Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on June 11 to June 12, 2015.

TORI KELLY w/ Us the Duo
at Varsity Theater
Thursday, 06/11/15, 7pm ($25/16+)
Details: varsitytheater.org

The girl with the big hair, and potentially as big future, Tori Kelly comes to The Varsity in Minneapolis for what will no doubt be a sold out show as part of her Where I Belong tour. One of MTV’s Artists to Watch, the buzzing Kelly has single “Nobody Love” playing everywhere, and debut album, Unbreakable Smile, due out June 23.

Opening is the also buzzy and aptly named Us the Duo. Husband and wife duo Carissa and Michael Alvarado joined the tour recently in Portland, and plays Minneapolis as their last date with Kelly.

The pair first came to light with a series of self-produced Vine videos and innovative 6-second covers of pop hits that made Republic Records stand up and take notice, signing them and releasing their debut, No Matter Where You Are.

Tori Kelly/Us the Duo tour dates:

06/05 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
06/06 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
06/08 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
06/09 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
06/11 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater

WHITE LUNG w/ Obliterations
at 7th Street Entry
Thursday, 06/11/15, 8pm ($10/18+)
Details: first-avenue.com

Vancouver’s White Lung punk band is touring in support of their latest album Deep Fantasy. They will stop by Minneapolis’ 7th Street Entry next Thursday, June 11th.

Normally a trio (Mish Way, Kenneth William, and Anne-Marie Vassiliou), for touring purposes, they’ve added our favorite Deap Vally‘s Lindsey Troy on bass.

Opening up the show will be Obliterations, the raging So-Cal punk/hardcore band previously toured with White Lung on a US Winter 2015 tour in February.

Obliterations is touring in support of their Southern Lord-release debut LP Poison Everything.

Tour dates:

06/05/15 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory Brooklyn

06/06/15 Governors Ball Music Festival

06/08/15 Washington, DC DC9

06/09/15 Columbus, OH Rumba Cafe

06/10/15 St. Louis, MO The Demo

06/11/15 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry

06/12/15 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall

06/13/15 Detroit, MI PJ’s Lager House

06/14/15 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom

06/15/15 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place

06/16/15 Allston, MA Great Scott

06/17/15 Suoni Per IL Popolo

06/20/15 NXNE Festival

08/14/15 Berserktown Fest

08/16/15 Berserktown Fest

BARENAKED LADIES w/ Violent Femmes
at Treasure Island Resort
Friday, 06/12/15, 7pm ($56.50/Sold Out)
Details: ticasino.com

I would totally be down on covering this Barenaked Ladies show – if it wasn’t for the fact that it’ll take me about two hours to drive to Treasure Island Resort & Casino Island Events Center in Welch, Minnesota. I’m mainly interested in the The Violent Femmes, so I have to leave even earlier than scheduled, so perhaps it’s best if I just wait for them to return to Minneapolis at a smaller club show.

What’s going on with the ‘Femmes? Their first new song collection in 15 years, Happy New Year EP, just came out this week: June 2nd, 2015. The EP was recorded this past New Year’s Eve in Hobart, Tasmania, after the legendary band performed a sold out concert at the world famous Sydney Opera House (in Australia). The EP was originally released in April exclusively on 180 gram champagne clear vinyl for Record Store Day, but now is available to anyone interested in owning their new songs.

The trio (guitarist/singer Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Brian Viglione) will be on tour with Colin Hay all Summer long on Barenaked Ladies’ “Last Summer On Earth 2015.”

Tour starts tomorrow (June 5):

06/05 – Columbus, OH – LC Amphitheatre

06/06 – Cleveland, OH – Jacob’s Pavilion

06/07 – Toledo, OH – Zoo Amphitheatre

06/08 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre

06/10 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks

06/12 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Resort

06/13 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion

06/14 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Council Bluffs

06/16 – Chicago, IL – First Merritt Pavilion

06/17- Indianapolis, IN – Farm Bureau Insurance

06/19 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion

06/20 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre

06/21 – Salamanca, NY – Seneca Allegany Resort

06/23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE

06/26 – Portland, ME – Maine State Pier

06/27 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena

06/28 – Philadelphia, PA – Mann Music Center

06/29 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

07/01 – New York, NY – JBL Live at Pier 97

07/02 – West Windsor, NJ – Mercer County Park

07/03 – Solomon’s, MD – PNC Waterside Pavilion

07/04 – Raleigh, NC – The Red Hat Amphitheatre

07/08 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Uptown

07/10 – Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheatre

07/11 – St. Augustine, FL – St Augustine Amphitheatre

07/12 – Atlanta, GA – Verizon Theatre

07/13 – Nashville, TN – The Woods at Fontanel

07/15 – Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie

07/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Boulevard Pool at Cosmopolitan

07/19 – San Diego, CA – OAT

07/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre

07/22 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery

07/24 – Boise, ID – Idaho Botanical Garden

07/25 – Portland, OR – McMenamin’s Edgefield Amph

07/26 – Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park

MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
at The Cabooze
Friday, 06/12/15, 6pm ($35)
Details: cabooze.com

Funk/reggae/rock band Michael Franti & Spearhead will be in town at the Cabooze next Friday, June 12th, as part of his “Once A Day” tour this Summer 2015.

I have previously mentioned that Franti wrote some of the best toe-tapping/hand-clapping song – and his music is probably best experienced live.

Nattali Rize will open the show.

Tour dates:

06/04/15 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore

06/05/15 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory

06/06/15 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston

06/07/15 Mountain Jam Festival

06/09/15 Covington, KY Madison Theater

06/11/15 Des Moines, IA Simon Estes

06/12/15 Minneapolis, MN Cabooze

06/13/15 Bayfield, WI Big Top Chautauqua

06/15/15 St. Louis, MO The Pageant