Twin Cities' September Events

Whassup!!!! Sep 1, 2026

Vital Haps This Week

Updated Every Monday Morning

Como Water Garden Talk, Tue – Thur, Sept. 1 – 3, Centennial Garden (St. Paul)
These aftern oon talks are highly informative, offering insight into some of the odd guests of the Conservatory’s water gardens, notably the Victoria Water Lillies – also known as “Water Platters” – Learn how these massive leaves—growing over six feet across—support surprising weight, and uncover the fascinating three-night blooming cycle of their flowers, which change color, scent, and function as part of an incredible pollination process.

Antibalas, Tue, Sept. 1, Parkway
Brooklyn Afrobeat act Antibalas is our version of a jam band, and on some level they’re similar. Both inhabit the funk universe, and we aren’t judging so much as expressing a preference. In explanation, we’d argue that not only does the big brass section brings back jazz motifs not in circulation but there’s an elegant cicularity to the compositions that for us feels less like running 16 eighth-mile laps at the gym. It’s just taste. Traversing the under-explored trail blazed by Fela Kuti, The Daptone act got started in the late nineties just as we moved to the area, so there’s some sentimentality there. Still, their numbers feel twice as dynamic as any 4-bar blues jam. The vocal-free approach is a new wrinkle (though they always favored instrumentals) for last year’s Hourglass, which marks the departure of singer Duke Amayo after he keyed the martial arts-themed 2020 release, Fu Chronicles. Getting back to basics suits them, and the set is a delightful return to the funky afro-jazz of their earliest years.

Tonal Whiplash, Tomboyy, Varmints, the Ugly Cowboys, Wed, Sept. 2, Amsterdam
Tonal Whiplash is a playful garage-punk duo with wry, speak/shout attitude and a penchant for eight-minute noisy experimental/psych breakdowns, which features singer/guitarist Shane Louis shouting “I’m Lost” seven-minutes in. If that’s funny to you, climb in. (We’ll join you!) Tomboyy is a tuneful punkabilly duo that feels like a tent revival as garage rock sacrament: passionate, loud and proud. Supporting last year’s live 6-song Bingbang EP. The Varmints are a local hardcore act. Don’t sleep on openers, The Ugly Cowboys, a smart, queer, harmony-laden, 420-friendly, indie-country act like Lucero meets the B-52s.

Marcie Rendon’s Broken Fields for Criminal Cocktail Hour, Wed, Sept. 2, Valley Book Seller
Marcie Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, a Pinckley Prize–winning author, playwright, poet, freelance writer and community arts activist. Rendon was awarded the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award for 2020. Broken Fields is a compelling, atmospheric read woven with details of American Indian life in northern Minnesota, abusive farm labor practices and women’s liberation. Finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards.

Catan Tournament, Thurs, Sept. 3, Curious Crow (Circle Pines)
The king of European strategy board games, Catan challenges the player to balance their goals against the environs. The open atmosphere welcomes seasoned players and newcomers from 6pm – 9pm.

The Nameless Thing Between Us, The Hive Collective, Thur – Sat, Sept. 3 – 5
Paul and Seth perform a summoning ritual to raise their loved ones from the dead. They raise something else instead, and become caught in a cat and mouse game for their souls. Belong Here Theater is a group dedicated to community growth and sharing. We chose the Nameless Thing Between Us due to its deep explorations of grief. This play is a showcase of unhealthy coping mechanisms, and a testament to keeping our loved ones alive through our reflection of them in our own actions in life.

clovers daughter, Call Me Fritz, Bright Young Things, Thur, Sept. 3, 7^th St. Entry
Dynamic and anthemic, Noor Shami’s project, clovers daughter, blends quieter songwriterly confessionals with chunky roaring and/or dreamy swelling guitars. Her girly willowy vocals are bracketed by guitars like environmental forces limning and chasing her from “Your Obsession” the bluesy stroll, “Same Old Act” and the gentle, brightly exultant “Growing Older” on her second release, “Out of the Character.” Fey, upbeat Minneapolis power-pop act, Call Me Fritz take their name from a Canadian black comedy and there’s a bright, knowing charm to their punchy sound. They’re well-matched by opener Bright Young Things’ nostalgic effervescing pop shamble. Their bustling indie-pop album Back and Forth is one of the highlight local releases of the year.

Old Men Do Newman, Thur, Sept. 3, Dunsmore Jazz Room/Crooners
It’s a four-piece band, drums/standup bass/guitar and woodwinds, joining pianist Mark Bloom to work the catalog of Randy Newman. Bloom is a skilled jazz performer and arranger whose worked locally for decades with the Guthrie and History Theatres, as well as with Second City and Joan Rivers. We don’t usually do cover shows, but this seemed worthy of exception.

Ecid Album Release Party, OKNice & DJ Adatrack, Fri, Sept. 4, Zhora
Ecid is a St. Paul native transplanted to Portland who’s been rapping and producing since the early aughts. He’s an old head cut from that era’s con-rap conceits, with a similar vibe to contemporaries like Eyedea, Evidence and Aesop Rock. He’s prolific AF so we won’t try to characterize him too hard. His latest Lake Willoughby feels very relatable, highlighted by “Nemesis with Benefits” and heart/forgiveness ode, “How Much You Got?” OKNice is fun overly self-aware fella whose self-imposed punishment may seem familiar from “Sobriety, Anxiety and My Fear of Small Talk” to “Atlas On a Smoke Break.”

Isaiah Rashad, Fri, Sept. 4, The Fillmore
Rashad’s enjoyed a rocky ride with plenty of promise and opportunity that perhaps he hasn’t been capable of seizing do to his own issues, a subject at the center of his third album, It’s Been Awful, which is sort of a breakdown chronicle on tracks like the opener “New Sublime” and “Same Shit.” Returning after the Southern-vibed The House is Burning, it feels grounded and self-aware, face-forward to the issues, if not always functional (“Do I Look High?”). It’s a critically-lauded effort whose vulnerability repays Rashad’s pensive, stream-of-conscious flow, and desire to grow beyond the environmental and personal afflictions that get him pinioned. Versatile Ethiopian-American artist & Top Dawg labelmate opener Alemada can’t pick a lane, veering from emo-punk/pop to dreamy, R&B-inflected electro-pop.

Minneapolis Makers Market, Fri – Sun, Sept. 4 – 6, Nicollet Mall (Mpls)
Popular outdoor local crafts show that occurs on the wide sidewalks along the mall.

Rocky (50^th Anniversary), Sat, Sept. 5, Bryant Square Park

The Slow Death, Obsess Neglect, Cover My Shift, Sat, Sept. 5, Cloudland
We’re not proud. If promo copy were good enough, we’d run it. Like The Slow Death’s: “They play songs about life and love in the key of Fuck You #, never pretending to be anything they’re not. Hard-working, hard-drinking, hard-rocking songs with sing-along choruses.” Sometimes it’s called punk rock, but it’s just rock’n’roll without pretense or shame. Last year’s fifth album, No Light To See, is a blast from the garage-punk rave-up “I’ll Be Fine” to the glorious, rocket-fuel funny car garage roar of “The Last One to Know.” Milwaukee’s Obsess Tact have a harmony-laden power-pop melodicism that recalls Fountains of Wayne with a bit more Cheap Trick in the mix. Cover My Shift is allegedly punky rock.

Megasound, Kate Malanaphy, Sat, Sept. 5,, Birdhaus
Joyful, oddly muscular (at least in the local five piece variety of their album release show) trio Megasound formed out of a friendship between Party Nails’ Elena Carroll and Bad Bad Hats’ Kerry Alexander and over a four-year period built toward last month’s debut release. It’s high-energy danceable rock that blends a variety of early millennium sounds from the garage rock of Franz Ferdinand/Jet (“Supersize”) to chunky girl-garage/punk like Velocity Girl/Veruca Salt (“Lemon Peel”) or leather-tight rhythmic keyboard rock that for the first time in at least a decade brought Imperial Teen to mind. (Like magic they’re back in October with only their second album in 14 years and first since 2019’s Now We Are Timeless.) Alternately snappy and heart-rending, piano songstress Kate Malanaphy opens, offering Minneapolis’ own quirky/dramatic answer to Regina Spektor.

James Ponti’s The Sherlock Society: Art Attack with Anne Ursu, Sat, Sept. 6, Red Balloon Booksellers
The Sherlock Society goes undercover in the Miami street art scene to find an anonymous graffiti artist in this third book in the New York Times bestselling middle grade series from the Edgar Award–winning author. Ponti has three other middle grade book series and is an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and NBC Sports. Ursu has been selected a National Book Award nominee, a Kirkus Prize finalist, and as a best book of the year by Parents Magazine, NPR, Bookshop.org, and Publishers Weekly.

Into It. Over It. JG Shadid, Grant Whiteoak, Sun, Sept. 6, Birdhaus
Chicago by way of New Jersey’s Evan Weiss formed Into It. Over it. after his band the Progress would commit to going full-time after an album and two EPs, then deciding to hatch his own project, which eventually coalesced into a four-piece emo/punk act, though he’s wandered far from his initial emo/punk fascinations into a broad, mildly experimental, upbeat rock vehicle for pensive paeans. Weiss is a very inventive composer within the punk/pop trope. One-time Weiss-collaborator JG Shadid makes minimalist ambient keyboard-driven soundscapes. Whiteoak fronts Minneapolis tuneful punk trio Heart to Gold who’ve built a cult following across the last decade and three full-length albums.

Live Performance

Weekdays

Peter Hook & the Light, DJ Jake Rudh, Tue, Sept. 1, First ave
Peter Hook & the Light exist in a Sell Out grey area. On the one hand he’s assembled a band of ringers to tour New Order and Joy Division albums that are decades old. On the other hand, they’re great albums and Hook has a legitimate claim to authorship for both, even if he was only the bassist. For a brief time he was even New Order’s vocalist before Bernard Sumner took over. In Hook’s favor, these are leaden cover bands but skilled sympathetic performances that bring the songs to life, especially the interesting orchestral interpretations. It probably sucks for the other band members, but they’re an ocean away and it’s hard to feel wildly invested in their complaints when music is meant to be shared and this was some of that era’s best. Nobody else out there giving Unknown Pleasures the philharmonic treatment.

Enter the 36 Chambers: Stay Until Showtime?

Wu Tang Clan, Tue. Sept. 1, Mystic Lake (Shakopee)
When they were on top of their game – dark, funky dry and hypnotic – there wasn’t a better crew in hip-hop. They were mob deep, the solo albums were sick, and the albums were real affairs – for a minute. But just as things spiraled out of control for ODB, so too did it get away from the Wu in a series of disappointing follow-up solo albums, and secondary member debuts. Beyond that Raekwon and RZA began to beef publicly over the sound, and though there are moments in their subsequent releases, it’s hard to escape the sense everybody was saving their best for their own albums. Only Ghostface seems to really bring it on the reg. Appropriate to the theme, the Final Chamber tour which was supposed to conclude last year still continues, only many of the members aren’t showing up for some of them, leaving audiences frustrated with Wu shows absent Young Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Cappadonna and Raekwon. (ODB’s son, Young Dirty Bastard takes over Dad’s rhymes.) There are assurances everybody will be on the tour when it kicks off August 27. Time will tell.

Wolves of Glendale, Wed, Sept. 2, Green Room
Los Angeles comedic music trio Wolves of Glendale formed in March 2022 and before the year was out landed an invite to open for Tenacious D at their New Year’s event. They also recently announced trying out for SNL for the upcoming 52^nd season. That’s not a bad fit, given the increasing penchant there and in general to musical comedy. Like the D, much of the humor is of the absurdist vein from the Hall & Oates tune about a haunted bedroom mirror (“Olivia”), a spectral folk bird-shit curse (“Ouija Bird”), teenage hijinks (“My Uncle Got a Hot Tub”), or involves dopey people doing dopey things (“Loud Ass Car,” “Ricky”) and none of the social satire that might force more than the occasional grin. While it’s not quite Dad Humor, it’s a neighbor. Pretty harmless and not without its charm, but well short of They Might Be Giants or Ween.

Son Lux, Alone-A, Wed, Sept. 2, Cedar
Son Lux are the rare commercially successful experimental rock act, though, it needs to be said from the outset their success has been achieved during their relatively recent diversion into soundtrack work. Lott manipulates (usually) acoustic samples, warping and reshaping them into a vaguely metallic yet ethereal sound, almost like an old school record scratch. These eerie orchestrations help to create these odd musical spaces that are at once familiar and alien. Radiohead and Thom Yorke are a touchstone, and there’s a little M83 and Caribou. After albums on boutique/underground labels like Anticon, Joyful Noise, Glassnote and City Slang, concluding with a three-part suite released post-pandemic, they made the Academy Award nominated soundtrack to hit Everyone Everywhere All At Once, then did the Marvel film Thunderbolts*. They are supporting their forthcoming album, Out Into. Local opener alone-a is Lana Horton as experienced through her live sound processing device, delaying and shifting her vocals and keyboards into wafts of smokes and colored light, evanescent but present.

Brad Paisley, Jake Worthington, Laci Kaye Booth, MN State Fair, Thur, Sept. 3
Here’s the thing: we got nothing to say about Paisley. He’s not our bag, but he’s no Toby Keith. He’s got a pretty voice for a male country singer and he’s very self effacing. There are enough cliches in everyone of his songs to fill four novels but we got no truck with him. That said, he’s not interesting enough for us to say more other than note his appearance – it’s a great pull for the Fair.

Rainbow Girls, Jordan Smart, Tue, Sept. 8, Parkway Theatre
Female acoustic trio Rainbow Girls formed in the early ‘10s and after swelling to a five-piece, settled into a trio format ahead of their third album, 2017’s American Dream. They’ve remained prolific as they’ve grown into their songwriterly, somewhat nostalgic Americana. There are moments they seem channel the old-timey vibe of The Be Good Tanyas. They’ve lately shown facility for covers from a dulcet harmony-filled “Kokomo” to Jordan Smart’s “Who Would Jesus Bomb,” and a haunting “Subterranean Homesick Alien.” Indeed Kentucky folk singer Smart is the opening act, bringing his fiery John Fahey fingerpicking patterns and intensely topical modern protest songs like “Confessions of a CEO,” “Tents of the Displaced,” and “End the Genocide.”

Setting, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Tue, Sept. 8, Cedar Cultural Center
Setting are an electro-acoustic trio that blend the rustic acoustic feel of folk music with meditative krautrock drone and sampled/treated electronic sounds, forming a kind of cosmic backwoods raga. The North Carolina trio made their recorded debut full-length for Thrill Jockey, home to post-rock acts such as Tortoise, Califone and The Sea and Cake, to whom this is a non-distant relative. Most reminiscent of Califone inasmuch as there’s a strong earthiness and crisp tonality to the music, as well as awareness to build their 8-10 minute tracks into intricate arcs and not simply indulgent webs of noodle. Whitman’s an unusual but familiar bird in the ambient/electronic milieu, recording under many aliases including Hrvatski, ASCIII and for popular esoteric labels, Kranky, Carpark, and PAN among others.

Caley Conway, Cathedral Becomes Tombs, Nelson Devereux Trio, Wed, Sept. 9, Ice House
Milwaukee songstress Caley Conway has moved along the fringes of larger success, sharing stages with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker while continuing to progress her sophisticated vision of adult alt/songwriter rock. There are moody undercurrents through her third album, Partner, that create surprising depth where a jazzy-alt songwriter arrangement (think Suzanne Vega, Aimee Mann) would normally linger. A bit of baroque roots twill might overtake while “Belly Laughing” or she might luxuriate lazily like Mae West cooing beneath a gentle refrain while an electric skitter forces its way into “Love is Sex.” Intriguing and playful. Cathedral Becomes Tomb is an ambient-oriented, multi-media + sound expression from Wisconsin based artist Barry Paul Clark (adoptahighway, Tontine Ensemble, Field Report). Nelson Devereaux is an experimental jazz/ambient artist who is also a session multi-instrumentalist (Miley Cyrus, Bon Iver, Noah Kahan, The Hold Steady, Jungle, Lizzo).

Laurie Anderson: Republic of Love (solo), Wed – Thur, Sept. 9 – 10, Walker Art Center
Live a life where it feels redundant to say they were one of a kind. On some level, Laurie Anderson is, I suppose, is a more experimental Spalding Gray. (Sure, she studied voilin as a teen.) For those unfamiliar with Gray’s minimally staged monologue (which qualifies by definition as a one-man show) Swimming to Cambodia, it’s a modem compared to Laurie Anderson’s multimedia presentations. There’s music, certainly. But to consider her a music artist is like suggesting Lily Tomlin is an actress. Yes And… Anderson’s oeuvre was live performance that was a crafted as seriously as a Broadway Show, and which she snuck into the mainstream tent with the help of the Brits (OK, John Peel) who made her 1980 minimalist, avant-pop song “O Superman” (originally on Boy George’s label) into a hit. The song was taken from her magnus opus, United States, begun in her thirties, premiering the first part, Americans on the Move, at the Kitchen in 1979, and subsequent to the hit song, turned into her 1982 album Big Science, music from which was cadged and incorporated from the ultimate four-part series that premiered in 1983 and became a live album. It was quite the strange and sudden ascendance, but it never changed Anderson who at heart was an activist whose used the performance canvas to express and raise awareness about not just what’s important to her but to being a whole human being. Her Walker adaptation of her touring show, Republic of Love, is a return to basics, featuring Anderson solo in an intimate space, offering stories and performances about contemporary American life, inspired by what she witnessed during Metro Surge.

Matt Wilson & his Orchestra, Thur, Sept. 10, Belvedere
Wilson’s a familiar fixture on the scene from local favorites Trip Shakespeare to Polara, whom he drummed for, to the Twilight Hours with from bandmate John Munson. With the Orchestra, who released their debut When I Was a Write in 2020, Wilson has found an odd accompanying vehicle composed of bass, harp and banjo against his guitar or piano. While he initially pursued this lineup as a softer bed for his (self-described) scratchy voice to perform old songs and covers, the warmth of the sound and musicianship of the players demanded fresh material. His band may not be familiar but they’re all ringers and the blend of harp and banjo is beautiful thought the electric bass can plow it over at times. The fact the act’s been playing around more frequently of late does lifts the hope there might be a payload soon.

Kiernan, Luke Callen, with J.E. Sunde, Thur, Sept. 10, Turf
Laura Kiernan’s wavering alto winds unsteadily through low-key indie-folk songwriter arrangements conjuring front porch intimacy and nerdy diffidence. There’s an unpretentious charm like an unfinished basement studio to the songs on last year’s full-length debut, Always, I Love You, highlighted by the gently insistent, lonely pedal steel country roots tune, “Unhelpful.” Luke Callen’s big baritone is full of earthy grace an environmental artifact of his chosen life, on the edge of the wilderness, and his country-tinged Americana has a desolate beauty and simplicity to it.

Rank Strangers, They Dead, False Agave, Thur, Sept. 10, 331 Club
Frankly it’s almost weird that the Rank Strangers are still rocking it like they are, given that they go back to our first tour of the Twin Cities in the nineties. There’s no doubt they’re an institution, and frankly their steady output is a feat in itself. They’ve got this loose freewheeling vibe and facility with any indie rock adjacent style so far as we can tell. There’s just too much catalog for us to give it its proper due, but it’s solid as a brick shithouse. Word is that they’re working on the follow-up to 2024’s I Missed the 20^th Century. It’s obviously easier when the singer/guitarist has his own studio, as with Mike Wisti’s Albatross Recording. Chunky garage-punk trio They Dead were last seen with 2013’s Lizards All, but just released two new singles, “When It Hits,” showcasing the leaner three-piece and more aggressive sound. False Agave features Chris Hesler and Steve Sutherland from Grant Hart’s band Nova Mob and bassist Bill Patten.

Fastball, Spacehog, Thur, Sept. 10, Parkway Theatre
Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga were two singers who had done their band time and they were hungry for success. They wrote separately and on some level Fastball was a marriage of convenience. Their tale of a lost senior citizens, “The Way,” became an unlikely hit on an album where they tacked away from the 1996 debut’s grunge sound into power pop. It wasn’t necessarily as fortuitous as the hit, as while their subsequent two albums were much more sophisticated and richly imagined, they failed to strike that commercial paydirt. It took a decade away to return them to that early headspace, and Scalzo and Zuniga, freed of their egos by the time in the wilderness, began to write together. Steve Berlin produced their second and third albums since reunitng, 2019’s The Help Machine and 2022’s The Deep End, which pushes their boundaries while re-grounding their sound in class pop/rock. Not even sure what to say about Spacehog, a decidedly British indie-glam phenomena foisted on us by way of the ravey hit, “In the Meantime,” which they tried unsuccessfully to reproduce for two more albums before breaking up and starting a family with Liv Tyler. Not sure how many people noticed when they returned in 2013 with As It Is On Earth, which isn’t even that bad. But disappeared without a trace, which brings us…. here? (They had a song on Guardians of The Galaxy apparently.)

Sugar, J. Robbins, Thur – Sat., Sept. 10 – 12, First Ave.
What a ride it’s been to find Mould back with Sugar more than three decades hence. He did a tour in 2012 where he did Copper Blue in its entirety, but it’s been as filed in the past has his Husker history was until about two decades ago when he began working a few more into his set. But even so there was nothing to indicate we might get, not only a set of concerts, but an incipient new album. The first three cuts rock hard, and feel equal to the legacy, aside from the 30 year head start they have as earworms. In 2015 they released the 1994 First Avenue shows (were there!), the last ones here, and it’s just a wonder we’ll get more. Mould’s vision of loud distorted walls of sound, resplendent of prickly melody and crashing alterna-chords, resolving roar into transcendence drove the scene for a while, and is still powerrful, if out-of-place with a world that’s largely left loud face melting rumble behind in the last century. Former Jawbox leader J Robbins returned to music in 2015 as a solo artist and released his second album of chewy rhythmic indie rock, Basilisk, sounding a bit like late Dismemberment Plan.

Barbarians of California, Squint, Armed for Apocalypse, Mon, Sept. 14, 7^th street Entry
We grew up more into punk than hardcore or metal, so we required a certain amount of grimy propulsion. While stay a bit breakdown-locked, TBOC are much closer to a riffage-rock act like Clutch, with a churning, hard charging rumble indomitable as magma. There’s a lot of Every Time I Die’s DNA on this band, and their follow-up Megatons sidesteps the slump while continuing to push into an almost stoner-rock vein of hardcore, as on “Bomb to a Knife Fight,” and a playfulness, as on shredding lead, “Earthquake,” whose shred-tacular attitude almost seems to date Tenacious D to take them on. The idea of hardcore that’s not so serious feels like an oxymoron. Similarly, aside from the shouted vocals, Squint sounds more like the Pixies or Seaweed – loud catchy, distortion drenched nineties indie rock. Chico sludge metal mavens Armed for Apocalypse open the malevolence.

Bear Ghost, Sarah and the Safe Word, Spaceman Bob, Tue, Sept. 15, Cedar Cultural
Describing their sound as Adventure Rock Phoenix trio Bear Ghost are in truth another branch on the tree of theatrical prog rockers, which has (since punk) embraced the rock more than the art, in bands such as They Might Be Giants, Of Montreal, Dresden Dolls, Jukebox the Ghost, Portugal.The Man, and other acts prone to extravagant Queen-sized flights of musical fancy. Leaning more toward the goofy end of the pretension spectrum without quite relinquishing the pomp (as TMBG do so easily/readily), Bear Ghost are a theme park ride – thrilling, at its best surprising, high concept, but perhaps not as repeatable as you might like, or, as say, “Constantinople.” While less Weimar and more band-oriented, Atlanta cabaret rock act Sarah & the Safe Word are cut from a similar rollicking theatrical, gothic-inflected steampunk cloth as Dresden Dolls. A decade in they’ve been migrating in the direction of bohemian party outfits like Gogol Bordello & the World/Inferno Friendship Society. Their fifth album, the Disappearing Girl, is their best to date.

Bailen, Lucy Clearwater, Tue, Sept. 15, Turf
The sibling musical trio of Julia, Daniel and David that comprise Bailen play indie-folk/pop with delicious three-part harmonies and creamy melodicism that evokes Crosby, Stills & Nash and Simon & Garfunkel. It’s pretty, plaintive, tender stuff with emphasis on storytelling more than simply evoking an emotion. Raised by a pair of classical musicians the trio are skilled arrangers who do a lot with a little, keeping things uncluttered but inviting plenty of guests, figuratively speaking. They are supporting SWIM!! which is out September 25, and marks their first independent release after three albums for Fantasy Records. Talented Los Angeles folk songstress Lucy Clearwater has a sweet resonate and expressive tonality that recalls Sheryl Crow a bit. Though her full-length debut People≠Possessions just came out, you’d think from her skill and assurance that she’d released a half-dozen albums (and she has been at it for nearly a decade).

Brandon Flowers, Sept. 15, The Palace
The Killers are not that interesting. We prefer guitar to synths, and a sense of proportion or scale over bombast. (Tastes are like frequencies of light – it takes us all to make the spectrum; nobody holds a franchise, whatever SAS might think.) But most musicians have wide inspirations, and given the opportunity just might wander cross your sweet spot. Which isn’t to say that Flowers’ THRASHER is a personal favorite; but it’s a finely crafted bit of country-western/roots music. He’s clearly built his songwriting chops, and it seems to have challenged him to write in this genre, which takes him back to the music he listened to with his father. THRASHER is still fussy for my tastes and authentic like Blackberry Jack Daniels, but it’s not for lack of craft or showmanship. He comes to it honestly; what he does with it is up to him.

The Fixx, Colin Blunstone, Peter Asher, Tue, Sept. 15, Uptown
London new wave act The Fixx fashioned a synth-driven pop sound that was atmospheric but more anthemic than most UK darkwave act like New Order or Echo and the Bunnymen. Their knotty-guitar-opening hit “One Thing Leads to Another,” sounded a lot INXS whose big hit “The One Thing,” broke in Australia a few months earlier, but hadn’t hopped the pond. Indeed, it wasn’t the first or second single (“Stand of Fall”) that really broke the,, it was “Saved By Zero” and the aforementioned, second single off Reach the Beach, “One Thing.” While they scored #1s with “Are We Ourselves” and “Secret Separation,” they could never recapture that commercial buzz. They broke up by the end of the nineties, reunited for 2012’s Beautiful Friction and followed a decade later with Every Five Seconds, both middling arty synth rock. Colin Blunstone is September’s UNSUNG Artist of the month, for his time in the Zombies and as a solo artist, presaging the interest in baroque pop with his 1971 solo debut, One Year, which while initially deemed a failure has proven a classic in the hindsight of history. Blunstone has continued to perform and record for another 50 years, revisiting that classic on this year’s lively 90-minute album, One Year and More (Live from Union Chapel). Read more about his career in our Artist of the Month feature, and listen to our podcast interview.

Slothrust, the Velveteers, Wed, Sept. 16, Amsterdam Bar
Boston indie rockers Slothrust feature singer/guitarist Leah Wellbaum and drummer Will Gorin met at Sarah Lawrence College and formed a three-piece in 2010 with bassist Kyle Bann. The lead single from their 2012 debut Feels Your Pain, “7:30 AM” was featured as theme song to FX’s series You’re the Worst. They moved to Brooklyn and signed to Dangerbird Records for 2016’s third album Everyone Else. The relocated to Los Angeles for 2018’s The Pact which reconfigured the sound with the help of Garbage producer Billy Bush exploring cleaner, warmer sounding tracks, greater melody and even horns and piano on the jazzy pop “For Robin.” 2021’s Parallel Timline which is even more eclectic and willing to dial back the aggression and tempos. Having established their penchant for change, it’s unclear what they even are. Their latest Dystopian Cemetery EP is still wildly dynamic, almost like a movie soundtrack, delicate and pretty pushing up against brash and abrupt. It’s well wrought but not all that interesting, prompting one to wonder if in all that costume closet play they lost track of what they really look like. Boulder’s The Velveteers wreak dramatic riot grrl attitude on fuzz-drenched garage rumble with goth-glam undertones and two drummers. Released their second album, A Million Knives last year.

Charlatans UK, Two Harbors, DJ Jake Rudh, Wed, Sept. 16, the Fine Line
The Charlatans are the kind of dedicated journeyman rock acts that seemed to elude post-eighties generations, with a handful of exceptions. While the Charlatans groovy shambling organ-driven psychedelic rock feels very of that eighties “Madchester” scene – fusing sixties soul, R&B, garage and acid house-incepted cosmic psych – sometimes referred to as “baggy” for the comfortable oversized clothes favored in those early days of English rock rave, the band actually formed in the Midlands near Birmingham with contemporaries more into blue-eyed soul, like Dexys Midnight Runners. They relocated to Manchester in 1990 and their first show was supporting Stone Roses. We probably shouldn’t have gone so far into that, but it’s worth remembering what a tight-knit scene that was before it blew up. The Charlatans have never relented in the UK, landing each of their thirteen albums in the UK Top 40, and scoring 22 Top 40 singles. They haven’t enjoyed the profile in the US, but listening to last year’s We Are Love, it doesn’t sound like they’ve lost their skill. Sure it’s more mid-tempo and the groovy psych has made way for a swaggering roots/soul/rock vibe that laid underneath all along. We especially recommend “Many A Day A Heartache.” They’re joined by Minneapolis’ own anglophiles Two Harbors who formed two decades ago as Colonial Vipers Attack, and last year released their third full-length of big, atmospheric Britpop inspired rock as Two Harbors, Can’t Shake This Dream.

Liz Phair, Frankie Cosmos, Wed, Sept. 16, Palace
Fuck small talk: Liz Phair went so far beyond disappointment, she fell into cringe with her self-titled 2003 disc, and, as it turned out, hung up on us during our appointed interview time after a typically puckish comment on my part. Exile is a terrific album and even Whipsmart is pretty good, but it’s a high dive into an empty pool from there. She was probably never quite the rocker girl she fronted – that was actually sweet girly voiced Juliana Hatfield. Phair liked pop a lot more and from Exile on was trying to reconcile her off-the-cuff barroom insouciance with her love of production and rich, layered sounds. Given the history we had low expectations for Soberish, but it’s actually close to splitting the difference between Phair’s conversation rock manner at its best, and her dancey-pop predilections. Exile was probably a put-on to some extent, and we were never gonna get a reprise, but at least she’s moved on from hitting on Xbox boys. Produce Brad Wood who helmed those first three discs returns and seems well-tuned to curbing Phair’s excesses. It’s enjoyable in fits and starts. Opener Frankie Cosmos replaces Sleater-Kinney, who jumped horses to My Chemical Romance’s tour, passing through town last month. Not sure that there’s anything more to it than being offered a much more attractive tour with a bigger act and younger audience. (But it still probably stung. Grrl power?) Frankie Cosmos is the nom de plume for artist Greta Klined whose solo pop project grew into a indie-folk/pop band. Nepo offspring of Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline (who was 16 yrs older than the 20 yr old Cates when then met on the Big Chill set). Her music is gentle, self-effacing stuff that recalls the dreamy indie pop of Camera Shy and Azure Ray.

Sondre Lerche, Dosh, Wed, Sept. 16, Cedar Cultural Center
If every evolving artist’s story is in some sense a narrative arc of discovery, than it feels like we’ve reached the Hero Returns part of the Norwegian singer/songwriter’s tale. Always a tremendously gifted songwriter capable of writing in a variety of styles, he started mostly a singer/songwriter cycling through fascinations like Bosses, from minimalist guitar-pop to songwriterly jazz-folk, spiky UK rock, art pop, synth/dance and ambient-pop. Though it all he’s demonstrated an ability to write tender ballads and rockers in a variety of guises always bearing imprimatur of thoughtful, emotional honesty, distilled regret and hope in a sophisticated manner that makes him an heir to late career Elliott Smith (though not in his class as a lyricist). That’s all the more apparent on his last two albums (2022’s Avatars of Love and his latest, Acrobats), where Lerche has seemingly found his happy place playing elegant-but-not-overwrought, string-laden chamber pop for two consecutive records! (It must be love.) Dosh is a fascinating cat who released five albums for Anticon from ‘03 – ’13, an intriguing calliope of complex, richly layered percussive tracks and a whirlwind of doctored guitars, bells, chimes and swishes of violin. A frequent collaborator with Andrew Bird, if that tells you anything about the Frippery at play.

Thesaurus Rex, Marie’s Island, Secret Menu, Wed. Sept. 16, Zhora Darling
Thesuarus Rex are a sort of fantastical lyric-heavy Brooklyn act whose odd stories about horse girls who sell out to the man, adrenaline-junkie hipster narcissists, and modern day opportunists arguing “don’t hate the scammer, just hate the scam.” They recall other humorous high-concept overly-expressive acts like Barenaked Ladies, They Might Be Giants and Crash Test Dummies. The rhythms always seem peculiar frenetic and there’s plenty of theatrical dynamism, with instruments roaring in and off. I mean it’s a show, and they funny and that modern absurdist way. They called last year’s debut album Greatest Hits. Marie’s Island is a new indie/alt rock trio with a moody atmospheric delicacy. Wisconsin quartet Secret Menu is a keyboard-driven alt-rock act working its way up to a full-length after several years of emo-tinged modern rock singles.

Ages and Ages, Thur, Sept. 17, Icehouse
Portland act Ages and Ages formed in 2008 from the ashes of frontman Tim Perry’s band Pseudosix. Frustrated by a perceived indifference in the local scene he sought an act to work as earnestly as possible to move people. Early efforts employed lush intricate arrangements with big harmonies in pocket orchestra style. The infectious, enthusiastic psych-tinged indie pop crests in a couple jangle-pop tracks (“Unsung Songs,” “How It Feels”)on fourth album Me You They We, embracing the soul-tinged keyboard pop hinted at by “Needle and Thread” for an entire album of 70s-tinged rhythmic keyboard pop on Fine Thanks and You. While it’s a totally different sound, it still sounds, remarkably, like the same band.

Phoebe Bridgers, Alex G, Thurs, Sept. 17, Grand Casino

Yard Act, League Two, Thur, Sept. 17, Fine Line
This UK act caught us by surprise. They hardly came out of nowhere – their 2022 debut, The Overload, was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Their second album, 2024’s Where’s My Utopia, enlisted Gorillaz’s Remi Kabaka on knobs and the result was wolly, sample-laden, and self-consciously arch. Plenty of cleverness in there, but you had to get past a style-pillaging over-the-top pose somewhere between Eagles of Death Metal and the Electric Six. Lucky for us the Leeds quartet keeps mutating, because with their third effort, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, they sheer away the affectation and deliver a bitchy biting post-punk forearm shiver worthy of the contentious times we live on. As the first album was written before they started touring, and the second on tour supporting the first, this was the first time they got to write together and the result is “more thrills, less frills.” Frontman James Smith’s rambling speak-sung could be Craig Finn, pontificating on our cultural decadence over the slash and blast angular British post-punk, especially keenly on “Cherophobe Rock,” which notes how having in the culture having a sense of humor and smiling means you can’t be clever or sincere, and the groovy, corruption ode, “Tall Tales.” Minneapolis quartet League Two are supporting their third full-length, This is Everything, full of bright, atmospheric keyboard indie/art-pop/rock. It’s not wildly majestic, tripping balls, or stoned-out in a narcotic haze. In fact, they’re closer to power pop than your average art rock weirdos. Sad quiet moment for “Naz Reid Book Club” which has since changed locale.

Paul Harper Quarter plays the music of Thelonius Monk, Thur, Sept. 17, Dunsmore Jazz Room Crooners
Saxophonist, flutist and composer Paul Harper has been a Twin Cities fixture for two decades with Illicit Sextet, and plays profligately in local combos including Show and Tell, Bardo Quartet, Chordless Quartets and others. His quartet regularly cover artists such as John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, John Ambercombie and of course Thelonious Monk, whose use of negative space (when you’re not playing), harmonic dissonance and his unorthodox piano style reshaped the foundations of jazz.

Kevin Atwater, Ruby Plume, Thur, Sept. 17, Amsterdam
It’s funny the wide gulf between what somebody aspires to and what they sound like. No hate for Kevin Atwater and his intimate dreamy pop, but just feels like if we’ve already endured Dashboard Confessional we should be able to opt out. It’s double-jeopardy or something. That he’s aiming for Nick Drake and Phoebe Bridges is to his credit, and he definitely goes for that burbling shimmery candlelight folk vibe. Working a lane this earnest is gonna send many to the next exit, so judge for yourself, but if you’re over 35, you might want to hit your cringe-breaker – to his credit he’s not afraid to risk sounding ridiculous. Nashville singer Ruby Plume shy twilling girlish vocals dance like sparks and fireflies around a fire, over strummy drifting folk tunes on her debut 5-song Spinstress EP.

Bowling for Soup, Ballyhoo!, rosecoloredworld, Mon, Sept. 21, First Avenue
Just to put it in perspective – Kurt Cobain was still alive when Bowling for Soup released their first album of an 11-album (studio) career. They were a mainstay of Warped Tour early on. Skilled in light-hearted humorous pop-punk/power-pop, they’ve hopped around the format a bit while never deviating from those easy-going precepts. Signing to Jive Records for their third album, Let’s Do It For Johnny, took them to another level and they released an album every other year, more or less, until 2011’s Fishin’ for Woos, their first released independently since. They are significantly more popular in the UK than here. They also have a penchant for cover songs from Fergie’s “London Bridge” to Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” to Sum 41’s “In Too Deep,” eventually releasing an album of covers in 2023, highlighted by Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.” Ska/Pop-punk act Ballyhoo! formed in the mid-nineties but didn’t release their debut until 2006, developing their own playful easy-going vibe independently, suggesting a beach band though actually from Aberdeen, MD. Los Angeles alt-rock/pop punk act rosecoloredworld opens.

Kacey Musgraves, Carter Faith, Tue, Sept. 22, Target Center
Musgraves’ life has been grist for the album cycle as if the last 8 years have been nothing but performance art; but if that were true, the only big difference would be the Oscar nominations instead of Grammys. From the blushing newlywed of 2018’s Grammy-winning album, Golden Hour, to the desolate and divorced tragedy of 2021’s Star Crossed to 2024’s Deeper Well, in which the pain was transformed into hard-won wisdom and resilience. Her latest is sorta “What Next?” as Musgraves negotiates a prolonged period of singledom (“Dry Spell,” “Loneliest Girl”), recentering herself and building bridges dueting with Miranda on the haters-bury-the-hatchet, “Horses and Divorces.” The album itself marks a return to her twangier sound and feels like a homecoming, not so much a Prodigal Returns as the Prodigal never really left (in her heart of hearts). Evocative Nashville country songwriter Carter Faith debuted last year with Cherry Valley, which nominated for Album of the Year, highlighted by the “Sex, Drugs & Country Music” and “Grudge.”

PIL, Plague Vendor, Tue, Sept. 22, First Ave
Public Image Ltd (PiL) is an even more curious case than the Sex Pistols where are also touring the Midwest in the next month. While the Sex Pistols are a total lucre grab nostalgia play, Johnny Lydon had no reason to reform PiL which pretty much stopped being rewarding after the session help left, having finished 1987’s Happy? While that was a pretty catchy album, it was a piffle compared to the first couple PiL albums with Keith Levene and Jah Wobble, which helped to (re)define post-punk. So Lydon’s been a malevolent crank for decades, then up and starts a new PiL with three solid vets including ex-Mekons guitarist Lu Edmonds and Morcheeba bassist Scott Firth, and releasing three albums of inventive post-punk, such that the band seems really tuned into each other, and comfortable to let that weird homeless guy do his thing over top. Honestly, 2023 End of World is not something we would expect to recommend but if this were a new band playing Cloudland, we’d say they were noisy-weird, jazzy-spooky and really really tight. Not only that, but the opening act Plague Vendor is damn good as well, fashioning a slinky glam/garage-punk sound that blends late seventies crime with sixties garage swag with help from star producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, War on Drugs, Mt, Goats). Most recently check out 2024’s punchy Rougher Than Rough EP, especially “Window.”

Brian Fallon & The Painkillers, Ben Nichols (Lucero), Tue, Sept. 22, Varsity
This isn’t meant harshly, but it’s increasingly unclear if Brian Fallon’s offers significantly more solo than he does helming the Gaslight Anthem. This isn’t just a puckish aside, because lack of solo success can keep an act together, as Rhett Miller & the Old 97s can probably attest, among others. While his 2016 solo debut Painkiller seemed to set him up as a singer/songwriter capable of even greater breadth than the sort of populist heartland anthemic pop-punk/rock that is Gaslight’s breadbasket. But as he’s cycled through the classic rock/R&B of 2018’s Sleepwalkers and austere Americana/folk of 2020’s Local Honey it’s seems less assured his lane is that much wider than what he does with Gaslight, and weather the act’s democratic process acts as an effective yoke on some of Fallon’s choices. Perhaps it was just the time away but 2023’s History Books was the best thing they’d done since American Slang. Lucero frontman Ben Nichols has remained true to his meal ticket while slowly building a solo career on his whiskey-scarred baritone croon and increasing facility with balladry. In the end Miller made his solo work the repository for the kind of songwriterly, Zevon-esque songs that maybe didn’t quite fit the 97s. Remains to be seen how Fallon and Nichols square that circle, but Nichols feels closer of the two to pulling off a Jason Isbell.

Croz Boyce (Avey Tare & Geologist of Animal Collective), Tue, Sept. 22, Cedar
Sera Cahoone, Wed. Sept. 23, Icehouse
The Teagarden, Wed, Sept. 23, Green Room
Briscoe, Jack Blocker, Wed, Sept. 23, Turf Club
Chaparelle, Clayton Ryan, Wed, Sept. 23, Fine Line
Supersuckers, Thurs, Sept. 24, Ballentine VFW (Uptown)
Anna Graves, Anna Devine, Thurs, Sept. 24, Turf Club
MT Jones, Woolly Mack, Thurs, Sept. 24, 7^th st
Nels Cline/Yuka Honda, Thurs – Fri, Sept. 24 – 25, Walker Art Center

Simon Joyner & the Ghosts, David Nance, Yuasa-Exide, Mon, Sept. 28, Cloudland
The Garden, Thaiboy Digital, Ghost Mountain, Mon, Sept. 28 Fillmore
Quicksand, Girlfriend on the Moon, Baldosa, Tue, Sept. 29, Zhora Darling
Bayonne, Bad Snacks, Tue, Sept. 29, 7^th st entry
Sorry Ghost, Kevin Walkman, Tue, Sept. 29, Underground
Culture Wars, Tue, Sept. 29, Fine Line
Sunny War, Wed, Sept. 30, Parkway
Ian McConnell, Cherokee Social, Wed, Sept. 30, Underground
Citizen, Anxious, Cryogeyser, Wed, Sept. 30 Varsity
Sara Bareilles, Wed, Sept 30, Orpheum
They Might Be Giants, Thur – Sun, Oct. 1 – 4, First Ave
Alana Springsteen, Thur, Oct. 1, Fine Line
DJ Shadow (Endtroducing), Thur, Oct. 1, Palace
Owen Reigling, Thur, Oct. 1, 7^th St Entry
Tab Benoit, Thur, Oct. 1, Pantages

Weekend

Red Desert, Heavy As I, Dad’s Nighttime Friends, Fri, Sept. 4, Turf Club
Minneapolis stoner-rock riff-merchants Red Desert have been pushing that open-throttle rumble since 2004. The quartet’s released three albums and four Eps/splits the latest self-titled six-slab arriving recently after a several year hiatus. It’s solid head-bobbing riffage, greasy and grimy, but not opposed to a spacy mid-song break as on the furious new EP track, “Day Late Dollar Short.” Heavy As I are also stoner rockers, but more in the Southern Rock vein, with a bloozier, countrified metal churn. Garage-metal chunk of the keenly named Dad’s Nighttime Friends (DNF) suggests a leaner less weedy Supersuckers or punkier Supagroup.

Dermott Kennedy, Hunter Metts, Fri, Sept. 4, The Armory
Dublin-born Kennedy was influenced by David Gray and Glen Hansard, and very much unites key elements of each’s ouevre. Kennedy’s earnest, soft-spoken brogue erupts in dramatic dynamism, the sort of white-boy soul of losing control. This modern songwriterly angst, intimate busker-light mannerisms and Gray’s blend of electronic and folk elements meet Kennedy’s own R&B/soul inclinations in a sound built for radio. While each of his first three albums went to #1 in Ireland and England, they haven’t translated to the US with April’s Weight of the Woods topping out at 100, his worst showing of the three. Opener Hunter Metts was a contestant on American Idol in 2021 with a warm swooning Americana that washes over his supple tenor croon. His talent’s apparent, but not much has happened.

Black Marble, Public Circuit, Jimmy Cicero, Fri, Sept. 4, Fine Line
Chris Stewart’s nostalgic trip back to eighties Manchester and the gloomy percolating synth-pop of darkwave began 14 years and four albums ago, so it’s not surprising that he’s arrived someplace else. Having slowly daubed away the grim, shimmer darkness while pressing forward with an almost Human League perk, culminating with his latest Life in Small Spaces, inspired by his trip from New York to Los Angeles and the desperate sights witnessed on the bus ride from Echo Park to the studio. The result is a brighter more open-ended indie synth-pop sound for seemingly dark subject matter such as “Life Without,” “Panopticon Calls” and “Other Man’s Dream.” Minimalist New York electronic trio Public Circuit, have a hip, LCD Soundsystem bounce milked with intrepid insouciance.

City Country Fest, Sat, Sept. 5, Icehouse
The fourth annual City Country Fest kicks off at 2pm and features 11 country or country-adjacent artists including Americana singer Emmy Woods, nineties country nostalgist Cole Diamond, female-fronted honky-tonk/C&W acts, Cowboy Thoughts, folk-punks Pretty Boy Thorson, and others.

Robert Lester Folsom, Oscar Lindsey, Sat., Sept. 5, Turf Club
Folsom’s is the most wholesome of stories. In 1976 at the age of 21, he self-released an album of psychedelic-tinged AM Soft Rock entitled, Music and Dreams. Realizing the financial challenges ahead, he opted to become a full-time house painter, but kept writing songs and sketches on the side. When Mexican Summer and an overseas label re-released the album in 2010 Folsom seized the opportunity for a second bite of the apple. He’s now released three albums of archival psych-folk as well as two albums of new material 2024’s Chunka Chunka EP and a live Audiotree performance EP. He’s still got a dulcet tone and an ear for gentle, sweet, psych-tinged folk-pop, somewhere between the Seals & Croft and Loggins & Messina. 24 yo Nashville folk singer Oscar Lindsey makes rich ornate songwriter folk in the vein of the Pernice Brothers or post-KRS Elliott Smith, like something Jon Brion might have done at 24. He’s got a strong voice and gotta hand it to dream/folk-pop ditty, “Punch Yourself in the Face.”

Keep Flying, Sat, Sept. 5, Underground Music
It’s the tenth anniversary of the PA/NY/NJ horn-laden emo/pop/skate-punk sextet Keep Flying. To be sure, it’s quite the melting pot and it’s taken them that decade to refine the cooking process so thinks don’t come out half-baked, but they’ve made it work. Breakdowns, horn solos, uplifting/aspirational spirit and a perky, four-on-floor insistence like a little brother’s tug of your sleeve. It’s super earnest and high energy stuff, sort like Foster the People with more shredding, ska-adjacent joy and less dorky cult-pop. (Not for nothing, Foster The People play the Armory 9/28.) They hop channels a fair bit, but in a neurodivergent world, maybe that’s just being honest; nobody guaranteed anybody a discrete self.

sports., Equipment, Hey, Ily!, Fend, Sat, Sept. 6, Underground Music Venue
Aside from the dubious band name – a poor enough choice to consign them to anonymity alone – the mathematically-inclined Midwestern keening emo/pop-punk act Sports. have made the rounds for more than a decade building a solid following. Last year they released a deluxe version of their 2015 debut, Demon Daze, and a 9-song live EP on Audiotree earlier this year. Stellar night for generic band names, as Equipment is top-of-the-barrel emo/pop-punk, with lots of shout-along choruses, propulsive, winsome melodies, though as last year’s single “Gloves” suggests, they can rock out when necessary. Noisy synth/guitar St. Paul emo rockers Hey Ily are too dynamic – breakbeats, screamo breakdowns, synth pop twinkle – to pin down too well.

Million.Point.Millon, Spring Breeding, Lorraine, Sun, Sept. 6, Cloudland
Just gonna put this out there: this isn’t a night for those inclined toward melody or structure. If Million.point.Million are post-hardcore, it’s only because the crowd ran out of patience. We jest, but MPM is definitely of an experimental bent, and the tempos are choppy and intermittent. Las Vegas no-wave glitch-rockers Spring Breeding are celebrating their new album, Blackflip Soundtrack, which feels like a first cousin of Atari Teenage Riot, though that’s far from the kind of nostalgia that sells. Cali‘s Lorraine are frantic experimental noise rock with aggressive tempos, skronk guitar and rhythmic screaming, supporting the appropriately titled, Healing & Easy Listening.

Eli Young Band, Lanco, Fri, Sept. 11, Canterbury Parkinson
If you do this long enough you get to watch a cycle like Eli Young a few times. We interviewed Young when we were writing for an alt-weekly in Oklahoma. Mike Eli and James Young met at North Texas and started a band blending upbeat heartland rock, twangy country-rock splitting the difference between rockers and ballads. They got a lift from Miranda Lambert and her producer, and eventually scored a series of hits on their first album for Universal/Republic, including “Crazy Girl,” which was Academy of Country Music Song of the Year, followed a couple years later with the hit, “Drunk Last Night.” They released three albums for Republic/Valory since that hit major label debut, Life at the Best, and last year released Strange Hours on their own label, back where they started, but a whole lot wiser, and it’s there in the music, finding a sweet spot between commercial country and country rock. LANCO, short for Lancaster County play slick, friendly anthemic country rock, that’s rides right up to and perhaps across the border of cringe, depending on your perspective of those boundaries. Their big break was scoring the theme song to Netflix series The Ranch, subsequently making “Greatest Love Story” a hit.

Dean Johnson, Sadie Gustafson-Zook, Old Pup, Fri, Sept. 11, Turf Club
Johnson’s story reminds me of the handyman Jack Logan. A barkeep in Seattle at a place called Al’s after years of drinking there, some locals cornered Johnson into playing in a band, and then, when they discovered his songs, convinced him to go record with Sam Doores (The Deslondes) who had invited them to his studio. There the 50-something Johnson laid down his 2023 debut, Nothing for Me Please. With his high lonesome tenor and odd keening songs of longing he’s well situated on the breakers of the second folk revival. Last year’s I Hope We Can Still Be Friends did even better, powered by the loping country-folk hit “Before You Hit the Ground.” He has this off beat recovering barfly perspective “like John Prine or Kris Kristofferson’s country-adjacent sound, devastating humor and economical profundity refracted through a barroom’s haze.” Opener Sadie Gustafson-Zook has a sweet resonant voice with crisp bell-like tonality (duh, she studied jazz at Longy). She wraps it around complex discourse and loose reflections, her agile vocals as lithe as her perspective is wide. The recent Twin Cities transplant from released her third album, Where I Wanna Be in 2024.

Margaret Glaspy, Anna Tivel, Fri, Sept. 11, Fine Line
Glaspy’s scrappy origin story (going to Berklee on a semester scholarship, sneaking into masterclasses with an expired I.D., dropping out of college and pursuing music “full-time” and moving from Boston to Brooklyn) is a testament to a spunky resilience that comes out in her music, which can almost feel like an impassioned fight with herself. She’s a skilled picker and has learned to leave space for the music to compete with the vibrant vocals, quivering with anger, sorrow, sympathy and rebellion, sometimes all at once. After 2023’s more rocking Echo the Diamond album, she pulled back working with producer Joe Henry on I am Both, achieving almost a distillate, with a somewhat austere, but perhaps better described as “focused” sound that brings out both her gentle finger-picked vulnerability and folk anthems subtly enriched with strong spare instrumentation. It’s a real revelation that bolts from the speakers in the most unassuming way. Portland, OR opener Anna Tivel is a skilled folk songstress whose tender wrought tales are jazz-folk postcards framed in nuance and poetic observation.

Ancient Waves, Lucy Michelle, Whispered the Rabbit, Fri, Sept. 11, Cedar
Rollicking Minneapolis Americana/psych act Ancient Waves are as the name suggests, an act that feels as eternal as the tides, a bright lilting sunset on the horizon beckoning forward hopefully. Frontman Jared Miles left his South Dakota home to pursue a musical career in Portland and got his butt beaten back to the Midwest where in starting over and putting his dream away, he found a band at his new NPO job. Their debut Dreams I Fly In, Dreams I Die In is the culmination of these trials which in the context feels like a celebration of possibility, loosely reminiscent of Kingsbury Manx. Lucy Michelle’s been a fixture in the area since the early ‘10s when she had a backing band, the Velvet Lapelles. A few years ago she released her elegant, dramatic adult indie-folk/pop second album Womanly, evoking Aimee Mann and Regina Spektor. Whispered the Rabbit are an instrumental progressive folk act with Celtic undertones and a cosmic bent.

Bettye LaVette Duo, Fri, Sept. 11, Dakota
Lavette is a premiere soul diva of the kind they don’t mint no more. She possessses a distinct manner of caressing a line that unites her passion, spunk and ferocity while poring over the lyrical nooks and crannies like a jazz artist surveying the land. Though she enjoyed a kiss of success in the sixties, her genius was mostly unrequited outside vintage soul enthusiasts until the early aughts when a series of albums for Epitaph Records offshoot Anti- awakened the world to her voice and interpretive talent. Because to be certain, it’s not only that she’s a one-of-a-kind singer and throwback performer, but she’s an interpreter who can raise your hair on songs you’ve heard for years. She’s covered the the Beatles, an entire album of Dylan and “Strange Fruit” – the woman’s fearless. Interviewed her a decade plus ago and she said, she was happy for the recognition, she only wished it came earlier cause, “Darling I’m so tired.” We hear you sweetheart.

The Matches, Sat, Sept. 12, Varsity
What would happen if a relatively normal pop-punk band was bitten by a radioactive spider, but instead of becoming Spiderman they tried to become Queen, Of Montreal, (early) Portugal.The Man or at least Jukebox the Ghost? The Matches are one of the more unusual acts to emerge in the early aughts on whatever wave of emo/pop-punk we were at the time. Their rambunctious Warped Tour energy was initially indistinguishable from a number of acts – starting as the appropriately generically named Locals – before forging a new name, and, in time a new identity. After recording 2006’s Decomposer with nine (!!!) different producers they apparently learned a lot of studio tricks and got completely over their skis for 2008’s A Band in Hope, trying on music styles like a disposable fashion horse movie montage. The bassist bailed to become a visual artist and by the time recording started for the next album, and out-of-their Epitaph contact, in the wake of the financial crisis, they were unable to overcome their creative differences, releasing a fourth album of odds, sods and new demos. Everyone went on to do their own thing, one even getting a law degree, but they’ve returned to rock again, and it’s certainly not the worst thing that happened. Differences are designed to salved and softened by time. This tour is for the 20^th anniversary of Decomposer.

Mini Trees, Frown Line, Sat, Sept. 12, 7^th St. Entry
Lexi Vega aka Mini Trees comes from a musical family. Her mother was a vocalist in Japanese pop-fusion band Hiroshima and her father was Cuban-born session drummer Carlos Vega, best known for a long run with James Taylor, before taking his own life when she as just a toddler. She’s released two studio albums and three EPs which blend a modern singer/songwriter approach with burbling atmospheric indie pop similar to Death Cab for Cutie. It’s catchy, somewhat minimalist pop puts her breathy lilting bedroom vocal style in bas relief. Montreal quartet Frown Line has a similar cloudy atmospheric sound though there approach is more of the ringing chiming variety with a fey upbeat Canadian undercurrent that recalls the ‘90s Halifax scene (Super Friendz, Sloan).

Black Pontiac, Syncline, Aphid, Sat, Sept. 12, Underground Music
Black Pontiac are a groovy, garage-glam act from Vancouver who have been collecting ears with their jagged, punchy sound which feels cut from a similar danceable-punk cloth as Elastica. There’s coiled guitar attack but it mostly serves a pumping backbeat, as on latest single, “Sick Puppy.” Indeed, their fresh second full-length, A Danger to Himself and Others, is a dramatic step forward, more infectious than a Bloc Party but with that same hip imprimatur. It’s so warmly captured, it almost feels like The National’s Aaron Dessner produced it. Rubbery rhythmic Minneapolis indie rockers recall the angular bubbling roar of Spoon, propulsive with knotty guitar leads over basslines like asphalt. Chunky room-size rockers APHID hark back to ‘90s garage-psych and dream-pop with big creamy hooks you can read from the back of the room.

Muun Bato, Sunken Planes Album Release, Super Haiku, Sat, Sept. 12, Cloudland
Muun Bato are a cosmic Minneapolis psych-funk quintet whose 2019 eponymous debut was mixed by the late Ed Ackerson. They render a big space-funk cloud of sound that’s equal parts deep groove and soaring guitar psych pyrotechnics. There’s an almost acid-prog vibe to some parts which definitely inhaled some of that seventies spirit. After 2024’s Intersections EP, indie rockers Sunken Planes is back with the release of their full-length debut, In Due Time. Their jangly, ringing guitar rock would fit easily on college radio, particularly in the late eighties alongside acts like the Church, Guadalcanal Diary and to some degree, the noisier later take, authored by Versus in the nineties. Super Haiku is the new band of Paul Baribeau who released several folk-punk albums on No Idea and Plan-It-X in the aughts and early tens, then released three albums of electro-pop/rock as New Boy.

Ceremony, Poison Ruin, WORLD PEACE, Sun, Sept. 13, Fine Line
California quintet Ceremony has continued to morph and evolve from a hardcore punk act into something more tuneful an accessible while still fueled by DC post-punk, their Cali skate/grind-core beginnings and, of course, their UK eighties post-punk that gave them their name (see also, Joy Divison). The journey took them to Matador Records for 2012’s Zoo and 2015’s L-Shaped Man, which moderated the tempos and then dove headlong into gloomy, gothic post-punk through and electronic/dance/post-rock vibe for 2020’s In the Spirit World Now, before taking back toward hardcore /post-punk while incorporating the moves they learned along the way. Frankly, aside from a few places (“Deep Down Where I Belong”) it feels like a Rites of Spring getting down with Trans Am. It’s still noisy angular but with a tight throbbing danceable rhythmic undercurrent. It’s extraordinary to imagine this is the same band that two decades ago debuted with Violence Violence. Philadelphia’s Poison Ruïn is also a shapeshifter, blending hardcore, garage-metal and doomy goth overtones. While the first two efforts were unconvincing third dirsc, Hymns from the Hills reallys sop up the blood from the fiery collision at the intersection of Agnostic Front, Megadeth and Supagroup. Call it Anarcho-Power Chord-Metal Melodrama™.

The Wilder Blue, Sun, Sept. 13, Turf Club
A big tent typically means you’re gonna get something you don’t care for. That’s why hipsters, weirdos and connoisseurs avoid popular music like it crawls down your gullet like “Linguafoeda acheronsis” and lays egges in your chest cavity. Wilder Blue is sort Big Tent country/rock, which are essentially merged these days, since country stole rock’s guitars and left a synth behind as a joke, but they ran with it. Anyway. Wilder Blue was formed by Texas country singer in the late tens after a few solo releases to pursue the kind of big five-part harmony band sound country had all but abandoned. (Americana not so much.) They immediately staked out a lane from Alabama to the Eagles, blending ‘70s canyon “rock” and Southern/Nashville country/rock. It went hand in glove,and they were off. We won’t lie. Lot of it was cornier than an old man’s shit and even less satisfying. But after working with Brent Cobb and touring with Luke Combs on the not as egregiousSuper Natural,they dove back into bluegrass and for 2025’sStill in the Runnin’and like an apertif, it seemed to wash a lot of those mediocre commercial impulses and their fifth album,Cinco(natch!), is not terrible. Which given where they started with me, is high praise. The Tex-Mex “Sinner and Strays” is a damn fine song in the Willie Nelson vein, “Leavin’ Town,” is well-written for a-cowboy-leaves ballad, and the odd R&B-country Parrothead-funk of “Chasin’ the Sun.” Not sure we could stay for an entire set, but it’s improvement in our book. If they’re so slick they can sell us a little, you might really like them.

Emma Harner, ducksmithson, Sun, Sept. 13, 7^th St Entry
Trained on the violin at three, the Lincoln, NE native moved to Boston to attend Berklee (presently?). Two years ago she caught viral attention for her complex folk picking and pretty intimate girly vocals. She has the coiled intensity of Sharon Van Etten, while her florid picking weaves knotty counterpoints to herairy tonality. The subtle ebb and flow of some songs has more in common with baroque or indie pop than singer/songwriter fare, and the sophistication of her arrangements has only grown since last year’s debutTaking My SideEP. Her full-length debut Evening Star is usually pretty sparse, but the warmth and vibrance of the production choices gives them breadth without crowding the soundstage. That said, the songs are rounder than her earlier efforts and linger, circle and evanesce more often than they go anywhere. That’s fine, it’s very pretty stuff, but leaning into the atmospherics turns what could be songs into what’s better described as mood pieces. Not suprisingly the songs that fare best are two of the shortest on the album.Jude, the songwriter behind ducksmithson, has an odd duck conversational intimacy like a 4pm latchkey bedroom hang, a golden hourto reflect and low-key goofbefore life reignites.

The Holding Line Debut Album Release, Cassandra, Ditch Pigeon, Sun, Sept. 13, Hook & Ladder Theatre
The Holding Line is the moniker ofZach Miller, an Owatonna grad who majored in music ed at Minnesota and spent the next decade playing upbeat jazz-rock fusion in the Twin Cities before releasing his 2023 debut albumSaturn’s Returnin two volumes. Not long after the second volume’s release in 2024, Miller’s father Gene passed. Miller stepped away from music for a minute, and when he returned dedicated the next 18 months to an album that process the grief and gratitude,Will You Remember?Though typically a saxophonist, Miller is singing the vocal lead too after only doing that once on the last album. Collaborating with over 30 other musicians, it’s truly an act of community to bring Miller’s vision to life. Cassandra (Johnson) is a jazzy indie-folk songwriter who also plays lead guitar in local band Astronomy Town. Ditch Pigeon make dulcet baroque/dreamy indie pop and are celebrating the debut full-length,Chronic Burger Vision.

The Format, Get Up Kids, Fri – Sat, Sept. 18-19, First Avenue
Not being much of a fan of Fun., wasn’t sure how enjoyable the Format would be, given it’s Fun. singer Nate Reuss’ old band with fellow Arizona native Sam Means. They formed their self-described “desert rock” act in the early aughts and enjoyed some success despite a checkered story of major label dysfunction and indolence. Eighteen years after the breakup their third album has all the resources and attention they never had the first time and they’ve struck it pretty well, revisiting an emo-pop sound that feels like the Promise Ring renovated with more prominent synths and overweening modern pop production, which…. Well everyone can have their own opinion what “too busy” sounds like. What do we know – we favored the Get Up Kids, and what do they have to show for that? There was a moment when the Get Up Kids were challenging Saves the Day for act most likely to pick up from Superchunk with a loud, catchy, frenetic sounds the cool kids couldn’t get enough of. They flamed out in the early aughts though they’ve reunited twice before in the last two decades and recorded new albums. Yet in a very real sense Americana killed the second wave of emo at the edge of adolescence. Great band that went their own ways too soon and could never really rekindle that same spirit together again, though those albums are still good.

Kiwi Jr, Real Numbers, Sandpaper, Fri, Sept. 18, Cloudland
Toronto indie/jangle-pop quartet take their cues from the fey, chiming sounds of Slumberland Records and the stinging ring of those C86 acts and their many acolytes. After two albums of bright winsome indie-pop shimmering like water waves on a sunny day, with a touch of quarrelsome Pavement-like clamor, tightening the formula with a move from Mint Records to Sub Pop. For 2021’s winning Cooler Returns. They changed the formula for 2022 follow-up Chopper, diving headlong into plinky indie keyboard pop. It’s the same stuff on some level, just in a different medium, and a good stretch. Fortunately they returned to the guitars for their latest Blowin’ Up, which retains the longer song lengths and more imaginative arrangments while reasserting the import of guitars. It’s their most dynamic effort to date and feels like they’ve matured to the next larger size, whether society at large notices or not. Beatific Minneapolis C86/indie-pop quintet Real Numbers made their debut in 2016 appropriately enough on Slumberland Records whose twee pop catalog was clearly an inspiration (as well as the UK post-punk jangled-jagged guitar acts like Wedding Present, McCarthy and the Chameleons). They’re back a decade later with their second full-length, Was It Always This Way, and while time has passed, judging from the first singles, they sound well preserved.

Mom Jeans, Fri, Sept. 18, Varsity Theatre
Mom Jeans have fielded some haters as they’ve graduated from their much beloved 2016 debut Best Buds, though some of it is also the evolving scene. When they first came up their juvenile Blink-182-isms maybe didn’t strike people so hard, and the stoner humor was still inside the lines. Now that persona’s much more non grata while the lyrics haven’t gotta less cringe, just the opposite. (The quality has never come close to the debut.) Also other acts, such as The Front-Bottoms, might seem more authentic and, well, just better musicians/lyricists while, Mom Jeans suggest the Sad Daddest emo band you could imagine. Might as well take up golf (well, Top Golf, anyway) and hit the buffets at 4pm. You know, before the crowds.

The Bros Landreth, Madeline Roger, Fri, Sept. 18, Turf Club
The Bros. Landreth are, at their core, brothers Dave and Joey, whose father Wally was a popular Winnipeg musician, and indoctrinated them in root music from an early age. The brothers honed their skills separately before reuniting to record their 2013 debut Let it Lie, and album of ambling, understated soul- blues/roots with three-part harmonies, and a cover of their father’s “I Am the Fool.” It’s a dynamic album of rockers, ballads, and soulful pop that unsurprisingly proved a huge sensation. They won the Juno Award for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year (group). A global hit, the touring weighed on the band, leading them to separate while Joey launched a solo career and time healed their bond. They finally released 87 in 2019, the title symbolizing the year the 3-4 year younger Joey was born. It’s a darker album thematically, some of it unpacking their sibling tensions (“You Keep Letting Me Down,” “Is it Me?”), concluding with “Better Now.” The followed with 2022’s Come Morning which won another Juno, as the brothers enriched roots/blues sound with more Hammond organ. plusher sonics and more R&B vibe, as on “Drive All Night” and “After the Rain.” Then their one of their childhood faves, Bonnie Raitt, won a Grammy for her cover of their first album track “Made Up Mind.” Their latest, last year’s Dog Ear, explores even more adventurous territory, exploring a West Coast vibe informed by Little Feat and Laurel Canyon. They welcomed Raitt as a guest on “Knuckles.” While well-reviewed it did not win a third Juno.

Aldous Harding, Sam Burton, Sat. Sept. 19, Cedar Cultural
Harding’s a slippery character that evades easy categorization or compartmentalization. Sure, she’s an evocative indie pop singer in the theatrical vein, but that’s where the road wear away. Though typically preferring sparse, understated indie-pop/folk on acoustic guitar and keys, the New Zealand pop eccentric frequently layers her musical portraits with sudden digressions and interruptions. Even moments that move along seemingly unfettered might be colored with atonal synths, sore thumb erros and other almost Brechtian obstacles to complicate the arrangement. This idiosyncrasy is not as off-putting as it might sound in print, coming off in practice as a stylistic mannerism, like loud/soft dynamics or a backwards record scratch. Her voice is just as dynamic as the arrangements and this self-conscious oddity proves as much lure as impediment. Her latest, Train on the Island, continues this sonic aesthetic where you can’t let your attention waver lest Harding catch you by surprise. Utah’s Sam Burton has a gentle, pretty soft rock drift that suggestsAM Radio seventies roots-pop sound, like a countrified Hotel Lights.

Breanne Marie & the Front porch Sinners, Dead North, OPNR, Sat, Sept 19, Hook & Ladder
Breanne Marie didn’t grow up with musical ambitions, so much as have them thrust upon her. She took up the guitar – which her father played – to deal with the grief of his loss. When her brothers died in separate accidents year apart, again she turned to music. Now a dozen years after her debut, the Duluth indie-roots/country act has written their sixth and most ambitious effort, Two Trees. Nobody recorded with an orchestra in Hungary or anything, but in reaching out to her contacts during the album’s relatively long gestation, Marie and the band developed a richer understanding of the material. It comes out in all these little layered touches that individually don’t draw that much attention but as a whole give it the album major league heat from the mournful pedal steel of “Ida Mae,” to the punchy rocker, “Dashboard Dandelion,” and the haunting bluegrass reprise of the album-opening “Half Truths,” which gives the song a different emotional tone. Though it came out last November, this is their first chance (work, life, big band, distance) to bring it to the Twin Cities. They’re joined by the dynamic Minneapolis jamgrass duo Dead North, Luke Pascot (guitar, banjo) and Kora Melia (mandolin/fiddle), who collide progressive rock and bluegrass drawing inspiration from Tony Rice and the Grateful Dead. OPNR is the lastest project of Duluth songwriter Dave Mehling, channeling Americana and psychedelica into sonically dense, mutating ruminations, in the manner of Gastr Del Sol.

Talib Kweli, Sat, Sept. 19, Dakota (two shows)
One of the flagship franchises of backpack rap, Kweli enjoyed both critical and commercial success rapping with Mos Def in Black Star, and as a solo artist. Blessed with enough skills to earn Jay-Z’s approbation, Kweli’s smart effortless flow doesn’t need to shout. As the aughts turned into the tens, his profile rose to meet his critical stature with Reflections Eternal reuniting for 2011’s Revolutions Per Minute followed by 2011’s terrific Gutter Rainbows. When things topped out there short of super-stardom, Kweli just go t to work and grew more focused on following his own schedule and muse. One of the legends. Kweli had flight trouble that interfered with his ability to make the August 7^th show; this is the rescheduled date.

Psychostick, Galactic Empire, Sat, Sept. 19, Green Room
Sometimes it feels like all the jokey bands are Dad Bands that secretly want to be Matchbox 20 or maybe by now, Green Day. Not Important. What is important is that I saw a very young Psychostick play the appropriately titled, Sleazefest, in Chapel Hill, and at least one of the members performed in a body suit covered in peanut butter. It is the type of thing you wake up hangover the next day and call your friend to be sure it really happened. And, truth be told, I am not 100% positive they were the band. 95%. It’s the kind of singular thing you can witness that will mean you never forget it, regardless of your state of inebriation. Similar admission: their hard metal joke rock isn’t really my bag; but the sheer oddity certainly deserves some devotion. We hope so because we’re not sure how repeatable the peanut butter gig is, but damn if it wasn’t memorable, even two decades yon. Similarly, we’re not sure how widespread the appeal of a prog-metal band dedicated largely to Star Wars-related instrumentals, but I don’t want to discount it. The tail is sooo long!

Uptown Vibes LynLake Party, Sat, Sept. 19, VFW/Uptown
Sometimes it feels like with just a little more money and swag Minneapolis might evolve from the Land of Lakes to the Land of Street Parties. NGL, we love that shit. So heads up to the Lynn-Lake hood trying to bite the Dakota energy with their own venue-led annual musical block party. The vibe is broad ethnic and hip like the area – Latin Madison, WI reggae-ska-punks Meskales, Minneapolis Cumbia/ska act Malos Pasos, and eclectic Latin act Alto Designo, UK breakbeat icon Krafty Kuts, psychedelic house enthusiast Gaslamp Killer, Brighton, UK’s 3-time DMC champ JFB, and hip-hop acts, Ras Kas, Tha Alkoholiks, and reunited ‘90s Native Tongue group Black Sheep, with more than 16 other rappers and emcees appearing at smaller stages throughout the night. It’s a helluva first swing and we wish it the best of luck.

Social Distortion, Descendents, the Chats, Sun, Sept. 20, Armory
Social Distortion are pretty good at what they do. If you listen for long enough you might begin to find them rather limited and safe in the “rebellious” choices, but that doesn’t mean they don’t own their lane – that of the tattooed bad boy, rockabilly ne’er-do-well, punk individualist and hard-living, YOLO-adherent. No lie, it’s a good lane, and they rode it to distraction without straying far, after Ness returned from prison and seized his Johnny Cash-inspired second chance. The new disc, Born to Kill, delivers the goods as well as anything in 30 years (two albums), and one wonder is Ness’ recovery from tonsil cancer didn’t raise the stakes for all involved, because it’s a focused effort. Descendents have enjoyed more growth but then this is also a band that once sang, “Smell my queefe, enjoy!” Essentially Patient Zero of pop-punk, it’s hard to imagine Green Day or Blink-182 without them. There’s a joyish boyish irreverence to their music. Laid-off from his Chemistry job Milo Aukerman took the opportunity to take back up the band full-time, spawning their first album in a dozen years, Hypercaffium Spazzinate, and while it might rust, smarts and talent don’t die – they’re only squandered, and certainly not here. They put out 2021’s 9^th & Walnut is comprised of songs – unupdated or revised – played by the present-day band, well-executed by kinda rudimentary by comparison truth be told. Australian teens The Chats make spunky, in-your-face old school punk, with album titles/spirit like 2022’s Get Fucked.

Weezer, The Shins, Silversun Pickups, Sun, Sept. 20, Grand Casino
It’s been a long-time since we last made contact with Weezer’s music, probably almost since “Hash Pipe,” around the time late bassist Mikey Welsh contacted us looking to score some weed. (We’d interviewed him for High Times, but were at that point completely busted atp.) Subsequent release Maladroit was pretty much the last time we gave Rivers Cuomo’s band any more thought. Hell, we thought he’d have long gone solo by now. So imagine our surprise to discover there are 12 more albums in the intervening quarter-century or so. Good for him. We sampled and it’s all pretty good. Nothing we’d seek out but nothing we’d turn off, just big tuneful rock in a variety of formats, mostly lined with hooks and enough self-awareness to let bandmates sing some tracks and not be so GD precious as he was in their first bloom. The Shins make some catchy music but we often struggle to remember a single melody after we listened. Is that bad? Give the Silversun Pickups credit for pushing their boundaries, channeling their anthemic layered melocic rock down a minor key journey across Tenterhooks, replacing the usual rush of swelling energy with more atmospheric plodding and tension, which isn’t so much their baliwick. Your results will vary.

B-52s. DEVO, DJ Cummerbund, Sun, Sept. 20, Mystic Lake (Prior Lake)
Well, DEVO’s tongue-in-cheek satire of our culture’s trajectory toward conformity, dehumanization and repression seems more like a TED talk these days, another sigil of the campaign’s never-ending march. Their satirical sytnth-pop was like a gateway drug to punk’s social critique, and a red carpet to counter-culture. Spawned before the pall of jaded cynicism overtook the underground, DEVO was playful in a way that escaped their peers (until They Might Be Giants) which made their grim human critique that much more biting – it seemed so unlikely!! Devolving? As if. Haha. <Awkward Silence.> That joke is funny anymore… Similarly, for as hot as DEVO was in the ‘80s, by the time of 1991’s New Traditionalists, they’d become increasingly marginalized as new wave/power pop began to be pushed back to the side (opening the door for cowpunk and alt-rock to gain purchase). They didn’ even make it through the tour support 1990’s Smooth Noodle Maps. But they returned in 2010 with a fine return to form, Something for Everybody, and a dozen years later with a box set, 50 Years of De-Evolution. The B-52s are an extraodinary band that’s been coasting for nearly as long as we’re been into music. Their first two albums are the pinnacle of joyful lunacy and dancey cleverness, fueled by infectious indifference. It’s not that they didn’t care about anything, they just couldn’t give a damn what people thought about it. The fun, danceable vibe was a strong component of early new wave/power pop. But after 1980’s Wild Planet, they lost the plot for almost a decade until Cosmic Thing was an unexpected return to form. But Cindy left and the subsequent album was a dud. Eighteen years later they’d make a modest return with 2008’s Funplex. Since then it’s just been nostalgia and compilations. Mashup artist DJ Cummerbund opens.

Blood Cookie, NATL PARK SRVC, Falcon Arrow, Fri, Sept. 25, zhora
Unsane, Hammerhead, In Lieu, Fri, Sept. 25, 7^th
Beth Orton, Sat, Sept. 26, Parkway Theatre
Trailer Trash, Sat. Sept. 26, Icehouse
Chelsea Wolfe, Jonathan Hultén, Sat, Sept. 26, Fitzgerald
Willi Carlisle, Wiliam Matheny, Sat, Sept. 26, Cedar
The Linda Lindas, VIAL, Sun, Sept. 27, Varsity
Alicia Witt, Sun, Sept. 27, Dakota
Schizophonics, Fever Dog, Ugly Cowboys, Sun, Sept. 27, Icehouse
Two Runner, Ross Thorn, Sun, Sept. 27, Turf Club

Big Upcoming Concerts

They Might Be Giants, Oct. 1-4, First Avenue/Fitzgerald
DJ Shadow (Endtroducing), Thur, Oct. 1, Palace
Mastodon, Deafheaven, Alcest, Sat, Oct. 3, Palace
Bright Eyes, Lullaby for the Working Class, Sat, Oct. 3, First Ave
Don Was, Sun, Oct. 4, Dakota (Two shows)
Dream Syndicate, Sun, Oct. 4, Turf Club
Sex Pistols, Tue, Oct. 6, Fillmore
Sunn0))), Stebmo, Bill Herzog, Tue, Oct. 6, Palace
Chance the Rapper, Tue, Oct. 6, Armory
Tricky, Tue, Oct. 6, Fine Line
Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Mon – Wed, Oct. 5 – 7, Dakota

Beck, Ioanna Gika, Wed, Oct. 7, Orpheum
Failure, Quannic, Wed, Oct. 7, Fine Line
Deerhoof, Thur, Oct. 8, Turf Club
Buddy Guy, Thur, Oct. 8, State Theatre
Roger Clyne, Trapper Schoep, Sat, Oct. 10, Turf Club
Smashing Pumpkins, Tue, Oct. 13, Grand Casino
Godsmack, Dorothy, Wed, Oct. 14, Armory
Robert Plant & Saving Grave, Rosie Flores, Wed, Oct. 14, State Theatre
Rakim, Room 3 Collective, Thur, Oct. 15, Dakota
Arcwelder, Deep Tunnel Project, New Age Healers, Fri, Oct. 16, Turf Club
Digable Planets, Sat, Oct. 17, Fillmore
Steve Aoki, Sat, Oct. 17, Armory

Lloyd Cole, Mon, Oct. 19, Dakota
Indigo Girls, Linda Perry, Wed, Oct. 21, State Theatre
Fruit Bats, Thur, Oct. 22, Fine Line
Zac Brown, Brothers Osborne, Fri, Oct. 23, Target Center
Ben Folds, Sat, Oct. 24, Orchestra Hall
Buena Vista Orchestra, Sat, Oct. 24, Fillmore
American Aquarium, Sun, Oct. 25, Turf Club
Dresden Dolls, Tue, Oct. 27, Palace Theatre
Airborne Toxic Event, Fri, Oct. 30, Uptown Theatre
John Waters, Fri, Oct. 30, Parkway Theatre SOLD OUT

Rhiannon Giddens, Sat, Nov. 1, Walker art Center
The Damned, Flamin Groovies, The Courettes, DJ Jake Rudh, Sun, Nov. 2, First Ave
L7, Mon, Nov. 3, Fine Line
Mary Gauthier, Jaimee Harris, Wed, Nov. 5, Parkway Theatre
Bill Callahan, Thur, Nov. 6, Cedar Cultural SOLD OUT
Jack White, Sun, Nov. 8, The Armory
Lucinda Williams, Sun, Nov. 13 – 18, Dakota
Saosin, Silent Planet, Like Moths to the Flame, Save Us, Wed, Nov. 18, Fillmore
Andrew Bird (wth the MN Orchestra), Mon, Nov. 21, Orchestra Hall
The Jayhawks, Mon, Nov. 21, State Theatre
Brother Ali, Mon. Nov. 21, Dakota
Underoath, August Burns Red, Atreyu, As Cities Burn, Wed, Nov. 23, Armory
Bonobo, Thur, Nov. 24, First Ave
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Tue, Dec. 1, Orchestra Hall

Theatre

For definitive Twin Cities Theatre Listings, check out 79 Seconds

Opening, Short Runs / One Night Only

Ball, Artistry Black Box Theatre, Fri – Sun, Sept. 11 – 20
Irreverent, heartfelt, and hilariously unfiltered, Ball is a one-man musical journey through Max Wojtanowicz’s real-life battle with testicular cancer. From the soul-searching monologues, riotous songs, and tender letters to his lost “right ball,” Max invites audiences on a rollercoaster of fear, love, and unexpected humor. With music by a knockout team of local musical talent, this deeply personal show celebrates survival, the power of community, and finding humor in life’s darkest moments.

Kevin Kling: Unraveled, Open Eye Theatre, Thur – Sun, Sept. 10 – 20
In his newest solo work, Kevin Kling invites audiences into a journey through his own life: from childhood adventures and family experiences to navigating life with a congenital disability and recovering from a motorcycle accident. Kling is constantly looking for the patterns, connections and the surprising intersections that connect us to each other and to the world. With a heartfelt ode to love and apologies to the gods, Kling unravels the tangled threads that have guided him to an unexpected destination.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (In-Process Workshop Presentation), Capri Theatre, Fri – Sat, Sept. 18 – 19
In this visceral new staging of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel, the pursuit of beauty becomes a brutal act of creation. Set in a stark world of white walls and clean lines, this adaptation strips the story to its rawest elements, using live action painting to chart Dorian’s moral descent. With each choice, each sin, the pristine world is defaced, layered with thick, chaotic strokes of paint that reflect the corruption he hides within. Beauty fades. But the mess we leave behind endures.

Collection of One Acts, Eden Prairie Players, Fri – Sun, Sept. 18 – 27
A series of one acts, seven in all, each directed by a different director.

Opening (Major)

Great Gatsby, Theatre in the Round, Fri, Sept. 11 thru Oct. 4
In this famous Jazz Age story, Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922. As he navigates the unfamiliar social scene, he is invited to a lavish party thrown by the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby, who is trying to rekindle a relationship with Nick’s cousin, Daisy. This faithful adaptation of the novel uses theatricality to capture the lyric and poetic nature of Fitzgerald’s prose. With themes of greed, love, disillusionment, and inequality, this Great American Classic feels both mythic and familiar in a new century.

Mothership, Penumbra Theatre, Thurs, Sept. 10 thru Oct. 4
In a not-too-distant future, humans are forced to flee a broken planet. Five souls board a ship traveling into the unknown, shedding everything of their former lives. Their journey is shepherded by a sentient ship that urges each passenger toward a necessary and sometimes painful transformation. An Afro-futuristic parable from healer and bestselling author Resmaa Menakem (My Grandmother’s Hands) and award-winning playwright Kristen Adele Calhoun (Black Cypress Bayou), Mothership asks how far we must go to retrieve our truest selves.

Merrily We Roll Along, Lyric Arts, Fri, Sept. 11 thru Oct. 4
Friendship, ambition, and the price of success take center stage in this bold and deeply moving musical from. Told in reverse chronological order, Stephen Sondheim’s musical tells the story of how three friends' lives and friendship devolve over the course of 20 years, beginning in 1976 at the friends' lowest moment and ending in 1957, at their youthful best. It focusing on composer Franklin Shepard’s career and travels the hopes, choices, and relationships that shaped his journey.

Fancy Dancer, History Theatre, Sun, Sept. 12 thru Oct. 4
Lara/Larissa is a misfit in rural South Dakota—half-Native and half-White, weighed down by physical limitations. She takes beginner ballet class for physical therapy and hates it—until the story of Osage prima ballerina Maria Tallchief inspires her to pursue a professional dance career. Based on the author’s own story, Fancy Dancer is a rich, multi-generational experience that speaks to the power of storytelling and the beauty of finding your own community.

Waiting for Godot, Guthrie Theatre, Sat, Sept. 12 thru Oct. 11
Beneath a lonely tree on a country road, two companions wait for the mysterious Godot. As time moves along, Vladimir and Estragon fill their day circling the largest of questions: Why are we here? What are we here for? Who are we to be? Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy uses wit and poignant dialogue to create an existential world that is both humorous and heartbreaking.

Indecent, Theatre Latté Da, Wed, Sept. 16 thru Oct. 18
A play about a play—and the artists who risked everything to tell it. Inspired by the true story of Sholem Asch’s seminal Yiddish work, God of Vengeance, and its infamous 1923 obscenity trial, INDECENT is a haunting, klezmer-infused play with music that traces the turbulent journey of a troupe determined to stage a work deemed “indecent.” As their story unfolds across continents and decades, so too does a powerful meditation on censorship, nationalism and the policing of queer love.

Wife of a Salesman, Girl Friday Productions, Fri, Sept. 18 – Oct. 4, Gremlin Theatre
When a devoted housewife–from a certain classic American drama–tracks down the woman who is sleeping with her husband, the two discover that they have more in common than society would like them to believe. Important questions of marriage, duty, and happiness rise to the surface in this frank exposé of the ways in which the world has (and hasn't) changed across generations.

Head over Heels, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Fri, Sept. 18 – Oct. 10
A bold, glittering, and gloriously irreverent celebration of love, set to the electrifying music of the iconic 1980s all-female rock band the Go-Go’s. Inspired by a 16th-century English poem, and featuring a book by Jeff Whitty adapted by James Magruder, this wildly entertaining romp follows a royal family on a madcap quest to save their kingdom from extinction — only to discover that the key to its survival lies within their own hearts.

The Hired Man, Crane Theatre, Fri, Sept. 25 thru Oct. 11
A magical realism epic set in the modern-day American West where a restless cattlewoman is hired onto a family cattle ranch in Wyoming. Here the stability of the family collides with her life of itinerant working, hard living, and harder choices.

As You Like It, Ten Thousand Things, Wed, Sept. 30 thru Nov. 8
To escape death, our heroine, her best friend, and one of Shakespeare’s funniest fools flee to the forest. Released from the court’s conventions, they discover earnest shepherds and ironic aristocrats – along with joy and forgiveness. Soon, closed hearts open, love transforms, and community takes root. At various stages across the run.

Free Outdoor Music

Dan Israel, Fri, Sept. 4, Lake Harriet Bandshell FOLK ROCK/POWER-POP
Meatraffle Ska, Fri, Sept. 4, Minnehaha Bandstand SKA
The Teardowns, Julia Wissink, Eloise Leckrone, Fri, Sept. 4, Nolan Mains OLDIES ROOTS/ROCK
Michael Gold, Sat, Sept. 5, Water Works at Mill Ruins JAZZ SAX
USPOP, Sat, Sept. 5, Lake Harriet Bandshell AMERICAN BRITPOP
The Everly Covers, Sat, Sept. 5, Dock & Paddle OLD SCHOOL POP & HARMONIES
Bluline, Sun, Sept. 6, Lake Harriet Bandshell BAR BAND ROCK

The Riff Rangers, Mon, Sept. 7 (5:30), Lake Harriet Bandshell WESTERN SWING, ROOTS/ROCK
Dred I Dread, Mon, Sept. 7 (7:30), Lake Harriet Bandshell REGGAE
The Dead Century (Melodies on the Miss.), Wed, Sept. 9, Harriet Island Regional Park INDIE ROCK
Cafe Accordion Squeeze, Thur, Sept. 10, Dock & Paddle BIG EASY MULTITUDES
Rion, Mira Babal, Fri, Sept. 11, Nolan Mains ROCK / SOUL
Andra Suchy (Rock the Hall), Sat. Sept. 12, Graze CLASSICALLY TRAINED SINGER / GUITARIST
Swingin’ On A Star, Sun, Sept. 13, Dock & Paddle GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

Pick, Buttons, and the Bow, Sun, Sept. 20, Dock & Paddle IRISH FOLK

Free Outdoor Movies

Goonies, Thurs, Sept. 3, Boom Island
Rocky (50^th Anniversary), Sat, Sept. 5, Bryant Square Park

Zootopia 2, Thur, Sept. 3, Eidem Farm (Movie on the Barn)
Lilo & Stitch (2025), Fri, Sept.4, Minnetonka Civic Center Campus
In the Heights, Thur, Sept. 10, Meet At MIA (Mpls)
Elio, Fri, Sept. 11, Minnetonka Civic Center Campus
Lilo & Stitch, Fri, Sept. 11, Levee Park (Hastings)

How to Train Your Dragon, Fri, Sept. 25, North River Hills Park (Burnsville)

Art and Street Fairs

Minneapolis Makers Market, Fri – Sun, Sept. 4 – 6, Nicollet Mall (Mpls)
Popular outdoor local crafts show that occurs on the wide sidewalks along the mall.

Defeat of Jesse James Day, Wed – Sun, Sept. 9 – 13, Northfield
It’s the 150^th anniversary of the failed bank raid by the James Gang on Sept. 7, 1876. The level of pageantry and celebration has to be seen to be appreciated. There’s a carnival, a pancake breakfast, pageant, car show, bingo, crafts day, 5K/15K run, rodeo, beard and cornhole contests, tractor pull, and, of course, the famous bank raid re-enactments. A bucket-list must.

Inver Grove Heights Days, Wed – Sun, Sept. 9 – 13, Oakwood Park (IGH)
There’s a Wednesday cookouts, Thursday euchre tournament, bingo, treasure hunt, coloring contest, Friday family fun night, Saturday volleyball & bean bag tourneys, parade, wrestling, outdoor music and dancing, Miss Inver Grove Heights contest.

Burnsville Festival and Fire Muster, Thur – Sat, Sept. 10 – 12
Medallion Hunt, craft beer tasting/food sampling, bingo beer tent, fire truck display, aerial drone show, Sunday pickle ball tourney, 5v5 Futsal soccer fest, baby crawl races, big wheel races, family fun zone, and food, vendors, live musicm beer gardens and fireworks.

James J. Hill Days, Fri – Sun, Sept. 11 – 13, Lake Street (Wayzata)
Features a carnival, wiener dog races, coaster cart derby, live music, walking tours, over 150 merch, food and beverage vendors, Friday craft beer festival, logrolling T-6 Thunder air show on Sunday, and a parade.

St. Paul Oktoberfest, Fri – Sat, Sept. 11 – 12, Germanic-American Institute (St. Paul)
The GAI brings the Bavarian spirit transforming its grounds into a replica of Munich’s world-famous throwdown, with culture-specific delights from bratwurst to German beer, polka and dance bands and culture performances, propagating their traditions.

Ramsey Happy Days Event, Sat, Sept. 12, Sunwood Drive (Ramsey)
The annual affair includes car and dog shows, bean bag tourney, 5K and Youth Fun Run, a parade, and of course, food, vendors, music and fireworks at nightfall.

25th Annual Selby Avenue JazzFest, Sat, Sept. 12, Selby Ave & Milton St.
A stacked lineup of national and local jazz talent, including R & B artist Stokley Williams (singer/drummer of Mint Condition) who worked his way from St. Paul to international stardom. Featuring local food trucks, a vibrant village market, and family-friendly activities right to the heart of the Summit-University neighborhood.

Edina Fall Into the Arts Festival, Sat – Sun, Sept. 12 – 13, Centennial Lakes Park (Edina)
The 22^nd annual festival welcomes around 250 talented artists, food vendors, and sponsors, including a mix of new artists and returning favorites in a wide variety of media, including photography, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, wearable art, glass, fiber, wood, and painting.

Monarch Festival, Sat, Sept. 12, Lake Nokomis Community Center (Mpls)
The 18^th Annual Festival celebrates the monarch butterfly’s amazing 2,300-mile migration from Minnesota to Mexico with music, food, dance, hands-on art, native plant sales, and plenty of opportunities to get up close with monarch butterflies, learn about their habitats, and what you can do to make a difference. Headlining performers include Brass Messengers and Charanga Tropical.

Open Streets Minneapolis, Cedarfest, Sun, Sept. 13, Cedar-Riverside
This local institution Cedarfest is the odd duck of the summer fests. There are free camel rides, roller skating, face painting, bubbles, pickup basketball, a pool truck, weiner dog races, henna, battletrain, three stages of music and lots of great neighborhood ethnic treats.

Prairie Wine & Beerfest, Sat, Sept. 12 (3pm – 6pm), Purgatory Creek Park
Guests at the 12th annual festival can sample offerings from a wide variety of breweries, wineries, and non alcoholic beverage vendors, along with food trucks serving local favorites. Prairie Wine & Brewfest is the signature fundraising event supporting the Eden Prairie Community Foundation, raising funds to support housing stability, homelessness prevention, education, the arts, recreation, and animal welfare.

Fulton Fall Festival, Sat, Sept. 12 (11am – 3pm), Pershing Park
St. Odilia Fall Festival, Fri – Sun, Sept. 11 – 13, St. Odilia Catholic Church (Shoreview)

FinnFest, Thurs – Sun, Sept. 17 – 20, Minneapolis Hilton
Curated Thursday tours, exhibits, dancing, workshops, panels, films and discussions on the Finnish-American Experience from the 1934 Minneapolis Truckers Strike to Finnish Architexture, the Kalevala s World Literature to Finnish cuisine, dance, hymnals and 5-string Kanteles. There’s even a Nordic Poetry Slam. Includes an as yet TBA international headliner Friday night at the Cabooze.

Chrom Zone Mural & Art Festival, Sat, Sept. 19, Raymond & Territorial Ave (St. Paul)
Muralists will paint in the days leading up to Festival programs and events held (Thursday - Saturday) on September 17, 18 & 19, 2026. Events include a moderated artist talk, a two-day Alley Jam with graffiti and street artists, a guided bike tour, and an Outdoor Block Party with an art market, hands-on art activities, food trucks, and bus tours to see the new 2026 murals. This year’s artist lineup includes Minnesota-based Argentinian mosaic artist Daniela Blanchini, Mexican-American illustrator D. Guzman, Liberian native Flahn Manly, Rock “CyFi” Martinez, and Wisconsin-based Jon King, as well as El Mac, an internationally recognized artist based in Los Angeles, CA, and Stevie Shao, a prolific Chinese-American muralist based in Seattle, WA.

Uptown Artisan Showcase, Fri – Sun, Sept. 18 – 20, 2900 Hennepin
Monthly free weekend gathering featuring original and handcrafted jewelry, textiles, ceramics, prints, home decor and seasonal items. Live art and craft demos. Local food vendors.

Thai Street Festival, Sat – Sun, Sept. 19 – 20, Wat Thai of MN (St. Louis Park)
Bring your family and friends and spend the weekend discovering the rich culture, delicious food, and warm hospitality of Thailand—no passport required! Traditional Thai sweets & refreshing drinks, cultural performance and live entertainment, massage, vendors, shopping, family-fun activities.

Capital City Fest 2026, Sat, Sept. 19, State Capitol (St. Paul)
A familiar end-of-summer activity featuring live entertainment, local food trucks, a vendor marketplace, a car show, live wrestling, a Kids Zone, community organizations, educational exhibits, and activities for guests of all ages

Afro Fest 2026, Sat, Sept. 19, Becker Park (Crystal)
This celebration of African and Afro cultures feature an education kids village with robots, virtual African travel, arts and langauge, a clothing and craft bazaar, jewelry, vendors, a food row of authentic African cuisine, and local musicians and performers.

Lakeside Park Fest, Sat, Sept. 19, Lakeside Park (Forest Lake)
Find local artisans and crafts, boutique/gourmet vendors, food trucks, music, games and family friendly areas.

Art on the Edge Festival, Sat, Sept. 19, Father Hennepin Bluff Park
It’s a day of art, creativity and soulful connection in the park at the 5^th Annual Art on the Edge in the shadow of the Stone Arch Bridge in Father Hennepin Bluff Park. There will be artisans, henna, crystals, holistic healers and readers, vendorsm food trucks, family friendly fun and live music and performances.

Rock'n The Grove, Sat, Sept. 19, Central Park of Maple Grove
It's an odd musical amalgamation beginning with '80s pop nostalgist Rival 5, followed by the St. Paul Peterson & the Minneapolis Funk Allstars, and then the joyous arena rock bombast of Hairball, which, if you'll call yourself that, then how can we shame you?

North Loop Block Pary with Marco Strous, Sat, Sept. 19, NOLO's Kitchen & bar
Stous is a Portugese producer/DJ known for his house, techno and deep house music. Presently on a 26-date American tour. Note: this ain't no free show.

Frogtown Arts Festival, Sat, Sept. 19, 825 Arts
Since 2016, the Frogtown Neighborhood Association and 825 Arts have worked to put on an arts festival that celebrates the neighborhood. The festival features local performers, arts vendors, arts workshops, and food; all showcasing what makes the Frogtown community so great!

SurleyFest, Sat, Sept. 19, Surly Brewing Co.
Offering their own sping on Oktoberfest, Surley starts offering German fare on Tues (9/9) and it culminates in Saturday’s Party featuring music from Gully Boys, Malos Pasos, Rage Against the Regime, among others, and ridiculous games include boot chugging, stein chugging, sausage toss, hot dog eating, and relays of some sort. And obviously, beer.

Taste of Northeast, Sat – Sun. Sept. 26 – 27, St. Mary's Orthodox Church
This annual festival at St. Mary’s is more than a decade old, and is a great celebration of the Eastern European backgrounds of many in the neighborhood. There will be lots of great ethnic food including Perohi, Holubki, and Ustipci, cultural and musical performances, cash/basket raffles, kids activities, bingo, and vendors.

Dakota Block Party, Sat, Sept. 26, Nicollet Mall (Mpls)
Last year’s 40^th Anniversary Block Party attracted more than 10,000 attendees, and while that raised the bar, the hope is to meet it with a full menu of food and beverages from the Dakota and local partners. The popular local Makers’ Market returns and the kids’ “Treble Makers” play area, and more than a dozen musical performers (TBA).

Live Athletics

Minnesota Twins Home Games (Men's Baseball)
vs. Detroit Tigers, Mon – Wed, Aug. 31 – Sept. 2
(Tue. dog-friendly "Bark @ the Park")
vs. Cleveland Guardians, Fri – Sun, Sept. – 11 – 13
(Sat, $2 Beers until first pitch; Sun, Armed Forces Day)
vs. New York Yankees, Mon – Wed, Sept. 14 – 16
(Tue, Roberto Clemente Day; Wed, daygame)
vs. Texas Rangers, Fri – Sun, Sept. 25 – 27
(Fri, Fireworks; Sat, Hat, first 10K; Sun, Kid giveaway TBD)

Minnesota Vikings Home Games (Men's Pro Football)
vs. Green Bay Packers, Sun, Sept. 13, 3pm, US Bank
vs. Miami Dolphins, Sun, Oct. 4, 3pm, US Bank
vs. Indianapolis Colts, Sun, Oct. 25, 12pm, US Bank

Minnesota Timberwolves Homes Games (Men's Pro Basketball)
vs. Detroit Pistons, Wed, Oct. 14, Target Center (Preseason)
vs. Toronto Raptors, Sun, Oct. 25, Target Center
(Home Season Opener, Rally Towel giveaway)
vs. Golden State Warriors, Wed, Oct. 28, Target Center
vs. LA Clippers, Fri, Oct. 30, Target Center

St. Paul Saints Home Games (Minor League Baseball)
vs. Syracuse Mets, Tue – Sun, Sept. 8 – 13
(Wed, Fighting Saints hat; Thur, Peanuts' Great Pumpkin Replica Jersey, first 1K; Fri, Fireworks; Sat, Fan Appreciation, half a championship ring, first 200)

Minnesota United FC (Men's Major League Soccer) Games on APPLE TV
vs. FC Dallas, Wed, Sept. 9 (7:30pm), Allianz Field
vs. LA Galaxy, Sat, Sept. 19 (7:30pm), Allianz Field
vs. Houston Dynamo FC, Sat, Oct. 10 (7:30pm), Allianz Field
vs. St. Louis City SC, Sat, Oct. 17 (3:30pm), Allianz Field
vs. Sporting Kansas City, Wed, Oct. 28 (7:30pm), Allianz Field

Minnesota Lynx Home Games (Women’s Hoops)
vs. New York Liberty, Fri, Sept. 18, Target Center
vs. Indiana Fever, Thurs, Sept. 24, Target Center's
Playoffs Begin.

Collegiate

Minnesota Gophers Home Football
vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers, Thurs, Sept. 3, Huntington Bank Stadium (Peacock)
vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs, Sat, Sept. 12 (2:30pm), Huntington Bank Stadium
vs. Akron Zips, Sat, Sept. 19, Huntington Bank Stadium
vs. Michigan Wolverines, Sat. Oct. 3, Huntington Bank Stadium
vs. Iowa Hawkeyes, Sat, Oct. 24, Huntington Bank Stadium

Minnesota Gophers Home Men's Hockey
vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Thur, Oct. 22, Mariucci Arena
vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Fri, Oct. 23, Mariucci Arena
vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, Thur, Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, Mariucci Arena
(Two Games, exact dates TBD)

Minnesota Gophers Home Women's Hockey
vs. Maine Black Bears, Fri, Oct. 9, Ridder Arena
vs. Bemidji State Beavers, Sun, Oct. 11, Ridder Arena
vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, Fri, Oct. 16, Ridder Arena
vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, Sat, Oct. 17, Ridder Arena
vs. Lindenwood Lady Lions, Fri, Oct. 23, Ridder Arena

Minnesota Gophers Women's Volleyball
vs. #25 Oregon Ducks, Sat, Sept. 26, Maturi Pavilion
vs. Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Discover Challenge), Thur, Oct. 1, Maturi Pavilion
vs. #6 Wisconsin Badgers, Sun, Oct. 4, Maturi Pavilion
vs. Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten Discover Challenge), Fri, Oct. 16, Maturi Pavilion
vs. Maryland Terrapins, Sat. Oct. 17, Maturi Pavilion
vs. Washington Huskies, Sun, Oct. 25, Maturi Pavilion
(Weekday games, Wed-Fri, home & away in October are part of 2^nd Annual Discover Challenge, with top record winning)

Minnesota Gophers Women’s Soccer Home Matches
vs. St. Thomas Tommies, Sun, Aug. 30 (5pm), Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. Colorado College Tigers, Sun, Sept. 6 (1pm), Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. RV Iowa Hawkeyes, Thur, Sept. 10, Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. Northwestern Wildcats, Sun, Sept. 20 (1pm), Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. Maryland Terrapins, Fri, Oct. 2, Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs, #19 Ohio State Buckeyes, Sun, Oct. 11 (1pm), Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. #10 Washington Huskies, Thur, Oct. 22, Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
vs. Oregon Ducks (Pink Game), Sun, Oct. 25 (1pm), Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium

Niche or Off-beat

Cribbage Tournament, Tue, Sept. 1, Fulton Taproom
The first Tuesday of every month, come down to test you skill. Single player play, random matchups, best score of five games. All skill levels welcome. Bring a board and recieve a free pint!

Como Water Garden Talk, Tue – Thur, Sept. 1 – 3, Centennial Garden (St. Paul)
These aftern oon talks are highly informative, offering insight into some of the odd guests of the Conservatory’s water gardens, notably the Victoria Water Lillies – also known as “Watter Platters” – Learn how these massive leaves—growing over six feet across—support surprising weight, and uncover the fascinating three-night blooming cycle of their flowers, which change color, scent, and function as part of an incredible pollination process.

Guided Distillery Tour, Fri – Sat, Sept. 4 – 5, Brother Justus Whiskey Company (Mpls)
This guided tour is an introduction to Brother Justus, their unique take and the starring role Minnesota’s climate plays in their Single Malt Whiskey. Go behind the scenes see the equipment and barrels, hear about their namesake and inspiration, and learn the fundamentals of whiskey-making. Throughout the tour, you’ll enjoy a guided tasting of our their core expressions: American Single Malt, Cold-Peated®, and Silver Whiskey.

Beyblade X Grand Prix Tournament, Sat, Sept. 5, Mall of America
So there’s apparently this spinning top battle thing now and they face off in a special arena. This is the regional + National tournament with the chance to become the US National Champ and earn a spot in the grand final in Bangkok, Thailand where they will face the best players in the world. Does it ever feel like we have too many competitions competing for our 15 minutes of fame? No shade, just wondering.

Pick-up Truck Opera: Tales of Hoffmann, Wed, Sept. 9, Dodge Nature Center
This off-the-wall phenomena takes the musical tale of traveling poet Hoffmann into its natural environs – nature! – as he seeks love and inspiration in a world overrun by technology. He meets ghosts, robots, magicians, and shape-shifting demons in a lively fantasy set to 1990s grunge and R&B. It lasts 75-90 minutes, and they suggest a lawn chair and libations. The performance is pay-what-you-can.

Graywolf Press Literary Salon, Thur, Sept. 10, Glass House
Join the esteemed local publishing house for an evening of literature, conversation, and community. Featuring versatile author Deb Olin Unferth, multicultural novelist Karen Tei Yamashita, Graywolf executive director and publisher Carmen Giménez, and Graywolf publicist Caelan Ernest Nardone, with Danez Smith as MC.

FE Uptown Arts Showcase, Thurs, Sept. 10, James Ballentine VFW Post 246
An intriguing networking and talent showcase which is inviting photographers, painters, dancers, rappers, models, DJs, bloggers and media to show up, show out and connect with each other. It's a lot to chew, but just the attempt is admirable and a worthy way of knitting artistic community.

SkolFest 2026, Sat, Sept. 12, Crooked Print Ale House
The official party and pep rally for the home opener. Join fellow fans for an unforgettable night of purple pride featuring a live DJ, live performance, and giveaways all night long. And with the Packers coming to town, there's no better night to get the whole stadium fired up before we send the cheeseheads home.

Full Flava Experience, Co, Sat, Sept. 12, The Central Mix (Columbia Heights)
An evening celebrating the rich flavors, culture, and hospitality of the Caribbean. This exclusive relaunch event features a thoughtfully curated four-course dining experience, guided spice tastings and pairings.

JazzFest MasterClass: Stokley Williams, Sun, Sept. 13 (3pm), Harmony Hall (Walker West Music Academy)
Williams shares his journey from the Twin Cities to the global stage, how he plans his vocal performances and defines himself rhythmically. It will also feature a Q&A session with attendees.

Learn to Play: SETTLERS OF CATAN, Wed, Sept. 16, Roxy’s Cabaret
Perhaps you’ve felt left out while others mastered European board games and you were too shy to ask, and now you feel left out because your friends are gathering and you don’t know how to play? Well your problem is solved. Come by Wednesday and find shelter among the other newbs, a veritable bouncy house of settlement and development. If that’s not our bag there are other games on hand, or bring your own and recruit from other attendees!

Vinyl Crates & Vodka Shakes, Wed, Sept. 16 (6pm – 9pm), King Coil Spirits
Every third Wednesday of the month, it’s an evening of cool pours and analog joy. Sip $6 vodka specials and look over vinyl for sale while records spin all night.

SAP Porchfest, Wed, Sept. 16 (6pm – 8pm), St. Anthony Park (St. Paul)
A community building music festival where neighbors play host to front porch shows for local musicians. People bring chairs and blankets, sit in the yard, and move about the neighborhood. An intimate family-friendly city-building event.

LIVE MAS: Agave Spirits Tasting, Fri, Sept. 18 (4pm – 7pm), Cántaro Spirits
This tasting event features more than 30 different agave spirits (tequila, mezcal, sotol, raicilla and bacanora) under the aegis of the Minnesota Agave Society (MAS), a business group hoping to spread the spirit. Besides the range of spirits there are light snacks from Mestizo, a copita for your samples, welcome cocktail, and a raffle to win limited edition bottles.

Steve Almaas Remembered, Fri, Sept. 18, Hook & Ladder
The legendary Suicide Commando & Beat Rodeo musician passed on June 5^th after a months-long battle with cancer at the age of 69. Friends and bandmates will be there as well as food trucks and pot luck meal, if you’d like to bring a dish to share. There will be a savory and a sweet table.

Beastly MN Zoo Foundation Bash, Fri, Sept. 18, MN Zoo (Apple Valley)
Lions, tigers & bears, oh no! Yes, it’s your annual chance to see the zoo like you never do – after dark! There are animal demonstrations, live entertainment, and a bevy of food and drink options. Money raised goes to benefit the zoo and its wildlife activities.

Puzzle Palooza, Sat, Sept. 19 (5pm – 7pm), Lodestone Coffee (Minnetonka)
Teams of 2 to 4 compete to complete a 500-piece puzzle, with the top three teams taking home a prize. You can also compete solo. Proceeds benefit Reach for Resources and help individuals of all abilities live, work, play, and thrive in the Twin Cities. Your participation directly supports inclusive recreation programs, adaptive services, and mental health resources in our community.

Journaling Club, Sat, Sept. 19, Center forthe Performing Arts
They say: "Once a month we meet to write from prompts and make space for creativity and conversation. Prompts provided, just bring pen and paper. Each meeting has its own rhythm, sometimes funny, sometimes reflective, always meaningful. You’ll write, but sharing is always optional." They meet the third Saturday of every month.

Small Town Murder Podcast, Sat, Sept. 19, State Theatre
It’s positively shocking people can get big enough podcasting to fill the State Theatre but there’s no judgment, just a little awe. Comedians James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman take their hit podcast, Small Town Murder, on the road where every week, they look at a small town live, what makes it tick, and a murder that took place there. So it’s part lurid travelogue. Cool!

South St. Paul Coin Show, Sun, Sept. 20, UFCW 1189 (South St. Paul)
It’s the largest monthly coin show in Minnesota. Attendance is free and there are over 25 dealers buying, selling and trading US & foreign coince, as well as international currency, tokens and bullion.

Storytelling Open Mic, Mon, Sept. 21 (7pm), American School of Storytelling
This is an ongoing monthly series of storytelling open mics that will take place on the 3rd Monday of the month. Up to 10 Tellers, 10 minutes each. Any style. Sign-up is first come, first serve.

Michelle Shocked (audio autobiography) tour, Tue, Sept. 22, Ginkgo Coffeehouse
It's come to this for the Grammy-winning folk singer in the wake of her self-immolation on-stage in 2013 where she turned (in my mind, her own self-loathing) onto the audience with a homophobic rant, when the LGBQ crowd was one of her strongest supporters. That was all she wrote. There were no more tours, no more shows, no more music, no more albums. She was cancelled a lot more thoroughly than Matt Lauer. Raised mormon, and, at least at the time of the rant, identifying as a born-again Christian, and someone who scrapped for everything she got in life, it's easy to imagine there's a lot going on for her. On the other hand, nobody owes a creative an audience, you earn that, and you certainly don't piss in the punch or nobody will let you back in.

20 ^th Annual Twin Cities Arab Film Fest, Wed – Sun, Sept. 23 – 27, Walker Art Center
The 20th Anniversary marks the milestone with an ongoing, multi-venue program, Looking Forward, Looking Back, which centers images from the history of SWANA filmmaking and our past festivals. Through this framework, we confront the visual record, demanding more from the archive than a sentimental look at the past. While SWANA films have been repeatedly plundered, twisted, and aligned to colonial narratives, this year, our festival continues to consider what has been overlooked, discovering liberatory lessons the past might offer the present and future. The 20th anniversary edition of our festival presents special screenings, guests, and more.

Neighborhoods Now! 10th Anniversary Celebration, Thur, Sept. 24, PAIKKA (St. Paul)
These organizers celebrate a decade of activated the community through leadership training, network building, and organizing. Join Neighborhoods Now! alumni, organizational partners, staff, colleagues, friends, and family for delicious food, drink and memories.

Rocky Horror Picture Show Spooktacular, Thur, Oct. 1, State Theatre
It had a Broadway run (45 shows) and two revivals, at near quarter century intervals, so it’s not really surprising to have the film playing the State, but this isn’t Guys & Dolls or Rent, it’s about a tranvestite (Tim Curry!!!) from outer-space. That’s still a bit outre in 2026. But here we are. And this is not a regular showing! This is the original unedited film version and it’s accompanied by our favorite leads, Nell Campbell (aka “Columbia”), Patricia Quinn (“Magenta”) and Broadway/TV star (original Danny Zuko/Grease, Spin City) Barry Bostwick (“Brad Majors”). They’re host a Meet & Greet as well. Prop bags will be provided – no outside props people!

Book Readings

For the definitive list, check out Rain Taxi's Literary Calendar

Chuck Wendig’s The Calamities with Benjamin Percy, Tue, Sept. 1, Magers & Quinn
The heir to one of the world’s most influential families reckons with the demonic secret to their power, in this contemporary dark fantasy that melds occult magic with shocking family drama from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents and The Wanderers. Benjamin Percy has written seven novels, three story collections. He currently writes The Punisher, Deadpool, and Midnight Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics.

Chad Anderson’s Gay Mormon Dad with Daryl Richard Lawrence, Wed, Sept. 9, Magers & Quinn
Chad Anderson was told he was broken. He believed with all his heart that being a good Mormon would make him straight, because that is what he was told. Chad followed the prescribed road map: mission, marriage, and children. But it didn’t make him happy, and it didn’t make him straight. For Chad, coming out meant losing everything and starting again. Gay Mormon Dad is the story of one man learning to love himself in a complicated world. Daryl Richard Lawrence is an author/podcast host whose latest comic-centered book True North, focuses on the first volume of Marvel's superhero team Alpha Flight

Sarah Stankorb’s Damned If She Does with Reverend Angela Denker, Thurs, Sept. 10, Moon Palace Books
The full title of Stankrob’s book is Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion. She explores trends from the 1980s to today, an exodus marked by harm, disillusionment, and drift: from pastors' wives to survivors of sexual assault; from queer women and their allies, to those who are witnessing the rise of Christian nationalism. Stankrob wrote Disobedient Women, a USA Today national bestseller, and her reporting has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and VICE. Denker is an award-winning Minneapolis-based author, a Lutheran pastor, and a veteran journalist and former Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist.

Hieu Minh Nguyen’s Staying Still, Sat, Sept. 12, The Loft
The book's title offers a challenge and a goal while the poet maps out routes for finding the places in the world where we belong. Joining Hieu for this event are two more award-winning poets, Danez Smith and Aurora Masum-Javed. They will read with Hieu and start a conversation open to everyone.

Talking Volumes With Marlon James, Sat, Sept. 12, The O’Shaughnessy Auditorium
The 27^th season of the literary series kicks off with James, a Booker Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author’s latest, The Disappearers, is set in 1980s Jamaica, where eight gay men’s lives are changed by a brutal act of violence. James wrote bestsellers A Brief History of Seven Killings and Black Leopard, Red Wolf. He’ll be interviewed by jounalists Kerri Miller and Catharine Richert.

Ame Cutler’s The Regeneration Process, Mon, Sept. 14, Magers & Quinn
Dr. Cutler’s work interrogates the cultural and psychological impacts of colonization, white supremacy, transgenerational trauma, and systemic oppression. She specializes in the legacies of harm passed through both survivors and perpetrators. Her book offers a clear method for breaking cycles of harm, tools for shifting from self-focus to collective responsibility, and acting as a regenerative agent in your own community and ecosystem.

Lana Harper & Jilly Gagnon’s Cards on the Table, Tue, Sept. 15, Tropes & Trifles
Lana Harper is the New York Times bestselling author of the "Witches of Thistle Grove" series and coauthor, with Jilly Gagnon, of Cards on the Table. Writing as Lana Popović, she has also written four YA novels. Jilly Gagnon is the author of eight novels, most recently What if it's You? Her humor writing, personal essays, and op-eds have appeared in Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, Boston Magazine, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

Tom Glaser’ The House That Resilience Built, Wed, Sept. 16, Magers & Quinn
From growing up in a seemingly picture-perfect neighborhood, to discovering the liberating force of psychotherapy, this book explores what resilience is and how to obtain it. Glaser is a licensed psychologist with 40 years of experience whose first book, Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know, was an Amazon bestseller that gave rise to a live performance piece and documentary.

Marissa Lingen’s A Dubious Clamor with Naomi Kritzer, Thurs, Sept. 17, Moon Palace
Enjoy a world of sorcerous aunts, musical magic, and moody swords in this delightful tale of finding one's balance in an unbalanced world. Lingen is a freelance writer who lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with her family. She is the author of over three hundred works of short science fiction and fantasy. Kritzer writes for adults and teens and has won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Edgar Award, the Locus Award, and the Minnesota Book Award.

Elin Anna Labba’s The Home Of the Drowned with Dr. Àila O’Loughlin, Thurs, Sept. 17, American Swedish Institute
The Home of the Drowned follows a family of Sámi women fighting the devastation of their way of life – from 1942 to 1982— as the water their people have lived near for centuries is transformed into a menacing force that threatens all they hold dear. Drawing on her own family’s history of forced relocation and violent colonial dispossession, Labba’s debut novel brings Sámi history to the fore in poetic prose deftly translated by Elizabeth Clark Wessel. She reveals connections between land, water, and people that hauntingly reverberate with the question: what is it that makes a home?

Laura Piper Lee’s Doomsdate with Elle Palmer, Fri, Sept. 18, Tropes & Trifles
When a first date between a doomsday prepper and a nerdy film professor goes horribly, zombie-apocalypse-level wrong, the mismatched pair team up on a road trip to safety in this delightfully feral rom-com. Laura Piper Lee’s written three other romantic adult comedies First Crush, Beyond Repair, and Pot Shot, released in May. Palmer’s own new book, her fourth, Married with Benefits came out in July.

Elizabeth Acevedo’s Anger is Only a Shadow with Ari Tison, Mon, Sept. 21, Red Balloon Bookshop
National Book Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and renowned poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s new novel in verse, offers a white-knuckle journey to self-understanding and doing the right thing, no matter the cost. Her critically lauded oeuvre includes The Poet X, With Fire on High and Clap When You Land, a Kirkus Prize finalist. Tison just released her second novel, a murder mystery, Together We See.

Norah Labiner’s Morocco with Mike Wisti, Tue, Sept. 22, Magers & Quinn
Our narrator—always there and never entirely present—recounts her decades-long relationship with the heiress, Katherine Stern. Inspired by the classic story Washington Square by Henry James, Norah Labiner reimagines the prolific tale. Moving through wintery Michigan avenue to the creeping mansions of the rich to the world of melodrama, ghosts, and girls. Morocco confronts the ambiguity of memory, the horrors of history, and what it means, or does not mean, to read a book and tell a story. Wisti is a musician/songwriter from the band Rank Strangers whose new album Ribizza is due in the fall.

The Freier Series Presents: An Evening With George Saunders, Tue, Sept. 22, Northrup Auditorium
Saunders is reading from his new novel Vigil, which tells the story of Jill Blaine, also called “Doll,” a formerly alive person who’s now tasked with escorting dying souls on Earth to their next destination. The pointedly humorous book asks What do we owe the world and its people? What is chosen, and what is inevitable? University of Minnesota (UMN) Regents Professor Julie Schumacher will moderate a conversation with Saunders in this special event celebrating 25 years of the Freier series.

Serena Chopra’s A Catalog of Future Mercies with Sarah Ghazal Ali, Wed, Sept. 23, Magers & Quinn
In this memoir-in-poems, Serena Chopra explores the complexities of mercy in an immigrant family haunted by generational violence. Drawing connections between the brutalized prairie beneath suburban lawns and the brutalized body seeking reclamation through sensuality, Chopra examines what it means to be a survivor descended from both survivors and perpetrators. She is the recipient of an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship and is a MacDowell Fellow, a Kundiman Fellow, and a Fulbright Scholar. Ali is the author of Theophanies (Alice James Books, 2024), winner of the GLCA New Writers Award, California Book Award, and Julie Suk Award, and a finalist for theKate Tufts Discovery Award.

Borders Are Everywhere: Hope and Resistance at the Border, Wed, Sept. 23, Milkweed Books
Three prolific artists who individually write around different forms of resistance – Victoria Blanco, Gary Nabhan, and Luis Alberto Urrea – speak about hope and resistance at the US-Mexico border. Blanco is the author of Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance, a 2025 ALA Notable Book longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Nabhan is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, John Burroughs Medal recipient, and James Beard Award winner, recognized nationally for his contributions to both conservation and food culture. Urrea, Guggenheim Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist, is the best-selling author of 18 books, including The Devil’s Highway and The Hummingbird’s Daughter. His latest novel, The House of Broken Angels, was a national bestseller and NYTimes Notable Book.

Brian Duren’s Day Brings Back the Night, Thur, Sept. 24, Subtext Bookstore
This is Duren’s fourth book. It’s a family story in the first person from the points of view of five characters as it explores the effects of intergenerational trauma and the power of intergenerational love in Minnesota. His first novel, Whiteout, won the Independent Publisher Gold Medal for Midwestern Fiction.

Talking Volumes with Lucy Foley, Fri, Sept. 25, The O’Shaughnessy Auditorium
The bestselling suspense writer behind The Guest List and The Midnight Feast, Foley comes to St. Paul to discuss Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, the brand-new Miss Marple mystery that brings Agatha Christie’s iconic sleuth to a glamorous, snowbound resort in the Swiss Alps. More than 10 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, and several are currently being adapted for the screen. She sits down with award-winning journalists Kerri Miller and Catharine Richert.

Matt Goldman’s The Prohibited with Larry Millett, Tue, Sept. 29, Next Chapter Booksellers
Vividly portraying a Midwestern cast of characters affected by the 1920s law outlawing alcohol, The Prohibited follows the travails of this close-knit group. Matt Goldman, while using his own family’s history, tells the engrossing story of how these lives wind around each other. Goldman is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the Nils Shapiro mystery series as well as the standalone novels A Good Family and Carolina Moonset. He is also a playwright and an Emmy Award–winning television writer on shows including Seinfeld and Ellen. A retired architectural critic for the Pioneer Press, Millett has written a series of Sherlock Holmes mysteries set in 1890s Minnesota.

Short Story Summit with Aamina Ahmad, Megan Giddings, and Julie Schumacher, Wed, Sept. 30, The Loft
The three award-winning authors discuss the inspiration, challenges, and artistry behind crafting short stories, the blend of precision, voice, and narrative tension that makes them come to life. Ahmad spent two years teaching at University of Iowa, was a script editor at the BBC and has written plays stories and a novel. Giddings 2020 novel Lakewood, was one of NPR’s best books of 2020, and 2022’s The Women Could Fly was one of Washington Post’s best Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of 2022. Schumacher, a U of MN regent that directs the university's creative writing program, has 11 books.

Weekly Free Activities

Pool Tournament, Tuesdays 7pm, Midway Saloon
All matches are best-of-three. $10 entry, winner takes all, second place gets a t-shirt (instead of steak knives). Must register online (link) beforehand.

Jeopardy League, Tuesdays, Punch Bowl Social
A phone-enabled two-hour Jeopardy game. Compete singly or in teams of up to six with real prizes.

Sommelier's Table Wine Tasting, Every Wednesday (4pm – 6pm), Prelude at the Westin Edina Galleria
“Settle into Prelude for complimentary tastings of 2–3 featured wines, thoughtfully selected and available by the glass throughout the evening. A guided exploration for both the curious and the seasoned palate."

History Center Free Thursday Nights (4pm – 8pm)
During Thursday visits, you can experience a variety of world-class exhibits, including Our Home: Native Minnesota, Reframing Our Stories, Minnesota’s Greatest Generation, Weather Permitting, and Then Now Wow.

Walker Art Center Free Thursday Nights (5pm – 9pm)
There’s special programming each week, besides the open galleries.MOJO Kickball, Every Sunday, Kenwood Park (1pm-3pm)
It’s not exactly Kickball as you played it in school. There are a host of new rules that mix in other childhood games, including tag, hot potato and dodgeball. It’s allegedly designed for inclusivity and fun for all athletic and age levels. They have a video of how it’s done.

Sarah Does Puzzles, (gen) Sun – Thur, Variable Locale
Sarah is a particularly intrepid dissectologist on a mission. (Yes, Virginia, there is a English word for people who like to solve jigsaw puzzles. Take that Germans!) She wants to turn cooperative puzzling into a competitive sport. Or just help people pass the time doing something mentally stimulating. That doesn’t stop you from drinking to keep things balanced. She’s a roving dissectologist, so you might want to wait until she’s in your neighborhood.

FLUID Table Tennis (Community Ping Pong League), Mon, Wed, Thur, Various|The league is for all levels and everyone can join with no greater goal than improvement. (Or not!) The money goes directly back into the organization to build up the community. Mondays are $10 at Minneapolis Cider Company, Wednesdays are $12 at the Table Tennis MN Training Center, and Thursdays are $8 at Fowling Warhouse.

La Dona 3-on-3 Futbol League, Tue – Fri, thur Oct. 24
Sponsored by La Dona, the Mexican brewery next to Animales in the Harrison neighborhood, the brewery has a small field out back for fast-paced games we wrote about in June. The present season ends at the end of August, and the new 8-week season kicks off in the middle of September. Signup ends on September 7. Friday nights also have pickup matches for a flat fee.

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