It's rough out there. But we all need to take a moment occasionally to recharge, and live music recharges you like nothing else. If you feel safe even leaving your home (horribly, many Minnesotans do not right now) here are some opportunities to temporarily take your mind off the ongoing invasion.
Tuesday, January 13
Greatest Jam on Earth @ Blues Saloon
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunker’s
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood Char Bar
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
THR333, Circle Circle, Teeth, Close To Toast @ Green Room
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Dave Carambula, Joel Shapira with Zacc Harris @ Metronome Brewery
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
DJ GWIINGWANS, Gender.Error, Sirwootalot @ Mortimer’s
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
January Conspiracy Series featuring Daniels and Baker @ 331 Club
Workers Playtime with Stephanie Was @ 331 Club
Embahn (Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, January 14
The Cherry Pit Open Jam @ Berlin
OCE's World Music Night with Meriem @ Bryant Lake Bowl
Tom Dahill and Ginny Johnson @ Dubliner Pub
Drumset Karaoke @ Klash Coffee
Pat Donohue and Friends @ Midway Saloon
Andy’s Side Action @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Greg Volker and the River, Prophets of Mothra, Elour @ Pilllar Forum
Bobby J’s West Band Social Club @ Schooner Tavern
Bright Young Things (Album Release), Matcha Fever, lily blue, Callback @ 7th St Entry
John Magnuson Trio+, Frannie Crego @ 331 Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Tom Pevear @ 331 Club
AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Steam Machine @ Turf Club
Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers @ White Squirrel
Cole Diamond’s Whiskey Wednesdays @ White Squirrel
Thursday, January 15
Road to Northern Invasion @ Abi’s
One Big Quilt, Isaac Shelton, Nice and Blue, Anything You Want @ Acadia
The Lamellas, Virgo, glencircle @ Amsterdam
Laura Hugo Is a Mystery Light @ Animales
Lexie Modica, Zola @ Aster Cafe
- Melvin Gibbs, Yonci @ Berlin—Melvin Gibbs’s CV alone would take up more space than I’m allotted for a simple preview blurb. To keep it brief: Bassist Gibbs, as a student of Ornette Coleman’s harmolodic technique, began playing jazz-funk in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society alongside Vernon Reid in the ’80s before joining Sonny Sharrock’s band. His current regular projects include Body Meπa, which (despite its Ornettish name) updates early ’70s Miles Davis for a world steeped in modern ambient (and that doesn’t mean quiet), as well as Harriet Tubman, which updates even earlier ’70s Miles for a world that don’t listen to A Tribute to Jack Johnson often enough (and that doesn’t mean derivative). Last year, Gibbs released Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2, which revisits yet another era of ’70s Miles (there are so many, and they are all inexhaustible), enlisting Pete Cosey, the guitarist whose wah-wah excursions made Miles’s 1974 live album, Dark Magus, among his most bracing. (Cosey died in 2012, which gives you an idea how long Gibbs has been working on that album.) Tonight, Gibbs will present what’s being billed as a “live remix” of Amasia, and if you saw Harriet Tubman blow the roof off Icehouse in 2022, you know not to miss it. DJ and musician Yonci, who recently became the new music director of Jazz88, will perform both before and after.
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunker’s
Vopli Vidopliassova with Ukrainian Village Band @ Cedar Cultural Center
Debbie Briggs and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Neighborhood Quartet @ Crooners
Those Medley Kids Perform Fragile @ Dakota
Cal Pflum, Zoe Says Go @ Driftwood Char Bar
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with On Call Karaoke @ Eagles 34
Dirty P’s Thirsty 3rd Thursdays @ Hook and Ladder
Molly Dean (Residency) @ Icehouse
Ian Duerr Quintet @ Metronome Brewery
Curtiss A & Dark Click @ Minnesota Music Cafe
L.A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE @ 7th St Entry
Chemistry Set, 13 Howell @ Schooner Tavern
Cross Pollination with Knife Emoji, Topiary Blush, Mild Manner @ 331 Club
Martin Devaney & Friends, Mammoth Moth @ White Squirrel
green, TOMBOYY, Plumstar @ Zhora Darling
Friday, January 16
Julian Davis Reid & Circle of Trust @ Berlin
Some Shitty Cover Band, DJ Ys @ Boardwalk
70s Magic Sunshine Band @ Bunker’s
José Antonio Zayas Caban and {Tres} with Miguel Zenón @ Cedar Cultural Center
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Etovc and the Dandals @ Day Block Brewing
The Strolling Clones, 1st Out, the Meshes, Virgo @ Driftwood Char Bar
Irish Music Session @ Dubliner Pub
The Langer’s Ball @ Dubliner Pub
Pinched, the Envies, Sandpaper @ Eagles 34
- A Tribute to Dolly Parton @ Fine Line—Here you come again, Faith Boblett’s annual tribute to the most universally popular woman in country music. (Willie holds the men’s title, and Dolly might win in a head-to-head matchup.) Ms. Parton turns 80 on Monday the 19th and, as has been customary for several years now, some of the most talented ladies in Twin Cities music are stepping up to celebrate. If you’ve been to ringleader Boblett’s annual high-spirited tribute to Shania Twain, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect (though maybe just a little less line-dancing). The lineup includes Molly Brandt, Laura Hugo, Jaedyn James, Ailea Jones, Dahlia Jones, Sarah Morris, Savannah Smith, Maddie Thies, and anni xo, as well as “special surprise guests.” They’ll be backed as always by the always versatile musicians in A Little Too Short to Be Stormtroopers. And here I go…
RaveQuest ⏤ A Medieval Winter Ball @ First Avenue
Velasha, The Dirty Pretty, Letters @ Gambit Brewing
Dave Stagner and Vinegar Pie @ Ginkgo Coffee
Night Shift ft. ALADAG, Chanderz, Roxanne, Forma @ Green Room
A Holy Place to Be: Acoustic Bowie @ Hook and Ladder
I Owe This Land a Body, Sense of Self, Brittle, Padloc @ Klash Coffee
Show Me Your Hits @ Mainstreet Bar
Green Line Quintet @ Metronome Brewery
Nordic Soundscapes: Søndergård Conducts Sibelius @ Orchestra Hall
SPCO: Alina Ibragimova Plays Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto @ Ordway
Two Weeks Past Never, 1947, Threads Electric @ Pilllar Forum
Jellyjacket, Institutional Green @ Schooner Tavern
Lana Leone, 12th House Sun, Dad Bod, Fend @ 7th St Entry
Kylie Krick, Accent Deluxe, Limited Vocabulary @ Terminal Bar
Wain Mcfarlane and Jahs @ 331 Club
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades @ Turf Club
TRA, Shuggy, Hell's Paradise @ Underground Music
Mill City Hot Club @ Volstead’s
Blue Earth Collective @ White Squirrel
Peony Park, Pity Party, Lutheran Heat, Loki's Folly @ White Squirrel
Kayo Dot, Straya @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, January 17
Tassels Off Burlesque @ Amsterdam
The Dream Songs Project: Alyssa Anderson and Joseph Spoelstra @ Arts on Lafond
The Farewell Season @ Aster Cafe
Hipshaker Presents: Worldwide Discotheque @ Black Hart
Good for Gary, DJ Ys @ Boardwalk
Colton Warren, the Daily Norm @ Carbone’s
VocalEssence: An Afternoon with John Rutter @ Cathedral of St. Paul
Flicker, Fiona Hayes, Brakeshift, Silent Monday @ Caydence Records & Coffee
- Zaq Baker (Album Release), Pullstring, Afters @ Cedar Cultural Center—Singer-songwriter Zaq Baker is a busy fellow. His new album Don't Worry About Me, which he tells Ann Treacy at Mostly Minnesota contains "highly modern synthpop to stripped-down grand-piano acoustic with a musical theatre bent," comes out today on the heels of a three-track EP, Fact and Fiction, from November. Two of those tracks are smart piano-driven songs, and the third is a reading of the first chapter from his novel, Unspectacular, which came out a year ago. Feeling lazy yet?
Arne Fogel and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
The Red Hot Django Peppers (CD Release) @ Crooners
Discodesque @ Disco Death Records
The Fabulous Hackmasters, Funklump & the Nugs @ Driftwood Char Bar
Jack Klatt, Michael Gay @ Dusty’s
Economic Headwinds @ Eagles 34
sapphic factory: queer joy party @ Fine Line
- Best New Bands of 2025 @ First Avenue—As always, January serves up the ultimate one-stop-shop for aging and/or lazy stay-at-homes who want to hear what’s happening in local music without hitting the clubs every night. Young alt-pop artists Mother Soki and Sophie Hiroko you may have read about last year in our Picked to Click poll. Sallyforth may be known to you as Yonder, the name they were using when we covered them for Poised to Pop last February. Ryan Kemp, who worked with Afrobeats projects including Libianca in the past, takes a new direction with the insinuating indiepop of Chutes, which released the Nothing’s Growing in the Yard EP last month. Since relocating to Minnesota, the Chicago-born rapper GR3G has made himself right at home with his EP Children of the Hood, winning a 2025 Cedar Commissions grant. Musician LASALLE has yet to record a full album, but you can hear soulful and tuneful cuts like “That Was the Moment,” perfect for the early days of VH1, here. The warm, rootsy Maygen & the Birdwatcher released The Americana Dream last year—my favorite cut playfully struggles to find a rhyme for “Rhododendron” (thank you, spell check). You sure don’t have to be an aging and/or lazy stay-at-home to appreciate that lineup.
Steve Keever with Phil Heywood @ Ginkgo Coffee
Sexy Nerds with Wintergarden @ Green Room
Gathering Darkness @ Hook and Ladder
Urgent Emergent Performance Art Series: Volume One, Root Music @ Icehouse
Hi I’m Ghost, Whoisee @ The Loft
Reckless at Tiffany’s @ Mainstreet Bar
Bob Frey & the Adaptors @ Metronome Brewery
Fireside Shadow (Album Release), Halfway Down, Spamcaller @ Midway Saloon
Culture Collective @ Mystic Lake
Nordic Soundscapes: Søndergård Conducts Sibelius @ Orchestra Hall
SPCO: Alina Ibragimova Plays Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto @ Ordway
Stayin’ Alive: A Tribute to the Bee Gees @ Pantages Theatre
Broken Demeanor, Mary Jam, mystery guest @ Pilllar Forum
Maurice Jacox & We Still R @ Schooner Tavern
Duck Bomb, Sensing Agony, Sons of Bliss @ Terminal Bar
Lords of the Universe, Girdle of Judith, Baby Mahi & the Sitters @ 331 Club
SJ, 14 Hunnitvon + DJ Devario & Amir, Kodj, Myallo @ Underground Music
Mouthful, Agora Bomb, Yolk, Ray Gun Youth @ Underground Music
Fluid Frequencies @ Uptown VFW
Cornell Power Service, Scott Hefte & Friends @ White Squirrel
Sam Graber Band @ White Squirrel
All Are Welcome (CD Release), TinyNormous, Okie, Maggie Black & Kirby Gage @ White Squirrel
Plague of Stars, UXIA, Phase Meridian @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, January 18
Patty and the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Co-MingL Presents “Back to Soul” @ Aster House
Tahiti & Sylvia Jennings @ Berlin
Maria Mazzotta with Paul Metzger @ Cedar Cultural Center
Tapestry and Blue, Presented by Lori Dokken @ Crooners
Phine & Friends, Shotgun Ragtime Band @ Driftwood Char Bar
Darren Jackson aka Kid Dakota @ Dubliner Pub
Sunday Trad Session @ Dubliner Pub
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
- Obi Original and the Black Atlantics (Residency) @ Icehouse—And yet another local winter residency. Expect this Nigerian highlife revivalist to host plenty of his pals from Ozone Creations over the next few weeks. I sat down with him last year for this profile.
Opera on Tap TC @ Metronome Brewery
Chris Thile @ Pantages Theatre
Griefeater, By Will Alone, Quail @ Pilllar Forum
Greg Freeman with Golomb @ 7th St Entry
Charlie Parr & Mikkel Bee with Kelley Smith @ Turf Club
GeminiiDRAGON and Linwood Taylor @ Underground Music
Tainted Canyon, Joe Carey & The Faderals @ White Squirrel
Karaoke with Ally @ White Squirrel
Monday, January 19
Blues Jam with Moses Oakland @ Blues Saloon
Massive Mondays Reggae @ Cabooze
6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Talent Showcase @ Capri
Kennadi Sings Mahalia @ Crooners
Hotter Than July: The Music of Stevie Wonder @ Crooners
Fleshpots of Egypt: Hymntap @ Dubliner Pub
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Other Country Ensemble @ Eagles 34
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome Brewery
Jam Society @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration @ Ordway
Piss With Style, Ditch Pigeon, Andarosa @ Pilllar Forum
Open Mic Mpls @ Sociable Cider Werks
Nikki Matteson & Rick Rue @ 331 Club
Womenfolk Presents Katey Belleville @ 331 Club
The Cactus Blossoms, Jack Klatt @ Turf Club
Fortunate Suns, Sammie Jean Cohen, Catfish Troy @ Zhora Darling
