W♥M

06/23/2025

Jax: July 20 to July 24, 2025

06/22/2025

Static-X and GWAR with Dope at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

Static-X / GWAR at Uptown Theater, KCMO

STATIC-X SETLIST

intro music: Walk (Pantera song) > Project Regeneration Song

I Want to F**king Break It
Cannibal
Terminator Oscillator
Love Dump
Sweat of the Bud
Wisconsin Death Trip
Fix
Bled for Days
Black and White
Get to the Gone
I Am
Z0mbie
Destroy All

-- Encore --
Cold (Tribute to Wayne Static)
I'm With Stupid
Push It
with GWAR

GWAR SETLIST

F**k This Place
Metal Metal Land
El Presidente
Womb With a View
The Salaminizer
Slap U Around
Immortal Corrupter
Lot Lizard
Gor-Gor
Sick of You

DOPE SETLIST

Blood Money
Bring It On
Bitch
Debonaire
Die MF Die
I'm Back, Sick, Burn (all partial verses)
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Dead or Alive cover)

A KILLER'S CONFESSION SETLIST

Purpose
Sun
Greed
Hollow
Filth
Facts
Qwerty (Mushroomhead cover)
A Killer's Confession

STATIC-X TOUR DATES

JUN 18 The Criterion Oklahoma City, OK
Jul 25 Hills of Rock Festival Plovdiv, Bulgaria
JUL 26 Hangar Belgrade, Serbia
JUL 29 Dürer Kert Budapest, Hungary
Jul. 30 Rockstadt Extreme Fest Braşov, Romania
Jul. 30 - Aug. 2nd Wacken Open Air Wacken, Germany
JUL 30 Alter Schlachthof Dresden, Germany
AUG 2 Collosseum club Košice I, Slovakia
AUG 5 Simm City Vienna, Austria
Aug. 6 - 9 Brutal Assault Jaroměř, Czech Republic
Aug. 7 - 10 Bloodstock Open Air Walton-on-trent, UK
AUG 7 Garage Saarbrucken Saarbrücken, Germany
Aug. 8 - 10 Alcatraz Festival Kortrijk, Belgium
AUG 8 Pol’and’Rock Czaplinek, Poland
AUG 12 Bierhübeli Berne, Switzerland
Aug. 13 - 16 Summer Breeze Open Air Dinkelsbühl, Germany
AUG 13 Zeche Bochum Bochum, Germany
Aug. 14 - 16 Reload Festival Sulingen, Germany
Aug. 15 - 17 Dynamo Metalfest Eindhoven, Netherlands
SEP 11 Q Casino Dubuque, IA
SEP 14 Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
SEP 16 The Rave / Eagles Club Milwaukee, WI
SEP 17 Covelli Centre Youngstown, OH
SEP 19 Louder Than Life Louisville, KY
SEP 21 Steelhouse Omaha Omaha, NE
SEP 23 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
SEP 26 Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Las Vegas, NV
SEP 27 Arizona Financial Theatre Phoenix, AZ
SEP 28 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA
SEP 30 Moda Center Portland, OR
OCT 1 BECU Live at Northern Quest Airway Heights, WA
OCT 2 Aftershock Sacramento, CA
OCT 3 Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre Pocatello, ID
OCT 5 Aftershock Sacramento, CA
OCT 7 The Union Event Center Salt Lake City, UT
OCT 9 Tulsa Theater Tulsa, OK
OCT 11 South Side Ballroom Dallas, TX
OCT 12 Boeing Center at Tech Port San Antonio, TX
OCT 13 Bayou Music Center Houston, TX
OCT 16 Choctaw Grand Theater Durant, OK
OCT 18 Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN
OCT 19 Coca-Cola Roxy Atlanta, GA
OCT 22 The Dome Virginia Beach, VA
OCT 24 The Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ
OCT 25 MGM Music Hall at Fenway Boston, MA

GWAR TOUR DATES

Jun 18 The Criterion Oklahoma City, OK
Jun 20 Vinyl Music Hall Pensacola, FL
Jun 21 The Caverns Pelham, TN
Jul 24 Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront Richmond, VA
Aug 2 Williwaw Social Anchorage, AK
Sep 20 Riot Fest Chicago, IL
Oct 5 Aftershock Festival Sacramento, CA
Nov 15-16 Vans Warped Tour Orlando, FL

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Gwar

GWAR fans know what to expect when they see a live GWAR show. Whether it be covered in bile and blood, or stage props that could be used in any top tier horror ....

In the war between Machines vs. Monsters, the winner was...Mother Nature?

Mother Nature always wins, as we found out in Kansas City when this loaded four-band line-up came to town – Static-X and GWAR (who are also celebrating 40 years), along with Dope and A Killer’s Confession, to make up the “Machines Vs. Monsters Tour”, originally slated as an outdoor show in the Bottoms at Grinders KC.

But, the threat of impending severe storms forced the show to re-locate, which meant indoors at the nearby Uptown Theater, as equipment, lighting, and gear was moved to the new location. Knowing GWAR’s stage show, tarps and protective plastic also covered everything near the stage.

Still, the faithful were happy to adapt to instead being inside, as long as it meant almost five hours of industrial metal, aggro-rock, theatrical ‘evil disco’, and a visual spectacle from each band. The tour kicked off in Tucson, AZ on May 23 and made its way to mid-America, just in time for Arizona-like temps and approaching storms outside.

===

Cleveland’s A Killer’s Confession got the evening started, with a short but memorable set of theatrical metal, in support of last year’s full-length, Victim 1, with its sequel, Victim 2, due out later this year. A couple of singles, “In Case of Emergency” and “Hollow” have already dropped ahead of the new record.

The band has solid ties to Mushroomhead, as its leader is their former vocalist, Waylon Reavis, with another previous band singer, J Mann Popson (who toured with them earlier this Spring) being featured on “In Case of Emergency”. The band managed to carry on, (even working in Mushroomhead’s “Qwerty”) despite a couple members recently leaving mid-tour, and entertained everyone with their masks, costumes, and refined blend of nu metal.

===

The sound shifted to more industrial as NYC’s Dope was next, still in support of 2023’s Blood Money Part Zer0, a sequel of sorts to their previous 2016 album. The band was formed way back in 1997 and still continues to be led by main songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Edsel Dope (who sort of acknowledged that their crowd has grown older with them).

When your lead guitarist’s name is Virus, you know they’re not messing around, and while the band couldn’t squeeze in their 2023 cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong” from their recent EP, they did of course work in their driving battle cry hit, “Die MF Die” that set the mosh pit ablaze. Some parts of a few songs followed, but the band found their full groove again, in time to end with their anthemic cover of the famous Dead or Alive track from the 80’s.

===

As long as the previous band has been around, shock rockers GWAR have been around since their humble beginnings in 1984 Richmond, VA (what a sight that must have in those times of big hair, glam rock, and New Wave!).

2022’s The New Dark Ages was their most recent album, but the band has a recent single (which they didn’t play live), “The Great Circus Train Disaster,” the second track from their upcoming multimedia release ‘The Return of Gor Gor,’ out July 25 via Pit Records/Z2 Comics.

The band was in fine form and ready to battle in those bulky, oversized medieval warrior costumes (though we’re betting much more blood would have been spilled at the original outdoor venue) – to fight each other, their loyal fans (many of whom purposely wear white to take on the blood splattering as a badge of honor), and even our Glorious Leader himself (during “El Presidente”).

The more the blood flew, the louder the crowd got, and while their lineup may change, the very spectacle of their stage show will be timeless. They are one live act that even the mildest metal fan, should witness at least once, and this 40^th anniversary outing is an ideal time to do so.

===

Speaking of anniversaries, Static-X is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of their defining “Wisconsin Death Trip” album with a lineup that still retains Tony Campos (bass),Koichi Fukuda (guitar) and co-founder Ken Jay (drums) along with current vocalist/guitarist Xer0, complete with high hair and light-up glowing eyes (and who is generally acknowledged to be Dope’s Edsel, but does it matter that much, as it’s two different personas!?).

Original bandleader Wayne Static died in Nov 2014, mixing Xanax and other prescription drugs with alcohol, and most assumed the band was ending for good, after releasing six studio albums and with Static then already pursuing a solo career. But the band was reborn just a few years later with new albums following- "Project Regeneration Vol. 1" (released in July 2020) and its follow-up, "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2", out last January.

Fans were just pleased to see a band they maybe thought they wouldn’t ever have a chance to; or for more longtime loyalists, a chance to see the 2.0 version of this influential industrial band, to see where they go next. Since this new chapter began in 2018, the band has managed to find its balance in both honoring its own legacy, while also evolving to chart a new musical path all their own.

Tracks from “Death Trip” got the most reaction, with songs like “Terminator Oscillator” and “Bled for Days” sounding spot-on and which suitably frothed up the crowd, while 2001’s “Cold” was an emotional and heartfelt tribute to Wayne. The pit got one last energetic chance to swirl with its flailing crowd surfers on the band’s biggest hit, “Push It” which everyone in or near the mosh, seemed to do.

===

So, initially it seemed like Mother Nature won the day, by forcing the Machines Vs. Monsters Tour indoors, but with its epic lineup of Static-X, GWAR, Dope, and A Killer’s Confession, the real winners were the fans that delighted in seeing the four bands live and got to rock out for a full weeknight evening, safely inside and away from any approaching storms (which never ended up coming through the immediate area, by the way).

ALL PHOTOS BY JASON DOMINGUES

(click on any image to enlarge and to see in full)

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STATIC-X at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

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STATIC-X at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

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GWAR at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

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GWAR at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

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DOPE at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

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A KILLER'S CONFESSION at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

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John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap

Posted at 11:04 PM in GWAR, Jason Domingues, John, Kansas City, Static-X, Uptown Theater | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Head and the Heart at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-18)

THE HEAD AND THE HEART SETLIST

Arrow
Cats and Dogs >
Coeur d'Alene
Fire Escape
Jubilee
All We Ever Knew
Don't Show Your Weakness
Beg, Steal, Borrow
Time With My Sins
Another Story
Josh McBride
After the Setting Sun
Honeybee
Pool Break
Waiting for Superman (solo, Flaming Lips cover, aborted)
Cop Car
Missed Connection
Virginia (Wind in the Night)
Ghosts
Shake
Down in the Valley

-- Encore --
Aperture
Let's Be Still
Lost in My Mind
Rivers and Roads

FUTUREBIRDS SETLIST

College Try
Put Up, Keep Up
Olive Garden Daydream #47
Rodeo
Up and Out
Virginia Slims
27
Trippin'
Ski Chalet >
Wild Heart >
Ski Chalet Reprise

THE HEAD AND THE HEART TOUR DATES

Jun 19 Palace Theatre Saint Paul, MN
Jun 20 Summerfest 2025 Milwaukee, WI
Jul 15 Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC
Jul 16 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC
Jul 18 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN
Jul 19 Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville, KY
Jul 20 Smale Riverfront Park Cincinnati, OH
Jul 22 Asheville Yards Amphitheater Asheville, NC
Jul 23 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH
Jul 25 The Papermill Island Syracuse, NY
Jul 26 The Pines Theater at Look Park Northampton, MA
Jul 27 Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Bethlehem, PA
Jul 30 SummerStage in Central Park New York, NY
Jul 31 Stone Pony Summer Stage Asbury Park, NJ
Aug 1 Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront Richmond, VA
Aug 2 Riverfront Park Harrisburg, PA
Aug 3 Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA
Aug 5 Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica Cleveland, OH
Aug 6 White River State Park Indianapolis, IN
Aug 7 Kresge Auditorium Interlochen, MI
Aug 8 The Salt Shed Chicago, IL
Aug 10 The Astro – Outdoor Amphitheater La Vista, NE
Aug 11 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
Aug 13 Ogden Amphitheater Ogden, UT
Aug 14 Idaho Botanical Garden: Outlaw Field Boise, ID
Aug 15 Edgefield Amphitheater Troutdale, OR
Aug 16 T-Mobile Park Seattle, WA
Sep 11 Harvest Music Festival Fredericton, Canada
Sep 24 The Greek Theatre Berkeley, CA
Sep 25 Channel 24 Sacramento, CA
Sep 26 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
Sep 28 Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Sep 29 Gallagher Square San Diego, CA
Sep 30 Arizona Financial Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Oct 2 Revel Entertainment Center Albuquerque, NM
Oct 4 The Criterion Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 5 JJ's Live Fayetteville, AR
Oct 7 The Lyric Oxford Oxford, MS
Oct 10 Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN

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The Head And The Heart

Seattle's The Head and the Heart just stopped by First Avenue, in Minneapolis, as part of their national tour in support of Let's Be Still. The album was released last week, October 15th ...

For photographers, the aperture is the part of the camera that controls what amount and lets in the light--

With The Head and The Heart, the Seattle folk rock band we’ve followed for fifteen years, who made a midtown Kansas City stop at the Uptown Theater in support of their sixth studio album, their aperture was fully open (both figuratively and literally), to let in the light of a joyous and well-received performance.

===

The three-act bill got underway with a buzzing relative newcomer, Anna Graves, who hails from, and recently returned to her family’s rural farm in Webster, MN, south of our main Twin Cities stomping grounds. After notching time in LA and Nashville but not finding the success she was hoping for, a return to her roots proved some much-needed gravity for her to take stock again and musically express herself even more open and honestly.

She laid that truth down to the audience prefacing “Made to Love Someone” and expressed how thrilled she was to have her music featured on the recent hit rom-com streamer, “Nobody Wants This” before playing “Fly”, one of the songs that made the soundtrack.

She mentioned her love of birds before her most recent single, “Bluebird” and taught the audience the chorus, on her set-closing “Minnesota’s on My Mind”, a song we can directly relate to. With song placements in other media and a guest vocal on the recent Wilder Woods’ (aka Bear from needtobreathe) single, “Offering”, we haven’t heard the last of Graves by any means.

===

For Athens, GA band Futurebirds, the road never ends, with 2024’s Easy Company album (out via Dualtone Records) being the most recent reason to get back out there and play live again, like they obviously enjoy doing.

The band has been around since 2008, releasing a first album in 2010 and their current lineup (aka v5.0) includes Brannen Miles, Carter King, Daniel Womack, Thomas Johnson, Kiffy Myers, Thomas Myers, and Spencer Thomas, who all give off the vibe that you’re at their backyard barbecue and they’re all just jamming amongst friends.

Not much was said between songs, preferring to work as much in as possible, but the guitarists were jumping about the stage, they sing about things like “Olive Garden daydreams” and you would have thought the whole evening was over, when Graves and half of The Head and The Heart all jumped on stage to gleefully sing along on “Wild Heart”, the penultimate song of their fun set.

===

The Head and the Heart are back with their new twelve-track self-produced record, Aperture, released on May 9 via Verve Forecast and celebrated in KC with a 98-min performance. We’re longtime fans as mentioned, having seen them most recently in Minnesota last summer and before that, in Kansas City on a co-headlining tour out at Starlight.

But our history goes even further back- with an initial in-store appearance at Electric Fetus on their first tour outside of the Pacific Northwest, a free University of MN concert to celebrate the end of the school year, and an appearance at the late, lamented Festival Palomino, put on by Trampled by Turtles.

Since all that, the band has musically evolved, as has their stagelight show, into something we hadn’t seen from this seemingly ‘simple folk band’ before. Things got off to a positive start with the initial single from the new album, “Arrow” with singer Jonathan Russell lyrically declaring, “I am my own arrow, I am my own home, it’s alright, it’s alright!”.

Their melodic harmonies are well known as well, with members (and husband/wife) Charity Rose Theilen and Matt Gervais joining in for “Cats and Dogs/Coeur d’ Alene”, which also found the restless Gervais jumping down into the front pit to shake hands and pose for cellphone pictures, all without missing a verse.

“All We Ever Knew” found the crowd singing back loudly and Gervais noted how grateful the band was to see so many singing along with the newer songs as well, though the new album has only been out about a month.

“After the Setting Sun” and “Honeybee” were nice to hear back-to-back, as both feature Thielen’s raspy pixie vocals and it has to be mentioned how much the band has raised its stage lighting game.

A long row of footlights and another behind the stage, along with horizontal light bars above the band, in addition to all the framing Vari-Lites, all made for an impressive visual spectacle that grew more illuminated as the set progressed. By near the end, synchronized lights were flashing everywhere, like something from a EDM concert, not a Seattle folk five-piece, and we came away very impressed.

After the new “Pool Break” (a special track for bassist Chris Zasche because it was the first composed for the new record and came together quickly), the members left the stage except for Russell, who, bathed under stark amber spotlights, mentioning they were just in Oklahoma City and he began the first verse of The Flaming Lips’ “Waiting for Superman” before abandoning it all together, never gaining its rhythm.

The full band returned, going into the emotional new “Cop Car”, followed by hits “Missed Connection” and “Virginia (Wind in the Night)” with Gervais back in the audience, first circling the crowd from the edges, then continuing in to sing from the center as cellphone lights and cameras flashed.

2013’s “Shake” and their typical set closer, “Down in the Valley” ended things on a high note, with the crowd left clapping and stomping for more. The encore began with the title track from the new record and Russell singing the question, “Come alive, come alive, what does it feel like?”

A late (but very welcome) addition scribbled in on some setlists was the swaying title track to 2013’s “Let’s Be Still” (whose bobbing piano chords sound like a vintage Brian Wilson song) and their breakthrough hit, “Lost in My Mind” provided one last sing-along. The sullen “Rivers and Roads” from their debut album, is both ethereal and sounds like an Irish farewell song, so was an ideal closer for the evening.

The aperture was fully open for The Head and the Heart on this night, both in taking in their stunning new light show and hearing the new songs, about hope, resilience, and encouraging a renewed clarity in seeing things, letting the light come in.

(click on any image to enlarge and to see in full)

THE HEAD AND THE HEART at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-18)

FUTUREBIRDS at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-18)

ANNA GRAVES at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-06-18)

John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap

Posted at 09:00 AM in Anna Graves, Futurebirds, John, Kansas City, Review, The Head and the Heart, Uptown Theater | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm With Her at The Kauffman Center for the Arts, Kansas City MO (17 June 2025)

I'M WITH HER SETLIST

Strawberry Moonrise
Find My Way To You
Ancient Light
Standing on the Fault Line
See You Around
Game to Lose
Overland
Different Rocks, Different Hills
Ain't That Fine
Call My Name
Lord Lead Me On (Bill Monroe cover)
Sisters of the Night Watch
Carey (Joni Mitchell cover)
Only Daughter
Mother Eagle (Sing Me Alive)
Wild and Clear and Blue
Year After Year

-- Encore --
Rhododendron
Crossing Muddy Waters (John Hiatt cover)

MASON VIA SETLIST

Melt in the Sun
Pawnshops and Wedding Rings
Fireball
Cocaine
Mardi Gras
Wide Open
Oh Lordy Me

I'M WITH HER TOUR DATES

Jun 19 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride, CO
Jun 20 Sheridan Opera House Telluride, CO
Jul 10 Interlochen Center Interlochen, MI*
Jul 11 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH*
Jul 12 Asheville Yards Amphitheater Asheville, NC*
Jul 13 Koka Booth Amphitheatre Cary, NC*
Jul 15 Wolf Trap Vienna, VA*
Jul 16 The Levitt Pavilion Westport, CT
Jul 18 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival Oak Hill, NY
Jul 19 Thompson's Point Portland, ME*
Jul 20 The Green at Shelburne Museum Burlington, VT*
Jul 21 The Pines Theater at Look Park Northampton, MA*
Jul 23 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Richmond, VA*
Jul 24 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA*
Jul 25 Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards LaFayette, NY*
Jul 26 Newport Folk Festival Newport, RI
Sep 25 Tower Theatre Oklahoma City, OK
Sep 26 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
Sep 27 The Paramount Theatre Austin, TX
Sep 29 Lensic Performing Arts Center Santa Fe, NM
Oct 1 Epstein Family Amphitheater San Diego, CA
Oct 2 The Ford Los Angeles, CA
Oct 3 Campbell Hall Santa Barbara, CA
Oct 6 Mondavi Center Davis, CA
Oct 8 The Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
Oct 9 Mount Baker Theatre Bellingham, WA
Oct 10 Revolution Hall Portland, OR
Oct 11 The Egyptian Theatre Boise, ID
Oct 13 Jackson Hole Center Jackson, WY
Oct 14 Harris Concert Hall Aspen, CO
Oct 15 Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
Nov 4 Asbury Hall at Babeville Buffalo, NY
Nov 5 Koerner Hall Toronto, ON
Nov 7 McCarter Theatre Center Princeton, NJ
Nov 8 Boch Center Shubert Theatre Boston, MA
Nov 9 Appell Center York, PA
Nov 11 Beacon Theatre New York, NY
Nov 12 Harvester Performance Center Rocky Mount, VA
Nov 14 Charleston Music Hall Charleston, SC
Nov 15 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Nov 16 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

Read More

I'm With Her

I'm With Her is the supergroup project, featuring Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan. The trio’s debut album See You Around is available now on Rounder Records. ....

While we don’t necessarily love the term itself, we do love a good “supergroup”-

Three female titans of folk and bluegrass are known as I’m With Her and have reconvened for the first time since 2018, to release a new album, Wild and Clear and Blue and supporting tour, and we were happy to catch them on a potentially wild, stormy, and gray weeknight at the wonderful Kauffman Center for the Arts in downtown Kansas City.

===

The evening got underway with a well-received 35min. set from Nashville via Appalachia (sort of) newcomer, Mason Via, playing traditional Country / roots bluegrass selections from his two solo albums. We say sort of, because Via was formerly the youngest member of Old Crow Medicine Show and has been in KC previously as part of the huge Folk Alliance International annual conference and gathering.

It’s his sophomore album which is self-titled (released in April on Mountain Fever Records) with his debut called New Horizons, and he and his two sidemen (which became three when harmonica player Corey Flick emerged mid-set) charmed the audience with their affable, ‘aw shucks’ demeanor. They play steady songs, easy to clap along, or sing the chorus to, which is probably part in his genes, as Via’s father is a MerleFest award-winning bluegrass songwriter.

Via commented on the elegance of the venue (“something out of Star Wars”) and having some memorable burnt end barbecue following his opening, “Melt in the Sun” and followed that with a tune written by his father, who calls it his ‘island song’ waiting for someone to cash in with this ‘sure-fire hit’, so he can buy his own island. “Fireball” was dedicated to Via’s new wife, and the set closed with the joyous “Oh Lordy Me” sing-along, which sounded like a traditional gospel song, but is in fact, a Via original.

===

We (and everyone else) are thrilled to see the return of folk supergroup I’m With Her, both with their sophomore album, Wild And Clear And Blue (out last month via Rounder Records) as well as the chance to see them on the road again. Their debut album, the Grammy Award-nominated See You Around, came out in 2018, and we caught the group live that year in St Paul, MN.

The trio of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins finally had their own respective very busy schedules made free enough to make time for the new record (featuring lead single, “Ancient Light”) and an accompanying tour, some seven years after their first. Their 85 min. headlining set had just the trio with no backing band, and took selections from each release (playing all but one song from the new LP), with each of the women taking turns on lead vocals.

O’Donovan also spends time with string quartet Crooked Still, Watkins is a founding member of Nickel Creek, and Jarosz has made a name on her own; but when they do come together, their shared harmonies and on-stage synchronization, make it seem like the trio has played together regularly for years.

Harmonies were immediately apparent on the opening “Strawberry Moonrise” with the three positioned at center stage with additional instruments around them, and a graphic backdrop of hazy trees in an auburn forest, to add to the immersion.

‘See You Around’, the title track of the previous record, was the first older track played and the crowd’s response which grew as the set progressed, had the trio thinking they were playing on a weekend, not a weeknight. The trio made light of Via’s ability to teach a sing-along, so Watkins playfully attempted to do similar, using the complicated lyrics of “Overland”, which got a collective laugh.

O’ Donovan took lead for the gospel, “Lord Lead Me On”, known best as a 1958 Bill Monroe version, but a song that has its roots in the 30’s and 40’s, Watkins’ musical skills took the spotlight on “Sisters of the Nightwatch”, and the group answered maybe the most obvious question- if they are influenced by Joni Mitchell (duh) by playing a cover of her ”Carey”, from her classic 1971 Blue album.

A pre-show walk in the nearby Crossroads District found them taking pictures in front of an eagle mural, which was a perfect intro to their “Mother Eagle (Sing Me Alive)” and the main set would end with their “Year After Year” encouraging living proactively each day and lyrically asking, “If not now, then when?”

The encore began with “Rhododendron” that hard to pronounce, multi-syllable word referring to a beautiful type of flower that also can yield toxins, so is a symbol of caution and potential danger- an ideal allegory.

And the night would end on a modern folk/bluegrass classic, John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters” from his 2000 Grammy-nominated album, recorded acoustically and without a drummer, making for a cover choice that worked very well for the trio and their harmonies.

The only downside of these three genre titans coming together as I’m With Her, is that Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins are successful enough on their own, that they can only get together every seven years. Assuming that, you should see them on this tour while you can or perhaps have to wait until 2032 for another scheduled opening.

(click on any image to enlarge and to see in full)

I'M WITH HER at Kauffman Center for the Arts, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

MASON VIA at Kauffman Center for the Arts, Kansas City MO (2025-06-17)

John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap

Posted at 06:00 AM in Aoife O'Donovan, I'm With Her, John, Kansas City, Kauffman Center, Nickel Creek, Review, Sarah Jarosz | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twin Cities Jazz Festival at Mears Park, St Paul (June 20-21, 2025)

Twin Cities Jazz (June 19-22, 2025)

Friday - June 20

Emmet Cohen Trio with special guests The Four Freshmen

Adi Yeshaya Jazz Orchestra, feat Jennifer Grimm

Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans

Selby Avenue Brass Band with Thomasina Petrus

Las Guaracheras

Saturday - June 21

Catherine Russell

L.A. Buckner & Big Homie

Emmet Cohen Trio with special guests The Four Freshmen

Patty Peterson presents Jazz Women All Star

Society Of Chemists

Walker West & MacPhail Student Musicians

The Avant Garde

Drums of Navarone

Swinging Motown

From Thaddeus

Twin Cities Jazz Fest (Saturday, June 21)

Stephanie Wieseler of Society of Chemists

On the hottest day of the year (pushing up towards 100), there was plenty of free cool jazz across the Twin Cities as part of the annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival. In downtown St. Paul’s Mears Park, one of the biggest stages was set up and Society of Chemists got their hour (literally) in the sun.

Jazz 88 DJ Sean McPherson quickly introduced the band and also pointed out where water was available, as well where several nearby indoor venues were in case anyone got too hot. Society of Chemists is a quartet with composer Stephanie Wieseler mostly on saxophone, but also flute and keyboards. The other members are Jack Barrett on piano & keys, Charlie Bruber on stand up bass and electric bass, and Ben Ehrlich on drums. The jazz fusion band is led by Wieseler’s great sax work and it was tremendous to hear the group on the Jazz 88 Main Stage, with excellently managed sound, even in the windy conditions.

The song transactional kindness was a great starting place and is a new number from Wieseler, being released earlier in 2025. These are relatively short (at least for jazz) songs, but followed a classic formula of musically setting up with the lead instrument, then giving way to others for solos of their own. The foam on an earl gray latte (hope I got that title correct) had a more intense opening sax solo to start things off before transitioning to the piano. Coming back to a softer section on sax, the band was hitting their stride. With no pause, Society of Chemists started the third song with Wieseler switching to flute. This made a big change in the sound obviously, but kept in line with that more introspective, quieter feel.

As she switched back to sax, Wieseler did a quick introduction of the rest of the band. Next up was inquisitive apathy, which was a more aggressive number, with some strong stand up bass featured early and pounding piano. After that song, the bassist called for a band water break. But it should be noted, that even in the heat, Society of chemists played very well, which was no small feat. A long piano intro to the next number brought back that slower calmer tone, though it built up into a slightly frenzied finish.

Society of Chemists then plugged in, going into an electrified section for the rest of the set. Starting with Transparency, a Charlie Bruber composition, the stand up bass went to electric bass, piano went to keyboards, and even Wieseler sometimes on synth. it also had the most dynamic and longest drum solo of the set. Another Wieseler composition had some differing time signatures and just prior to starting, she asked the audience to see if they could tell where. Dear reader, I could not.

The band got to the song Society of Chemists. Faster out of the gate and the keyboards (rather than piano) was excellent in helping drive this forward. Great sax work up front really set the table for the keys solo in a brief but punchy song. They then went back to a quieter number that had the dual keyboards at play for a while. As we headed towards the last few songs, we got a lot less banter, but the music kept flowing. Society of Chemists were a lot of fun and kept their composure to the end, and were hopefully rewarded with getting to go inside and escape the heat. Which is what I did.

Partial set list:

transactional kindness
the foam on an earl gray tea latte
each season is a wonder
inquisitive apathy
forest walking, lingering in the evening’s dim
transparency
wonderment
Society of Chemists

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Twin Cities Jazz Fest

Venerable voodoo jazz master Dr. John and the Nite Trippers brought the spirit of New Orleans up to St. Paul, as the premier performer at this year’s Twin Cities Jazz Festival …

On a balmy summer evening in downtown St. Paul the Twin Cities Jazz Festival kicked off its 27th year. Earlier in the week the Star and Tribune noted that the TCJF is bigger than the Taste of Minnesota and boasts more musical acts than the Minnesota Yacht Club. In fact, there were over eighty artists playing 20 venues over two days and a lot of it was free. So, it was my intention to catch five of these acts at Mears Park.

First up, Adi Yeshaya Jazz Orchestra with Jennifer Grimm. Although a local musician, Adi has a national presence as the go-to arranger for artists like Prince and Whitney Houston to Burt Bacharach and Lena Horne. He is also the musical arranger for the hit NBC show The Voice. For thirty years he was the musical director for Twin Cities local legend Debbie Duncan. Now he is working with another Twin Cities singer, Jennifer Grimm.

The orchestra started off with two Adi originals “Hi George” and “Time to Chill.” Then Jennifer stepped onto the stage dressed like she was ready for a South Carolina Cotillion. “I decided to dress up a bit,” she laughed, as they moved into Adi’s arrangement of “All of Me.”

Jennifer and Adi have known each other for thirty years and when she joined the orchestra, Adi asked what would be their first song. Knowing that he worked with the hit-making legend, Jennifer asked for a Burt Bacharach arrangement. The song Adi picked was “Alfie” from the eponymous movie.

If you are in New York on August 24th and looking for some lush orchestral music, Adi and Jennifer will be at the Birdland.

Enough cannot be said about how smoothly the Twin Cities Jazz Festival runs. As soon as Adi and Jennifer ended their set, the announcer at the Jazz 88 Main Stage swung it over to the announcer at the Jazz on 5th Street Stage. And just like that the Selby Avenue Brass Band kicked off with a brassy, funky start.

The musical director and man on tuba, Tom Wells, was a former high school music teacher in Minneapolis and he quickly brought up one of his former students (class of 88) Thomasina Petrus, and she was a live wire. She said that she is normally calm and collected, but “Once those horns start playing…”

There were original songs from Tom and Thomasina as well as a raunchy song about keys that wasn’t about keys. A highlight was “St. James Infirmary” which started with an appropriate dirge before picking up the pace with a Mardi Gras spirit until they picked up the pace even more with a blistering trombone solo and Thomasina scatting to the end.

If you are in Northfield, MN on August 2nd and need a quick jolt of energy, Tom and Thomasina will be at the Vintage Brass Band Festival.

Although there were no brass instruments, there was enough Dixieland Jazz spirit with Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans taking the main stage. Their musical leader, Doreen J. Ketchens aka Lady Louis on clarinet was joined on stage with Dorian L. Garner on drums, Leslie Martin on piano and Christian J. Mitchem on bass.

Doreen and her band have recorded 33 albums, played in 47 states and 24 countries. They’ve played for four presidents and after an interview with Ted Koppel, Doreen got her wish and played the Kennedy Center.

Doreen and her band started off with the spiritual “Lord You’ve Been So Good to Me.” Then it was set filled with too many highlights, ranging from “Caravan” to “Iko Iko” and don’t forget “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Then there was a rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” in which Doreen hoped her liver would hold as she launched into pyrotechnics on her clarinet sustaining one single note for as long as it takes to read this review.

If you are in New Orleans and want to hear Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans you can find her at 701 Royal Street every Friday-Sunday from 11am-1:30 pm. That’s if she’s in town.

New Orleans is pretty south of the Twin Cities, but the Twin Cities Jazz Festival stretched even further to Cali, Columbia to invite Las Guaracheras to the 5th Street Stage. They are a Latin Music sextet with Laura Linares on congas, Gina Botia on timbales, Elizabeth Muñóz on keys, Katherine Ortega on vibraphone, Daniela Vergara on bass and Diana Sánchez on lead vocals. If you would like to know more about them, they have a pretty cool website.

The Las Guaracheras were by far the best dressed at the festival and they immediately turned 5th Street into a ballroom. People flooded the street to dance to salsa and rumba, and it was an absolutely joyful scene.

All the songs were in Spanish and in between songs Daniela spoke to the audience in Spanish, and a lot of the people in the street understood what she was saying. I picked up bits and pieces, but in my review notes there was only one word, the word being “Wow!” If music’s sole purpose is to lift people’s spirits and get them out of their seats, Las Guaracheras hit a home run.

If you happen to be in Kalispell, MT in the middle of winter and are looking to heat up your dancing legs, Las Guaracheras will be playing at the Wachold College Center on January 15th, 2026.

Already, the day had been a success and a personal musical highlight for the year, but the main reason I came to the Twin Cities Jazz Festival was to see the Friday night headliner, the Emmet Cohen Trio with The Four Freshman.

Actually, I came to see Emmet. I first caught him playing his piano when researching for an interview with Cyrille Aimée. And in the research, I watched Cyrille and Emmet play their rendition of “La Vie en Rose”, which to me seemed like lightning in a bottle.

That was my introduction, Cyrille and Emmet playing with his trio in his Harlem apartment, a place that Emmet used as a weekly concert venue during the pandemic when all venues were shuttered. An unusual place to put on a show, but not unheard of when musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, heck any jazz musician on the NYC scene would stop by each others’ apartment to play, to learn to cross-pollinate and create a new sound.

Luckily, Emmet is on the road and playing bigger gigs, but Mears Park was just as cramped as his Harlem apartment when he and his trio took the stage with Kyle Pool on drums and Yasushi Nakamura on bass. They were there to support The Four Freshman, a singing quartet that began in 1948 when brothers, Don and Ross Barbour, joined forces with Hal Kratsch and their cousin Bob Flanigan. Seventy-seven years, 50 albums and 28 singers later, Jake Baldwin, Tommy Boynton, Bob Ferreira and Ryan Howe took the stage to highlight a collaboration they did with the Emmet Cohen Trio when they recorded enough music during the pandemic to release two separate albums.

The second volume is soon to be released, but there was plenty of music from the Volume No.1 as they sang songs from it to “Put on a Happy Face” and “Have You Met Miss Jones?”

It was a blast from the past and it felt like The Four Freshmen should have been wearing white dinner jackets and thin black bow ties while holding martinis. The crowd loved the retro sound. In fact, when they announced they were going to sing “When You’re Smiling” the guy in front of me shouted out “Oh Nice!” like he just won the lottery. Then there were more songs like the silky “Laura” and the song that put them on the map in 1952 “It’s a Blue World”.

The Four Freshmen then stepped off stage to let Emmet and his trio play their own music, and immediately the trio took off their dinner jackets and leaned into a more muscular sound.

More forceful on the keys, Emmet ran up and down the piano with block chords. Yasushi’s fingers jumped up and down the frets of his base, while Kyle looked to be in a trance as he pushed the tempo.

The rush of cascading notes was so overwhelming that a passing ambulance with sirens blaring somehow fit into the musical landscape that the trio were creating.

If you are near a computer or haven’t yet lost your phone, check out Emmet Cohen’s YouTube Channel for he’s still playing in his apartment with his trio, still inviting the who's who of jazz music, and still letting you know that jazz is fun, especially if you are “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue.”

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Emmet Cohen Trio at Twin Cities Jazz Fest (June 20, 2025)

dave 𝄞 thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

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06/21/2025

Artemas at First Avenue, Minneapolis (June 20, 2025)

Artemas at First Avenue (June 20, 2025)

Artemas Setlist

i always kinda knew you’d be the death of me
ur special to me
caroline
you've been a bad girl
how could u love somebody like me?
mess of me, sexually
just want u to feel something
cross my heart
So Stunning
You Were a Dream
i guess u never really cared about me
wet dreams
slow dance
Tattoos
F**ked Up Kinda Dream
good girl
if u think i'm pretty
i love you regardless
Southbound
dirty little secret
i like the way you kiss me

photo courtesy of Gianluca Bottoni

Artemas Band Members

Final show of The Americas Tour tonight! Minneapolis I can’t wait to go crazy with you all x

Artemas - singer

Peter aka Drive Thru- guitarist

Andrei - drummer

Toby (not shown) - keyboardist

Tour Dates

07/31 – 08/03 – Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL, USA

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Artemas

BRIT Award-nominated UK-based singer/songwriter/producer and alt-grunge artist Artemas is touring America. The tour will stop by First Avenue, in Minneapolis ...

Rolling into a heatwave in the Twin Cities (nearly 90 degrees at doors), waiting in the long line at doors was uncomfortable, leaning towards miserable. But although it was cool inside First Ave., we had Artemas raising the temperature all on his own.

With a main room floor that was nearly full five minutes to the opener, this was a pretty excited crowd. Further warming things up was DJ Jean Pierre La Croix, and, in my opinion, reviewing a DJ set is difficult. (Side note: Vaping in the venue? Low class.) On the whole though, his point was to entertain and excite the crowd and he nailed the assignment. Low beat, synth EDM, getting the strobe light effect going on the second song, urging the crowd to dance and get excited? He checked all the boxes, stepping off the stage just after 30 minutes. Well done, Pierre.

Artemas (full name Artemas Diamandis) is an English singer & songwriter. The twenty-five-year-old plays in the synth pop / electronic alt genre. He is very much of his generation, releasing singles that have gone completely viral, including 2023’s if u think i'm pretty and 2024’s i like the way you kiss me, which (and I love this) the magazine Variety called the “most ubiquitous song of 2024”. But! He’s also played the traditional game, releasing albums including his 2022 debut I’m Sorry I’m Like This and 2024’s Yustyna. It’s an impressively ambitious approach, and it’s clear that he has worked hard to build a strong fan base. If this show wasn’t sold out, it was absolutely in spitting distance.

Artemas entered leading a quartet (vocals, keyboards, bass and drums). Starting with i always kinda knew you’d be the death of me, Artemas came out to a near adoring crowd, and quickly looked to bring them along for more. There’s a lot of shadow and strobe light effect and it’s used very well, if a little much for my pedestrian tastes, but the vast majority of the audience loved it. Artemas also had a sign language interpreter just off-stage floor with her own light, and I’ve learned to appreciate the skill involved in that role.

how could u love somebody like me? was a perfect encapsulation of the sound; deep bass notes, switching between higher and lower vocals, and a thumping dance beat. The crowd was singing every word of the next song, mess of me, sexually, and Artemas wisely dropped all of the music to give them that sense of belonging and ownership. He’s a very good performer and has a great sense of what works to build his audience up.

Artemas kept moving things along, with minimal banter, though he did mention Minneapolis’ rich musical history. just want u to feel something was almost straight EDM and the crowd had pulled out cameras to record the moment. After the briefest of pauses, we were back into some falsetto for So Stunning. Calling the next song, You Were a Dream, one of his oldest, Artemas nearly begged the audience to sing along, which of course they did. The electronic pop was top notch, with the backing band perfectly providing the foundation for Artemas’ vocals. Given a guitar for slow dance, Artemas showed some musical versatility.

Tattoos was a little more R&B style electronica, with a bit of spoken (not quite rap) that had some more soulful singing. Again, I can’t overstate how quick the pace was here; we had just crossed 45 minutes and were already onto the 15th song of the set. And this worked, because Artemas had brought the audience along and had them feeling fully invested and involved in the set.

We moved into full club dance mode with the song good girl. We also started to get to some of the best-known songs, as if you think i’m pretty was up and the crowd nearly melted. Artemas mentioned this was the end of the American tour and that Minneapolis was proving to be such a great place to end it. Nearing the end, the start of dirty little secret gave Artemas and crowd the chance to slow down for just a moment. The set ended the only way it could, with i like the way you kiss me, and the crowd erupted. It was a pretty brilliant end to a well-executed show, and Artemas rode out his American tour on a high note.

DJ Jean Pierre La Croix

American Sign Language (ASL)

Artemas

Audience

Artemas

Artemas at First Avenue, Minneapolis (June 20, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

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Minneapolis This Week (June 29, 2025)

What’s happening this week.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

The Killers at Palace Theatre (Jun 26, 2025)

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The Killers

"Christmas in L.A." (featuring Dawes) is the eighth annual Christmas single by The Killers for (RED). The band has been releasing Christmas-themed singles and videos for Product Red …

Jun 26, 2025 Thursday
The Killers
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

Wells Fargo Credit Cards presents The Killers at the Palace Theatre, in St Paul, on June 26, 2025. This show is exclusively for Wells Fargo card holders.

The Wells Fargo concert series was launched in November 2023 with an exclusive Mumford & Sons concert in Los Angeles, and has since featured concerts by Dave Matthews, Lionel Richie, Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Brandi Carlile, and Maluma.

We previously saw The Killers’ singer Brandon Flowers in Sep 2015 and said, “Sometime singers release solo albums because of ego or control ... but based on hearing Flowers' brand of music (accompanied by a full backing back, a horns section, and two dedicated backup soul singer), I can tell you that he needed to release his music under his own name, because these uplifting songs did not seem to belong on a typical Killers album... Although the second half of his set consisted of plenty of The Killers songs, which kept the fans very happy, clapping, and singing along. My favorite moment of his set was for the brand new intro song, "Come Out With Me", which Flowers personalized to Minneapolis by adding "Stone Arch Bridge", "Saint Paul" and "Mill City Nights" to the song.”

OMD at First Avenue (Jun 26, 2025)

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OMD

English band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (or popularly known as O.M.D.) is currently enjoying their 40th Anniversary tour. Technically it’s their 43rd Anniversary ..…

Jun 26, 2025 Thursday
OMD
with Walt Disco
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Legendary pop duo Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, or better known as OMD, will be headlining First Avenue on June 26, 2025. Most fans will recognize their signature song, “If You Leave”, which was used in Pretty in Pink.

OMD at the Fillmore (May 7, 2022)

We previously saw the band at the Fillmore in May 2022 and said, “Of course, the band saved their biggest hit song(s) until the encore, starting with “If You Leave.” They joked that they weren’t going to play it at first. “We already played that one for John Hughes,” they said. They are referring to Hughes’ film Pretty In Pink, which required a different song at the end of the film. Hughes asked the band to write a new song, and, with just two days before OMD were to begin their tour, they quickly wrote and recorded, “If You Leave” for Hughes. As history would have it, the song was a hit, and it became one of OMD’s signature songs. Next, they played “Secrets”, which was a big hit for them. They said they actually had to pull this single, so they could promote another song.”

Walt Disco to open.

Tour Dates:

6/3/25 - Austin, TX - The Moody Theater

6/5/25 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre

6/6/25 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union

6/9/25 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre

6/10/25 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

6/11/25 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

6/13/25 - Forest Grove, OR - Cruel World

6/15/25 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater

6/17/25 - San Diego, CA - Balboa Theatre

6/18/25 - San Diego, CA - Balboa Theatre

6/20/25 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

6/21/25 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

6/22/25 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

6/26/25 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

6/28/25 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre

6/29/25 - Royal Oak, MI - Music Theatre

7/1/25 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues

7/3/25 - Toronto, ON - History

7/4/25 - Toronto, ON - History

7/6/25 - Huntington, NY - Paramount

7/7/25 - Boston, MA - House of Blues

7/8/25 - New York, NY - Terminal 5

BANKS at Fillmore Minneapolis (June 27, 2025)

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BANKS

The mood shifted to hazy, experimental, and more theatric as Orange County electro-pop singer-songwriter Banks was next, playing many songs from her newest …

27 Jun 2025 Friday
BANKS
at Fillmore Minneapolis
livenation.com

World-renowned singer-songwriter, BANKS (Jillian Rose Banks) is coming to the Fillmore, in Minneapolis, in support of her fifth studio album Off With Her Head (ADA Worldwide).

BANKS at First Avenue (Oct 8, 2014)

We’re big fans, having seen Banks a few times, including her first headlining show at First Ave in Oct 2014: ““We love you Minneapolis, we never want to leave you” she remarked before the one song encore of ‘Stick’, which was inspired by “the sexiness of Abel”, referring to The Weeknd’s Abel Tesfaye. BANKS has mentioned of her music, "I sing about falling in love, I sing about anger, I sing about fear, I sing about feeling sexy, I sing about confidence, and also about feeling completely insecure. I sing about every single thing, and every single thing makes me human and makes me beautiful… and a goddess". Point proven.”

Tour Dates:

6/4 Paramount Theater Seattle, WA

6/6 The Masonic San Francisco, CA

6/7 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA

6/9 SOMA San Diego, CA

6/10 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ

6/12 House of Blues Dallas, TX

6/13 ACL Live at The Moody Theater Austin, TX

6/15 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA

6/17 The Howard Theatre Washington, DC

6/20 Brooklyn Paramount Brooklyn, NY

6/22 Citizens House of Blues Boston, MA

6/24 HISTORY Toronto, ON

6/26 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL

6/27 The Fillmore Minneapolis, MN

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 04:21 PM in Banks, Brandon Flowers, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Music Guide, OMD, The Killers | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/20/2025

Lew Apollo at Midway Saloon, St Paul (June 19, 2025)

Lew Apollo at Midway Saloon (June 19, 2025)

Midway Saloon Set Time

OUTDOOR

7:00pm Robert Robinson

8:00pm The Rondo Ramblers

INDOOR

9:00pm Dylan Wylde

10:00pm J-Mo On The Beat and The J-Lighters

11:00pm Lew Apollo

Lew Apollo Band Members

Lew Apollo - singer/guitarist

Jasmine - singer/backup singer

Kevin Parmley - drummer

Scott McIntyre - bassist

Rube Harrison - keyboardist

Midway Saloon Summer Patio Concert Series

Presented by LIVE!! @Center of the Block Productions.
👉 Every Thursday • 7–9PM • FREE • No cover • No tickets

Catch great local bands all summer long on the Midway Saloon patio — cold drinks, good tunes, and zero hassle. See you there! 🍻

06/19 Rondo Ramblers

06/26 Ray Bernard Band

07/03 First Annual Jug Band Jamboree

07/10 Potential New Boyfriend

07/17 Christopher Paul Stelling

07/24 The New Feral Cats

07/31 Jeff Ray

Lew Apollo Tour Dates

June 20 - Bayfield, WI @ Big Top Chautauqua*

June 21 - Chicago @ ReBuilding Exchange

June 22 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Performance Pavilion Sweetwater*

June 23 - Nashville @ Eastside Bowl

July 6 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Corpus Christi*

August 2 - Midland, TX @ The Tailgate*

August 7 - Austin, TX @ Antone's

August 16 - Galveston, TX @ Hotel Lucine

* supporting Los Lonely Boys

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Lew Apollo

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Minnesota-born, Austin-based Lew Apollo released a new single, “Diamonds and Gold”. Apollo will will be headlining the Midway Saloon ...

On a busy night in the Hamline Midway neighborhood, Minnesota born, but Austin, Texas-based neo-soul singer Lee Apollo headlined at The Midway Saloon.

I did not get the chance to see the first act, as I was a few blocks down at the Turf Club for the Dean Wareham concert. Knowing that ahead of time, I used a connection (thanks, Sara!) to meet with David Tolchiner, the owner of The Midway Saloon. Speaking to him the week before this show, we had a wide-ranging chat about the role of live music in his venues, his concept of a Hamline Midway neighborhood “entertainment center”, and perspectives on the businesses around the Midway Saloon.

But first to the music. The Midway Saloon is a long narrow set up, but has a two room feel, with the main bar and pool tables in the front, and the stage and a variety of seating in the back. A small, but effective sound booth has been wedged opposite the stage and is part of the divide between the two spaces. Lew Apollo came out to the stage as a quintet (guitar/vocals, bass, keyboards, backup vocals, and drums). That neo-soul label is pretty accurate as it was a solid mix of R&B soul, funk, and rock. Apollo has a good charisma and a nice vocal range, including getting a harder edge to his voice at certain points. His back up vocalist (Apollo’s wife, Jasmine) provided the needed musical counterpunch and sometimes had the lead, singing soulfully at multiple points.

Apollo’s stage demeanor was well suited to the intimate space and the mix of audience (some extended family or friends from his Minnesota days, bar regulars, and some who had come for the live music). He coolly set up the background for Queen of Spades, a very funky song that was featured in a key scene on the Netflix show Ransom Canyon. Apollo was particularly good at the funk sound on the guitar, and showed that he is quite a skilled guitarist through several solos in the show. That guitar combined with the backing keyboards in several songs made a good contrasting sound. In fact, every member of the band got their moments and there was good non-verb communication as they moved in each song and overall.

Playing a new song (released last Friday), Diamonds and Gold, also had a crowd supported (three note) chorus. Apollo’s long guitar solo was a highlight and a reminder of the musicianship supporting that bravura stage performance. Apollo ended the set with “the first song we ever released”, Trouble on My Mind, a pretty excellent finish to a very fun show.

I spoke with Apollo after the show. Asked about his musical history, he told me he was in his first band when in college, doing a lot of small shows in Minneapolis. He relocated to Austin, Texas about seven years ago and has been developing as a musician since. I asked him about being toughened up as a performer in the bar circuit, and he readily agreed. When asked how he handles some of the weird curveballs that can happen, Apollo mentioned a go-to for him is to use the energy of the crowd to get you through it. It’s easy to ruminate in something bad that happens and get trapped, but paying attention to the crowd almost always gives him the subconscious “it’s going to be ok, you’ve got this” vibe.

Talking about some of the music, I asked the process for how his song was selected for Ransom Canyon. Apollo said he reached out to LoveCat Music, right at the time of the first EP release, “then I sort of forgot about it”. They contacted him to say it would be on the show. Apollo laughed saying he thought it would be some brief incidental music, so he was surprised that it was significantly longer and in a key romantic sequence. We also chatted about his new album which comes out August 8, 2025. Apollo was the creative force here and self-produced, and feels this is his true self, even if it sounds like a change of direction from his EP. We walked back over to the band, making introductions, and it was clear they were excited to be on tour. I wished them the best as they headed for Wisconsin and we all headed off into the night.

Back to the venue. Talking with Tolchiner, I asked if the live music at Midway Saloon was a recent thing. He said that although there’s been music at Midway Saloon for many years, they have been making a renewed effort to getting some more established bands, in addition the small local acts they have always supported. It takes a lot of time to get going, but Tolchiner said it also tends to create a positive cycle, where more bands are reaching out to them because of other bands they know having played at the Saloon. The efforts on promoting events also gets more benefit with musicians and bands having their own social media to promote playing there. But it’s also a lot to keep the plates spinning. As Tolchiner quipped, “It’s always a full moon at the Midway Saloon”.

When I asked him about his thoughts on and relationship to Turf Club (as part of the well-established First Avenue family), Tolchiner stated, “It’s a good thing to be around good competition”. Being a single place trying to get people to come to the neighborhood for an evening out is really hard. Having multiple bars makes it a place that people can start to recognize. Side note: Tolchiner also owns the THC oriented Potshotz next door, but there’s also The Black Hart of St. Paul a few blocks one way (a gay soccer bar) and the recently opened J Dilla (Ethiopian sports bar) a few blocks in the other direction. With Turf Club pulling in the Live Nation acts, it gives Midway Saloon a chance to show those audience members that there is more live music in the neighborhood.

This got the conversation to the broader discussion of the Hamline Midway neighborhood, which has dramatically changed over the last decade with the installation of the Green Line and the Major League Soccer stadium going up and the MNUFC Loons just across the street. Tolchiner envisions an “entertainment center” and looks at the transformation of the North Loop and Uptown in Minneapolis as examples to follow. Tolchiner is very committed to playing his part in making it happen, planning on opening a games-oriented space in a neighboring building, which would be a different flavor of entertainment. Lastly, he noted that the perception of the neighborhood is really starting to change in a positive direction and that makes a big difference.

Tolchiner sent me to David Kelly, who is the booking agent and works for the Midway Saloon. We had a brief conversation about being a truly independent venue and what Midway Saloon is looking for in live music. Kelly said they are largely in local, original music, versus cover bands who are the norm for many venues like this. We discussed that while Midway Saloon has no official relationship with Turf Club, they have a loose and good connection, where several bands leaving Turf Club have actively told their audience that they would continue playing at Midway Saloon, as it is open until 2AM every night.

Kelly mentioned it helps that the Hamline Midway community is supportive of local artists, which makes the Midway Saloon a draw and an easy way to support those musicians. Another aspect we talked about is the promotion of live and original music, funneling new audience members into the bar, but also new musicians becoming familiar with the venue. All of that recent hard work has started to pay off as more artists and publicists are starting to reach out.

Northstar Original Revue 1 Year Anniversary Festival at Midway Saloon (July 26, 2025)

Another key partnership has been with Northstar Original Revue, a local team that is giving local artists the chance to be on stage with original music, while not needing to have a 30-45 minute set. Every other Thursday evening, anywhere from 5-8 musicians or bands get the chance to be on stage, generally for 3-5 songs. It’s a powerful opportunity to get that first “real” experience, and although NOR has done events at other venues, their steady partnership is with Midway Saloon. (Side note: as I had stopped by on a Thursday, this was confirmed by Lazarus and Bryan from Northstar Original Revue. They discussed the upcoming one-year anniversary show in late July, both indoor and outdoor at Midway Saloon on the 26th). Lastly, Kelly pointed out that a major focus of the venue is to provide an experience, as many people are looking for more than just a place to drink. Kelly believes Midway Saloon can be one of those experience centered places, and evenings like Lew Apollo’s serve to prove his hopes.

Lew Apollo 2025 Tour

Lew Apollo	Lew Apollo
Lew Apollo	Lew Apollo

Lew Apollo

Lew Apollo at Midway Saloon, St Paul (June 19, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:51 PM in Lew Apollo, MN United FC, Netflix, Soul, St Paul, Thaddeus, Turf Club | Permalink | Comments (1)

Betty Who at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (June 19, 2025)

Betty Who at Varsity Theater (19 Jun 2025)

Betty Who Setlist

Run!
WEEKEND
Mama Say
BIG
You Can Cry Tomorrow
High Society
I CAN BE YOUR MAN
Ignore Me
Just Thought You Should Know
SHE CAN DANCE
Wanna Be
Missing You
I Remember
Friend Like Me (Acoustic)
Sweat
All of You
Human Touch
Taste
Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) (Kate Bush cover)
Old Me
Somebody Loves You
BLOW OUT MY CANDLE
I Love You Always Forever (Donna Lewis cover)

Molly Grace Setlist

Lemme
Mad at Her Forever
Do Me (Feels So Good)
WYKYK
Say When
I Want to Dance with Somebody (Whitney Houston Cover)
Lover (Love Her)
Soprano
Heaven Sent
Lady Lady
F.E.M.M.E.

Tour Dates

6/20 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Summerfest

6/21 - Indianapolis, IN - Hi-Fi Annex

6/23 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall

6/24 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues

6/25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre

6/27 - Augusta, GA - Augusta Pride Festival

6/29 - Austin, TX - Mohawk

7/1 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom

7/2 - San Diego, CA - Music Box

Read More

Betty Who

Just in time for Valentine, Betty Who's single "Heartbreak Dream" is coming out February 18th. Who cited Katy Perry and Robyn as massive influences on her music ....

The Twin Cities Pride Festival kicks off next weekend, but got an early start at the Varsity Theater with Betty Who and Molly Grace and the dance music they brought.

First of all, the Varsity Theater. It’s always been a favorite venue, and they have tinkered with the layout by removing the bulky booths that lined the main floor, stage left, and replaced it with a swanky bar. In fact, the whole venue looks pretty swanky from its bathrooms to its VIP seating that rings the upper deck, giving the whole room a feel of intimacy that is lost in bigger venues.

The Varsity is just a nice place to see a show, and what I noticed when I first walked in is how full it was with a crowd that was energetic, dressed up (or not) and loud. It was like attending a church social with booze where everyone knew each other and they needed to catch up before the dancing began.

Molly Grace opened with her Lover Girls, all wearing outfits like they were about to attend a Vanderbilt sorority sleepover in 1950, looking luminous and moving with a style benefiting Molly’s last name.

Grace is from Nashville and started her musical career after attending Belmont University, studying commercial voice. Influenced by Lizzo, Chappell Roan and Renee Rapp, Grace’s music is a fusion of pop, funk and disco. She is supporting her second EP Lovesick, and sang mostly original songs along with a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance with Somebody.”

“Falling in Love” was a definite crowd pleaser and “Heaven Sent” had an ABBA vibe throughout. A highlight was a new song “Soprano” where Grace got a chance to show off her dynamic vocal range. Then “Lady Lady” a song about being in college and coming to the realization that she might be gay.

She shook me and woke me from twenty years of sleep
Now I know one thing's for sure, my lady's never going to leave

Betty Who has made a habit of planning her tours around how many pride festivals she can perform at. Last year she performed at the White House and it’s shocking how much can change in just a year.

Who’s tour is called “Out of the Darkness” for it has been a rough 2025 for the LGBTQ community. So much so that Who wanted to counter the narrative with a buoyant spirit: “This tour is all about unapologetic joy, real connections, and celebrating the highs after the lows.”

Betty Who at First Avenue (March 22, 2023)

We last saw Who at First Ave in Mar, 2023, writing:

“Her set was really fun and colorful: Who in a red suit, with a dancer in yellow and a dancer in blue. These types of dance shows are really fun visually. Each song had well-choreographed dance routines, and every had smiles across their face… they were just having a good time.”

Who took the stage with Chris and Sebastian, everyone (including Who) over six feet tall, all wearing jean shorts, all completely physically fit to dance the whole night. And after the second song, an unabashed roar filled the venue that caught Who off guard. A gleeful smile eventually revealed how happy she was to be there.

By the third song a break was needed in which Who sang the anthem-like “Big” which had a big part of the crowd singing along. Then back to more dancing with “SHE CAN DANCE” and “Wanna Be”.

Who set aside the evening for one acoustic song “Friend Like Me.” Then it was more dancing with Number 1 dance hits like “All of You” and “Somebody Loves You” with a new song “Sweat” sprinkled in between.

After the show ended with the Donna Lewis cover “I Love You always Forever” the crowd poured out of the Varsity with as much energy as they came with, a few of them dashing across the street made famous by a U of M attendee.

If Who’s goal was to bring a little bit of joy during a troubling time, job well done.

Molly Grace

Molly Grace	Betty Who
Betty Who	Betty Who

Betty Who

Betty Who at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (June 19, 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 09:35 PM in ABBA, Betty Who, Chappell Roan, Dave, Donna Lewis, Lizzo, Minneapolis, Varsity Theater | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dean Wareham at Turf Club, St Paul (June 19, 2025)

Dean Wareham at Turf Club (June 19, 2025)

Dean Wareham Setlist

New World Julie
Dear Betty Baby (Mayo Thompson cover)
You Were the Ones I Had to Betray
Yesterday’s Hero
Bourgeois Manqué
Robin & Richard
Flowers ☆
Snowstorm ☆
Friendly Advice ☾
The Last Word
When Will You Come Home ☆
Blue Thunder ☆
23 Minutes in Brussels ☾

-- Encore --
Tugboat ☆
Fourth of July ☆

☾ = Luna song
☆ = Galaxie 500

Schedule

Turf Club, St Paul

8:00pm
Chris Forsyth

--

9:00pm
Dean Wareham

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Dean Wareham

Having been following Dean Wareham's whereabouts for a while, the reunion last year wasn't at all a surprise to me. After all, we've seen hints of it when Sean Eden joined a Dean & Britta ...

Chris Forsyth

joined by opener Chris Forsyth near the end of his set. Rhys played lovely, low-key renditions of his solo work, like “Bad Friend” from his 2024 album, Sadness Sets …

On a pretty sweltering day in the Twin Cities, veteran rocker Dean Wareham visited the Turf Club in support of his most recent album.

Chris Forsyth started things off. A guitarist and composer, the Philadelphia-based Forsyth has a long set of guitar jam-style albums, such as 2022’s Evolution Here We Come. After a bit of a delay, Forsyth came out on stage. Introducing himself, he mentioned it was the last night of the tour, then stated “I’m going to sing a very little bit, and mostly play guitar”. And play he did. Using a recurring, looped motif, Forsyth proceeded to work his pedal board for different guitar effects for a while before adding vocals to it.

Side note: here’s my “old man yelling from the lawn chair” rant. There isn’t any reason that most shows need to be this loud. Forsyth was routinely above 110 dB, which, why? This could easily have been 20 dB quieter and had no visible effect on the musical experience.

As promised, Forsyth went into straight instrumental songs after that initial number. Before his third number, he mentioned, “this is probably my most accurately descriptive song title” before launching into The First 10 Minutes of C*cksucker Blues. As is the way of many guitar jam songs, it was centered on a repeated musical theme and then building out in multiple directions with the pedaled effects and then transitioned into different sections. It also included some very classic rock sounding moments (with full wah-wah effect included). It certainly was the last stop of the tour when Forsyth noted that he only had four records left at the merch table, “and I would love not to have to take them home tomorrow”. Closing out with his fifth song, off of his recent EP Basic, Forsyth had a head tapper of a song. He closed out his nearly 40 minutes set with a “thanks, Dean’s up next” and quickly exited.

Dean Wareham is a guitarist and singer/songwriter who has been a creative force with multiple bands over the years. He started with the band Galaxie 500 (yes, named after the 1960’s era Ford car) who released three albums over five years, all produced by Mark Kramer (more on that name later). Wareham then formed the dream pop band Luna, which has a number of albums. He’s also half of Dean & Britta, alongside his wife (who he first met in Luna). Lastly, he also performs solo, with several albums including 2025’s That’s the Price of Loving Me, which was produced by Kramer in their first collaboration since Galaxie 500 (over 30 years later!). With all of that history, Wareham has a rich catalogue of songs to choose from when performing live.

The band came out as a quartet (guitar/vocals, bass/back up vocals, guitar, and drums). New World Julie was a pleasant start, with Wareham and Britta Phillips (in a tasseled dress) well paired on vocals and the song building up in volume and complexity. I really liked Wareham’s relaxed vocals and stage presence. A quick “hello, how are you” also got a “me too” in response to the audience cheers. You Were the Ones I Had to Betray was one of my personal favorites off the new album and was great to hear live.

Yesterday’s Hero had a 60’s French rock sound to it. There was some distorted guitar intro on the next number, but it played well. There was definitely a chill vibe in the songs off the most recent album, even when in the middle of a rocking guitar solo. I really liked the seamless feel of the front third of the set and highly recommend the newest album. From there, the band started to work its way back through that deep catalogue, starting with Robin and Richard.

Wareham said it was great to be back on St. Paul, “third time in this room, second time playing here”. Flowers was a Galaxie 500 number and got a strong crowd reaction. A gentle drum intro for Snowstorm had Wareham singing at his highest of the evening, and he did admirably, while Phillips’ bass work was the critical pull through of the song. Skylar Kaplan had an enjoyable guitar solo on Advice and it was an interesting approach that the guitar solos of the evening were shared between her and Wareham.

A duet for Dean & Britta on Last Word had Phillips start with the lead and had some great back and forth before a very funky ending musical section. Blue Thunder got cheers before the first lyrics were sung and had a chorus with Phillips the significantly lower vocals to Wareham’s falsetto. Forsyth joined the band for the final number of the main set, 23 Minutes to Brussels, and that additional guitar added a noticeable new musical layer and an extended guitar solo. A quick break resulted in a two number encore. Ending on Fourth of July, Dean Wareham and company finished their tour strong and left the St. Paul crowd very pleased indeed.