Here are some shows, this week, in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

07/25/2023 Tuesday
Gogol Bordello
with Puzzled Panther
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

“Start wearing purple!”

If you’ve never seen Gogol Bordello live, do yourself a favor and see them. They are honestly, one of the best live acts we’ve ever seen.

We caught them in Oct 2017 and wrote, “After 18 years as a touring band, it’s obvious that they’ve outgrown First Avenue’s mainroom, as every time they play at the venue, it sells out. If you really want to see the band, buy your ticket early, you’ll thank yourself later. The band is so great live, and, especially with the popular songs like ‘Start Wearing Purple’ and ‘Trans-Continental Hustle’, will have the audience often going crazy for songs (so watching the audience is also half the fun).”

Update: New York duo, Puzzled Panther to open.

Tour dates:

7/11 Kansas City, MO – The Truman
7/12 Oklahoma City, OK – The Jones Assembly
7/14 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
7/15 Salt Lake City, UT – Union Event Center
7/16 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
7/17 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
7/19 Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre
7/20 Edmonton, AB – Midway Music Hall
7/21 Saskatoon, SK – Coors Event Center
7/22 Winnipeg, MB Burton – Cummings Theatre
7/24 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave II
7/25 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
7/27 Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
7/28 Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
7/29 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
7/31 Toronto, ON – History
8/1 Montreal, QC – MTELUS
8/2 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
8/4 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
8/5 Washington, DC – The Atlantis

07/28/2023 Friday
Shakey Graves and Lucius
at Bauhaus Brew Labs
suemclean.com

The second Sparkyard Sound Series, presented by 89.3 The Current and Sue McLean, will be taking place Friday, July 28th. The first of the series featured Grace Potter in June 13, which we described as, “… the Sparkyard Sound Series at Bauhaus Brew Labs presented by 89.3 The Current. Sue McClean & Associates always put on a great show and last night was no exception as Grace Potter rolled into town under clear skies, low humidity and a setting summer sun.”

This time, we are getting a double-header billing, Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) and Lucius (aka Holly and Jess).

We saw Shakey Graves in Oct 2022 and noted, “What a great stage name for Alejandro Rose-Garcia as if acknowledging those from beyond still might have a few more dance moves. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he got his start as a solo act, hustling as a busker with a kick-drum made from a Samsonite suitcase.”

We last saw Lucius in May 2019 and wrote, “The mutual love affair between the Twin Cities and Lucius continues – the LA by-way-of Brooklyn foursome (led by Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, with Dan Molad and Peter Lalish) has played the area very regularly in the last several years– from venues as small as radio studio and record store appearances, to as large as arenas, as part of Roger Waters’ band on his last world tour.”

This should be a great show.

The last Sparkyard Sound show will take place on August 17, with high energy soul band St. Paul & The Broken Bones .

07/29/2023 Saturday
Chase Bliss Anniversary
feat. Kid Koala, Lealani
Emily Hopkins, and Courtney Swain
at Bauhaus Brewery
chasebliss.com

Effects pedals makers Chase Bliss is celebrating their big 10-year anniversary on July 29th at the Bauhaus Brewery. The event is free and open to the public.

What is cool is that turntable artist Kid Koala will be there with his touring support Lealani (who previously toured with Incubus). Also on the mega bill are Emily Hopkins, a harpist from New York, and Courtney Swain, a multi-instrumentalist from Japan, but currently living outside Providence, Rhode Island.

Since the event is free, we will be going in a large group to hang out on Saturday.

Chase Bliss writes:

July 29th! We’re having a birthday party.

It will be right here in Minneapolis, hosted by our friends at @bauhausbrewlabs.

It’s going to be a big day.

We’re talking:
– Pedal pop-up
– Musical performances
– Custom beer
– Harp petting zoo
– MORE

It’s a free event, just pop in.

Our whole team will be flying in from all over and some of our closest pedal buds too. I’m really excited and hope I can meet some of you who have supported the company over the years.

Performances by:
@realkidkoala
@veggieburgerr
@emilyharpist
@chourtkneey

Pop-up featuring:
@oldbloodnoise
@empress_effects
@kinotone
@nativeaudio
@wrenandcuff
@baranikguitars
@alexanderpedals

Hope you can make it!

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.