Molly Tuttle at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-10-11)
read more Kansas City Music Guide MOLLY TUTTLE with JOSHUA RAY WALKER at LIBERTY...
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
Matt Maltese at The Fillmore Minneapolis (October 13, 2025)
Matt Maltese at Fillmore (Oct 13, 2025) Matt Maltese Setlist Always Some MF Buses...
Everclear at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall (October 12, 2025)
Everclear at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall (Oct 12, 2025) Everclear Setlist Electra Made Me Blind...
Djo with Post Animal at Grinders KC, Kansas CIty MO (2025-10-07)
read more Kansas City Music Guide DJO with POST ANIMAL at GRINDERS KC, KANSAS CITY...
Bob Mould at Icehouse (October 10, 2025)
Bob Mould was playing the first of two solo Twin Cities shows, and unsurprisingly, played like the rock legend he is.
GoGo Penguin at Fine Line, Minneapolis (October 7, 2025)
Manchester trio GoGo Penguin brought their intricate, guitar-free blend of jazz and electronica to the Fine Line. Surrounded by keyboards, laptops, and acoustic drums, they delivered dizzying polyrhythms and luminous tension. Bassist Nick Blacka anchored the chaos.
Young the Giant at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-10-05)
read more Kansas City Music Guide YOUNG THE GIANT with CASSANDRA COLEMAN at UPTOWN THEATER,...
Grandaddy at First Avenue, Minneapolis (October 8, 2025)
Twenty-one years after their last Minnesota show, Grandaddy returned to First Avenue to perform The Sophtware Slump in full. Note-perfect and emotionally heavy, the set traced millennial dread and fragile hope before loosening into celebratory encores—including birthday cake for guitarist Jim Fairchild. Vermont’s Greg Freeman opened with a beautifully restrained set.
elbow at First Avenue (October 7, 2025)
British band elbow played a great show at First Avenue, with a full band creating some amazingly layered sounds.
Royel Otis at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-10-03)
Australian guitar-pop sensations duo Royel Otis played a crowded Uptown Theater (after being brought indoors and upgraded from GrindersKC) in midtown Kansas City, in support of their second full-length, hickey, released in August (via Ourness/Capitol Records). Explaining the album title, the pair has said "…because love bites harder than any other emotion in the world."
Caroline Kingsbury and Maris at Green Room, Minneapolis (October 4th 2025)
Alright, another Twin Cities music venue under my belt as the Green Room played host to co-headliners, Caroline Kingsbury and Maris. It’s a fun, intimate venue with plenty of great sightlines. The balcony allows for great views of the stage; straight on you still fell plenty close, and from the sides you feel like you’re practically on stage. When I review shows, I tend to move about and really couldn’t find a bad spot. If you haven’t been, check it out.
Ehsan Matoori at The O’Shaughnessy (October 4, 2025)
Ehsan Matoori and friends brought an evening of world music to The O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul, performing original works inspired by the poetry of Rumi.
Joan Osborne at The Dakota (October 3, 2025)
Singer Joan Osborne featured a set of Bob Dylan songs mixed with her own in the first of a two night set at the Dakota in Minneapolis.
Low Cut Connie at First Avenue (October 2, 2025)
Next up and right on time was Low Cut Connie. What more needs to be said about this bawdy, fun-loving house band. We are big fans and have seen them quite a bit over the years. There was John’s review in Nov, 2018
Tune-Yards at Fine Line (October 1, 2025)
Tune-Yards, with opener Kassa Overall, brought a tremendous start to Rocktober at Fine Line in Minneapolis.
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)
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.