No getting around it—we are well into May, and the Concert Calendar is reflecting that. I could have blurbed another half-dozen shows here, easy, if I had the time.
Tuesday, May 7
International Reggae All Stars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
- Mannequin Pussy with Soul Glo @ Fine Line—This Philadelphia band’s latest album, I Got Heaven, leads off with the title track, on which Marisa Dabice asks the important musical question that centuries of theological debate have somehow passed over: “What if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch?” Though the album doesn’t get any more intense from there—that’d be asking a lot—it rocks plenty, especially on the one where Dabice boasts (admits? laments?) “I got a loud bark, deep bite” and on a few where the band returns to their hardcore youth. Tuneful even at its punkiest, I Got Heaven is also pretty and vulnerable in new ways for MP, without even undercutting any of the rage and desire and exhibitionism—you know, all that great stuff you want from a world-class rock band.
Matcha Fever, Beneath Green, Self-Titled @ Green Room
Bill Simenson Orchestra @ Jazz Central
Bluewater Kings @ Minnesota Music Cafe
ElectroAcoustic Organ Concert @ Northrop
Council: Pekka Kuusisto & Gabriel Kahane @ The Parkway
Support Local @ ROK Music Lounge
Kelsey Waldon and John R. Miller with The Local Honeys @ 7th St Entry
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
Worker’s Playtime: Luke Callen @ 331 Club
May Conspiracy Series feat. Theyself, Mike Munson @ 331 Club
The New Havoline Supremes! @ White Squirrel
Leslie (Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, May 8
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Jeremy Boettcher Trio featuring Sean Carey and Josh Gallagher @ Berlin
Mizu + Ohyung with Meridian Shanewood and Ryann Daisy Swimmer @ Cedar Cultural Center
Wayne Anthony Sings Sinatra @ Crooners
Michael Martin Murphey @ Dakota
The Bad Companions @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Galactic Empire and Bit Brigade with Abandon Quest @ Fine Line
- Belle and Sebastian with Haley Heynderickx @ First Avenue—Who ever expected these once-moony, once-young Glaswegians to become such a profesh, consistently crowd-pleasing live act? Color your life with the chaos of trouble, ‘cause anything's better than posh isolation.
Korpiklaani with Visions of Atlantis and Illumishade @ The Lyric
Riverside Hitmen @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Prairie Clamor (Residency) with The Mortiholics + Daguerreotypes + Otto Kowalski @ Mortimer's
Willow Waters (Residency) @ Palmer's
Whiskey Burn, Keith Daniel, Lost Evidence @ Pilllar Forum
Silent Halo @ ROK Music Lounge
Connor McRae Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Dubliner Trio @ 331 Club
Satsang with The Limns @ Turf Club
Seilies, Corsair, Motherwind, Dead Amsterdam @ White Rock Lounge
Mike Perry & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
Lords of the Universe @ White Squirrel
Thursday, May 9
Life in PrismLife and DJ JOE YOLO @ Acadia
Whiskey Myers, Lukas Nelson + POTR, and Reid Haughton @ Armory
Luke Peterson Quartet @ Berlin
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Scale of None (Album Release), Silent Halo, Mount Weasel @ Cloudland
World Jazz Collegium @ Crooners
The ACME Jazz Company @ Crooners
Dan Chouinard Presents: The Birthday Club with Maud Hixson @ Crooners
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
CSS with Luna Muse @ Fine Line
Newski, Chutes, Murphy Smith @ The Garage
UltraBomb feat. Greg Norton, Finny McConnell, & Jamie Oliver @ Hook and Ladder
Radical Denominators @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Smiling Cowboys @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Karaoke After Dark @ Modist Brewing
Shadow Dance with DJ Gwiingwans @ Mortimer's
Tchaikovsky, Korngold, and Chin @ Orchestra Hall
May Music & Mindfulness @ Orchestra Hall
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Permanent Record + In Circles @ The Parkway
A Light in the Ocean @ ROK Music Lounge
Scott Woolridge Trio, Edie Rae & Craig @ Schooner Tavern
Jeffrey Martin with Dean Johnson @ 7th St Entry
- The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis with Gold Minefield @ Turf Club—On their own, the Messthetics—the rhythm section from Fugazi teamed with guitar whiz Anthony Pirog—already have more jam than most rockers gone improv. So it was exciting to hear that the trio had teamed up with one of the most ambitious young saxophonists in jazz (41 still counts as young in this context) on The Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis. It’s even more exciting that we’ve got the chance to catch this quartet live. Both with his regular quartet and as leader of the Red Lily Quintet, Lewis has shown himself to be one of those guys sharp enough to know that the choice between trad and avant is a false one. His sound is big and inviting without pandering, and his tastes are broad—he recorded a Mahalia Jackson tribute album last year, as a nod to his gospel roots. He slides into the Messthetics’ groove so neatly you’d think he was a regular.
Glencircle, My Buddy Eric, Self Titled, & Squirm @ Underground Music Venue
BASS THURSDAY: In Orbit Dubz, CRiiOZ, Dahlbeats, SQUiD @ Uptown VFW
- Clare Doyle with Sammie Jean Cohen, Cassandra Johnson @ White Squirrel—I popped Doyle's latest single, "Devices," on my local music playlist last week. Read what I had to say here.
- Unattractive Giant Monster (Album Release) @ White Squirrel—These guys made The Playlists too. Check 'em out.
Friday, May 10
Rogue Valley + Skarlett Woods @ Aster Cafe
Charlie Bruber/Jack Barrett @ Berlin
Wild Child with Oh He Dead and Motenko @ Cedar Cultural Center
Dedicated Enemy, Head Shrink, Iosis @ Cloudland
Watermelon Man: The Music of Herbie Hancock @ Crooners
The R Factor: Michael Jackson Family Review @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Scottie Miller @ Crooners
Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
Julia Holter with Discovery Zone @ Fine Line
Teezo Touchdown @ First Avenue
St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts Cabaret @ Ginkgo Coffee
DECAPITATED with SEPTICFLESH, KATAKLYSM, ALLEGAEON @ Green Room
Cornell 77 Turns 47: A Grateful Dead Concert Recreation @ Hook and Ladder
Voodoo Bender @ Minnesota Music Cafe
True Lust, Shrimp Olympics, Grand Courriers, Adult Video @ Mortimer's
Tchaikovsky, Korngold, and Chin @ Orchestra Hall
Express Concert: Schubert’s The Great C Major Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB @ Palace Theatre
Minnesota Tango Music Festival @ The Parkway
PRGRPHS, Falcon Arrow, Is This Thing On? @ Pilllar Forum
SQUIRM, The River High, Call Me Fritz @ ROK Music Lounge
Jiggs Lee Invasion @ Schooner Tavern
Kash'd Out with Dale and the ZDubs @ 7th St Entry
Grand Lilac, Flowerstalks, The Envies @ 331 Club
Cattle Snake, Radiator Girl, Crimson Boys @ Terminal Bar
METZ with Gouge Away and Curve @ Turf Club
Honey Tree (EP Release) @ Underground Music Venue
Skating Polly with Lord Friday the 13th @ Uptown VFW
Esoteric, Vacant Eyes @ White Rock Lounge
Connie Evingson @ Woman's Club of Minneapolis
¡NOCHE CHINGONA! @ Zhora Darling
Saturday, May 11
Stripped: A Depeche Mode Burlesque Devotional @ Amsterdam
Twin Citizen + Joe Hartley @ Aster Cafe
Zacc Harris/Chris Bates @ Berlin
The Daily Norm, RJ Vocal, and Willows @ Bryant Lake Bowl
Mick Sterling & the Stud Brothers @ Bunkers
Afrocontigbo Presents: Emume @ Capri Theater
Kiran Ahluwalia with Aida Shahghasemi @ Cedar Cultural Center
Monica LaPlante, Alonzo, Trim Reaper @ Cloudland
Kevin Kling and Victor Zupanc @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Erin Livingston and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
JazzMN Orchestra Presents: John Pizzarelli @ Dakota
Benefit Concert for Mental Health Awareness @ Eagles 34
Doll Chaser, Screaming Hours, Damn Phibian @ Eagles 34
- Open Season @ Falling Knife Brewing Co.—Here’s the dirty little secret: Most brewery bashes are… pretty much the same. But when Falling Knife vows that they’re “coming out swinging” to welcome “the advent of REAL spring in the Twin Cities,” they’re not fuckin’ kidding. This event comes stacked to the gills with desirable block party what have yous, including killer food (Cuchillo for Mexican, Parlour for burgers, Wrecktangle for 'za) and specialty drinks (rare English barleywines, cocktails from Meteor Bar, beer, hard slushies). The live ain’t lacking either, with a Motion City Soundtrack cover band (Manifest Content), a Weezer cover band playing Blue Album (Pleezer), a 'Mats cover band playing Tim (The Right Here), a Talking Heads cover supergroup (Controversial New Skinny Pill joining Products Band), and a band covering "the wildly underrated'' Anthrax (Amtrax).—Jay Boller
Better Lovers with SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Foreign Hands and Greyhaven @ Fine Line
Hermanos Gutiérrez with DJ Miguel Vargas @ First Avenue
- Kamasi Washington @ Fitzgerald Theater—Fearless Movement isn't quite the departure that those who turn to this saxman for spiritual expanse have claimed. But thanks to input from soul man BJ the Chicago Kid, persistent flautist Andre 3000, and George Clinton himself, not to mention a Zapp cover, Washington does occasionally have something like a funky good time here. Partying doesn't exactly come natural to him, but for those of us whose spirits derive more sustenance from the terrestrial than the celestial, though, it's movement in the right direction.
Alexz Johnson with Zach Jones @ Green Room
John ‘Papa’ Gros, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound @ Hook and Ladder
Tony Andreason of the Trashmen with the Surf Dawgs and Deke Dickerson @ Icehouse
Perry Wayne, VRG, Brainrack @ The Loft
The Good, the Bad, and the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
PV$$Y CNTRL with Maria Isa, Shannon Blowtorch, and Sophia Eris @ Mortimer's
Spring Festival @ Orchestra Hall
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 @ Orchestra Hall
Express Concert: Schubert’s The Great C Major Symphony with Richard Egarr @ Ordway
- Twangfest 2024 @ Palmer's—Palmer’s is ready to twang it up again. Grab a seat on their Cedar-Riverside patio and enjoy the folksy stylings of locals including Mary Cutrufello, Mother Banjo, Sarah Morris, Cole Diamond, and Doug Collins, with a headlining set from the long-running honky-tonk sextet Trailer Trash. Palmer's calls it the Twin Cities’ premier twang festival; who would we be to disagree?—Em Cassel
Triple Fiddle Fest with Jackie Rae Daniels, Triple Fiddle, and Said in Stone @ Palmer's
Careful Gaze, Bouquet, Display Case, Oftener, Father Melissa, Eudaemon @ Pilllar Forum
TC Happy Hardcore @ ROK Music Lounge
Hurricane Harold's All-Star Revue @ Schooner Tavern
Andrew Cushin with Max Muscato and Halle Hanson @ 7th St Entry
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony @ Skyway Theatre
Sean Tyas with Niko Zografos & FARE @ Studio B
DOCTOR DOCTOR DOCTOR DOCTOR, OziBattler @ Terminal Bar
RuDeGiRL, Mind Out of Time @ 331 Club
Stiff Little Fingers with Ricky Warwick @ Turf Club
Rogue Royal (Album Release) @ Underground Music Venue
Better Than Ezra @ Varsity Theater
Airship Caravan, Elour, Crash Cuddle, 1947 @ White Rock Lounge
Dominic "Dom" Acito with New Seven @ White Squirrel
Confucisaurus @ White Squirrel
- Ahem + Sick Eagle (Double Album Release) @ Zhora Darling—Introduce yourself to two fine new albums from two fine not-new local trios. On Avoider, Ahem alternately punches and jangles as cheery boy-girl harmonies carry their melodies along. Sick Eagle is a no-nonsense rockin' trio, and their full-length, From a Platform on Elba, expands on their terrifically named 2022 EP, WMDs of Mass Destruction.
Sunday, May 12
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Haley (Residency) with Portal iii (Charlie Parr & Liz Draper) @ Berlin
Larry & Joe with Javier Trejo @ Cedar Cultural Center
Dot Operator, Emma Jeanne, Jackson Atkins @ Cloudland
The Gustavus Jazz Ensemble @ Crooners
Mother’s Day Cabaret with Erin Schwab, Jay Fuchs and Sophie Todaro @ Crooners
The Music of Django Reinhardt with the Ryan Picone Quartet @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Minnesota Tango Music Festival @ Eagles 34
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
He Is Legend with Codeseven and The Seafloor Cinema @ Fine Line
Red Hot Django Peppers @ Icehouse
Bohemian Way Presents: An Evening with Cameron Wright @ Icehouse
Timeless Tuesdays with Mixie, Yhante, and Minnie Blanco @ Mortimer's
Spring Festival @ Orchestra Hall
Violent Femmes @ Palace Theatre
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
Anthony Shore's Mother's Day Tribute to Elvis @ The Parkway
Garcia Peoples with P.G. Six @ 7th St Entry
Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers @ 331 Club
The Hip Abduction, Vana Liya @ Turf Club
Puppy Angst, Keep for Cheap, Allergen @ Underground Music Venue
Mariah the Scientist @ Varsity
Jeff Ray & Mike Dowling @ White Squirrel
St. Paul Songwriter Rounds @ White Squirrel
Monday, May 13
Joe Westerlund with Trever Hagen @ Berlin
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
- Lupin, EssJay, Sym1, Alonzo @ Green Room—Maybe you've heard of the Living Wage for Musicians Act, which would create a new streaming royalty and dole out the proceeds to musicians, who essentially receive zip from platforms like Spotify. Local org Twin Cities United Performers (TCUP) and national group United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) are putting on a show to raise awareness for the bill. The lineup includes Lupin, the side project of Jake Luppen from Hippo Campus, rapper EssJay, dynamic alt-pop innovator Sym1, and synthpoppers Alonzo.
blssm.mpls with Paul Cornish Trio + Adam Nussbaum Quintet @ Icehouse
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Semi Infamous, H.Rex, Cilician Gates @ Pilllar Forum
Wheel with Aviations and BlurCurve @ 7th St Entry
The Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Joy Again @ Underground Music Venue
