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Cinema of the Macabre: Rabid Grannies at Emagine Willow Creek, Plymouth (July 14, 2025)

Cinema of the Macabre Cinema of the Macabre Every Monday night at Willow Creek, we venture into the macabre with cult classics and obscure gems pulled from the dusty tombs. These screenings are presented each week with a curated pre-show, vintage trailers, and an intro to give context about why the film is unique and worthy of cult status. Join us but prepare to have your mind melted! July 7 - Rabid (1977) July 14 - Rabid Grannies (1988) July 21 - I Drink Your Blood (1971) July 28 - REC (2007) Horror We ended up going to see The Monkey, the new film by Oz Perkins, at the Emagine Cinema in Willow Creek, as part of their $5 Tuesday promotion. The film is based on a short Stephen King story … read more

As a big movie fan and collector, particularly of the horror genre, I am delighted to see such a good, or rather rabid, fanbase for the Cinema of the Macabre. This is a horror movie series, curated by Tim Alan Holly (who will also introduce the movie with some notes about the film), that takes place every Monday at Emagine Willow Creek, in Plymouth, and as a tourist, I attended the July 14th showing of Rabid Grannies.

This 1988 is truly a terrible film. It was a Belgian / French horror-ish gore-ish comedic (unintentional?) film by writer/director Emmanuel Kervyn. The film made its way to the USA through Troma Entertainment who had to edit the film to make for an R-Rating.

Lloyd Kaufman and Vu, Minneapolis (Dec 2012)

Although Troma became famous when Lloyd Kaufman’s Toxic Avenger was a hit for them in 1984, the truth is they were already established 10 years earlier and were known for being a distributor of films. Troma is basically known for B-grade, D-grade films, there’s no film too terrible for them! I say this, because I am a fan and supporter of independent films, and to prove it, here is a rare photo of Lloyd and I, at a Troma screening.

As for Rabid Grannies, a title that Troma created for the US market, I can see why they would want this film. It’s bad. The dialogue and storyline are boring, and you can see the film was influenced by Evil Dead. The only good thing about the film are the special gore effects (lots of limb chopping and blood).

The nice thing about the Cinema of the Macabre is that you don’t have to attend every Monday, but many of their fans will return every week. Most people have seen the film or already own the DVD, but they still attend.

If I were still living in Minneapolis, I would love to attend the early screening of the remake of Witchboard, and Q&A with director Chuck Russell, on August 4. Russell directed my favorite Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. I’ve seen the original Witchboard and am interested in seeing how they remake the film for 2025.

Tim Alan Holly at Emagine Willow Creek, Plymouth (July 14, 2025)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com ♥ bsky.app

Weekend Gamer: Fallout Statues

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Premium Statue (July - September 2025) Fallout That’s not all the Fallout news, Bethesda released a “Next Gen Update” on Fallout 4 across all platforms, including the PC. Unfortunately, the GOG version may have to wait a little longer, if you got the game on that platform. … read more

With Fallout Season 2 set for December 2025, and Season 1 available on Bluray on July 8, 2025, there’s a new round of Fallout merchandises coming out (or have already come out).

Like my previously roundup one and roundup two, this third roundup compiles all-things Fallout what is known to me. If I am missing anything, please email me, and I will add to a future collection.

DARK HORSE
darkhorsedirect.com

First up is the Brotherhood of Steel Premium Statue, standing at nearly 14 inches tall and coming out July-September 2025, from Dark Horse. You may know Dark Horse as a comic book publisher, but like DC Comics, they’ve expanded to toys and merchandising, under their Dark Horse Direct division.

I really love the bobblehead and Nuka-Cola in the base, but don’t really love the Brotherhood of Steel’s flag for the background. That’s just my taste and thinking that the angles are going to be sharp and might hurt me if I handle it wrong.

As much as I would love to add this to my collection, but seeing as it costs $300, it’s giving me second thoughts. My only future regret is that the statue is limited to 500 pieces, so if I miss my window, I might never see this again.

Dark Horse Comics Fallout (TV Series): Maximus Figure (Nov 2024)

Dark Horse previously released a different Maximus Power Armor figure, but scaled to 10 inches, and retails for $70, however currently Amazon is selling it for $50. It’s still not enough of a discount for me to bite, especially because I already have two versions from McFarlane Toys (at $25 each) and various Think Geek statues.

Also worth mentioning is that the upcoming 13-inch statue is Polyresin vs the 10-inch, which is made of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride). As far as I know, PVC is like plastic and is very light, making it feels cheap, compared to stone or lead-based statues.

P.S. Dark Horse also produced these 8-inch Stylized Fallout Vinyl figures (retails for $54), which I won’t buy, unless it’s heavily discounted. I just find it too cartoonish and off-putting.

Fallout: Elite Series (Nov 2025)

MCFARLANE TOYS
mcfarlane.com

With McFarlane Toys losing the DC Comics license, they’ve been busy looking to expand to other brands - such as Fallout. Last year, McFarlane released a series of 6-inch plastic statues based on the television series in their Movie Maniacs line. The first set included Maximus, Lucy, the Ghoul, and the Vault Boy. The second set was a repaint of the first set.

I actually picked up the repaint on the cheap and am very interested in getting the 12-inch version that I saw at Target in January 2025. I haven’t seen it since, but I know it exists.

Not a statue, but I am also very interested in buying the Fallout: Elite Series Action Figure. McFarlane’s people showed off the figure at an IGN livestream, but little details known about it. It looks like they’re going to give us a million swappable hands and lots of guns (something that McFarlane couldn’t sell with DC Comics per their mandate). My only complaint is that all the Elite figures are going to cost $60… which is a little too much money for an action figure, in my opinion.

I honestly don’t care for the extra hands, so perhaps they can keep the cost down if they got rid of some of the extras.

Nuka-Cola Girl Statue (June 2025)

GAMINGHEADS
gamingheads.com

I think this is an officially licensed 13-inch Nuka-Cola Girl Statue by Gaming Heads, but I am hesitant to buy it directly from their website. I own a few Gaming Heads products, like the Bobbleheads, but those were purchased at a retail store. These statues, like the Mr Handy Statue/Figure might be available on their website exclusively (I’ve never seen them sold anywhere else).

Plus, the Nuka-Girl statue’s release date kept moving… currently it’s estimated to ship from their factory in April-June 2025, but I have seen a different, earlier date listed before. With June already nearing its end… I wonder if the date will be pushed to November, when you return to their website.

Anyway, the statue is available in three different options, a non-color version for $399 (limited to 50), a standard color version for $499 (limited to 1000), and a deluxe (with a backdrop) for $549 (limited to 500). Personally speaking, I would rather save the $50 and get the regular version, but that’s just me.

It is unlikely that I will buy this (especially for $500), but I really do want a Nuka-Cola Girl statue, because I missed out on buying the Think Geek version. Perhaps someone else (Dark Horse?) will put out an affordable Nuka-Girl Statue in the future.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

Read more Weekend Gamer.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Willie Wisely & His Belle Bottoms at Pan-O-Prog, Lakeville (July 12, 2025)

Willie Wisely at Pan-O-Prog (July 12, 2025) Willie Wisely Setlist Beast of Burden (The Rolling Stones cover) Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp cover) Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash cover) I Can't Explain (The Who cover) Pinball Wizard(The Who cover) Break On Through (to the Other Side) (The Doors cover) Can't Hardly Wait (The Replacements cover) Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover) I'll Stop the World to Melt With You (Modern English cover) -- Intermission -- Raincan Heart of Gold (Neil Young cover) Honky Tonk Women (The Rolling Stones cover) Too Quick to Love There She Goes (Sixpence None the Richer cover) Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon cover) Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) Roadhouse Blues (The Doors cover) I Will Dare (The Replacements cover) Parador Willie Wisely & His Belle Bottoms Willie Wisely is that rare bird, mixing outsized stadium-rock showmanship with songs so lyrical, personal and true, you’ll leave the show feeling like you’ve got a new best friend. Willie Wisely - vocals, guitar, harmonica, tambourine Peter Anderson - drums John Fields - bass Ryan Smith - guitar (guitarist for Soul Asylum) Willie Wisely Willie Wisely to open. Tour dates: 3/26/23: VINYL RELEASE SHOW---> ICEHOUSE (w/Wille Wisely) Mpls, MN 4/20/23: The Dubliner (Acoustic Show) St. Paul, MN 5/6/23: Palmers … read more

The city of Lakeville, Minnesota is at the very southern end of the Twin Cities metro and wouldn’t be a place I would normally find myself. But since 1967, the city has an annual festival called Pan-O-Prog, short for Panorama of Progress. Lasting over a week, there are a lot of local businesses being highlighted, and all sorts of events including a lot of live music. On this last weekend of Pan-O-Prog 2025, I caught local troubadour Willie Wisely performing.

Wisely is a veteran of the Twin Cities music scene for over the last thirty years, though he did have a roughly decade where he was living and working out of Los Angeles. He’s done nearly all of it: singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, film composer, and more. He has nearly twenty albums ranging from his early days as the Willie Wisely Trio, to his solo career, to any number of one off or short-term bands he puts together as needed.

Side note: I recommend checking out his 1996 & 1997 releases She and Turbosherbert as great entry points to his work, although there’s a lot to be said for 2019’s Face the Sun as well.

On this pleasant Saturday afternoon, he was playing as Willie Wisely & His Belle Bottoms. Playing to the crowd, Wisely and the band were all covers starting with The Rolling Stones’ Beast of Burden. The Belle Bottoms were guitar, bass and drums, while Wisely held down vocals and occasionally on harmonica, tambourine, or guitar as suited for the song.

Ever the performer, Wisely had his usual unique stage presence, lead guitarist Ryan Smith (lead guitarist for Soul Asylum) took over for singing duties on Should I Stay or Should I Go. As expected, Wisely was all over the stage, hitting his version of the rock lead singer motifs, including dropping to the stage and rolling back to a standing position. And while the theatrics were fun, it’s also musically well above average, as each of the band were excellent musicians. Pinball Wizard has a rapid-fire set of lyrics and Wisely nailed it. We got the requisite Replacements song with Can’t Hardly Wait, which was well sung by Smith. A short interlude of jokes got us back to the music and close to the end of the first set (the band was scheduled from 2-5 pm).

Due to popular request in the intermission, Wisely (after a costume change!) and the band started the second set with an early original, Raincan, with Wisely on acoustic. An introduction of the band, and the band started Heart of Gold, with a soft but effective Neil Young impression.

Completing the new look with a cowboy hat, the song Honky Tonk Women worked with the western get up and an extended harmonica solo. After a little guitar tuning, the band played another Wisely song, Too Quick to Love, allowing Wisely to really belt it out. A broken string from Smith was quickly replaced and he took lead vocals on There She Goes. The band steadily played on, ranging across a variety of rock genres impressively. Finishing up the second set with the title track from Parador with an epic guitar solo from Smith, Willie Wisely had absolutely killed it in Lakeville. While I couldn’t stay for the third set, Willie Wisely and His Belle Bottoms had certainly entertained the Pan-O-Prog crowd with some extremely talented musicianship.

Willie Wisely at Pan-O-Prog, Lakeville (July 12, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com ♥ bsky.app

Potential New Boyfriend at Midway Saloon, St Paul (July 10, 2025)

Potential New Boyfriend at Midway Saloon, St Paul (July 10, 2025) 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! 🍻 07/10 Potential New Boyfriend 07/17 Christopher Paul Stelling 07/24 The New Feral Cats 07/31 Jeff Ray Potential New Boyfriend Potential New Boyfriend (potentialnewboyfriend.com) brings fresh versions of mid-1900s Western swing and country classics to the Twin Cities. PNB features Jaclyn Mack on lead vocals, backed up by fiddle, electric guitar, lap steel, and bass to create the unique sound of great Western swing and country bands from the 1930s to 1970s. Our grandparents grew up with these songs, but all ages will sing and dance along -- it's music that is intergenerational and irresistible. Nick Martin - Fiddle, Band Leader Anne Elizabeth Brown - guest vocalist Matt Lange - Steel Guitar, Banjo, Back up Vocals Tom Weaver - Guitar John Bergquist – Bass Midway Saloon 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 … read more

The Midway Saloon in St. Paul hosts an outdoor “patio concert series” in the summer and classic country & western band Potential New Boyfriend was performing on a not too warm Thursday evening.

Potential New Boyfriend arrived as a quintet (vocals, guitar, fiddle, bass, and steel guitar) and focused on Western swing and country music from the mid 20th century. First time guest singer Anne Elizabeth Brown nailed the warm up / sound check with a snippet of Patsy Cline’s Fall to Pieces (regular singer Jaclyn Smith was out of town). After a quick introduction and reporting of upcoming events, the band took over and started with a pair of Bob Wills songs, the first an instrumental, and the second with bandleader Nick Martin singing. A quick joke from Martin about the solidity of the dance floor (concrete patio) led into another instrumental, Panhandle Rag, and the band was hitting their stride. Brown finally came to stage, singing Walking After Midnight, made famous as a cover by Cline. The band really worked across the country and swing genres, but also early rock & roll (though with a countrified twist), such as Bill Haley’s Shake, Rattle, and Roll. Brown stepped away again as the band went into another instrumental featuring Martin’s pretty great fiddle playing.

Our third lead vocalist of the evening (Matt Lange), also had him switch to banjo for a John Prine original. A little confusion on the next song (Lange demurred on another banjo song), led to a Hank Williams song, with a great fiddle intro. Martin is passable as a singer, but quite a delight as fiddle player and the band leaned into the music. Brown returned for another Williams song, Your Cheatin’ Heart, and she had that perfect mix of twang and soulful singing. As it was Brown’s first time with the band, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that the band often switched back to Lange as vocalist or largely instrumental songs. New Potential Boyfriend finished the first set on Crazy, again letting Brown’s vocals shine.

The second set continued the theme, with Blue Moon getting things kicked off. We also got the full version of Fall to Pieces, and was excellent as expected. Back into the instrumentals, the fiddle took center stage again. The band gave way to Lange for another great instrumental and continued with Martin taking lead vocals. It was pretty smooth transitions across the songs, as they easily traded focus to different players. New Potential Boyfriend continued to impress on that front, as we got our fourth(!) lead singer for the evening, as guitarist Tom Weaver took vocals on the Hank Williams classic, Mind Your Own Business. As the crowd responded on the refrain, it was clear how much the band and audience were having fun. Brown returned with a song outside their normal repertoire, taking the lead on the Bonnie Raitt classic Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About, a perfectly adjacent song for the band. Getting close to the end, they gave steel guitarist Lange the lead on the song Steel Guitar Rag. A Gene Autry song was a late entry and a fun and silly number. Bringing Brown up to finish things, we got another Cline killer of She’s Got You, a perfect song for the band. Finishing on a deep cut Dolly Parton song of the same name, Potential New Boyfriend had found a niche of early country and swing for a receptive audience.

I spoke with Martin after the show. Noting that it isn’t music that people are hearing a lot today, he did state thwt there are many people who really know it, which created the niche. Growing up listening to Cline and others, Martin never thought he would play that, but when he started a band, he found other people who love it as well. The band has centered their sets around Bob Wills and Patsy Cline and then expand in different directions from there. They are starting to think about originals, which doesn’t seem too large of a step from the original instrumentation they are doing for a lot of the songs they play today. They are playing more concerts this summer, and we’ll be on the lookout for them.

Potential New Boyfriend at Midway Saloon, St Paul (July 10, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com ♥ bsky.app

Mpls: August 15 to August 18, 2025

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Flaming Lips / Modest Mouse at Armory (Aug 15, 2025) The Flaming Lips I think this was my first time seeing The Flaming Lips, but I could be wrong. Seems odd that this was "a very special Early Evening performance", since the band's psychedelic … read more Modest Mouse Longtime Portland alternative band Modest Mouse is closing out their Golden Casket Tour, in support of the 2021 album of the same name (on Epic Records) … read more Friko Chicago band Friko (vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger) opened the show. Prior to their First Avenue appearance, the full band stopped … read more

August 15, 2025 Friday
The Flaming Lips
and Modest Mouse
with Friko
at Armory
first-avenue.com

The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse are co-headlining … stopping by the Armory, in Minneapolis, on August 15, 2025.

The Flaming Lips at Rock the Garden (June 16, 2016)

The last time we saw the ‘Lips was in June 2016, so it’s been quite a while. We said, “Ending the evening with its usual surreal, like-you-stepped-into-your-own-surprise-party set, Oklahoma’s The Flaming Lips began its 75 min. set with singer Wayne Coyne waxing poetic about playing some its first shows ever in 1984 at the 7Th Street Entry in town, as a few technical issues were ironed out. Once going, the band opened with ‘Race for the Prize’ complete with confetti everywhere, balloons bouncing over the crowd, and strange costumed dancers onstage. ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1’ was next, followed by a giant, taped together balloon that said “F*#k Yeah Minneapolis” getting flung into the crowd, then Coyne in his duct-taped pants donning a lighted cape then climbing to sing on the shoulders of a bulky Chewbacca.”

Modest Mouse at Starlight Theatre (June 24, 2024)

We saw Modest Mouse with Pixies in June 2024, and wrote, “Portland alt/indie rock pillars Modest Mouse would be next, again on the road apparently still in support of their latest studio album, 2021’s The Golden Casket (via Epic Records), and this would be no less than our fifth time seeing them live, since that album’s initial release. Along the way, drummer Jeremiah Green passed away, and singer Isaac Brock seemed to have a different appearance each time- for this one, in very short-cropped hair and a full suit (he could almost pass for a banker) despite the high temperatures. Modest Mouse still changes their setlist nightly and mostly plays what they want, which is more than fine with their loyal fans, many of whom stood and cheered for their entire set. Brock’s real only dialogue to the crowd was mentioning having to follow Marshall and band, and the tendency to complain about the heat (or cold...or anything). ”

Friko at Fine Line (May 22, 2025)

We recently saw Friko in May 2025 and noted, “After an intermission that played great music like “Get Innocuous!” by LCD Soundsystem and “Barley” from Water From Your Eyes, Friko took the stage to The Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime.” From there was a spine-tingling beginning in which lead singer, Niko Kapetan, tried to fit the whole evening into “Guess”. From there, the band dialed it up even more to where it looked like they were almost assaulting their instruments during “Chemical”.”

Tour Dates:

August 1, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy

August 2, 2025 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater

August 3, 2025 - Richmond, VA - Brown's Island

August 5, 2025 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts

August 7, 2025 - Portland, ME - Thompson's Point

August 8, 2025 - New Haven, CT - Westville Music Bowl

August 9, 2025 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE

August 11, 2025 - Indianapolis, IN - Everwise Amphitheater

August 12, 2025 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center

August 14, 2025 - Madison, WI - Breese Stevens Field

August 15, 2025 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory

August 16, 2025 - Chicago, IL - The Salt Shed - Fairgrounds

August 19, 2025 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion

August 20, 2025 - Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall

September 3, 2025 - San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre

September 4, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

September 5, 2025 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bow

September 7, 2025 - Berkeley, CA - The Greek Theatre

September 10, 2025 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield

September 11, 2025 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield

Jake Minch at 7th St Entry (August 15, 2025) Jake Minch jake minch to open. Tour Dates: Feb 19 2025 San Francisco, CA, US Café du Nord Feb 21 2025 Seattle, WA, US Barboza Feb 22 2025 Vancouver, BC, Canada Fortune Sound Club … … read more

August 15, 2025 Friday
Jake Minch
with Hana Bryanne
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Rising singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jake Minch is headlining the 7th Street Entry on August 15, 2025, in support of his debut album, George (set for release on July 11 via 2for2 projects/Mercury Records).

Minch was previously in town in March 2025, opening for Grace Enger.

Hana Bryanne to open.

Tour Dates:

August 3—Constellation Room—Santa Ana, CA

August 4—Moroccan Lounge—Los Angeles, CA

August 5—Cafe Du Nord—San Francisco, CA

August 7—Madame Lou’s—Seattle, WA

August 9—Polaris Hall—Portland, OR

August 12—Lost Lake—Denver, CO

August 15—7th St Entry—Minneapolis, MN

August 18—Schubas Tavern—Chicago, IL

August 19—Cannery Hall—Nashville, TN

August 20—Vinyl—Atlanta, GA

August 22—Songbyrd—Washington, D.C.

August 23—The Lounge at World Cafe—Philadelphia, PA

August 25—Velvet Underground—Toronto, ON

August 27—The Middle East - Sonia—Cambridge, MA

August 28—Baby’s All Right—Brooklyn, NY

The Fray at Fillmore (August 16, 2025) The Fray Denver's The Fray are back on tour in support of their fourth studio album Helios, out now on Epic Records. In addition to the latest album, expect the band to play lots of piano-driven … read more The Strike Los Angeles alt-pop band The Strike had to upgrade their 7th Street Entry show because of high interests. Now they’re playing the much larger First Avenue. … read more

August 16, 2025 Saturday
The Fray
with The Strike
at Fillmore
livenation.com

The Fray is headlining the Fillmore, in Minneapolis, on August 16, 2025.

The Strike at First Ave (July 30, 2024)

The Strike to open. We saw the band in July 2024 and said, “Los Angeles alt-pop band The Strike said that they started their journey, originally, in Minneapolis, saying that they first came to the city to record their new album, Until the Lights Go Out (set for release on September 27th). A little research, they were indeed in town in the summer of 2023 to record their album with producer John Fields (Jonas Bros, Miley Cyrus, Switchfoot) at his Minneapolis studio. Guitarist/keys David Maemone said that it was their first “proper studio with a proper producer” and that really elevated their music to the next level.”

Tour dates:

Jul 12, 2025 Do Good Fest Montpelier, VT

Jul 25, 2025 Southside Ballroom Dallas, TX

Jul 26, 2025 ACL Live at The Moody Theater Austin, TX

Jul 27, 2025 Bayou Music Center Houston, TX

Jul 29, 2025 House of Blues Orlando Orlando, FL

Jul 30, 2025 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA

Aug 1, 2025 The Anthem Washington, DC

Aug 2, 2025 The Fillmore Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA

Aug 3, 2025 Leader Bank Pavilion Boston, MA

Aug 5, 2025 Pier 17 New York, NY

Aug 7, 2025 HISTORY Toronto, ON

Aug 8, 2025 The Fillmore Detroit, MI

Aug 9, 2025 Agora Cleveland, OH

Aug 12, 2025 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

Aug 14, 2025 Rock The Ruins Indianapolis, IN

Aug 15, 2025 The Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL

Aug 16, 2025 The Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN

Aug 19, 2025 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA

Aug 20, 2025 McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR

Aug 22, 2025 Fox Theater Oakland, CA

Aug 23, 2025 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA

Aug 24, 2025 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA

Aug 27, 2025 The Mission Ballroom Denver, CO

Sep 5, 2025 Shadow Ridge Music Festival Omaha, NE

Sep 13, 2025 Kansas State Fair Hutchinson, KS

Sep 26, 2025 Ocean's Calling Ocean City, MD

Sep 27, 2025 Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars Atlantic City Atlantic City, NJ

Oct 4, 2025 La Maraka Mexico City, Mexico

Oct 10, 2025 Jannus Live St. Petersburg, FL

Yuno at Turf Club (August 18, 2025) Windser One of the openers was one of our recent favorites, Windser, who returned to town after impressing us last year opening for Cannons. The Santa Cruz, CA indie-rock singer … read more

August 18, 2025 Monday
Yuno
with Windser
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Florida’s Yuno is currently on tour in support of his debut album Blest, released on May 16, 2025, on Sub Pop Records.

Windser (Los Angeles-based artist Jordan Topf) to open. He’s also touring in support of his self-titled debut album from Bright Antenna Records.

Windser at the Granada Theater (October 15, 2023)

We caught Windser in October 2023 and said, “One of the openers was one of our recent favorites, Windser, who returned to town after impressing us last year opening for Cannons. The Santa Cruz, CA indie-rock singer/songwriter is aka Jordan Topf along with his musical friends and has gone to bigger things since we last saw him- releasing the track “Belong,” the theme song of the new limited series podcast, Academy, as well as the acoustic EP Panoramic Sessions, and a performance in August in Chicago at Lollapalooza. Like last year, Topf shouted out his cousin who was in the audience (must be a student) and already verbally committed to coming back next year, after completing work on his upcoming album (also giving props to local Mediterranean restaurant, Aladdin Cafe, where they dined beforehand).”

Tour Dates:

Jun 18 Middle East (Upstairs), Cambridge, Australia

Jun 19 Baby's All Right, Brooklyn, NY

Jun 20 DC9, Washington, DC

Aug 15 Mr. Smalls, Pittsburgh, PA

Aug 16 Sound Garage , Toronto , Canada

Aug 17 Schubas, Chicago, IL

Aug 18 Turf Club, St Paul, MN

Aug 20 Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO

Aug 21 Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT

Aug 23 Barboza, Seattle, WA Tickets

Aug 24 Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR

Aug 26 Brick & Mortar Music Hall, San Francisco, CA

Aug 27 The Echo, Los Angeles, CA

Aug 29 Casbah, San Diego, CA

Aug 30 Club Congress, Tucson, AZ

Aug 31 Valley Bar, Phoenix, AZ

Sep 3 White Oak Music Hall , Houston, TX

Sep 4 Mohawk, Austin, TX

Sep 5 Rubber Gloves, Denton, TX

Sep 7 Aisle 5, Atlanta, GA

Sep 8 Drkmttr, Nashville, TN

Sep 10 Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA

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

Whiskey Myers at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-07-12)

WHISKEY MYERS SETLIST Gasoline Frogman Home Bury My Bones Bar, Guitar, and a Honky Tonk Crowd (Brent Cobb cover) Time Bomb Die Rockin Broken Window Serenade Tailspin Different Mold Feets The Wolf Trailer We Call Home Glitter Ain’t Gold John Wayne Bitch Stone Going Down (Jeff Beck Group cover) BLAKE WHITEN SETLIST Breaking My Heart Bad Guy He's Gone Carolina Rollin' Stone Made for Goodbyes Running for the Money WHISKEY MYERS TOUR DATES JUL 17 Macon Amphitheater Macon, GA JUL 18 Coca-Cola Amphitheater Birmingham, AL JUL 19 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN JUL 20 Salem Civic Center Salem, VA JUL 22 Roanoke Island Festival Park Manteo, NC JUL 24 Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC JUL 25 The Dome Virginia Beach, VA JUL 26 Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront Richmond, VA JUL 27 Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort Cherokee, NC AUG 7 Hayden Homes Amphitheater Bend, OR AUG 8 Hayden Homes Amphitheater Bend, OR AUG 9 Gorge Amphitheatre Quincy, WA AUG 12 The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley, CA AUG 13 The Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA AUG 15 Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre Stateline, NV AUG 16 Yaamava’ Theater Highland, CA AUG 18 Arizona Financial Theatre Phoenix, AZ AUG 19 Isleta Amphitheater Albuquerque, NM AUG 23 Ruoff Music Center Noblesville, IN AUG 24 Hollywood Casino Amphitheater Earth City, MO AUG 26 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH AUG 27 Toledo Zoo Amphitheater Toledo, OH AUG 28 Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview Syracuse, NY AUG 29 Filene Center at Wolf Trap Vienna, VA AUG 30 Filene Center at Wolf Trap Vienna, VA SEP 1 Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion Gilford, NH SEP 18 First National Bank Arena Jonesboro, AR SEP 19 Laborde Earles Coliseum Alexandria, LA SEP 20 Brandon Amphitheater Brandon, MS SEP 25 Moody Amphitheater Austin, TX SEP 26 Paycom Center Oklahoma City, OK SEP 27 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Woodlands, TX OCT 9 Memorial Auditorium Chattanooga, TN OCT 10 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC OCT 11 Riverfront Revival 2025 North Charleston, SC NOV 7 Moon Crush "Whiskey Moon"  Miramar Beach, FL NOV 8 Moon Crush "Whiskey Moon" Miramar Beach, FL NOV 9 Moon Crush "Whiskey Moon" Miramar Beach, FL Read More Whiskey Myers The band is poised to begin their next chapter with their highly-anticipated seventh studio album Whomp Whack Thunder arriving Sept. 26 via the band’s own Wiggy Thump Records,

Raising hell and red dirt, and bringing some early whomp whack thunder, it is what they were born to do!

Palestine, TX country rock band Whiskey Myers triumphantly returned to the area after a brief postponement (their original June date was delayed as guitarist John Jeffers welcomed his second boy, Ozzy Jak on June 18), playing to a rowdy and fiercely loyal crowd outdoors at Starlight Theatre on a Saturday night in Kansas City.

===

The three-act bill began with a talented and affable newcomer, Blake Whiten who is a 20-year-old singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist from Six Mile, SC, in support of his debut EP, Six Mile (named for his hometown). Like everyone on the lineup card, he blends Country and Southern rock with a slightly raspy vocal style that belies his young age.

Whiten just signed to Enchntmnt/Warner Records, and released the ballad, “Made for Goodbyes,” his debut major-label track which he played late in his short set. His initial single,

“Rollin’ Stone” caught fans’ and labels’ attention, garnering 25M+ streams, and he also co-wrote Bailey Zimmerman’s “Holding On,” so already has a healthy resume and will add to that when he begins his own headlining tour in September.

===

Next up was the pride of Stillwater (Blair), OK – Read Southall and band, in support of a self-titled fourth full-length album, on their own Smokelahoma Records label. The energetic band plays their own kind of red dirt “rural rock n’ roll“ and is doing some headlining shows in-between as well, on their own Six String Sorrow Tour (named for his 2015 debut).

The new record is said to more collaborative between Southall and his crack five piece band (most are from OK as well)- Reid Barber- drums; Jeremee Knipp- bass; Braxton Curliss- keys; and dual guitarists John Tyler Perry and Ryan Wellman, and the band’s live interplay is a testament to that musical kinship and unspoken understanding they’ve built between them.

Southall reflected that his song “Gunshy” was already celebrating its tenth anniversary and remarked that the he and the band were fortunate enough to play the Grand Ol’ Opry last month before striking up the fan favorite ballad, “Why”.

The set built its momentum as it progressed, peaking near the end with the band’s own “Don’t Tell Me” mixed together with verses of the Blackfoot classic, “Mississippi Queen” followed by the initial single off the most recent album, “Scared Money” with Southall smartly changing one of the lyrics from OKC to “I’m finally sitting pretty in Kansas City”, to rave shouts and cheers.

===

Finally, it was whiskey time- East Texas band Whiskey Myers has been on the scene for two decades now but still remain a bit of a best-kept secret from the mainstream. The band does unabashedly have its own line of liquor, an upcoming cruise fest weekend, and headlined their own Firewater Festival for three years in the Dancefestopia location of La Cygne, KS, so it’s hard to keep that secret around these parts, and as evidenced by its very loud and rabid fan base in the crowd.

The band proudly is at the forefront and waving the flag for the currently burgeoning red dirt country rock movement and is poised to begin their next chapter with their upcoming seventh studio album Whomp Whack Thunder, arriving Sept. 26 via the band’s own Wiggy Thump Records. The album’s lead single, “Time Bomb” is already making waves and was plugged into the band’s 100min. headlining set, about a third of the way in.

Things gone underway with the bubbling and brooding 2019 song, “Gasoline” and the collaborative interaction between guitarists John Jeffers and Cody Tate was apparent from early-on: trading riffs, playing off one another, in unison, and letting each take a turn at solos, as well as taking on lead vocals on a song each.

Vocalist/guitarist Cody Cannon seemed to take everything in stride, growling through songs, inciting the crowd with a peace sign from one hand and holding a Miller Lite in the other; and generally having a good time on stage- happy whether being center stage swinging his mic stand or deferring to others and staying in the background.

“Die Rockin’” had the crowd singing along to the chorus and most knew all of the lyrics to the ballad, “Broken Window Serenade,” one of multiple songs from the band featured in TV’s “Yellowstone”. Another new track, “Tailspin” from the upcoming album, was anchored by a confidently swaggering beat and was unflinching in its honest lyrics, with Cannon admitting, “If I’m going out, I’m going out in style, I’m headed for the bottom again”.

“Different Mold” with its thumping bass drum and slide guitar, was easy to coax the crowd to clap along to it, and slow dances broke out in the aisles during the tender ballad, “Trailer We Call Home.” 2019’s passionate “Glitter Ain’t Gold” about seeing a person for what they really are, led into the unmistakable harmonica intro of “John Wayne”, from 2022’s Tornillo album and which went Top 15 on the US digital rock charts.

Guitarist Jeffers took the lead for “Bitch”, their 2013 breakthrough hit, “Stone” (also heavily featured on Yellowstone) received the loudest applause of the night, and the band capped things with a raucous, bluesy, and somewhat deep-cut cover of 1972’s “Going Down” by the Jeff Beck Group.

No encore (that’s outlaw!) and none needed, as they made their musical statement and said good night – sometimes, less is more. For Whiskey Myers, it’s no bones and just about bringing their brand of whomp whack thunder.

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

WHISKEY MYERS at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-7-12)
WHISKEY MYERS at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-7-12)

WHISKEY MYERS at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-7-12)

SOUTHALL at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-7-12)

BLAKE WHITEN at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-7-12)

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

The Human League w/ Tom Bailey (Thompson Twins) at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

THE HUMAN LEAGUE SETLIST The Sound of the Crowd Mirror Man Heart Like a Wheel Open Your Heart Louise All I Ever Wanted Seconds The Lebanon One Man in my Heart Love Action (I Believe in Love) Tell Me When (Keep Feeling) Fascination Don't You Want Me Encore: Being Boiled Together in Electric Dreams (Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder song) TOM BAILEY SETLIST Love on Your Side* Science Fiction You Take Me Up* We Are Detective* Lay Your Hands on Me* King for a Day* Psycho Killer (Talking Heads cover) Doctor! Doctor!* Hold Me Now* (*= Thompson Twins song) THE HUMAN LEAGUE TOUR DATES 05.07.2025 - Llangollen Pavilion 06.07.2025 - Cardiff Castle 09.07.2025 - Kew Gardens 10.07.2025 - Bedford Park Summer Sessions 11.07.2025 - Live At The Piece Halifax 15.07.2025 - Valencia, Jardines de Viveros 16.07.2025 - Barcelona, Les Nits de Barcelona 23.07.2025 - Brighton, On The Beach 26.07.2025 - 80s Calling! Slessor Gardens 21.08.2025 - Letterkenny Summer Sessions 22.08.2025 - Wider than Pictures Dublin 24.08.2025 - 80s Calling! Darlington Arena TOM BAILEY TOUR DATES 05 JULY Brit Fest- Ashley Hall Showground, Altrincham, UK 06 JULY Cardiff, UK Cardiff Castle 10 JULY Bedford UK Bedford Park 11 JULY Haifax UK The Piece Hall 02 AUGUST London, UK Beckenham Place Park 15-17 AUGUST Rewind Festival Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-thames, UK 27 SEPTEMBER OC Rewind Huntington Beach Sports Complex, Huntington Beach, CA Read More Tom Bailey Tom Bailey (of Thompson Twins) has several confirmed tour dates in the UK and US for the summer of 2025, performing at venues and festivals, including Bedford Park, The Piece Hall, Rewind Festival, and OC Rewind.

Summer is off to a great start in the East Midlands!

As part of our extended weekend excursion to the UK, we couldn’t help but find our way up to Derby (approx. 45-50min. NE of Birmingham) to see the beginning show of their Derby Summer Sessions series of concerts, starring The Human League, Tom Bailey (ex-Thompson Twins), and Blancmange (sponsored by TK Maxx as it’s known over there for legal reasons, not TJ Maxx).

The Summer Sessions concerts are in their successful second year and play other similar size towns; but this year in Derby, most shows have been pulled inside into the city’s brand-new event venue, Vaillant Live, instead of being held outdoors in Markeaton Park under a big circus-style tent. The 207-acre park was ideal for many, and they expressed their displeasure about the move, but Vaillant Live is an impressive venue on its own.

Located on Colyear Street, near the end of their pedestrian city centre area (which explains my difficulty in locating it), it’s a state-of-the-art 3500-capacity venue with an open floor, large back balcony, and smaller side balconies.

The multi-purpose £46m structure already has concerts, comedians, family and sporting events on its calendar, so should remain busy and fills a need for a concert venue in town, since the Assembly Rooms had a fire there over a decade ago, and have yet to rebound.

===

The evening began with a short set from Blancmange, an underrated (at least in the US) synth-pop band from London composed of Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe who scored four Top 20 songs over three albums in the 80s.

After breaking up in 1986, they reformed and released 2011’s Blanc Burn, only to have Luscombe need to retire for health reasons, but with Arthur (who has been very prolific in recent years) continuing with a different and often experimental sound.

The setlist concentrated of course, on the 80’s-era material, including their biggest hit, the middle eastern-inspired “Living on the Ceiling” and two other UK top ten singles, “Blind Vision” and “Don’t Tell Me”.

===

Still in his late 60s, Tom Bailey is enjoying a bit of a rebirth over the last decade, having made his biggest success leading The Thompson Twins from the late 70s to the early 90s. After a hiatus, he returned to live stages in 2014, and has been playing live consistently, releasing a solo album, Science Fiction, in 2018.

Bailey and his all-female band emerged all dressed in white, and began their 48-minute set with Thompson Twins’ first top 10 single, 1983’s “Love on Your Side”, then shifted the music thirty-five years forward with the title track to his recent solo album. “Shall we have some fun?” Bailey remarked with the harmonica intro of The Thompson’s “You Take Me Up” signaling the hit song.

Bailey’s voice still resonates and the three-piece band (aka The Sisters of Mercy- Charlotte Raven- keyboards and cello; Paulina Szczepaniak– drums; Alice Offley- bass / backing vocals) were musically spot-on all night and fun to watch.

They even worked in a natty Talking Heads cover before ending their night with the Thompsons’ biggest hit on both sides of the pond– “Hold Me Now.” We’re so glad Bailey is back performing and though he eluded us a few times in the recent past, it was worth the wait finally see him live.

===

Like Bailey and the Thompsons, The Human League is also from the steel workingman’s town of Sheffield (along with the likes of Def Leppard, Arctic Monkeys, and Pulp among others) and whose influence is well respected and renown in the UK and Europe. The US, though, mostly thinks of them as a two (maybe three) hit pop wonder – how wrong we were on this side of the pond.

The band began with a more experimental sound in 1977, eventually solidifying their lineup and sound on the 1981 album, “Dare”, which yielded them four hit singles and a Brit Award the following year.

Amazingly, the core lineup of founder Philip Oakey and singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley remains intact and still clearly enjoys performing, making several costume changes, and thrilling audiences.

The band has continued releasing albums, compilations, and live releases with regularity and counts the likes of Moby and Pet Shop Boys as acknowledging them as an influence. The band has been covered and sampled by everyone from George Michael and Robbie Williams to LCD Soundsystem, and more.

Their seventy-four-minute headlining set barely took a breath, except in the form of extended instrumentals so the trio could change outfits, and lesser-known songs (in the States) like “Mirror Man” and “Heart Like a Wheel” instantly became familiar once played. Their backing band, fully lit stage, and enhanced screen graphics all combined for a mesmerizing and truly enjoyable performance.

2001’s “All I Ever Wanted” is filled with vocoder and keytar, set to a throbbing electro beat, but hardly sounds dated, and Oakey donned a long black coat on the still-political and charged “The Lebanon” from their fourth album, 1984’s Hysteria (hey, did Def Lep nick that title a few years later!?).

Sulley took the lead for the 1995 ballad, “One Man in My Heart” (I’m seeing a lot of “heart” in their song titles), Oakey mentioned the band hadn’t played Derby since 1982 (!!), and called out their former guitarist, Jo Callis, as well as Jyoti Mishra aka White Town, in the crowd watching (anyone remember 1996’s “Your Woman,” also sampled in Dua Lipa’s “Love Again”).

The band ended the main set with the one-two punch of their biggest hits, “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” and “Don’t You Want Me”, the latter of which found the crowd singing the first verse and chorus back to the band in full voice, before they could even approach a mic.

The encore began with a real chestnut- 1978’s “Being Boiled”, their debut single which established them as a name on the UK electro scene, though with a much darker theme and a slicing synth sound. “Together in Electric Dreams” from 1985 would end the evening, the title track from a poorly received film, but important in that Oakey collaborated with famed musician/composer Georgio Moroder on, for a joyous and positive anthem that was ideal to send everyone home with.

A trip across the pond to be taken back in time forty years, courtesy of The Human League, Tom Bailey, and Blancmange, turned out to be even better and more fun than expected, and well worth the journey to hear these songs of yesteryear played live once more (and was better than any fireworks on the 4^th!).

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

THE HUMAN LEAGUE at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

THE HUMAN LEAGUE at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

THE HUMAN LEAGUE at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

TOM BAILEY (Thompson Twins) at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

TOM BAILEY (Thompson Twins) at Vaillant Live, Derby UK (2025-07-04)

 

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

The Crane Wives at Palace Theatre, St Paul MN (July 12, 2025)

The Crane Wives at Palace Theatre (July 12, 2025) The Crane Wives Setlist Scars Queen of Nothing Bitter Medicine Allies or Enemies The Wolf Steady, Steady Take Me to War Black Hole Fantasy Nobody Say It The Moon Will Sing Arcturus Beaming Mad Dog Sleeping Giants Tongues & Teeth Encore: The Hand That Feeds Curses Tour Dates We're honored to be able to announce that we'll be joined on these upcoming tours by two incredible songwriters. This spring, Cristina Vane will open our shows along the East Coast, then we'll be joined by Arny Margret to the midwest! 07/12 Palace Theatre Saint Paul, MN 07/14 The Truman Kansas City, MO 07/15 The Pageant St Louis, MO 07/17 Brooklyn Bowl Nashville Nashville, TN 07/18 Mercury Ballroom Louisville, KY 07/19 Hi-Fi Annex Indianapolis, IN 07/20 Hi-Fi Annex Indianapolis, IN 07/22 Bogart's Cincinnati, OH 07/23 Athenaeum Theatre Columbus, OH 07/25 Saint Andrew's Hall Detroit, MI 07/26 The Vic Theatre Chicago, IL 08/28 Frederik Meijer Gardens Grand Rapids, MI 09/24 Islington Assembly Hall London 09/25 Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham 09/26 O2 Ritz Manchester Manchester 09/27 O2 Academy Glasgow Glasgow 09/29 SWX Bristol 09/30 Islington Assembly Hall London Band Members Emilee Petersmark (guitar/vocals) Kate Pillsbury (guitar/vocals) Dan Rickabus (drums/vocals) Ben Zito (bass) The Crane Wives Grand Rapids’ The Crane Wives (named after The Decemberists, ala Japanese folk tale 鶴女房) is headlining the Palace Theatre on July 12, 2025, in support of Beyond Beyond Beyond. … read more Arny Margret Arny Margret was the opener for the evening. The Icelandic born Margret (actual name: Árný Margrét Sævarsdóttir) is relatively early in her career, with an EP … read more

Grand Rapids, MI band The Crane Wives (named after The Decemberists, ala Japanese folk tale 鶴女房) just headlined the Palace Theatre in downtown St. Paul, in support of newest album, Beyond Beyond Beyond.

Arny Margret at Dakota Jazz Club (Mar 29, 2025)

A nearly perfect Saturday evening in Saint Paul made the extremely long line at the Palace Theatre no problem at all. And what was the cause of those very long lines? Indie band The Crane Wives was in town to perform.

The evening started with Icelandic singer & songwriter Arny Margret. I last saw her opening for John Grant in March 2025 and ended that review talking about how more touring would increase the confidence at all of the non-music parts of a performance.

I didn’t think I would be checking in on her progress so soon! Margret again performed solo with guitar and she’s still killing it on the musical side, with the early going having some similarities to her show at The Dakota. But it was very pleasant to see her growth and improved confidence as a performer, as she handled the massive applause of the Palace audience quite well.

She may never be an extremely gregarious sort on stage, but the poise and a sense that she knew she belonged on that stage was a palpable step up from March. And these songs deserve that strength as they are really quite beautiful. Margret is a voice worth seeking out and her music exudes a depth that belies her youth. The reaction from the crowd was genuine and positive and although in a little different direction from the headliner, I think it was close enough to speak to the crowd.

She ended with an efficient set of just over thirty minutes. Having seen both her Minnesota shows, I’ll be on the watch for her next performance and how she continues to develop. I found out after the show that Margret had a fever and had left immediately after the show, which is quite impressive given how well she did. Get better quickly!

The Crane Wives are a quartet based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They took their name from a 2006 album by indie darlings The Decemberists, who in turn had named their album from the Japanese folk legend. The band is centered as indie rock, but also lean heavily into folk and Americana.

Guitarists Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury share lead vocal duties, with drummer Dan Rickabus also providing harmonies, and bassist Ben Zito rounding out the group. They have released seven albums, most recently 2024’s Beyond Beyond Beyond, which was what The Crane Wives were touring in support of.

They had a brilliantly dramatic set up before getting started, building the crowd anticipation up before ever coming on stage. But when they did, it was a stunning opening and Scarswas outstanding. Petersmark and Pillsbury played excellently off each other and although one of them may have lead vocals, their comfort in sharing lead was extremely obvious.

The crowd, particularly the younger teens in the front section were singing along to nearly every song. Bitter Medicine was alarmingly good, with Petersmark’s “bull sh*t” lyric hitting hard. As the band rolled into older material, Allies or Enemies had the audience in full throated sing along mode, with Pillsbury thanking them for joining in. We also got a brief moment as they asked how many people were at their first The Crane Wives concert, with many hands and screams.

A quick question followed if it was anyone’s first ever concert and a surprising number of hands went back in the air. With a “We’ll try to make it a good one”, the band was back in full action and I can’t find enough ways to say it was simply tremendous.

"The Wolf" was electric and the band was clearly starting to feed off that high audience energy in the best possible way. A “You guys are wonderful!” was certainly heart felt. Take Me to Warlet Petersmark rage vocally and Rickabus’ drums were staccato artillery sounding hits.

"Black Hole Fantasy" is probably my favorite song off the recent album, and those opening chords struck deep as Pillsbury started singing, and this song as a mini-movie took off. As the lyrics ended and they went into the extended outro, The Crane Wives had crushed it. I don’t know if this is the reception they get every night, but both band and audience were flying high.

"Say It" finally slowed things down a little but was still intense enough with those double harmonies backing Pillsbury’s lead vocals. We got our first wolf howl from the band, and with a full throated reply from the audience. A note of how amazing to have this audience (referring to getting 20 people at shows in years past), the band continued to appreciate the moment.

"Arcturus Beaming", the first single released from Beyond Beyond Beyond highlighted both Perersmark and Pillsbury in true co-lead vocals at points and really rocked with emphatic guitar work from Pillsbury.

"Mad Dog" was probably the first moment that felt like the end of the concert was showing up, but the crowd doubled down on their singing and Petersmark leaned into her lead vocals as if this might go on forever.

At this point, even the drum intro for the next song was recognizable enough for the crowd to be ready for "Sleeping Giants". Closing out the main set, they gave an initially convincing sign that it was over, but they were soon back for a two number encore.

"The Hand That Feeds" was a perfectly placed song for the start, while "Curses", after an extended drum intro, closed things out strong. The Crane Wives had given a truly stellar performance and had left the St. Paul audience completely enthralled.

 

THE CRANE WIVES Palace Theatre St Paul MN 2025-07-12

THE CRANE WIVES Palace Theatre St Paul MN 2025-07-12

ARNY MARGRET Palace Theatre St Paul MN 2025-07-12

ARNY MARGRET Palace Theatre St Paul MN 2025-07-12

 

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com ♥ bsky.app

Jax: August 11 to August 15, 2025

Read more Jacksonville.

Blind Melon at FIVE (August 12, 2025) Blind Melon Steven Weeks-Johnson was fun, doing some 90s tunes like Sublime’s “What I Got” and Blind Melon’s “No Rain”. He even played Joe Walsh’s “Life's Been Good”. … read more

August 12, 2025 Tuesday
Blind Melon
at FIVE
fivejax.com

Just ahead of their appearance at the massive Minnesota Yacht Club, Neon Praire Festival, and Highland Festival Grounds, Blind Melon will be headlining FIVE, in Jacksonville, Florida. The show was just announced today (July 9th).

Tour dates:

July 9th: Desplaines Theatre, Desplaines, IL

July 11th: Uncle Sam Jam in Woodhaven, MI

July 12th: CornStock 2025 - Bill Monroe Park, Morgantown, IN

July 13th: Rochester Public Music Series -Mayo Park, MN

July 20th: Minnesota Yacht Club, St. Paul, MN

August 7th: House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC

August 8th: The Underground, Charlotte, NC

August 9th: Town Center Park, Suwanee, GA

August 16th: House of Blues, New Orleans, LA

September 5th: House of Blues, Houston, TX

September 7th, 2025: NEON PRAIRE FESTIVAL, Tulsa, OK

September 11th Louisville, KY BOURBON & BEYOND Festival

September 13th. Foothills Festival, Jasper, AL

September 28th, Ocean City, MD OCEANS CALLING Festival

Postmodern Jukebox at Florida Theatre (August 13, 2025) Postmodern Jukebox A rescheduled show – Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox is a musical troupe known for covering modern pop hits and transforming them into jazz, swing, and doo-wop songs. … read more

August 13, 2025 Wednesday
Postmodern Jukebox
at Florida Theatre
floridatheatre.com

Postmodern Jukebox is the musical ensemble that centers around New York-based pianist Scott Bradlee. The group is known for re-working popular modern music into different vintage genres, particularly swing and jazz. They will stop at the Florida Theatre, in Jacksonville, on August 13, 2025.

Tour dates:

Jul 09, 2025 The Grey Eagle Event Centre Calgary, Canada

Jul 10, 2025 River Cree Resort And Casino Edmonton, Canada

Jul 11, 2025 História Garden Veszprém, Hungary

Jul 11, 2025 TCU Place Saskatoon, SK

Jul 12, 2025 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB

Jul 14, 2025 Ames Center Burnsville, MN

Jul 15, 2025 Orpheum Theater Madison, WI

Jul 16, 2025 Hoyt Sherman Place Des Moines, IA

Jul 17, 2025 Englert Civic Theatre Iowa City, IA

Jul 18, 2025 Blue Gate Performing Arts Center Shipshewana, IN

Jul 19, 2025 John M. Hall Auditorium Petoskey, MI

Jul 21, 2025 Goodyear Theater Akron, OH

Jul 22, 2025 Fisher Theatre Detroit, MI

Jul 23, 2025 Massey Hall Toronto, ON

Jul 24, 2025 Rialto Theatre Montreal, QC

Jul 25, 2025 Tupelo Music Hall Derry, NH

Jul 26, 2025 The Wind Creek Event Center Bethlehem, PA

Jul 29, 2025 Waterville Opera House Waterville, ME

Jul 30, 2025 Historic Park Theatre Cranston, RI

Jul 31, 2025 Plymouth Memorial Hall Plymouth, MA

Aug 01, 2025 Cary Hall Lexington, MA

Aug 02, 2025 Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, CT

Aug 03, 2025 The Suffolk Theater Riverhead, NY

Aug 05, 2025 Capital One Hall Tysons, VA

Aug 06, 2025 The Lyric Baltimore Baltimore, MD

Aug 07, 2025 Knight Theater at Levine Center For The Arts Charlotte, NC

Aug 08, 2025 Carolina Theatre – Fletcher Hall Durham, NC

Aug 09, 2025 Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN

Aug 10, 2025 The Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta Symphony Hall) Atlanta, GA

Aug 12, 2025 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC

Aug 13, 2025 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL

Aug 14, 2025 Au-Rene Theater Fort Lauderdale, FL

Aug 15, 2025 Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Orlando, FL

Aug 16, 2025 Saenger Theater Pensacola, FL

Aug 19, 2025 The Ludlow Garage Cincinnati, OH

Aug 20, 2025 Lexington Opera House Lexington, KY

Aug 21, 2025 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

Aug 23, 2025 Rivers Casino Des Plaines Des Plaines, IL

Aug 24, 2025 Holland Performing Arts Center Omaha, NE

Aug 26, 2025 Pikes Peak Center Colorado Springs, CO

Aug 27, 2025 The Avalon Theatre Grand Junction, CO

Aug 28, 2025 KiMo Theatre Albuquerque, NM

Aug 29, 2025 Ikeda Theater Mesa, AZ

Aug 30, 2025 Fox Performing Arts Center Riverside, CA

Aug 31, 2025 Humphreys Concerts by the Bay San Diego, CA

Sep 03, 2025 The Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA

Sep 04, 2025 Mary Stuart Rogers Theater Modesto, CA

Sep 05, 2025 Uptown Theatre Napa, CA

Sep 06, 2025 Segerstrom Center for the Arts Costa Mesa, CA

Sep 07, 2025 The Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks, CA

Mike Campbell at Florida Theatre (August 14, 2025) Mike Campbell If you didn’t know, Mike Campbell is the “other guy” in The Heartbreakers, a band with Tom Petty. Mike met Tom in a Gainesville, Florida carport in 1972… and the rest is history. … read more

August 14, 2025 Thursday
Mike Campbell
and The Dirty Knobs
at Florida Theatre
floridatheatre.com

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Mike Campbell returns to the city as headliner at the Florida Theatre on August 14, 2025. The bill also includes his band The Dirty Knobs, whom he was the lead singer and guitarist of the band, while also being in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

His new album, with the Dirty Knobs is called Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits.

Tour dates:

Jul 25, 2025 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

Jul 26, 2025 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

Jul 29, 2025 Warner Theatre Washington, DC

Jul 31, 2025 Artpark Lewiston, NY

Aug 1, 2025 Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA

Aug 2, 2025 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH

Aug 3, 2025 The Berglund Performing Arts Theatre Roanoke, VA

Aug 5, 2025 Firefly Distillery North Charleston, SC

Aug 7, 2025 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC

Aug 8, 2025 Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC

Aug 9, 2025 Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park Atlanta, GA

Aug 10, 2025 Asheville Yards Amphitheater Asheville, NC

Aug 13, 2025 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL

Aug 14, 2025 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL

Taylor Swift Laser Party at Florida Theatre (August 15, 2025) Taylor Swift So, I’m sure you all know the Taylor Swift saga about how she tried to get rights to her music from Scooter Braun. Braun eventually sold the masters of Swift’s … read more

August 15, 2025 Friday
Taylor Swift Laser Party
featuring DJ Swiftie & Riane
at Florida Theatre
floridatheatre.com

Everybody loves Taylor Swift. Expect to dance with other Swifties at this upcoming Taylor Swift Laser Party, featuring DJ Swiftie and Riane.

Details and disclaimers:

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Calling all Swifties for the most epic Taylor-themed event. The all-ages Taylor Swift Laser Party is coming back to the Florida Theatre. DJ Swiftie has traveled the world since 2022 performing for over 800,000 attendees bringing the love of Taylor Swift Music to all! He’s teamed up with RIANE a Nashville based artist to re-create Taylors biggest album in a 2025 World Laser Party Tour kicking off in January 2025.

VIP1 includes upfront seating and a merch package.

DOBRES TOURING, LLC is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, sponsored by, or in any way officially connected with Taylor Swift or any of her respective business entities or their affiliates or subsidiaries, including but not limited to TAS Rights Management, LLC. The name Taylor Swift as well as related names, marks, emblems and images are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Furthermore, DOBRES TOURING, LLC is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or in any way officially connected with other third party entities that provide similar services and events to DOBRES TOURING, LLC; the similarity of any services and events are purely coincidental and does not imply any association with such third party

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

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis This Week (July 20, 2025)

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Yeison Landero at the Cedar (July 16, 2025) Summer at the Cedar Every Wednesday, music fans can experience Summer at the Cedar for free at the Cedar Plaza (outdoors). There are limited seating, so the venue suggests you can bring … read more

July 16, 2025 Wednesday
Yeison Landero
at Cedar Cultural Center
thecedar.org

From San Jacinto in Colombia’s Montes de María province near Cartagena, Yeison Landero will be bringing his Latin music to the Cedar Cultural Center on July 16, 2025.

Every Wednesday, music fans can experience Summer at the Cedar for free at the Cedar Plaza (outdoors). There is limited seating, so the venue suggests you can bring your own chairs.

Summer at the Cedar

July 9 - Sinkane

July 16 - Yeison Landero

July 23 - Abinnet Berhanu’s Ahndenet

July 30 - Buddha Prince

August 6 - Combo Daguerre

August 13 - The Burroughs

August 20 - Ukrainian Village Band

Trapper Schoepp at Sunset Series (July 17, 2025) The Sunset Series The Summer series takes place every Thursday evening, starting June 12 and ending August 21, in Downtown Park, 40 Ninth Avenue S, Hopkins. … read more Trapper Schoepp Trapper Schoepp has some fun with this one (how could you not?), borrowing a few lines he overheard a kid lament during the ride: “I feel weird, I feel … read more

July 17, 2025 Thursday
Trapper Schoepp
at Hopkins Downtown Park
hopkinsartscenter.com

Trapper Schoepp is headlining Hopkin’s The Sunset Series on Thursday, July 17, 2025. The Sunset Series is a free outdoor concert series, showcasing local favorites to emerging new talent taking place every Thursday evening, starting June 12 and ending August 21, in Downtown Park, 40 Ninth Avenue S, Hopkins.

Bring a chair and some friends! If there’s rain, they may move the show indoors at The Depot (9451 Excelsior Blvd). An announcement will be made by 3pm of the concert date.

Trapper Schoepp at 7th St Entry (April 14, 2023)

We’ve previously seen Annie Mack (Dec 2024): “Mack has a voice built for the blues” and Trapper Schoepp (April 2023): “The Trapper Schoepp Band was started when Trapper and his brother Tanner Schoepp were in high school. They recorded and released A Change in the Weather in 2007. Some band changes, which created Trapper Schoepp & the Shades… and that’s how we first heard of the group, in November 2013.”

Lineup:

June 12 - Katy Tessman and the Tumbuckels

June 26 – Zacc Harris, American Reverie

July 10 – Triple Fiddle

July 17 – Trapper Schoepp

July 24 – Annie Mack

July 31 – Westwind Big Band

August 7 – Salsa del Soul

August 14 – Power of 10

August 21 – Elska

Bachman-Turner Overdrive and The Marshall Tucker Band at Treasure Island (July 19, 2025) Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is one of the most successful groups of the 1970s and 80’s, and continues to tour today with original member David Freiberg, drummer Donny Baldwin … read more

July 19, 2025 Saturday
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
and The Marshall Tucker Band
with Jefferson Starship
at Treasure Island
ticasino.com

I was recently at a Home Depot, in Jacksonville, when Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s classic song “Takin’ Care of Business” came on the airwaves at the home improvement store. A young dude in the other aisle was absolutely singing along, finishing that line, “Takin’ care of business - EVERYDAY!” This story is to illustrate what a great song it was that dominated the US Top 40 charts in the ‘70s… and carrying itself well into 2025, that a new generation is loving the infection song.

It looks like the Canadian rock group will be playing Treasure Island Casino, in Welch, Minnesota, on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Co-headlining the event will be southern rock pioneers The Marshall Tucker Band, famous for “Can't You See” and “Heard it in a Love Song”.

Support will be from Jefferson Starship. Don’t confuse the band with the original Jefferson Airplane or the evolution/breakoff Starship (famous for “Sara” and “We Built This City”). Still, if you’ve seen one of these Jefferson-related bands, I think you can mark them all off on your Bingo card.

Summer US Tour Dates with The Marshall Tucker Band and Jefferson Starship:

July 18 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Stir Cove

July 19 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Casino

July 20 – Fargo, ND – Scheels Arena

July 22 – Interlochen, MI – Kresge Auditorium

July 24 – Appleton, WI – Neuroscience Group Field

July 25 – Terre Haute, IN – The Mill Terre Haute

July 26 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center

August 1 – El Reno, OK – Lucky Star Casino

August 3 – Amarillo, TX – Amarillo Civic Center Complex #

# Outlaws replacing Jefferson Starship as special guest

Summer US Tour Dates - BTO only:

July 28 – Bloomington, IL – Bloomington Center For The Performing Art

July 29 – Elk Grove Village, IL – The Village Green at the Charles Zettek Municipal Complex

July 31 – Jefferson City, MO – MU Health Care Capital Region Amphitheater

August 15 – Wendover, NV – Peppermill Casino

August 16 – Beaver Creek, CO – Vilar PAC

August 18 – Boise, ID – Western Idaho Fair

August 21 – Pala, CA – Pala Casino

August 22 – Ft. McDowell, AZ – We-Ko-Pa Casino

August 23 – Albuquerque, NM – Legends Theater at Route 66 Casino

August 26 – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theater

August 27 – Park City, KS – Park City Arena

August 28 – Tulsa, OK – The Cove at River Spirit

August 30 – St. Charles, MO – Family Arena

August 31 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Paramount Theater

September 17 – Puyallup, WA – Washington State Fair

September 19 – Grand Ronde, OR – Spirit Mountain Casino

September 20 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley Casino

Minnesota Yacht Club (July 18-20, 2025) Minnesota Yacht Club Festival No surprises here, but Minnesota Yacht Club Festival (MYC) returns to Minnesota. Presale (lowest priced-tickets) will be made available today, January 30 at 10am … read more Green Day Punk trio Green Day is pleased to announced their three nominations for iHeartRadio Music Awards for “Rock Artist of the Year”, “Alternative Artists of … read more Sublime Ska/punk trio Sublime dominated the radio airways in 1997 with such hits as ‘What I Got’ and ‘Santeria’ from their third self-titled album... They were the … read more Hozier One of the most popular voices from Ireland came to the heartland as folk-rock singer-songwriter Hozier played a long sold-out show in front of 18,000 fans … read more 311 311 w AWOLNATION, Blame My Youth, Grinders KC The rock/rap/funk band started in Omaha way back in 1990, and has been a local favorite ever since … read more Garbage After previously naming an album 2.0, this could be considered version 3.0 of the career of Garbage, the Madison, WI based band who resumed work in … read more Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy brought So Much Stardust to end Night One of the 2023 NFL Draft held at Union Station in Kansas … read more Alabama Shakes The second half of the show is Lara's music pick of The Alabama Shakes and why she loves them. Song of the show is "You Ain't Alone", which was … read more Train The popular “Hey, Soul Sister” band Train is headlining the Surly Brewing Festival Field this September 11, 2023. Show up early to … read more Sheryl Crow The evening opened strong with Sheryl Crow dueting with Olivia Rodrigo and Stevie Nicks with Laura Dern doing the induction duties before Peter Frampton joined … read more O.A.R. Longtime Rockville MD alt-roots rock band O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) got things started with a 75-minute opening set, that properly warmed up the crowd … read more Father John Misty Before he was Father John Misty, he was known as Josh Tillman, or rather by his billing stagename, J. Tillman. We caught J Tillman at the Music … read more Beach Bunny Due to popular demand (the original venue Fine Line Music Café sold out), the Beach Bunny (led by Lili Trifilio) show got an upgrade to First Avenue’s … read more Blind Melon Steven Weeks-Johnson was fun, doing some 90s tunes like Sublime’s “What I Got” and Blind Melon’s “No Rain”. He even played Joe Walsh’s “Life's Been Good”. … read more

July 18, 2025 Friday
July 19, 2025 Saturday
July 20, 2025 Sunday
Minnesota Yacht Club
at Harriet Island
minnesotayachtclubfestival.com

Can you believe it? The biggest music event of Minnesota, the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival (MYC) will be taking place this weekend, starting on Friday (July 18) and ending on Sunday (July 20). Pre-sale tickets sold out seven months ago!!! The lineup is incredible.

NOTE: Please note that Blind Melon has replaced Semisonic on Sunday night.

Hozier at State Theatre (0June 2, 2019)

For Friday, Hozier is the headliner. The headliner is incredibly popular, playing to 18,000 in 2024. We caught Hozier in Minnesota, in June 2019 and said, “What is even more impressive is that while the debut self-titled album only reached #2 on the US chart, Hozier’s sophomore album Wasteland, Baby! went straight to #1 - thanks to such strong singles as “Movement” and “Almost (Sweet Music)”. Although his international breakout single “Take Me To Church” (which the band closed out the show with), I think the real secret to Hozier’s success is his very excellent band and backup singers. They were all giving their 150%, and you can just tell how much they love playing these songs.”

Father John Misty at Rock the Garden (June 16, 2018)

Also, on Friday is Father John Misty, who we saw in June 2018 and wrote, “As usual, the Rock the Garden did a great job organizing the music festival. Although the original scheduled was delayed about 30 minutes, because of the weather... once the music started, they did an amazing job getting things back on track. Father John Misty had a whole Minnesota orchestra behind him (players Leah Ottman/LOTT, Cameron Kinghorn, the Laurels String Quartet, Dan Lawonn, and Devan Moran).”

Weezer at Azura Amphitheater (June 11, 2023)

On Saturday, the headliner will be Chicago’s popular band Fall Out Boy (not to be confused with Fallout’s Vault Boy), which we saw in April 2023 … however, we probably more excited for Weezer. We last saw Weezer in June 2023 and said, “Weezer would begin as darkness filled the skies, illuminating the car dashboard stage set, themed around road trips and a large backdrop screen that showed animated versions of famous landmarks that could be visited on a road trip, as the band dipped into their entire three decade-plus musical catalogue. Singer Rivers Cuomo gained instant applause, sporting a I Heart KC t-shirt and at one point early on, Cuomo said "something is wrong" and he "turned up the volume" on the dashboard stage to keep the road tunes and fun atmosphere going.”

Garbage at Mystic Lake (July 21, 2017)

Personally speaking, I’m more excited about Sunday’s lineup, which features punk legends Green Day on the same bill as Garbage and Sublime! That’s totally nuts! We love Garbage and have seen them a few times, with the last in July 2017: “After previously naming an album 2.0, this could be considered version 3.0 of the career of Garbage, the Madison, WI based band who resumed work in 2012 after a break, and is in support of last summer’s Strange Little Birds (on the band’s own Stunvolume Records) and also their own coffee table book, This is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake (Akashic Books). Their new one-off single, the brooding ‘No Horses’ opened their seventy-five minute set, with singer Shirley Manson literally shimmering in a sparkling dress hiding Dr. Martin-style boots underneath. The band (Duke Erikson-bass; Steve Marker-guitar; Butch Vig- drums) remains a musically tight as ever, working in all the radio hits, in addition to a fewer newer songs.”

As usual, we will be there early to cover all the bands - including local favorites like Semisonic and Raffaella.

Friday - July 18 Hozier Alabama Shakes Train Sheryl Crow Father John Misty Gigi Perez The 502s Hamilton Leithauser Mike Kota Maygen & the Birdwatcher

Saturday - July 19 Fall Out Boy Weezer Remi Wolf OAR Cory Wong Motion City Soundtrack Silversun Pickups Jake Clemons Raffaella LAAMAR

Sunday - July 20 Green Day Sublime 311 Garbage Beach Bunny The Beaches Blind Melon Grace Bowers Winona Fighter Landon Conrath

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