Water From Your Eyes and Her New Knife at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (30 Sep 2025)
Water From Your Eyes and Her New Knife at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (30 Sep 2025)
Concert Review
A concert review is a critical evaluation of a live music performance, covering the artists, structure, venue, and overall audience experience to place the show in a wider context. Rooted in 18th-century music criticism, these reviews analyze performances to assess quality, often comparing them to other shows
Stacey Ryan at 7th Street Entry (September 29, 2025)
It was an early show at 7th Street Entry, as two young singer songwriters were...
KALEO at The Fillmore (September 29, 2025)
Icelandic blues rock band KALEO wrapped up their successful American tour with a stop at The Fillmore in Minneapolis. They closed on a bang.
John Maus at Green Room (September 28, 2025)
John Maus brought a unique energy to the Green Room in Minneapolis and unleashed an onslaught of music and stage presence.
Big Trouble at The White Squirrel Bar (September 27, 2025)
Big Trouble had their monthly residence performance at The White Squirrel Bar and the instrumental band played a wide variety of genres, highlighting their skills as musicians.
Deltron 3030 at Uptown Theater (September 24, 2025)
Supergroup Deltron 3030 (Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala) just rocked the Uptown Theater, in Minneapolis, last Wednesday. They did all the hits (“3030”, “Positive Contact”, “Memory Loss”), and, like the last time, they played “Clint Eastwood”, the song that made Gorillaz famous.
Radio Free Alice at 7th Street Entry (September 24, 2025)
Almost October, and Wednesday night was as balmy as any summer eve. Downtown Minneapolis was...
Bass Drum of Death at Turf Club (September 23, 2025)
Bass Drum of Death brought their garage sound to Saint Paul’s Turf Club, and alongside opener Farmer’s Wife, played a fun show of guitar heavy rock.
James at First Avenue (September 21, 2025)
James was at First Avenue and rewarded the crowd with a marathon set, playing the entirety of the album Laid and much more.
Sparks at the Fitzgerald Theater (September 20, 2025)
Sparks is a musical tandem of Russell and Ron Mael, two brothers born and raised on the coast of California, who found a musical home in London. Their musical journey started quite a while ago in 1971. Since then they have recorded 28 studio albums and over 500 songs. They are currently touring to promote their latest release Mad, but they had plenty of other songs to dip into during their almost two hour concert.
Give In to 2000, Man
So why not go back to 2000? A musical time trip might be a balm to dealing with the horrors of the present. Grandaddy, the Modesto-born band who gained traction in the late ‘90s—is happy to oblige me. Touring in support of the 25th anniversary of their 2000 album, The Sophtware Slump, frontman and songwriter Jason Lytle, a skateboarder-turned-musician, offers a nostalgia-tinged complementary American precursor to the creepy, hi-fi fears on Radiohead’s 1997 album OK Computer.
Dakota 40th Anniversary Block Party at Dakota Jazz Club (September 20, 2025)
Forty-year anniversary celebrations were on the menu this weekend. In Chicago the Pogues played Riot Fest to celebrate the 40 years since the release of their seminal album Rum Sodomy & the Lash. At The Bank on the University of Minnesota campus an all-star line-up, including Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, headlined the 40th Farm Aid Music Festival. And on Nicollet Mall in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, a jazz club reached the rare milestone and decided to throw a party.
Pulp at the Armory, Minneapolis (September 20, 2025)
Pulp's charming frontman disclosed all of this to us over the course of a captivating two-hour show - one that betrayed no sign of his advancing age (62 years and, now, one day). The touring version of Pulp (ten strong, with many of them switching instruments and roles throughout the night) sounded phenomenal, whether picking tracks from 1995's Different Class or 2025's More. If you haven't heard it, More has every bit of the hilarious, absurd, satirical songwriting Pulp had perfect in the 90s (when they were mentioned in the same sentences as Oasis and Blur as Britpop Bands That Might Conquer the World). The evening was full of Pulp's most popular driving, high-energy danceable pop, albeit with their signature winking cultural critiques.
The Darkness at the Varsity Theater (September 19, 2025)
British hard rockers The Darkness played to a packed Varsity Theater charming the crowd in support of their new album, Dreams on Toast.
The Baseball Project at Fine Line (September 17, 2025)
The Baseball Project was playing a show at Fine Line in Minneapolis mere blocks from the Twins-Yankees game. Old and new fans got a great show from this very talented band.
Rilo Kiley tears sh*t up at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul (September 16 2025)
Holy sh**! I almost wussed out on this show, as I’m old and was still recovering from my weekend of travel to see Fazerdaze in Chicago, oh and Spoon and The Pixies were there too. I’m so glad I didn’t skip out, though, because Rilo Kiley put on one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.
Fazerdaze, Spoon, and the Pixies at the Salt Shed, Chicago (September 15th 2025)
The Salt Shed, a relatively new venue (2022) in Chicago, played host to the Pixies, Spoon, and Fazerdaze on a lovely September summer day. First a little bit about the venue, a mere 6 hours from the Twin Cities (depending on traffic), on Goose Island. They have done a fantastic job in making this space an exceptional place to see a show. There is both an indoor and an outdoor stage. Being the aforementioned lovely summer day, it was outside. Being right by the river drops the temperature is a bit cooler and provides a great backdrop. If you have the chance, I highly recommend taking in a show here.
Mystery Skulls at Turf Club (September 15, 2025)
Mystery Skulls brought the electronic dance music to St. Paul’s Turf Club to a crowd ready to move.
Hotline TNT at Underground Music Venue, Minneapolis (September 14, 2025)
Hotline TNT at Underground Music Venue (Sep14, 2025) Tour Dates Sept. 14 –...
Dominique Fils-Aimé at Dakota Jazz Club (September 14, 2025)
When we saw Dominique Fils-Aimé at the Dakota Jazz Club in August of last year, we noted at the end of the review: “This was her first Dakota Jazz Club appearance, and based on the turnout, it probably won’t be her last.”
Selby Avenue Jazz Fest (September 13, 2025)
The Selby Avenue Jazz Fest is in the heart of St. Paul, specifically, the Rondo neighborhood. It was founded in 2002 as a response to the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Co-founder, Michael Wright, felt a need to celebrate the good things going on in the world and in the heart of St. Paul, and he felt, “Nothing gets people together like a good old-fashioned block party.” The inaugural Jazz Fest had 600 people. There were quite a few more on Saturday.
CMAT at Fine Line (September 12, 2025)
It was another sold out show for Irish singer CMAT who is having quite the week in a very busy summer. And based on the show at the Fine Line she will be even busier in the future.
Castle Rat at the Ship, Kansas City (September 12, 2025)
We drove 10 hours to catch Castle Rat on their Book of Beasts tour. A four-band lineup of very capable doom metal acts made sure our effort was worthwhile.
Chanel Beads at Zhora Darling (September 13, 2025)
Chanel Beads, with shoegaze opener Maria Somerville, performed for a sold out crowd at Zhora Darling with an electronic-infused indie sound.
Opening Weekend: Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony with Thomas Zehetmair
In the premiere of their 67th season, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) gave the audience a grand performance featuring modern music, an emotional double concerto, and a jubilant symphony. Leading the orchestra was Austrian composer and conductor Thomas Zehetmair who rejoined as artistic partner, last seen with SPCO in the 2019-2020 season.
Kiss the Tiger at Icehouse (September 11, 2025)
Kiss the Tiger debuted their new album Infinite Love at Icehouse and it was a TREMENDOUS show.
Paul Bergen at The White Squirrel Bar (September 10, 2025)
Paul Bergen and friends played a bluesy rock & roll session at The White Squirrel Bar in St. Paul.
The Baseball Project at Bier Hall, Jacksonville (September 10, 2025)
Supergroup The Baseball Project just kicked off their 2025 national tour at the Bier Hall (at Intuition Ale Works), in Jacksonville, Florida.
Al Church and The Congregation at Turf Club (September 6, 2025)
Al Church and The Congregation performed the songs of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys at the Turf Club in St. Paul.
Jeff Rosenstock & PUP at Palace Theatre (September 3, 2025)
Jeff Rosenstock & PUP nailed a co-headlong tour stop at St. Paul’s Palace Theatre.