Psych rock trio King Buffalo hits Turf Club Tuesday.
They top my Minnesota live music picks this week.
King Buffalo, from Rochester, N.Y., has been described as having elements of heavy psych, blues and stoner rock, and they have played First Avenue venues six times since 2017, when they first opened for All Them Witches at Turf Club.
I haven’t seen this band play before, but I am pretty stoked about the show.
And there are a lot of live music options this week around the state.
Wednesday offers up quite a few options.
There’s Leftover Salmon at Hopkins Center for the Arts (Check out my interview with Leftover mandolinist Drew Emmitt here if you haven’t already); Duluth’s funk/jam outfit Saltydog is on a bill with Lighter Co., and headliner Burning Blue Rain, which is releasing and EP, at 7th Street Entry; J Lenz of Pert Near Sandstone has his monthly Lenz & Friends jam at 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis; and Icehouse continues its commitment to jazz with its Regional Jazz Trio featuring bassist Anthony Cox, drummer JT Bates and multi-instrumentalist Mike Cox.
I’m going to mention Ice Dance this coming weekend because many jam fans will be either in Mexico for Phish or Chicago for String Cheese Incident — and others (including myself) will also be traveling to Appleton, Wis., for Feed the Dog’s Ice Dance Music Festival, which kicks off Thursday. Though based in Wisconsin, half of the four-piece band (bassist Nick Spielman and guitarist Jon Miller) live in Minneapolis. Colorado favorites Leftover Salmon and Magic Beans headline the festival, but the lineup is pretty stacked with Armchair Boogie, Adam Greuel and the Space Burritos, People Brothers Band, Chicken Wire Empire and IFDAKAR, to name the top of the bill. Feed the Dog plays two sets Friday and Saturday.
But back to Minnesota.
On Friday, the Hook & Ladder Theater hosts Ween cover band Wandering Eye, which has a star-studded lineup including Al Sparhawk (LOW), Tim Saxhaug (Trampled by Turtles), Marc Gartman (Glitterati), Dan Anderson (ELnO) and Tyler Dubla. Via Chisago, a Wilco tribute band led by Jimbo Hinkley of Jones Gang, opens the show.
Saturday is also chocked full of options. There’s Mikel Wright & The Wrongs at Bunkers in North Loop Minneapolis; In Your Eyes, a Peter Gabriel tribute featuring Will Effertz of TWINE, at Day Block Brewing in Minneapolis; and Hook & Ladder is hosting Winter Sol 25 with Socktopus, Something To Do, Lost Island Society and Linus in South Minneapolis.
Also, next Monday, Saltydog kicks off its Bent Paddle Brewing Monday nights in Duluth on Feb. 3. There will be a rotating cast of special guests all month.
As always, head over to my Minnesota live music calendar, updated weekly, for more information and ticket links for all of the shows listed above.