies @ 331 Club
Worker’s Playtime with CED @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes @ White Squirrel
Eldest Daughter (Tuesday Night Residency) with Emma Jeanne, Cassandra Johnson @ White Squirrel
Not Your Baby, Chief Opossum, The Weeping Covenant @ Zhora Darling
Wednesday, January 8
Shady Babies Open Mic @ Acadia
Lost Evidence, IdlFlo, In Solid Air, Cause for Concern @ Amsterdam
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Miss Shannon’s Swing Night @ Eagles 34
- Thomas Abban (January Residency) with Maya Marchelle @ Green Room—A multi-instrumentalist with a mystical air, Abban had some real buzz behind him in 2017. He won City Pages’ Picked to Click poll that year, released his debut The Sheik's Legacy, and landed a feature in Rolling Stone. He didn't exactly disappear after that, but he seems set on re-emerging with a vengeance in 2025. He's taking over the Green Room for January, and tonight he'll shred on guitar with powerhouse drummer L.A. Buckner as the duo White Boy Summer; they're joined by trap evangelist Maya Marchelle.
Big Woods Brass @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Connor McRae Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Rosie with Jillian Rae, bathtub cig, and Bryn Battani @ 7th St Entry
Potential New Boyfriend @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with the New Havoline Supremes @ 331 Club
Grace Horn, Al Forred, Lee Sadler @ Underground Music Venue
Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers @ White Squirrel
- The People’s March Preparty @ White Squirrel—Are we gonna march again? We're gonna march again. Prepare for the long four years ahead with the People's March on January 18 at the State Capitol. And prepare for the march with performances from Katy Vernon and Faith Boblett as you make signs to carry at the event.
Thursday, January 9
Admiral Fox with Kiernan & Penitent Echoes @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—This is starting to become a habit: For what I believe is the third year running, jazz pianist Robert Glasper is taking over the Dakota for a full weekend in January. Born late enough (1978) to come up on hip-hop and neo-soul, Glasper is probably best known outside of jazz for his keyboard work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which was integral in defining that album’s sound. In the past two decades, he has achieved crossover success at Blue Note with his feature-heavy Black Radio releases, the third and most recent of which offered Killer Mike, Jennifer Hudson, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Q-Tip, Esperanza Spalding, and many, many—many—more guests. It’s tempting to call Glasper’s music “fusion,” but that term implies the forced yoking of disparate styles; instead, Glasper treats contemporary Black music as a smooth confluence of genres. This three-night stand will give him plenty of time to demonstrate his range of influence and abilities in a more jazz-centered context.
Our Date Night, Zoe Says Go @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Entertainmen @ Eagles 34
Snapped Live Band Open Mic @ Green Room
The Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs @ Palmer’s
Farewell Milwaukee with A Piano In Every Home and Big Lake @ Turf Club
Randy Casey & the Swamp Donkey’s, Billy Dankert Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Landon Conrath (Winter Residency) with Keep For Cheap and Andrew Garden @ 7th St Entry
Andrew Kneeland & Marti Moreno, Sun Patches @ 331 Club
The Bare Bones Band @ Underground Music Venue
Fiesta Villa X Winn Present @ Uptown VFW
FXRMNK with Charles Asch, Ait Ait @ White Squirrel
Friday, January 10
Chris Wilbourn (aka Felix of Heiruspecs) @ Berlin
Neon Night: Ghost in the Shell @ Can Can Wonderland
A Tribute to Jeff Beck @ Crooners
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—See Friday's listings.
The Great Northern, the Feral Parents @ Driftwood
Steve Clarke and the Working Stiffs with Miss Shannon @ Eagles 34
INTERNET KIDS ⏤ Hyperpop Dance Party @ Fine Line
G. Love & Special Sauce with Ron Artis II @ First Avenue
Radio Moon Residency Parties @ Green Room
A Holy Place to Be: Acoustic Bowie @ Hook and Ladder
The Winter Hotbox feat.Sonic Alloy, Green, Cause For Concern @ Hook and Ladder
MAKR All Vinyl Night @ Icehouse
Green Line and Friends Play Wii @ Jazz Central
Zeitgeist and No Exit Ensemble @ Metronome Brewery
Metal Night at the MMC @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Nordic Landscapes and Portraits @ Orchestra Hall
Mary Jam, Lydia, Bird Cop, and Thirsty Giants @ Palmer’s
Ihavenolove with Mishi Mega, Beggars, and the Meshes @ Pilllar Forum
Bambi Alexandra Band with the Suicide Horns @ Schooner Tavern
- Sean Anonymous Birthday Show @ 7th St Entry—Every January, local rap veteran Sean Anonymous throws himself a birthday bash, and as a fellow Cap who does the same, I gotta support that. (Don't worry, I do not get on the mic at my own party.) This year he's performing with a live band, and also on hand are: Connecticut rapper Ceschi; local rapper Demon Marcus, who released two fine EPs last year; student 1, who I've heard has got some clever multimedia tricks in the works for 2025; DJ Dimitry Killstorm; and Diane from 89.3 the Current, who will host.
Waterline, Wesley Minar @ Terminal Bar
Speed Riders, Sparrowhawk, Sick Eagle @ 331 Club
Goo Goo Mucks, The World’s Forgotten Boys. and RuDeGiRL @ Turf Club
Unattractive Giant Monster, Orchid Club, & YUHH @ Underground Music Venue
Cole Diamond, Cain & Co., & Whiskey Burn @ Zora Darling
Saturday, January 11
Trish Hurd-Paczkowski/Graydon Peterson (feat. Peter Goggin) @ Berlin
Senseless Violets & Opalesce @ Berlin
Mary Brewster’s Sparkle @ Black Hart
Forever 31, Low Standards @ Can Can Wonderland
Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The River: The Music of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon @ Crooners
- Robert Glasper @ Dakota—See Friday's listings.
The Fab Hackmasters, Noslo, Grand Theft Jeff, Petty Misdemeanors @ Driftwood
Union Suits, Calamity and the Now, the Poor Nobody’s @ Dusty’s
- A Tribute to Dolly Parton @ Fine Line—Dolly Parton is damn near universally adored these days, even (if not especially) by those with an aversion to country music, and at this annual event, some of the Twin Cities female singers match their pipes against her elite songbook. This year’s brave participants include Faith Boblett, Molly Brandt, Rachel Calvert, Laura Hugo, Jaedyn James, Sarah Morris, Savannah Smith, Davina Sowers, and Leslie Vincent; as ever there will be musical support from the versatile and more-than-capable A Little Too Short To Be Stormtroopers. I’m way overdue to check out this tribute, but having last year finally boot-scooted my way over to the annual Shania Twain tribute, held by the same folks, I can pretty much guarantee this’ll be a hoot.
- Ber with Chutes @ First Avenue—By now, Ber’s lore should be familiar to local music fans. She grew up in Walker, Minnesota, kicked around in Norway for a bit, then went to school in Leeds. She moved into an aunt and uncle's south Minneapolis basement in late 2020 and, according to her citation-heavy cited Wikipedia page, "with no friends in the area, she began using Tinder and Hinge"—which is a truly rude thing to put on someone's Wikipedia page! But her songs began to have some success on social media, and by 2023, once Minnesota noticed her music, it fully accepted her as its own. And what better seal of local approval could there be than headlining the Mainroom? On her latest EP, Room for One, Ber leaves behind the bratty pop of “Slutphase” and “Your Internet Sucks,” honing her craft as she matures. And though her new album won’t be out by January, we’ll hopefully hear previews of some of the material. “A lot of the songs have been coming from conversations that I've been having with people,” she told Racket in October. “Then you get to poetically sum up this thing that you can relate to someone about.”
Gasoline Lollipops with the Placaters @ Hook and Ladder
Masqueerade Ball – Presented by Cannababe & DJ Izzie P @ Hook and Ladder
Starlight Vinyl Night Featuring Katie Thornton @ Icehouse
Pierre Lewis B3 @ Jazz Central
Lemonbrass @ Metronome Brewery
Wayward Boyz Klub, Frank Kohler & Boyz, the Dream Police @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Nordic Landscapes and Portraits @ Orchestra Hall
Big Head Todd and the Monsters with Glen Phillips @ Palace Theatre
Mary Strand and the Garage, Loki's Folly, Brynn Arens, and A Sunken Ship Irony @ Palmer’s
ELnO with DJ Time Machine @ Parkway
The Nut with Mouthful and Walker Rider @ Pilllar Forum
Doug Collins & the Receptionists, John Magnuson Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Freak On A Leash Fellowship ⏤ Nu Metal Dance Party @ 7th St Entry
Uncle Muskrat @ Sociable Cider Werks
LEVEL. Pearl Monkey, Cellar Kings @ Terminal Bar
Rank Strangers, The Bury ‘Em Deep, Superfloor @ 331 Club
Benny Everett with The Best Intentions (Album Release) with The Gated Community @ Turf Club
The Tolerables, Death Of The Heron, and Duck Bomb @ Underground Music Venue
David Lopez and Friends @ White Squirrel
Cave Canary with Monica Livorsi @ White Squirrel
Surrounded by Water (Album Release) with Vin, Longwinter, Not Yet All Things @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, January 12
Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Jovon Williams Quartet & echo @ Berlin
Honky-Tonk Jump: The Texas Swing Music of Bob Wills @ Crooner’s
Ryan Picone Quartet @ Crooner’s
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood
Twin City Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
CABARET! with Jen Burleigh-Bentz & Friends @ Metronome Brewery
Retro Rhythms with DJ Kenny D @ Mortimer’s
Chamber Music in the Hall @ Orchestra Hall
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s
The Magic of Motown @ Pantages Theatre
Larry McDonough Quartet @ Parkway
Pursuit with VolsungaSaga, The F All, Defiled Sacrament, Pursuit @ Pilllar Forum
Mayfly Moon (Album Release) with Pullstring, Lake Drive and Motherwind @ 7th St Entry
Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers, Slapdash Bluegrass Band @ 331 Club
Charlie Parr (January Residency) with Samuel Locke Ward @ Turf Club
Oceanographer with Damn Phibian, Sunnbather @ White Squirrel
Pearl Parkway with The Rumor @ White Squirrel
Monday, January 13
Cafe Accordion Orchestra with Prudence Johnson @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
West Bank Social Club @ Palmer’s
OpenMic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
The Robinson Roundup @ 331 Club
The Cactus Blossoms (January Residency) with Luke Callen @ Turf Club
Mumblin’ Drew’s Oldfangled Orchestrators @ White Squirrel
KYM & The Kick with Pity Party, Delicate Friend @ White Squirrel
