What’s happening this week.

20 Dec 2024 Friday
Annie Mack
at Landmark Center
landmarkcenter.org

Soulful singer and songwriter, and one of First Avenue’s Best Acts of 2018, Annie Mack, is closing out this year’s KFAI-sponsored Landmark Live concert series, on December 20, 2024.

We saw Mack in Nov 2024 and said, “Annie Mack join on guitar by Mary Cutrufello started their set at 7:30, mindful of the time. She kept asking the crowd how many songs she had left, the intimate theater allowed for the audience to shout back at her “go ahead and play another” and “just one more!” She thought she had heard 7:15 when it was 7:50, spurning a science fiction inspired streams of consciousness thought process leading to how they were so good, they could turn back time.”

Details:

Annie Mack is a soulful singer and unflinching songwriter who writes from the gut and demands your attention. Raised in North Minneapolis and currently living in Rochester, MN, Annie Mack grew up in the 80s, influenced by the rich Twin Cities music scene. Working her way through the Midwest bar scene, Mack built a reputation as a powerhouse blues singer getting national recognition at some of North America’s top festivals, including The John Coltrane Jazz Festival, Thunder Bay Music Festival, Twin Cities Jazz Festival and the Bayfront Blues Festival for 6 years running. In addition to playing some of the top blues and jazz clubs like Buddy Guy’s Legends (Chicago) and The Dakota (Minneapolis), Mack has recently garnered the attention of indie rock tastemakers like The Current, landing her gigs at prestigious performing arts centers and rock venues like First Avenue.

Individual concert tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door (available on Ticketleap). Tickets include admission to the cocktail hour from 6:45-7:30 pm.

6:45 pm – Cocktail hour // 7:00 pm – seating opens // 7:30 pm – Concert

Landmark Center presents “Landmark Live” in the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium, presented with support from KFAI Radio and the Pioneer Press. Concerts begin at 7:30 pm and are preceded by a cocktail hour at 6:45 pm, giving audiences an opportunity to enjoy complimentary refreshments and a cash bar.

20 Dec 2024 Friday
21 Dec 2024 Saturday
The Jayhawks
with Freedy Johnston
at The Fitzgerald Theater
first-avenue.com

Legendary locals The Jayhawks will be doing a residency at the Fitzgerald Theater on December 20 and 21, 2024.

We saw The Jayhawks show in Dec 2018 and wrote, “… the highlight had to be with Johnson and longtime Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy (looking thinner but very happy) forming “semi-Smog” an almost lineup of alt supergroup Golden Smog (sans Jeff Tweedy) for a version of 1998’s ‘Until You Came Along’.”

Freedy Johnston to open.

A message from The Jayhawks…

Like everyone, The Jayhawks were shocked to hear the news about Matthew Sweet’s recent health crisis. Our ties with Matthew go back over 30 years and we first toured with him in the fall of 1992. A Go Fund Me link has been established to help address his considerable medical expenses and the loss of his primary source of income for the foreseeable future. Thanks everyone and send Matthew some positive vibes so we can see him back in action soon.

Ben Folds
with Lindsey Kraft
at Florida Theatre
21 Dec 2024
floridatheatre.com

The great Ben Folds will be ending his tour at the Florida Theatre, in Jacksonville, on December 21, 2024. Folds released his first-ever Christmas album on New West Records… so expect some Christmas-ey songs on this tour in December.

We saw Ben Folds in Sep 2012, and got this incredible story about Folds’ first tour in Minneapolis. He will never, ever come to Minneapolis in the Winter since then. Here is the story: “Ben Folds told this great story about their first gig in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry. If you live around here, you know that place is tiny, so I had this vision of their grand piano taking up 90% of the stage. It was the first time the band came to Minneapolis and they had no idea how cold it was. It was snowing, negative 60 degree (at least that’s what they said!), and they were moving the piano outside. They had “jackets” on but it was so cold, they ran back inside – leaving the piano in the middle of the street! Lessons learned.”

Lindsey Kraft to open.

Ben Folds On Tour: