Of course it’s another packed week of music in Minnesota, both in the Twin Cities but also options around the state.
Touring acts of note include Cortex, Nels Cline & Yuka Honda, Leftover Salmon, Big Richard, Clay Street Unit, BERTHA: Grateful Drag, and Beth Orton.
But there’s so much more local music, though you’ll have to read on below for more info on the Space Between Jam, International Reggae All Stars, the Old Town Tuesday Night Jam, Bruce Woodman’s Carmody jam, TWINE, the Cherry Pit Open Jam, Grateful Gals, The Feelin Band, WE Collective, Boats and Bluegrass, including (but not limited to) Mike Munson Trio, Them Coulee Boys, Adam Greuel and the Spacer Burritos, Texas Toast, Pert Near Sandstone, Pistol Whipping Party Penguins, Feeding Leroy, Buffalo Galaxy, Erik Koskinen, High and Rising and Saltydog), Efmi, Dream of the Wild, The Stretch, JoJo Green, Socktopus, Joan of Profile, Dandelion Delivery Service, Rory Van James, Clayton Ryan, Shotgun Ragtime Band and Dr. Mambo’s Combo.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
TWINE’s Will Effertz hosts the Space Between Open Jam monthly at The Hook and Ladder Theater and tonight is the night. The music starts at 7 p.m.
International Reggae All Stars continue their long-standing Bunkers residency starting at 9:30 p.m.
Old Town Tuesday Night Jam is jazz forward and runs every week at Whitey’s Old Town Saloon in Northeast Minneapolis starting at 10 p.m., and going late.
Up in Duluth, Bruce Woodman has his weekly jam at Carmody starting at 8 p.m. It tends to run near to bar close.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
TWINE’s weekly Bunkers residency, affectionally known as TWINEsday, keeps gathering steam every week in the North Loop. The first of three sets typically starts at 9:30 p.m. and the music ends around 1 a.m.
Berlin’s Cherry Pit Open Jam runs on Wednesdays from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 24
French jazz fusion legends Cortex play First Avenue Thursday with Adrian Younge and J Rock, part of the Jazz is Dead series that Young and A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad have nurtured Cortex’s main man, Alain Mion continues on the keys. I saw Cortex play in Chicago a few years back and was blown away by the energy and playing ability he still has. He is 79.
The doors are at 7 p.m., and music 8 p.m. It’s 18 and over for this one.
Wilco’s Nels Cline & Yuka Honda (of 90s art-pop duo Cibo Matto) collaborate with friends for two nights on River Mouth, Unseen Green at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. On this night, “Cline is joined by leading musicians, including guitar virtuoso Julian Lage, vocalist Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond), drummer Glenn Kotche, and more. Rotating through varied configurations, they produce a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, spanning punk, jazz, electronica, and pop.”
The event is 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Grateful Gals, featuring vocalists Steph Devine, Katie Gearty and Tristana Ward, play Day Block Brewing in downtown from 7 to 10 p.m.
Nicholas David’s The Feeling Band performs at Ansari’s in Eagan from 7 to 9 p.m.
WE Collective plays its weekly Gluek’s show at 10 p.m.
Down in Winona, Boats and Bluegrass kicks things off, with Mike Munson Trio and Them Coulee Boys among the opening-day lineup. Adam Greuel and the Space Burritos have the last set of the night on the Sanborn stage at midnight.
Friday, Sept. 25
Minneapolis jamband Efmi headlines the Zen Arcade stage, along with Dream of the Wild and The Stretch at The Hook and Ladder Theater in South Minneapolis. Doors are at 8 p.m., and show is at 8:30 p.m.
The second night of Nels Cline & Yuka Honda collaboration continues at Walker Art Center. “On Friday night, producer and multi-instrumentalist Honda presents a two-part performance dedicated to longtime friend and collaborator Yoko Ono. Accompanied by a full band, Honda performs excerpts from her and Glenn Kaino’s forthcoming I Am Yoko opera. She also invites notable collaborators, including Theo Bleckmann and Jason Lindner, onstage to perform an improvised live score to Ono and John Lennon’s 1970 avant-garde film Fly.”
The event runs 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The second day of Boats’ kicks off at 10 a.m. Highlights of the day include Texas Toast, Pert Near Sandstone, Clay Street Unit, Big Richard and the Pistol Whipping Party Penguins.
English singer-songwriter Beth Orton plays The Parkway Theater Saturday. PHOTO BY TIERNEY GEARON/ COURTESY OF ANTI-
Saturday, Sept. 26
BERTHA: Grateful Drag, a drag-infused Grateful Dead tribute, stops at First Avenue with doors at 6:45 p.m. and show at 8 p.m. It’s 18 and over for this one.
English singer-songwriter Beth Orton stops for an all ages show at The Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis. The doors are at 6:30 p.m. and show at 7:30 p.m.
Shoeless Revolution returns to Bunkers with music at 9:30 p.m.
JoJo Green’s “Paint the Sky: Part 1” EP release party also has Socktopus and Joan of Profile on the bill at Art House Gallery, Minneapolis. Doors are at 6:30 p.m., and show at 7 p.m.
Down in Albert Lea, Momentary Lapse of Floyd, which includes The Big Wu’s Mark Joseph, hits Outside the Broadway. It’s free and music starts at 5 p.m.
The final day of Boats and Bluegrass highlights include Feeding Leroy, Buffalo Galaxy, Erik Koskinen, High and Rising, Leftover Salmon and a fest-closing set from Saltydog.
Up in Duluth, Sacred Heart Music Center hosts “Duluth Does the Dead” featuring two dozen Twin Ports musicians paying tribute to the Grateful Dead, with doors at 6 p.m., and show at 7 p.m.
Over in Superior, Dandelion Delivery Service, Rory Van James and Clayton Ryan play Earth Rider Fest Field, with music at 7 p.m.
Dandelion Delivery Service, along with Rory Van James and Clayton Ryan, play Earth Rider Festival Field in Superior, Saturday. PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA/COURTESY OF TRAVELIRONWOOD
Sunday, Sept. 27
You never know who might show up at Bunkers on any given night, and last Sunday’s Dr. Mambo’s Combo set was the latest example. Cory Wong, who played at the MODE photography festival earlier in the day, brought bandmates Kevin Gastonguay and Johannes Tona over afterwards.
The Combo continues its long-standing Bunkers residency at 9:30 p.m.
Shotgun Ragtime Band plays consecutive Sunday No. 797 with Phine and Friends kicking things off at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on these shows and more shows, head to my Minnesota Music Calendar here.