W♥M

March Forth to March Fourth (2023)

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide and March Forth.

03/04 Ron Sexsmith at Dakota Jazz Club Read More Ron Sexsmith This is because the male vocals on this song is by none other than Ron Sexsmith. While the presence of Sexsmith doesn't hurt the song, I just felt the gentle love song …

03/04/2023 Saturday

Ron Sexsmith
at Dakota Jazz Club
dakotacooks.com

Beloved singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith will be touring in support of his new album The Vivian Line, his first USA tour since 2015.

Ron Sexsmith (17 Jan 2007)

We caught the Canadian singer in Jan 2007, and wrote, “As for Ron Sexsmith, he's a Canadian singer/songwriter, whose major label debut self-titled album was heavily promoted in the UK (including massive advertisement campaigns in NME, Select, and Q) in 1994-1995. As expected, he played a few songs from Time Being, including "Hands Of Time", "Ship Of Fools", "Snow Angel", "Jazz At The Bookstore", "Never Give Up", and "All In Good Time". I actually filmed "Cheap Hotel", which was played fairly early in his set. The song is taken from his 2001 album Blue Boy, and you can view it on YouTube.”

Tour dates:

2/15 – City Winery – Boston, MA
2/16 – Stage One – Fairfield, CT
2/17 – City Winery – New York, NY
2/18 – World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA
2/19 – Jammin’ Java – Vienna, VA
2/21 – Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC
2/22 – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
2/24 – Eddie’s Attic – Atlanta, GA
2/25 – Bluebird Café (two shows) – Nashville, TN
2/28 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI
3/1 – City Winery – Chicago, IL
3/2 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI
3/3 – Dakota – Minneapolis, MN

03/04 Mod Sun with Stand Atlantic and Pardyalone at First Avenue Read More Mod Sun Minnesota’s Mod Sun (half of Hotel Motel) is headlining his “Internet Killed the Rockstar Tour” presented by Big Noise. Joining the rapper on tour will be Girlfriends (featuring Travis Mills and Nick Gross) and Tyler Posey … … Stand Atlantic The co-headlining tour of Australian bands Stand Atlantic and The Faim will take place at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on Monday, October 7th. …

03/04/2023 Saturday

Mod Sun
with Stand Atlantic and Pardyalone
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Pop-punk powerhouse Mod Sun is touring in support of his album God Save The Teen (Big Noise).

I actually had no idea his fiancée is singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne (I thought she was married to the guy from Nickelback). Apparently the two lovebirds had a massive hit with their 2021 single “Flames” (>106 million streams), and he’s dedicated a song called “Avril’s Song,” to his “soulmate” and donning a vulnerable collaboration with her on “Shelter.”

Mod Sun shares, “I dove deep into the power of love on this album, my song ‘Shelter’ features my fiancée Avril Lavigne, and is all about finding protection from the world in the person you are with. My song ‘SOS’ featuring Royal & The Serpent is all about the magic of love at first sight and being completely helpless to the power it has on you. I'm proud, I'm grateful, I'm at my best as an artist right now and that's what this album is to me.”

Stand Atlantic and Pardyalone to open.

Tour dates:

Feb. 23—Vancouver, Canada—Rickshaw Theatre
Feb. 25—Edmonton, Canada—Union Hall
Feb. 27—Salt Lake City, UT—The Depot
March 1—Denver, CO—Summit Music Hall
March 3—Lawrence, KS—The Granada
March 4—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue
March 5—Chicago, IL—Bottom Lounge
March 7—Detroit, MI—Saint Andrews Hall
March 9—Cleveland, OH—Agora Theatre & Ballroom
March 10—Toronto, Canada—Phoenix Concert Theatre
March 12—Montréal, Canada—Théâtre Corona
March 14—Boston, MA—Paradise Rock Club
March 15—New York City, NY—Irving Plaza
March 17—Philadelphia, PA—Brooklyn Bowl Philly
March 19—Silver Spring, MD—The Fillmore
March 21—Atlanta, GA—The Masquerade
March 22—Nashville, TN—Eastside Bowl
March 26—Fort Lauderdale, FL—Culture Room
March 28—Dallas, TX—South Side Music Hall
March 29—Houston, TX—RISE Rooftop
March 30—Mesa, AZ—Nile Theater
April 2—Los Angeles, CA—The Fonda Theatre

03/04 Titus Andronicus with Country Westerns at Turf Club Read More Titus Andronicus New Jersey indie/punk Titus Andronicus (named after William Shakespeare’s play of the same name) will be at the Turf Club on Saturday, March 17th. The band announced an “Acoustic” tour in support of their new album A Productive Cough. …

03/04/2023 Saturday

Titus Andronicus
with Country Westerns
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Titus Andronicus is kicking off their 2023 tour this February… the tour will find their way to St Paul’s The Turf Club on March 4, 2023.

Nashville rockers Country Westerns, will open. The trio will release Forgive The City on April 28th, 2023, via Fat Possum Records.

Tour dates:

Feb 3 Limerick, IE – Pharmacia
Feb 4 Dublin, IE – The Grand Social
Feb 7 Edinburgh, UK – The Mash House
Feb 8 Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
Feb 9 Manchester, UK – YES
Feb 10 Leeds, UK – Belgrave Music Hall
Feb 11 Sunderland, UK – Pop Recs
Feb 13 Nottingham, UK – Bodega
Feb 14 Birmingham, UK – Hare and Hounds
Feb 15 Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach
Feb 16 Brighton, UK – The Hope and Ruin
Feb 17 London, UK – Moth Club
Feb 18 London, UK – Moth Club
Feb 28 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird
Mar 1 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Mar 2 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Mar 3 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Mar 4 St Paul, MN – Turf Club
Mar 5 Fargo, ND – Aquarium
Mar 7 Great Falls, MT – Newberry
Mar 8 Spokane, WA – Lucky You Lounge
Mar 9 Vancouver, BC – Fox Theatre
Mar 10 Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
Mar 11 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Mar 14 Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
Mar 15 San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Mar 16 Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst
Mar 17 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
Mar 18 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Mar 21 Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
Mar 22 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
Mar 23 Denver, CO – Globe Hall
Mar 28 Omaha, NE – Slowdown
Mar 29 Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s
Mar 31 Bloomington, IN – Bishop
Apr 1 Columbus, OH – Big Room Bar
Apr 2 Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall
Apr 4 Washington, DC – Black Cat
Apr 5 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Apr 7 Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes
Apr 8 Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere (Hall)
Jun 1 McGill, NV – Schellraiser Festival

03/04 Cory Wong ft. Victor Wooten with Trousdale at Palace Theatre Read More Cory Wong Guitarist Cory Wong is playing the Fine Line Music Café on February 9th. Wong is bringing Emily C Browning (not to be confused with Australian actress and singer Emily Browning - you can hear the actress sing in God Help The Girl). ... Victor Wooten The dynamic bass virtuoso Victor Wooten Trio, featuring five-time Grammy award winner Victor Wooten with Dennis Chambers and Bob Franceschini, will be playing four shows at the Dakota Jazz Club …

03/04/2023 Saturday

Cory Wong ft. Victor Wooten
with Trousdale
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

“The most famous Minnesota musician you’ve probably never heard of” GRAMMY® Award-nominated songwriter, producer, and guitarist extraordinaire Cory Wong will play the Palace Theatre on March 4, 2023. The show features Victor Wooten with opener Trousdale.

Ben Rector (with Cory Wong on guitars) at State Theatre (23 Oct 2016)

We accidentally saw Cory Wong in Ben Rector’s band in Oct 2016 and wrote, “With the last show of the tour, ending a nearly two-year endless touring, the band is well-rehearsed and seemingly eager to finally take a long vacation and break after that night - particularly for guitarist Cory Wong, who is actually from the Twin Cities. Wong, according to The Current in 2014 wrote that Cory Wong is “the most famous Minnesota musician you’ve probably never heard of”.”

Tour dates:

02/23 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre *
02/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia*
02/25 – Boston, MA – House of Blues Boston *
02/27 – Portland, ME – State Theatre *
03/01 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre *
03/02 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *
03/03 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *
03/04 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *
04/29 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz †
05/12 – Live Oak, FL – Echoland Music Festival †
05/26-28 – Chillicothe, IL –Summer Camp Music Festival †
06/15-18 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo †
06/24 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Freihofer’s Saratoga †
06/29-7/2 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Festival †
07/13 – Snowshoe, WV – 4848 Festival †
07/19 – Stuttgart, Germany – Schlossplatz Stuttgart
07/20 –Brno, Czech Republic – Groove Brno Festival †
09/28 – Stockholm, Sweden – Arenan Fryshuset
09/29 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller Music Hall
09/30 – Copenhagen, Denmark – VEGA
10/02 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
10/04 – Paris, France – L’Olympia
10/05 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg
10/06 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique (AB)
10/08 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s Neue Welt
10/09 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 Poppodium
10/11 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
10/12 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute Birmingham
10/13 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo Manchester
10/14 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland Ballroom
10/17 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street

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 ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Ben Rector w/ Jake Scott, Searcy & Day at Starlight Theater, Kansas City, MO (2022-05-07) review

Ben Rector, Starlight Theatre BEN RECTOR SETLIST (walk on music- Joy to the World by Three Dog Night) Dream On Old Friends/ Forever Young (Alphaville cover) Living My Best Life 30,000 Feet Heroes Daughter Forever Like That Range Rover The Men That Drive Me Places Supernatural / > Cover medley- Africa (Toto cover), You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover), The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy cover) Steady Love White Dress Joy Sunday -- Encore -- Kansas City (new song debut) Brand New (walk off music – Peg by Steely Dan) JAKE SCOTT SETLIST Like No One Does (Sleeptalking) Can We Just Be Happy Now We Haven't Looked at Our Phones She Likes It Like This Texas Girl She All Too Well (Taylor Swift Cover) Tuesdays Favorite T-Shirt JORDY SEARCY STEPHEN DAY SETLIST UFO intro > Love & War in your Twenties  (Jordy Searcy song) On Top of the World (Stephen Day song) Better (Jordy Searcy song) Hey Lady (Stephen Day song) BEN RECTOR TOUR DATES MAY 13 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH MAY 14 TCU Amphitheatre at White River State Park Indianapolis, IN MAY 15 Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville, KY MAY 18 Sandy Amphitheatre Sandy, UT SOLD OUT MAY 19 Sandy Amphitheatre Sandy, UT SOLD OUT MAY 20 The Mission Ballroom Denver, CO MAY 21 Harrah's Stir Cove Council Bluffs, IA JUN 3 713 Music Hall Houston, TX JUN 4 The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Irving, TX JUN 5 The Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City, OK JUN 8 Wolf Trap Vienna, VA JUN 9 Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC JUN 10 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC JUN 11 Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Alpharetta, GA JUN 16 Leader Bank Pavilion Boston, MA JUN 17 The Met Philadelphia, PA JUN 18 The Rooftop at Pier 17 New York, NY JUN 23 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall Huntsville, AL JUN 24 Avondale Brewing Company Birmingham, AL SOLD OUT JUN 25 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN JAKE SCOTT TOUR DATES MAY 13 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH MAY 14 TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park Indianapolis, IN MAY 15 Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville, KY MAY 18 Sandy Amphitheater Sandy, UT MAY 19 Sandy Amphitheater Sandy, UT MAY 20 Mission Ballroom Denver, CO MAY 21 Stir Cove Council Bluffs, IA JUN 3 713 Music Hall Houston, TX JUN 4 Irving Music Factory Irving, TX JUN 5 The Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City, OK Read More Ben Rector Ben Rector is an artist we’ve seen really move up to new heights over the last couple years, with melodic and memorable songs, a growing (mostly female) fan base, and a Billy Joel-influenced sound ...

“Joy”, as it turns out, is a smiling red creature right out of Sesame Street, and KC just got a new signature song of their own-

A perfect weather evening at Starlight Theater set the scene for the first outdoor show of indie  singer-songwriter Ben Rector, on his Joy of Music: Live Tour, with support from Jake Scott and Jordy Searcy/Stephen Day. 

The packed night of music began with a short twenty-minute set from Jordy Searcy and Stephen Day, who reminded us a couple times that they “were not a band” but “two separate artists”, and who are also a part of the headliner Ben Rector’s band, alongside their Australian drummer.

Each played two of their own songs, with Day drawing from his recent 2021 release, The Shapes I’m In, while Searcy dug back a little deeper for 2018’s “Love & War in Your Twenties” and 2020’s “Better”.  Both had a similar style, so were complimentary playing on each other’s songs, with Day being a bit more John Mayer-esque soulful, and more twangy as well. 

Arkansas native Jake Scott would be up next, already an online sensation from recording a song a month and posting online for almost three years, and fresh from a successful club headlining tour.  His thirty-five minute set began unexpectedly with a short drum solo, with Scott then bursting on stage to sing songs in support of his 2021 eight-song EP, Goldenboy. 

Scott unabashedly admits that most of his songs are inspired by his girlfriend/now-wife, Rachel, who serves as his constant muse and who he cultivated his relationship with, despite her being from Texas.  Apparently, there is a serious AR/TX rivalry we in the Midwest don’t know enough about, but all turned into a story book happy ending, and his recent single, “Texas Girl” chronicles part of that. 

Scott unexpectedly also has become a country crossover artist as well, thanks to his single with Russell Dickerson, “She Likes It”, a song born when Dickerson posted the chorus, but needed some lyrical help on the verses.  “Where my Swifties at?” Scott asked the enthusiastic crowd, launching into his cover of the 2012 song, “All Too Well”, and the set ended with his 2019 song, “Favorite T-Shirt”. 

We’ve followed Nashville singer-songwriter Ben Rector for the last decade now, even initially asking after we caught him live back in 2013, why he wasn’t a much bigger deal.  Guess we had to wait for the rest of the world to catch up with what we had already known, seeing him again in 2015, on the lake in 2016, again in late 2016, and as part of the Basilica Block Party in 2017. 

The new album, his eight studio release, is The Joy of Music (on his own Ok Kid Records) released in March, and is the ideal shot of uplifting positivity the world needs, after twenty months or more, of pandemic isolation.  Even the quirky cover image sparks a smile, with Rector on his piano, alongside a large red furry creature. Turns out that creature is named “Joy”, was designed by Jim Henson’s creature shop, and is out of tour with Rector and band.

The walk-on music of “Joy to the World” made complete sense, as the ninety-minute headlining set began not with Rector walking out first, but “Joy” taking his place on the piano, followed by Rector and band playing “Dream On” (not to be confused with the Aerosmith song), an empowering lullaby of sorts. 

Next was the nostalgia of 2018’s “Old Friends” (not to be confused with the Simon & Garfunkel song) and the sing-a-long single from the new record, “Living My Best Life”, which after fifteen years of independent success and a now-growing family, he convincingly is. 

“Every show I’ve played in Kansas City has felt like home to me” Rector admitted to loud cheers, and said he was somewhat nervous with his wife, daughter, and parents being present.  Rector has a continued affinity for Minneapolis, recording a recent EP there and even recruited his impressive college-age sax player David Besonen from the metro, he an Apple Valley native who paused his studies at Nebraska, to instead hit the road. 

A taped soundbite from Rector’s daughter Jane prefaced his ode to her, and he painted the visual scenery of a country campfire for his original version of “Forever Like That”, punctuated by Day’s additional vocals.  Cowboy hats were traded in for straw skimmers for a barbershop quartet style version of “Range Rover” and a mid-set cover medley mostly found Rector singing backup as his bandmates took over. 

Couples swayed together for 2010’s “White Dress” and the mood turned more soulful for the gospel-tinged, “Joy”.  Rector usually explains his dislike of the stage ritual of the band leaving then returning for the encore, and instead gave the crowd the heads-up on how many songs were left.  And while Snoop Dogg wasn’t present for the set-ending “Sunday”, his vocals were piped in as “Joy” returned to dance on stage for the final number and Rector made his way out into the grateful crowd to sing to, high-five, and fist-bump. 

For the encore, Rector began with something he wasn’t able to have ready at previous Milwaukee and Minneapolis tour stops- a freshly written  and unique song celebrating the city he was playing. 

“Kansas City” lyrics included “You’ve got the Royal barbecue, and giant shuttlecocks in front of museums, what a thing to do. You’re a city so great, you couldn’t fit in one state” and he had to stop not once, but twice after the line, “Wildcat, Jayhawks, and Chiefs fans” because the cheering was so loud.  Rector’s biggest hit to date, 2016’s anthemic “Brand New” would continue the high and close out the evening. 

After two years of collective seclusion, isolation, and postponements, the Joy of Music is finally back – in the form of Ben Rector, Jake Scott, and Jordy Searcy/Stephen Day.  Oh, and in the form of a smiling, googly-eyed, over-sized red fur creature too. 

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

Artist websites:

Ben Rector | The Joy Of Music (benrectormusic.com)

JAKE SCOTT (jakescottmusic.com)

 

JAKE SCOTT

JORDY SEARCY and STEPHEN DAY

JORDY SEARCY and STEPHEN DAY

JAKE SCOTT

JAKE SCOTT

BEN RECTOR

BEN RECTOR

BEN RECTOR (barbershop)

BEN RECTOR (in crowd)

Ben Rector (with band and "Joy") at Starlight Theater, Kansas City (2022-05-07)

 

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥KC - May 4-10, 2022 Upcoming Shows (Kansas City / Lawrence KS)

Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers, recordBar Read More Jon Spencer Drawing generously from garage rock and heavy soul, New York’s Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is an unbridled blues rock fist in the face of the status quo. Guitarist Judah Baker, drummer Russell Simins and shrieker / singer / guitarist Jon Spencer …

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

People talking at shows over the band, a reported fight breaking out at the Key Glock show at the Granada – guess things are back to “normal”, haha. Seriously, hope we can better appreciate the return of live music, and can all positively enjoy the experience. 

Live Nation is offering select $25 all-in tix this week, so might be worth a look to see what’s available. 

(Several artists are still requiring precautions for entry, so check with the venue and/or assume vaccination proof and maybe a mask, is still required)

Here’s what’s happening in the Kansas City/Lawrence, KS metro for the second week of MAY:

Wednesday May 4 (May the 4th Be with You!)

The HU, The Truman. $27.50-$55

Everyone’s favorite Mongolian deep throat-ed folk metal band brings their Black Thunder Tour to town, with a new album due out later this year.  Expect a mix of new songs and those from 2019’s The Gereg.

Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers w Quasi, recordBar. $20

After Covid caused a recent last-minute cancellation in Minneapolis (though openers Quasi still played) both bands are carrying on, with Spencer working in a Blues Explosion song or two, and Pussy Galore cover, into recent setlists.  Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss is doing double duty, leading support band Quasi and banging the skins for The Hitmakers as well. 

Boston Manor, Bottleneck. $22

Not from Boston, but rather Blackpool UK, this five-piece emo pop-punk band recently toured with Neck Deep and has new EP, Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures, out.

 

Buddy Guy, Knuckleheads Read More Buddy Guy Blues icon Buddy Guy recently announced his upcoming brand new studio album Born To Play Guitar to be released on July 31st via RCA Records. The forthcoming album is the follow … Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Uptown Read More Jason Isbell Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit returned to play the Basilica again (having shared the bill with Wilco three years ago) playing the well-deserved headlining set of the evening- a stellar ninety-minutes culled from his half-dozen solo albums …

Thursday May 5 (Happy Cinco de Mayo!)

Buddy Guy, Knuckleheads. $58.50

The undisputed Blues guitar master returns to leave jaws on the ground with his skilled playing, still well worth seeing in-person. Guy is 85 years-young and still performs regularly at his Chicago club, Legends, and the environment at Knuckleheads is perfect for his songs and guitar work. 

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w Heartless Bastards, Uptown. $65-$250

One of the strongest double-bill shows of this spring, Isbell and band released Georgia Blue late last year and even covered Metallica’s “Sad but True” for a charity tribute album last fall.  The newest album is a collection of covers from Georgia-based artists, including R.E.M., James Brown, Indigo Girls, and The Black Crowes.  We last caught Isbell and the 400 Unit alongside wife Amanda Shires at the Basilica Block Party back in the summer of 2018. 

We saw opening band Heartless Bastards headlining last fall and they’re still out in support of latest album, A Beautiful Life, the Ohio band’s sixth studio effort, which singer Erika Wennerstrom originally conceived as a solo project. 

Chuck Mead, Bottleneck. $20

Nashville singer-songwriter is a founding member of group BR5-49, worked on Broadway’s Million Dollar Quartet, and actually graduated from Lawrence High School and attended the University of Kansas, so it’s a bit of a homecoming appearance. 

Dorothy, recordBar, $20

We are in Kansas (City) any more! The longtime Los Angeles blues hard rock band returns in support of Gifts from the Holy Ghost, (on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint.)  The album’s title was derived from her guitar tech being brought back from an overdose and the album is prefaced with lead single, “Rest in Peace”.  We caught the band live in early 2019, and also in 2018, and were impressed both times.

Rosanne Cash, Lied Center. UPDATE - Postponed to June 11

After a few Covid-related postponements, the Americana singer-songwriter comes to the River City, with over four decades, twelve Grammy nominations, and eleven #1 country singles under her belt. 

Expect a setlist filled with her own songs as well as numerous covers from Bobbie Gentry, Hank Snow, and of course, her famous father Johnny Cash. 

Jordan Davis, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland Read More Jordan Davis Jordan Davis’s upcoming show at the Varsity Theater sold out, so the band decided to quickly book a second show. The Nashville-singer recently released his cover of Jo Dee Messina’s “Heads Carolina …

Friday May 6

Asleep at the Wheel w Brennan Leigh, Knuckleheads, $35

Weather seems ok for this outdoor scheduled show and the legendary Western swing band has been entertaining audiences since 1970 (thus, their twenty-sixth album from 2021, Half a Hundred Years). 

Jordan Davis with Tenille Arts, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland $29.50-$35

The Louisiana country pop singer has been rising since debut 2017 single, “Singles You Up” and last year’s “Buy Dirt” (with Luke Bryan and from the album of the same name), also topped the charts. 

Canadian country singer Tenille Arts is getting some buzz as well, with 2021’s Girl to Girl album. 

Beach Bunny with Wednesday and Ky Voss, Granada. $25

Lilli Trifilio leads this Chicago power pop band (not to be confused with the Latin Bad Bunny) and has a highly anticipated sophomore album, Emotional Creature, due out July 22, on one of our favorite labels, Mom+Pop, prefaced by first single, “Fire Escape”. 

Openers Wednesday are from Ontario, CAN and NYC-based Ky Voss plays low-fi synth dream pop. 

Xavier Wulf, Bottleneck-Lawrence, $25/$30

Tennessee rapper also is a member of the East Memphis Boyz, has released fourteen albums/mixtapes, and has his roots in trap metal hip-hop. 

Ben Rector, Starlight Theatre Read More Ben Rector Ben Rector is an artist we’ve seen really move up to new heights over the last couple years, with melodic and memorable songs, a growing (mostly female) fan base, and a Billy Joel-influenced sound ... Hovvdy, Bottleneck-Lawrence Read More Hovvdy Lomelda and Hovvdy are on a co-headlining tour for their Covers split EP (Double Double Whammy Records). Both bands are longtime friends from Texas. Nadine to open.

Saturday May 7

Ben Rector w/ Jake Scott Starlight Theatre, $35-$69.95

The Nashville singer-songwriter released his latest, The Joy of Music at the end of last year, which features collaborations with opposite genre artists Snoop Dogg and sax player Dave Koz, and will be playing outdoors at this great metro venue.  We caught Rector live in 2017 as part of the Basilica Block Party and twice in 2016, at a proper State Theatre show, and at a more intimate outdoor radio promotional performance.

Opener Jake Scott is a LA-based Arkansas-born multi-instrumentalist currently making waves with new single, “Texas Girl” and is out in support of last summer’s Goldenboy album.  Also scheduled is Jordy Searcy and Stephen Day. 

Air Supply, Ameristar. $57-$75

They’re not “all out of love” just yet, and are ready to serenade those classic lite-rock hits. 

Saba with Lute and Amindi, Granada. $25

The Chicago rapper-producer has his third album out, Few Good Things and is out on his Back Home Tour.  Openers are Charlotte’s Lute and Los Angeles artist Amindi. 

Steel Woods, Knuckleheads. $20

Nashville country group has a new album coming May 14^th. 

Hovvdy w Molly Parden, Bottleneck-Lawrence, $15-$18

The Austin, TX indie pop duo has a new album, True Love, out now, and have followed that up with a new EP, Billboard for My Feelings and lead single, “Hide”. 

Opener Molly Parden is a Georgia native who also recently collaborated with Victor Mucho of Judah and the Lion, on a Cranberries cover with Sandra McCracken, and covered Enya with Sam Outlaw.   

Merle Jam with Walter Trout, Stacy Mitchhart and Tricia Freeman, Knuckleheads. $27.50

This 16^th annual fundraiser has been helping heart transplant patients for years.

Bert Kreischer (comedian), May 7-8, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland $39.75-$109.75

Comedian out on his Berty Boy (Relapse) Tour, referring to the pandemic date postponements. 

OMD, The Truman Read More OMD This spring, legendary British band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (or better abbreviated to OMD) will go on their “Souvenir Greatest Hits” tour. The band will play some of their biggest hits …

Sunday May 8(Happy Mother's Day!)

OMD, The Truman. $32.50-$59.50

The classic British synth band is out on their Souvenir Tour, celebrating forty years of hits and we can confirm that Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys and band are as great as ever to see live.  We caught them in concert last back in 2018 and as good as that setlist was, this one will be even more packed with songs you know. 

We last saw Michigan art rock openers In the Valley Below back in 2018 in a very unique setting- they were the live soundtrack to their The Pink Chateau film in an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater.  The band has a new single, “Lie with Me” and has even released a board game. 

Car Seat Headrest with Bartees Strange, Grinders KC, $25-$50

Virginia’s Will Toledo and band have been wow-ing recent crowds on their Masquerade Tour, promising “music, dancing, and identity loss”.  The MADLO EPs should be on sale at their merch booth, which compile the previous digital-only releases, and while we’ve seen the band live a few times before, we get the feeling this will be completely different. 

Opener Bartees Strange mixes indie, jazz, and hip-hop, and has his second album, Farm to Table due June 17 and has been busy as the support act for all our favorite bands.

Dale Watson, Knuckleheads. $20-$35

Texas alt-country/"Ameripolitan" guitarist remains prolific and is a true road touring warrior.

Destruction, Bottleneck

Monday May 9

Destruction, Bottleneck. $20

One of the “Big Four” of German thrash metal, expect the walls to shake. 

Sherman Irby Duo, Lied Center. $19-$35

Irby is the lead alto saxophone player for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and will be joined by bassist Mark Lewandowski.  For Rock Chalk Suite, Irby composed “The Truth” celebrating Paul Pierce and “The Ponderous Pachyderm of the Planks” honoring Clyde Lovellette.

Pi'erre Bourne, Granada- Lawrence

Tuesday May 10

Pi'erre Bourne, Granada- Lawrence, $20-$25

Out on his Purple Tour with opener Young Kush Blower, in addition to rapping, has produced hits for the likes of Playboi Carti and 6ix9ine, and has recently collaborated with Chavo, TM88, and Cardo. 

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: May 5 to May 6

05/05 Restless Road with Kat & Alex and Aaron Simmons at Fine Line Read More Restless Road Kane Brown w Restless Road, Chris Lane, Russell Dickerson, T-Mobile Center. $35-$75 Wild Feathers, Bottleneck Lawrence, $20. ...

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

05/05/2022 Thursday

Restless Road
with Kat & Alex and Aaron Simmons
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Nashville’s Restless Road is on their first headlining tour (we previously briefly mentioned they opened for Kane Brown), in support of Bar Friends. The band will play the Fine Line Music Café on May 5th.

Kat & Alex and Aaron Simmons to open.

Tour dates:

Apr 9 Grand Rapids, MI, US The Stache at the Intersection
Apr 12 Nashville, TN, US Ryman Auditorium
Apr 14 Nashville, TN, US Exit In
Apr 15 Atlanta, GA, US Terminal West
Apr 16 Middleburg, FL, US Southern Social Whiskey Bar & Lounge
May 5 Minneapolis, MN, US Fine Line
May 6 Omaha, NE, US Barnato
May 7 St Louis, MO, US Old Rock House
May 16 Cambridge, MA, US The Sinclair
May 18 New York (NYC), NY, US Gramercy Theatre
May 19 Pittsburgh, PA, US Crafthouse Stage and Grill
May 20 Washington, DC, US The Hamilton Live
May 24 Dallas, TX, US Cambridge Room, House of Blues
May 25 Houston, TX, US Bronze Peacock Room, House of Blues
May 26 Austin, TX, US Antone's
Jun 16 Bloomington, IL, US Tailgate N' Tallboys
Jun 24 Greeley, CO, US Greeley Stampede
Jul 7 West Salem, WI, US Country Boom Music Festival
Jul 7 West Salem, WI, US Country Boom
Jul 22 Brooklyn, MI, US Faster Horses Festival
Jul 22 Shakopee, MN, US Twin Cities Summer Jam
Aug 5 Trenton, MO, US Unknown venue
Aug 12 Atlantic City, NJ, US TidalWave Festival
Sep 23 Brisbane, QLD, Australia CMC Rocks
Oct 1 Albuquerque, NM, US Music Fiesta

05/05 Hypocrisy with Carach Angren, The Agonist, Hideous Divinity at Cabooze Read More Hypocrisy Worship Hypocrisy 2021 release. With governments finally admitting that UFOs do in fact exist, and humanity attempting to heal from a state of recent crisis, the timing couldn't be more ...

05/05/2022 Thursday

Hypocrisy
with Carach Angren, The Agonist, Hideous Divinity
at Cabooze
cabooze.com

It’s an international death metal show at Cabooze, in Minneapolis, on May 5th.

Headlined by Swedish band Hypocrisy.

Support from Netherlands band Carach Angren, Canadian band The Agonist, and finally, Italian band Hideous Divinity.

This is an early show, so show up around 6pm!

Tour dates:

April 29 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
April 30 – Boston, MA – Middle East Downstairs
May 1 – Montreal, QC – L’Astral
May 2 – Toronto, ON – Lees Palace
May 4 – Joliet, IL – The Forge
May 5 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cabooze
May 6 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
May 7 – Regina, SK – The Exchange
May 8 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
May 10 – Vancouver, BC – Red Room
May 11 – Seattle, WA – Club Sur
May 12 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom
May 13 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
May 14 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
May 15 – Los Angeles, CA – 1720
May 17 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Theater
May 18 – El Paso, TX – Rockhouse Bar & Grill
May 19 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
May 20 – Austin, TX – Come and Takie It Live
May 21 – Dallas, TX – Amplified Live
May 22 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
May 24 – Orlando, FL – The Abbey
May 25 – West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable St
May 26 – Jonesboro, GA – Furnace 41
May 27 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger
May 28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Enclave

05/06 Saba with femdot. and Amindi at First Avenue Read More Saba J.I.D. + Saba, Mereba, MEZ First Avenue Sun 05/19/2019 (7pm/$25) Film fanatic and rising rap star J.I.D will be playing a Go 96 show at First Avenue this May 19th. ....

05/06/2022 Friday

Saba
with femdot. and Amindi
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Chicago rapper-producer Saba is headlining a tour in support of his third album Few Good Things.

Support will be from Charlotte-bred Dreamville rapper Lute and Los Angeles artist Amindi.

Tour Dates:

04-11 Phoenix - Van Buren
04-14 Dallas - House of Blues
04-15 Houston - House of Blues
04-16 Austin - Emo’s
04-19 Orlando - Celine
04-20 Atlanta - Centerstage
04-21 Charlotte - Underground
04-22 Pittsburgh - Roxian Theatre
04-25 Brooklyn - Brooklyn Steel
04-27 Washington D.C. - Fillmore
04-28 Philadelphia - TLA
04-29 Boston - Paradise
05-01 Toronto - Phoenix
05-03 Detroit - El Club
05-04 Columbus - Newport
05-05 Chicago - Aragon
05-06 Minneapolis - First Avenue
05-07 Lawrence - Granada
05-09 Denver - Cervantes
05-12 Seattle - Showbox
05-13 Portland - Crystal
05-15 Vancouver - Vogue
05-19 San Francisco - Regency
05-20 Santa Cruz - Catalyst
05-21 Los Angeles - Novo

05/06 Hovvdy with Molly Parden at 7th St Entry Read More Hovvdy Lomelda and Hovvdy are on a co-headlining tour for their Covers split EP (Double Double Whammy Records). Both bands are longtime friends from Texas. Nadine to open.

05/06/2022 Friday

Hovvdy
with Molly Parden
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Texas duo Hovvdy will be stopping by the 7th Street Entry this May 6th. Their new single, “Town” was co-produced by the band and Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver, Dijon), taken from their 2021 critically acclaimed album True Love (Grand Jury).

A full US tour with support from Molly Parden, with Mini Trees joining on May 31st.

Tour dates:

4/16 - Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock ~
4/17 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa ~
4/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl ~
4/20 - Nashville TN @ The End ~
4/21 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle ~
4/22 - Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall ~
4/23 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage ~
4/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry ~
4/26 - Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom ~
4/27 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ~
4/29 - Boston, MA @ Sinclair ~
4/30 - Montreal, QC @ Le Ministère ~
5/1 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G ~
5/2 - Ferndale, MI @ Loving Touch ~
5/3 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme ~
5/5 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen ~
5/6 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street ~
5/7 - Lawrence, MO @ The Bottleneck ~
5/8 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street ~
5/31 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad +
6/2 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge +
6/3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room +
6/5 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room +
6/7 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah +
6/8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent +
6/10 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge +
6/11 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile +
6/12 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux +
6/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court +
6/15 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall +
6/17 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada +
6/18 - Austin, TX @ Antone's +

~ w/ Molly Parden
+ w/ Mini Trees

05/06 Ben Rector at Armory Read More Ben Rector Ben Rector is an artist we’ve seen really move up to new heights over the last couple years, with melodic and memorable songs, a growing (mostly female) fan base, and a Billy Joel-influenced sound ...

05/06/2022 Friday

Ben Rector
with Jake Scott, Jordy Searcy, and Stephen Day
at Armory
armorymn.com

Singer/songwriter Ben Rector is back… and this time, he’s bringing a few friends with him: Jake Scott, Jordy Searcy, and Stephen Day.

Be sure to show up early to check out rising pop singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, Jake Scott. He previously wrapped up his first-ever (sold-out!) North American tour in January/February 2022, and will be joining Ben Rector on his tour in May 2022.

Nashville’s Jordy Searcy previously spent four years touring nonstop and has sold out his dream venues in his hometown.

The last time we heard from Stephen Day, it was in 2019, when he released his album Guess I’m Grown Now. We were supposed to see Day open for Juice in July 2019, but he cancelled.

Tour dates:

5/5 - Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
5/6 - Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
5/7 - Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theater
5/13 - Columbus, OH @ KEMBA LIVE!
5/14 - Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater
5/15 - Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
5/19 - Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater
5/20 - Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
5/21 - Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrah’s Stir Cove
6/3 - Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
6/4 - Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
6/5 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheatre

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 ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Basilica Block Party Night 2 at Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis (08 July 2017)

Walk The Moon Setlist Up 2 U Next in Line Avalanche Come Under the Covers Different Colors Spend Your $$$ In My Head Tightrope Aquaman Lisa Baby Sidekick Work This Body Headphones Portugal I Can Lift a Car -- Encore -- Shut Up and Dance Anna Sun AWOLNATION Setlist Run (Beautiful Things) People Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf) Not Your Fault Thiskidsnotalright KOOKSEVERYWHERE!!!! Kill Your Heroes Soul Wars Woman Woman All I Need Burn It Down -- Encore -- I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) Sail Ben Rector Setlist Fear Let the Good Times Roll Loving You Is Easy / ABC (Jackson 5 cover) When a Heart Breaks Never Gonna Let You Go (w/My Girl snippet) Forever Like That When I'm With You I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Whitney Houston cover) The Beat The Men That Drive Me Places White Dress Brand New Walk Off The Earth Setlist Shape of You (Ed Sheeran cover) / No Diggity (Blackstreet cover) Rule the World Sing it All Away / Gang of Rhythm Happy (Pharrell Williams cover) Taekwondo Hold On (The Break) Hello (Adele cover) Closer (The Chainsmokers cover) Fire in My Soul Home We'll Go (Take my Hand) Red Hands 5 Peeps One Guitar Medley (incl. Goyte, Lorde, Motown covers) All Time Low (Jon Bellion cover) Sing It All Away Saturday, July 8 Great Clips Stage WALK THE MOON Gavin DeGraw Ben Rector Julia Brennan PreferredOne Stage AWOLNATION< Walk Off The Earth Enemy Planes Star Tribune Stage Nooky Jones Jackson & The Roosters J.S. Ondara Read More Basilica Block Party The annual Basilica Block Party starts next Friday, July 7th and spill over to Saturday. Tickets are $60 per day, or if you bought early bird tickets, they were discounted to $55. ....

Day Two of the Basilica Block Party meant walking, “Walk”, and more “Walk”—

The good weather had held up and even more people than the previous day, descended on the grounds of the Basilica of St. Mary, for another ten bands and six hours of music on the festival’s second and final day.

With three stages liberally spread out along the grounds (big stage in the back lot, medium stage out front and small stage behind the church), it often meant a lot of walking back and forth, in order to see bands on all three stages.  As usual with the schedule, set times overlapped, so choices had to be made about who to see and where.

Star Tribune Stage

American Housewife were exactly as advertised- two ladies (Stephanie Paquin & Maureen Rudd, formerly of Space Heater) playing authentic alt-pop culled from their first release, In Like a Lion, released in May.  Any band with a tune named ‘Sing a Big Star Song’ has to be likeable, and their next local appearance is sharing the unplugged stage at the Honey Lounge on July 27.

Jackson & the Roosters is a high-energy Americana five-piece who released their second album, the appropriately titled Round Two, earlier this year.  The band opened for Ike Reilly this spring, gaining them even more fans, in addition to the ones earned at this performance.

Nooky Jones is a buzzing six-piece led by charismatic singer Cameron Kinghorn blending classic funk, sly r&b, smooth jazz, and seductive soul into a blend uniquely their own. With songs like ‘Hello’ and ‘The Way I See You’ already making waves on local radio shows, their debut album is out this month, and upcoming performances include an early evening free show Aug 4 at Orchestra Hall and a couple nights at the MN State Fair.

Preferred One Stage

Enemy Planes was the first band to appear on the front church stage, with the alt-synth group choosing to all wear white and often incited the crowd in support of their full-length debut, Beta Lowdown (Rock the Cause Records).  Song titles like ‘We Want Blood’ and ‘Bare Your Teeth’ aren’t actually as aggressive as their titles suggest; instead, are melodic, easily palatable electro-rhythms that float on a sonic ocean.

Walk Off the Earth was undoubtedly the most fun band to see of the weekend.  The Ontario, CAN six-piece (+3 live) ensemble threw everything including the kitchen sink, into their energetic hour-long performance, including confetti cannons, drums that “blew” smoke rings when struck, a group kazoo solo, playing plastic pipes and pool noodles, and five members strumming a single guitar.  Part jukebox band (they re-interpret several current hit songs) and with multi-genre songs of their own, they nearly define the term, musical melting pot.

AWOLNATION provided the most amount of rock, on an otherwise mostly folk and alternative-filled weekend, and did so with perhaps the loudest volume of any act over the two days.  Appropriately on Red Bull Records, songs from their 2015 breakthrough album RUN, still get considerable regular airplay locally, with a new album due soon.

Singer/guitarist Aaron Bruno first surveyed the crowd slowly and intently with his steely eyes, but that would gradually build to all get worked out performing, during their ninety-minute set.  Younger fans went berserk during songs like ‘Not Your Fault’ and ‘Kill Your Heroes’, and finale, ‘Sail’ and the band even worked in their slightly robotic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’, to start their encore on a haunting note.

Great Clips Stage

Julia Brennan is a talented local piano playing newcomer whose initial single, ‘Inner Demons’ got played on local pop station KDWB’s morning show a year ago, culminating in her being signed to Columbia Records who released her three-song EP, and this, playing her biggest local stage to date.  With even more new fans earned, expect her fan base to grow ahead of the upcoming debut album.

Ben Rector is an artist we’ve seen really move up to new heights over the last couple years, with melodic and memorable songs, a growing (mostly female) fan base, and a Billy Joel-influenced sound that is custom-made for regular rotation on festival-sponsoring station Cities97.  The Nashville singer still has momentum from his 2015 album Brand New (Aptly Named Records) with loyal fans crowding along the front railings, singing almost every word.

Rector comes off as friendly and personable on stage, often inviting the audience to sing along and is never afraid to croon a tender ballad or two.  With two band members being Minneapolis natives, the crowd had no problem giving up their hometown love, in the form and shouts and cheers.

One of his most potent songs ‘The Men That Drive Me Places’, about the backstories of taxi and van drivers, gets lost among his other wedding-ready piano ballads, but is worth paying attention to.

Telling the crowd the band wasn’t exiting and quickly returning for an encore, Rector instead launched into his two biggest songs, the touching ‘White Dress’ and anthemic ‘Brand New’ to end his set.

Gavin DeGraw remains strong in radio rotation, consistently able to put out accessible singles, the latest being ‘She Sets the City on Fire’ from last September’s Something Worth Saving (RCA Records). The New York-based soulful pop singer had just been in Australia days before for a short tour there, but showed no signs of jet lag or fatigue from his opening ‘Chariot’.

DeGraw, in sunglasses, hat and dark coat, and band peppered hits like ‘In Love with a Girl’, ‘Sweeter’, and ‘Not Over You’ in amongst more deeper album cuts, and a couple of vintage soul covers before ending with hit, ‘I Don’t Want to Be’, the song that launched him into widespread success.

WALK THE MOON fans had been itching to see the band live since their summer 2015 Chipotle Cultivate Festival appearance had been cancelled last-minute due to incoming storms, and a family emergency scuttled their August 2016 scheduled appearance in St. Paul. The Cincinnati band made the wait worth their while, opening their ninety-minute set with ‘Up 2 U’ after their ‘Circle of Life’ play-on music.

The synth-pop foursome has emerged from the studio and recording of the next album (unfortunately, no new songs were previewed live) a follow up to 2014’s Talking is Hard (RCA Records) to re-energize themselves with a few live shows. Singer Nic Petricca didn’t talk a lot between songs, preferring to get in as much music in, before the hard stop curfew time of the night occurred.

Fans clapped and jumped in place for the frantic ‘Tightrope’, “We like to head bang to this one” Petricca said introducing ‘Lisa Baby’, and he set an ideal mood describing a utopia before the percussive-heavy ‘Work This Body’.

The crowd in unison, raised the roof by releasing their tension and mimicking lifting in the extended set-closing ‘I Can Lift a Car’, but their best was saved for last. The two-song encore consisted of current radio staple and Billboard Top Rock Song, ‘Shut Up and Dance’ and the group’s first hit single ‘Anna Sun’ from 2010’s I Want! I Want!

And with twenty bands on three stages over two days, the fans got what they wanted, in the form of perfect weather, hours of music, and another Basilica Block Party.

Walk Off The Earth at Basilica Block Party, Basilica St. Mary (08 July 2017)

Enemy Planes

Enemy Planes

Gavin DeGraw

Gavin DeGraw

Gavin DeGraw

Walk Off The Earth

Ben Rector at Basilica Block Party, Basilica St. Mary (08 July 2017)

Walk off the Earth

Walk Off The Earth

Ben Rector

Ben Rector

Ben Rector

AWOLNATION

AWOLNATION at Basilica Block Party, Basilica St. Mary (08 July 2017)

AWOLNATION

AWOLNATION

Walk the Moon

Walk the Moon

Walk the Moon

Walk the Moon

Walk the Moon at Basilica Block Party, Basilica St. Mary (08 July 2017)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Ben Rector at State Theatre, Minneapolis (23 October 2016)

Ben Rector Setlist Fear Let The Good Times Roll Loving You Is Easy ABC (The Jackson 5 cover) When a Heart Breaks Crazy 30,000 Feet Sailboat I Like You When I'm With You Forever Like That I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Whitney Houston cover) The Beat Cha Cha Slide (DJ Casper cover) White Dress -- Encore -- Brand New The Men That Drive Me Places Jacob Whiteside Setlist Billboard (If I'm Honest) Bury Our Love Why Open Book Hold On Honey You Told Me So Let's Be Birds Hey There Delilah Lovesick Read More Ben Rector Nashville's Ben Rector is back with a brand new sixth studio album called Brand New (Aptly Named Recordings, LLC). He'll be stopping by the Northrop Auditorium at the U of M this Thursday ...

Ben Rector’s “The Biggest Tour I Have Ever Done” tour ended at the State Theatre last week, October 23rd.

Young and rising singer, songwriter Jacob Whiteside opened up the show. Since the band has been opening up for all of Rector’s shows since September 2016, you can tell his band is incredibly tight, playing songs after songs effortlessly.

We caught Whiteside earlier in June 2016 and noted that his fanbase was mostly teenage, recording every moment of Whiteside on their cellphone. Although only a few hardcore Whiteside fans can be spotted in the audience (and who can blame the others for not showing up as the venue’s website did not advertise Whiteside was playing), they were certainly standing up and being enthusiastic for their idol.

Since the band only had a 35-minute set, their set was shortened to about nine songs... meaning no covers like The Weeknd’s ‘I Can't Feel My Face’, but instead they focused on newer songs like ‘Open Book’.

Whiteside ended his set with ‘Lovesick’, a song that’s gotten some attention after the band appeared on ABC's Live with Kelly earlier in September. The song is the lead single off his debut album Why?, which debuted #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts, and is available now on Double U Records.

Nashville singer, songwriter Ben Rector’s biggest hit album Brand New came out last year on Aptly Named Recordings / Caroline. The record debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 chart and marked his first Top 10 album.

We caught Rector earlier in July 2016 and we predicted, “Ben Rector returns to town at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on October 23rd, for a full and proper show at his biggest local venue to date, which will no doubt be filled with the fans that know him so well, and maybe some newcomers too, that consider him brand new to their listening habits.”

With the last show of the tour, ending a nearly two-year endless touring, the band is well-rehearsed and seemingly eager to finally take a long vacation and break after that night - particularly for guitarist Cory Wong, who is actually from the Twin Cities. Wong, according to The Current in 2014 wrote that Cory Wong is “the most famous Minnesota musician you’ve probably never heard of”.

Looking over their set, Rector decided to save his biggest hit song ‘Brand New’ for the encore, but casual and dedicated fans knew this and stuck it out to the end.

Some great, well-placed covers like The Jackson 5’s ‘ABC’ and Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ had great singalong chorus from the audience. In fact, Rector would occasionally just let the audience sing while he waves the microphone at the audience.

Ben Rector’s Brand New is out now. With over 390,000 albums and nearly four million digital tracks sold in the course of his career, it’s easy to see that this was the Biggest Ever tour (so far).

When Rector returns, expect him to go on an even bigger tour, with a bigger album, of course.

Jacob Whiteside

Jacob Whiteside

Ben Rector’s drummer Jake Goff

Ben Rector

Ben Rector at State Theatre, Minneapolis (23 October 2016)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: October 23, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on October 23, 2016.

NOTE: My brother’s favorite band No Bunny will be playing the Fraternal Order Of Eagles on this night.... on opposite end, Sheila E. will be headlining the Orchestra Hall (we never get invited to these big shows).

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Ben Rector Nashville's Ben Rector is back with a brand new sixth studio album called Brand New (Aptly Named Recordings, LLC). He'll be stopping by the Northrop Auditorium at the U of M this Thursday ... Jacob Whitesides 18-year old singer/songwriter Jacob Whitesides is headlining Studio B at the Skyway Theatre next Tuesday, June 7th. Although he is young, Whitesides has been releasing …

BEN RECTOR
at The State Theatre
Sunday, 10/23/16, 7pm ($27.50)
hennepintheatretrust.org

We previously caught Ben Rector in July 2016 already noted about this upcoming October show: “Singer - songwriter Ben Rector stopped in town last week for a brief promotional appearance, in front of an overcrowded dockside audience braving a sweltering triple-digit heat index for a generous seven-song, forty-five minute set, that had many already making plans for his full show, in late October.”

Rector’s new album Brand New is out now.

Although the venue did not list the opener - we are told it is heartthrob Jacob Whitesides. He will be opening up for this show. We previously caught him earlier in June 2016 and had never seen so many cellphones up in the air to record Whiteside as he came on stage.... Jacob’s new single ‘Lovesick’ is out now.

Tour dates:

10/15 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
10/16 - Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre
10/21 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
10/22 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room a
10/23 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre

All dates with Jacob Whitesides

Read More The Front Bottoms The last time I saw The Front Bottoms was about a year ago. They were opening for Say Anything but ended up stealing that show. Last Sunday night, they finally got … Modern Baseball Looking at how young the band Modern Baseball was on stage, I could have sworn they were only 18 years old, but in fact, over 21 (noting the non-"X" on underagers ....

BRAND NEW
at Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Sunday, 10/23/16, 7pm ($35)
theroy.org

Speaking of “Brand New”, Brand New’s last-ever Minnesota show will be taking place at the The Roy Wilkins Auditorium on this October 23rd. The band confirmed that they are breaking up in 2018 or earlier, and this is their very last tour.

The Front Bottoms and Modern Baseball will join in on the fun. We’ve seen both openers, with The Front Bottoms in November 2015, which we described as “The Front Bottoms is nothing more than four guys from New Jersey who are able to write songs about everyday life and make them catchy” and Modern Baseball in June 2016 and wrote they were “full of angst and emotion.”

Tour dates:

10/20/16 Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center
10/21/16 Grand Rapids, MI DeltaPlex Arena
10/22/16 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
10/23/16 Saint Paul, MN Roy Wilkins
10/25/16 Sioux Falls, SD The District
10/27/16 Missoula, MT Adams Event Center
10/28/16 Garden City, ID Revolution Concert
10/29/16 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort Theatre
10/31/16 San Jose, CA Event Ctr
11/01/16 Las Vegas, NV The Chelsea
11/03/16 El Paso, TX El Paso County Coliseum
11/05/16 Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street Amph
11/07/16 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theatre
11/08/16 Greenville, SC Bon Secours
11/10/16 Fairfax, VA EagleBank Arena
11/11/16 Allentown, PA PPL Center
11/12/16 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan
11/29/16 Glasgow SSE Hydro
11/30/16 Aberdeen GE Oil & Gas Arena
12/02/16 Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena
12/03/16 Manchester Manchester Arena
12/04/16 Leeds First Direct Arena
12/06/16 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
12/07/16 Birmingham Barclaycard Arena
12/08/16 London The O2 - London

Read More Tall Heights Boston's Tall Heights is Tim Harrington and Paul Wright. The duo is currently touring in support of their new EP Holding On, Holding Out. …

TALL HEIGHTS
at Turf Club
Sunday, 10/23/16, 7:30pm ($13)
turfclub.net

Boston progressive-folk duo Tall Heights (singer/guitarist Tim Harrington and singer/cellist Paul Wright) will be headlining the Turf Club in St Paul this Sunday, October 23rd. They are promoting their new album Neptune, which came out on August 19, 2016 via Sony Music Masterworks.

Some key things to note about the duo: they recently played Conan O’Brien’s show (on September 26th), their album Spirit Cold surpassed 8 million streams on Spotify (with more than 1 million unique Spotify listeners)... and James Franco and Demi Lovato are among their biggest fans!

We previously mentioned they were played the Aster Café in 2015.

As of this writing: no opening band is listed to open.

Tour dates:

10/20/16 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
10/21/16 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
10/22/16 Cedar Rapids, IA CSPS
10/23/16 Saint Paul, MN Turf Club
10/26/16 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
10/27/16 Goshen, IN Ignition Music Garage
11/05/16 Rolling Stone Weekender
11/17/16 Philadelphia, PA Boot & Saddle
12/03/16 Portland, ME Empire
12/16/16 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
12/18/16 Albany, NY The Egg

Read More Strange Relations Local bedroom dream pop/post-punk act Strange Relations opened the evening with songs from their 2015 release –Centrism and subsequent follow up EP, Going Out (on Tony Engines). …

SALES
at 7th Street Entry
Sunday, 10/23/16, 7pm ($12)
first-avenue.com

One of the most confusing and terrible band name, Sales will be headlining the 7th Street Entry this Sunday, October 23rd. The duo (Lauren + Jordan) released Sales EP last month (September 22nd).

Local Strange Relations (drummer Casey Sowa, bassist Maro Helgeson, and drummer Nate Hart-Andersen) to open.

Tour dates:

Oct 19 Chicago, IL, US Schuba's Tavern
Oct 20 Indianapolis, IN, US The Hi-Fi
Oct 21 Madison, WI, US The Sett
Oct 22 Ames, IA, US Maintenance Shop
Oct 23 Minneapolis, MN, US 7th Street Entry
Oct 26 Grinnell, IA, US Gardner Lounge
Nov 05 Salt Lake City, UT, US Kilby Court
Nov 06 Denver, CO, US Larimer Lounge
Nov 09 Phoenix, AZ, US The Rebel Lounge
Nov 10 La Jolla, CA, US The Loft
Nov 11 Los Angeles, CA, US Regent Theater
Nov 16 San Francisco, CA Great American
Nov 18 Portland, OR, US Mississippi Studios
Nov 19 Vancouver, BC, Canada The Cobalt
Nov 20 Seattle, WA, US The Crocodile

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Ben Rector at Tally's Dockside, White Bear Lake, MN (21 July 2016)

Setlist Never Gonna Let You Go When A Heart Breaks Forever Like That Loving You Is Easy Brand New Let the Good Times Roll The Men That Drive Me Places Tour Dates 08/24/16 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall 08/25/16 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace Theatre 08/26/16 Tuscaloosa, AL Tuscaloosa Amph 08/27/16 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater 09/03/16 Freeport, ME L. L. Bean Discovery Park 09/22/16 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater 09/23/16 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Metro Credit 09/24/16 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheater 09/29/16 Norfolk, VA The NorVa 09/30/16 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amph 10/06/16 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater 10/07/16 Edmond, OK Oklahoma Christian 10/09/16 College Station, TX Rudder Auditorium 10/10/16 Dallas, TX "State Fair Of Texas" 10/14/16 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues 10/15/16 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall 10/16/16 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre 10/21/16 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre 10/22/16 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room 10/23/16 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre 02/10-15/17 "Rock Boat" Read More Ben Rector Nashville's Ben Rector is back with a brand new sixth studio album called Brand New (Aptly Named Recordings, LLC). He'll be stopping by the Northrop Auditorium at the U of M this Thursday ...

He’s anything but brand new to local audiences—

Ben Rector

Singer - songwriter Ben Rector stopped in town last week for a brief promotional appearance, in front of an overcrowded dockside audience braving a sweltering triple-digit heat index for a generous seven-song, forty-five minute set, that had many already making plans for his full show, in late October.

The Nashville-based artist is out in support of his sixth studio effort, Brand New (on Aptly Named Recordings) and prepping for his upcoming summer/fall tour, humbly dubbed The Biggest Tour I Have Done So Far Tour.

In blue-checked shirt, shorts, sandals, and an “OK” baseball hat (presumably for his native Oklahoma), Rector is more than well-known locally, always calling the area one of his best markets and among the first to play him on radio, and his local fan base has clearly grown further.

Rector moved between playing piano for the first half, including opener, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ to acoustic guitar later in the set. The crowd of mostly younger people and happy –hour goers sang along to the chorus of ‘When a Heart Breaks’.

‘Forever Like That’, usually done on guitar, was performed on piano and dedicated to everyone in the back of the over-capacity crowd that he couldn’t see, (but could still hear) from his piano seat.  As Rector finished the song, a marriage proposal took place near a dock behind the singer (and was accepted), causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

Ben Rector

For ‘Loving You is Easy’, Rector flexed his improv skills and took crowd suggestions to create an impromptu third verse to the song, deciding to use proposals as the topic, based on what had just taken place.  “When I saw this set up, I terrified that I’d be on top of people”, Rector said, surveying the small stage and people surrounding him on all sides, “but you guys have made this such a wonderful experience”.

‘Brand New’ had a few lyrics changed playfully to reflect the hot temperatures and the crowd was again recruited to sing a long on ‘Let the Good Times Roll’.  After mentioning his affection for Minneapolis and his fans selling out an early-career show (he made his booking agent call the venue because he didn’t believe it), Rector ended his afternoon with ‘The Men That Drive Me Places’, a touching story song about taking pride in any vocation, no matter what kind of hand or situation, life has dealt.

Ben Rector returns to town at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on October 23^rd, for a full and proper show at his biggest local venue to date, which will no doubt be filled with the fans that know him so well, and maybe some newcomers too, that consider him brand new to their listening habits.

Ben Rector at Tally's Dockside, White Bear Lake, MN (21 July 2016)

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Ben Rector, w/ Judah & the Lion at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis (24 Sept 2015)

Ben Rector Setlist Something Beautiful Brand New Favorite Song Never Gonna Let You Go When a Heart Breaks The Men That Drive Me Places Fear Loving You is Easy Paris Note to Self Forever Like That (new arrangement) Like the World Is Going to End When I'm With You The Beat Follow You More Like Love White Dress Tour Dates 10/07 Singletary Center - Lexington, KY 10/08 The Pageant - St. Louis, MO 10/09 Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN 10/10 Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN 10/17 New Daisy Theatre - Memphis, TN 10/18 Rudder Auditorium - College Station, TX 10/22 House of Blues - Houston, TX 10/23 South Side Ballroom - Dallas, TX 10/24 Stubb's - Austin, TX 10/25 Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK 10/28 Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN 10/29 The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC 10/30 The Ritz - Raleigh, NC 11/03 Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC 11/05 Louisiana Tech University - Ruston, LA 11/06 Alabama Theatre - Birmingham, AL 11/07 Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA Read More Ben Rector Nashville's Ben Rector is back with a brand new sixth studio album called Brand New (Aptly Named Recordings, LLC). He'll be stopping by the Northrop Auditorium at the U of M this Thursday ... Judah & the Lion Nashville based trio Judah & the Lion (not to be confused with Daniel & the Lion) is on tour in support of their full-length studio album Kids These Days entered Billboard's Heatseekers chart at #2 and the Folk Albums …

With singer-songwriter Ben Rector, everything is new again…make that Brand New-

The Nashville resident has been gradually building his loyal audience for years, releasing three EPs and seven albums on his own terms, the most recent being  Brand New on his Aptly Named Recordings label, and his recent performance at the recently refurbished Northrop Auditorium on the campus of the University of Minnesota, showed that  brand new is just fine with his multitude of fans.

Judah & the Lion

The evening began with a spirited  and fun performance from another Nashville band, Judah & the Lion, and Americana folk band who are finishing their upcoming full-length, hot on the heels of last year’s self-released EP, Kids These Days.

Judah & the Lion

Vu saw the band at a sold out 7^th Street Entry show last November and the group (six on stage) is growing leaps and bounds in terms of their animated live show and growing audience.  The band has a blend of “city-fied” bluegrass and alt-country music; from the banjo lesson we all got on ‘Southern Ground’ to the snap-a-long/clap-a-long participation of ‘Water’ that closed their 40 min set enthusiastically as singer Judah Akers jumped into the crowd, raced around the aisles, and ended the song high-fiving everyone at the entry doors.

Ben Rector

With a stark spotlight on the piano, a solo, suit-jacketed Ben Rector began his 90 min set with the delicate ‘Something Beautiful’ before moving into the anthemic title track of his new album.  The sound in the “new” Northrop carries farther and adds some additional punch to percussion and lower-end, each of which benefited Rector’s live band.

After the fifth song, a touching ‘When a Heart Breaks’, Rector took a breath to address the crowd, mentioning Minneapolis as the first city to sell out, when Rector first started touring.  ‘The Men That Drive Me Places’ from the new album was inspired by a story of a cab driver, with Rector determined to preserve his story as an everyday hero in our land of opportunity.

‘Note to Self’ brought out the vocal harmonies and then the band gathered around a center mic for a mini-acoustic set, including a re-arranged ’Forever Like That’, spotlighting two members of the band, that both come from the area originally.

Audience

For main set closer, ‘Follow You’ Rector again revealed the secret of the encore- “we just walk twenty five feet over, wait for you to applaud, then come back out”, and after the song, they did exactly that, instead of staying out on stage.  Several homemade signs were held high in the crowd throughout (something you don’t see a lot of, especially at this venue) and Rector spied one held by a little girl and invited her onstage briefly.

The two encore songs were tailor-made for weddings, the new ‘More Like Love’ and 2010’s ‘White Dress’, the latter being one of Rector’s biggest hits and had audience members young and old (a good number of families there) clapping along from the song’s beginning.

Rector’s inspired music captures the upbeat magic that happens on an everyday basis, that is often not noticed or appreciated, but it’s clear his loyal fans notice and value every note, whether old or brand new.

Ben Rector at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis (24 Sept 2015)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Minneapolis: September 24, 2015

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on September 24, 2015.

This is the same night as Canada's Viet Cong show at 7th Street Entry. With the recent local Vietnamese community protesting the upcoming show, I'm happy to see that the band has announced yesterday that they are finally changing their offensive name. We didn't cover their previous Minneapolis show because I found the name slightly offensive.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Ben Rector As in, ‘Why’ isn’t the Nashville-based Rector a bigger known name and playing even bigger venues than his sold-out Varsity Theater show? Is it because he has taken the indie route and doesn't have a major label ... Judah & the Lion Nashville based trio Judah & the Lion (not to be confused with Daniel & the Lion) is on tour in support of their full-length studio album Kids These Days entered Billboard's Heatseekers chart at #2 and the Folk Albums …

BEN RECTOR
at Northrop Auditorium
Thursday, 09/24/2015, 7pm ($24.50)
northrop.umn.edu

Nashville's Ben Rector is back with a brand new sixth studio album called Brand New (Aptly Named Recordings, LLC). He'll be stopping by the Northrop Auditorium at the U of M this Thursday. Don't expect an encore, as we have previously seen him live and explained, "Rector explains he doesn’t like the process of leaving the stage then returning."

Judah & The Lion will open the show. We were really impressed with this band from their headlining 7th Street Entry show in 2014. We described the band as "not rock and not country, but 'somewhere in-between'. It's feel-good singalong folk rock, think Mumford & Sons, and you get the idea."

Ben Rector Fall Tour Dates:

09/20 Deluxe - Indianapolis, IN
09/23 Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI
09/24 Northrop Auditorium - Minneapolis, MN
09/25 House of Blues - Chicago, IL
09/26 House of Blues - Chicago, IL
09/30 The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
10/01 House of Blues - Boston, MA
10/02 Irving Plaza - New York, NY
10/03 Theatre of the Living Arts - Phila, PA
10/07 Singletary Center - Lexington, KY
10/08 The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
10/09 Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN
10/10 Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN
10/17 New Daisy Theatre - Memphis, TN
10/18 Rudder Auditorium - College Station, TX
10/22 House of Blues - Houston, TX
10/23 South Side Ballroom - Dallas, TX
10/24 Stubb's - Austin, TX
10/25 Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
10/28 Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN
10/29 The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC
10/30 The Ritz - Raleigh, NC
11/03 Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC
11/05 Louisiana Tech University - Ruston, LA
11/06 Alabama Theatre - Birmingham, AL
11/07 Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA

Read More The Adicts The version Cristina loves is the Adicts' version. Song of the week is Adicts' "Falling in Love". ...

REVEREND HORTON HEAT
at First Ave
Thursday, 09/24/2015, 7pm ($20)
first-avenue.com

This should be a great double header show: Reverend Horton Heat and The Adicts!

The so-called "godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly" Jim "Reverend Horton" Heath's latest album Rev (their 11th album!) came out last year on Victory Records.

As for the Adicts, this will be their first Minneapolis show, we previously mentioned our love for the English punk band.

Listen to the Cover Lover show here:

W♥M107: Cover Lover (57 mins)

Special guest The Creepshow to open.

Tour Dates

09/20/15 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
09/22/15 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
09/23/15 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
09/24/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
09/25/15 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre
09/26/15 Pacific Junction, IA Mid America Motorplex
09/27/15 Springfield, IL Donnie's Homespun
10/22/15 Bentonville, AR Meteor
10/23/15 Birmingham, AL Saturn
10/24/15 New Orleans, LA Mid City Lanes
11/27/15 Austin, TX The Mohawk
11/28/15 Houston, TX Scout Bar
11/29/15 San Antonio, TX The Paper Tiger
12/01/15 Flagstaff, AZ Museum Club
12/02/15 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
12/03/15 Tempe, AZ The Marquee
12/04/15 Las Vegas, NV Vinyl @ Hard Rock Hotel
12/05/15 Oakland, CA Leo's
12/06/15 Oakland, CA Leo's
12/08/15 Oakland, CA Leo's
12/09/15 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades
12/10/15 Ventura, CA Majestic Ventura Theater
12/11/15 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
12/12/15 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
12/13/15 San Diego, CA Observatory North Park
12/15/15 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
12/16/15 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
12/17/15 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
12/18/15 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
12/19/15 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
12/20/15 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep
12/31/15 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live!
02/04/16 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's

Read More Toro Y Moi Toro y Moi. Audrey reported that the show at the Fine Line Music Café on February 20th was sold out. Not a whole lot of interaction with the audience …

TORO Y MOI
at Mill City Nights
Thursday, 09/24/2015, 8pm ($20)
millcitynights.com

Toro y Moi and Astronauts, etc. (Anthony Ferraro, keyboardist in Toro y Moi's live band) is currently on a US tour. The two bands recently teamed up to record a cover of Elton John's "Rocket Man." Noisey premiered the track, saying "Oh you're covering one of Elton John's very best songs? Bold moves, guys, bold moves. Thing is, Oakland's Astronauts, etc. and Toro y Moi-who are heading out on tour together next week-really nail it. Their rework is soft like cashmere on baby skin. Sweetly muted like Beck's rework of 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes,' but with a funked up bass holding it all down and shivery synth middle eight that's quite magic."

2015 Tour Dates

9/20 - Neumos - Seattle, WA
9/21 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
9/24 - Mill City Nights - Minneapolis, MN
9/25 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI
9/26 - Wooly's - Des Moines, IA
9/27 - Pyramid Scheme - Grand Rapids, MI
9/28 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
9/29 - Waiting Room - Buffalo, NY
9/30 - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
10/1 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
10/2 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
10/3 - The National - Richmond, VA
10/4 - Rams Head - Baltimore, MD
10/6 - Music Farm - Charleston, SC
10/7 - Georgia Theatre - Athens, GA
10/8 - Free Bird Live - Jacksonville, FL
10/9 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL
10/10-10/11 - Ill Points Festival - Miami, FL
10/12 - Vinyl Music Hall - Pensacola, FL
10/13 - Republic - New Orleans, LA
10/14 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL
10/15 - Minglewood Hall - Memphis, TN
10/16 - The Ready Room - St. Louis, MO
10/17 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO
10/18 - Granada Theatre - Lawrence, KS
10/19 - Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
10/21 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO
10/22 - Sunshine Theatre - Albuquerque, NM
10/23 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
10/24 - The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA
10/25 - Pappy & Harriet's - Pioneertown, CA
11/6-11/8 - Fun Fun Fun Fest - Austin, TX
11/9 - Teragram Ballroom - Los Angeles, CA

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com