W♥M

Minneapolis: August 14 to August 18, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from August 14 to August 18, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Belle & Sebastian Our favorite Scottish band Belle & Sebastian is releasing Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance tomorrow, January 20th, via Matador Records, their first new record since 2010's Write About Love. ...

BELLE & SEBASTIAN
at Palace Theatre
Tuesday 08/15/17 (7pm/$40)
palacestpaul.com

Our favorite Scottish band Belle and Sebastian will be returning to Minnesota this Tuesday, August 15th, at the new Palace Theatre. The last time we saw B&S, they played Rock the Garden 2015... and it was a sight to behold! See our photograph of the stage near the end of their set: photo

The band recently released a new single called ‘We Were Beautiful’, written in 2016, but finally officially released on digital format only. I won’t buy digital, and full confession: I own everything B&S released on Jeepster and Matador Records. I prefer seeing them sit on my book shelf.

Memphis’ Julien Baker will open.

Tour Dates:

08/10 San Francisco – Outside Lands, Independent
08/11 San Francisco, – Outside Lands
08/13 Missoula, Red Sky Brewing Festival
08/15 St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
08/16 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
08/17 Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheater
08/19 Omaha, NE. Maha Festival
09/01 Netherlands, Utrecht, Vrendenburg
09/02 Netherlands, Vileland, Into The Great Wide Open
10/04 Tokyo, Zepp University
10/05 Osaka, Big Cat
10/07 Asagiri, Asagiri Jam, Rainbow Stage

Read More Howard Jones You know, we've already mentioned how much we love Howard Jones. He'll be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café as part of his "The Songs, The Piano & The Stories'" tour. ..... English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. ..... Men Without Hats After forty years, Men Without Hats, are still an excellent band. Known in America as a one-hit-wonder band for "Safety Dance", but I have to say, I love them anyway. Katrina Leskanich Katrina Leskanich kicks off her North American tour next week in support of her latest solo album entitled Blisland (Listen to Blisland streaming via Popmatters.) The album is her first collection ....

RETRO FUTURA TOUR
at State Theatre
Thursday 08/17/17 (7pm/$53)
hennepintheatretrust.org

What a great lineup for this so-called “Retro Futura Tour”! We love all these bands, having seen many of them throughout the years.

However, if you’re not familiar with these guys, I’ll summarize them:

We previously saw Katrina (from Katrina and the Waves) in April 2015 and wrote, “For her set, which just ran over an hour, Leskanich and band played many of her 80s favorites as well as introduced most of the mostly baby boomer-aged crowd, to some of her newer solo material. The NYC backing threesome brought a rough and gritty feel to the music, though thankfully most of the older Katrina and the Waves favorites were done as authentically as possible, instead of re-interpreted.”

English songwriter Paul Young is famous for his single ‘Love of the Common People’ and ‘Everything Must Change’.

New wave Modern English had a huge hit with ‘I Melt With You’ (you may have heard it on a Burger King commercial, sadly).

Most people will know Men Without Hats as the band that sang ‘The Safety Dance’. We love them so much, we flew to Canada to see them play at SXSW 2011.

Co-headliner is the legendary ska/punk band The English Beat... They actually have a new album (in over three decades!) called Here We Go Love. Rolling Stone called the new record “savagely witty as Elvis Costello”.

Closing the show will be Howard Jones. I may have mentioned that he’s known for ‘What Is Love?’, but was quickly reminded that he’s known for ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

Retro Futura Tour

Aug 09 State Theater- New Brunswick, NJ
Aug 10 Dunkin Donuts Center- Providence, RI
Aug 11 Borgata Casino- Atlantic City, NJ
Aug 12 Oakdale- Wallingford, CT
Aug 13 Times Union Center- Albany, NY
Aug 14 Lynn Auditorium- Lynn, MA
Aug 17 State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
Aug 18 Star Plaza Theater (Chicago)- Merrillville, IN*
Aug 19 Family Arena (St. Louis)- St. Charles, MO*

Howard Jones, The English Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Paul Young, Katrina (* signifies no Paul Young. Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow on line-up)

Read More Shakey Graves Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. … Beck So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

Other shows in the area:

08/14/2017 Nashville’s Blank Range will be stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul to promote their debut album Marooned With The Treasure (Sturdy Girls Records/Thirty Tigers). Co-headlining will be Nick Eagon and Stone Arch Isles. 8pm, $8.

08/15/2017 Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires will be playing the 7th Street Entry this Tuesday. The band recently released their album Youth Detention, a double LP spanning 17 songs. Eleganza! and The Bad Man to open. 8pm, $10.

08/15/2017 Shakey Graves returns to First Avenue on Tuesday... bringing with them David Ramirez. The show is sold out. 7pm, $22/Sold Out.

08/16/2017 Scottish Celtic rock band Skerryvore will be stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center for a rare appearance. The band’s last release Decade came out in 2015. Andy Cook to open. 7pm, $18.

08/17/2017 Beck sold out the Palace Theatre. He hasn’t been to MN in a long time, but we saw him at Coachella, so all is good. No opening band announced. If you couldn’t get tickets to this show, he’ll be back with U2 in September. 6:30pm, $50/Sold Out.

08/17/2017 Chicago indie-rockers The Kickback will be playing the 7th Street Entry in support of their PledgeMusic sophomore record. The Usual Things and Candid Kid to open. door 7pm, $12.

08/17/2017 When not playing with Bruce Springsteen or as bandleader for Conan O’Brien, Max Weinberg is billing himself as Max Weinberg's Jukebox on tour. He’ll play the Dakota Jazz Club this Thursday. 7pm, $45.

08/18/2017 Michael Franti is back at the Cabooze Plaza, with Satsang. 5:30pm, $40.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Shakey Graves, w/ Those Darlins at First Avenue, Minneapolis (04 November 2015)

Those Darlins Setlist Red Light Love Wild One Sleep On It Mystic Mind Female Trouble (New Song) Guitar World (New Song) In the Wilderness Love At Ransom (New Song) Settle Down (New Song) Night Jogger Pig Pharma (New Song) Ain't Afraid Never Been Into Promises That Man Tour Dates 11/09 Montreal, QC Virgin Mobile 11/11 New York, NY Terminal 5 11/12 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston 11/13 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston 11/14 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory 11/15 Washington, DC 930 Club 11/16 Washington, DC 930 Club 11/18 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater 11/19 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom 11/20 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre 11/21 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel 11/22 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse 11/23 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre 11/24 New Orleans, LA The Civic Theatre Read More Shakey Graves Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. … Those Darlins We love Those Darlins. Currently the Nashville band will be releasing latest album Blur the Line this October 1st, and the band will be heading out on tour in support of the new record. .…

Americana Music Association's "Emerging Artist of the Year" Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) recently stopped by First Avenue in support of his latest album And The War Came (Dualtone Music Group).

Those Darlins

Opening up the show was Nashville's Those Darlins... their first show as Shakey Grave's support band. Those Darlins is a four piece alt-country/garage punk band and were turning heads throughout the packed venue. These guys were fun to watch. Jessi Zazu, the singer, had a way of making everyone in the crowd feel uncomfortable with her wide eyed stare. It was like one of those "magic paintings" where the eyes are always staring at you no matter where you move in a room. Every time I looked at Zazu, I felt like she was staring a hole through my soul and I was oddly okay with that.

The songs switched between the two female singers of the band, Zazu and Nikki Kvarnes. Zazu seemed to have a lot more country twang in her voice whereas Kvarnes seemed to have more of an edge. I definitely enjoyed the songs that Kvarnes sang a bit more but it was fun to watch Zazu's facial expressions while she was at the microphone.

Looking over their setlist, you can see they previewed some brand new songs (so these are some pending titles), taken from a forthcoming studio album.

Whoever said, "this band will make you feel like you're leaning on a jukebox, swaying in your leather jacket and greased-back hair, watching your love dance with someone else.", hit the nail right on the head. Their music really does take you back to a different time.

It seems that there have been a couple of line-up changes for these guys in the past couple of years including the departure of founding member Kelley Anderson and changing bassists. You would never know there was any lineup change. The members of this band mesh so perfectly with both their music and their presence on stage.

Shakey Graves was the headliner, he is listed as a young Americana musician from Texas. I don't even know if you could call him Americana. His music was such a mix of everything from blues to rock to country. It was fresh and refreshing and the crowd really enjoyed it.

Trampled by Turtles is a big fan of Shakey Graves, having had him opened up for the band on numerous occasions and was a special guest at this year's Festival Palomino. With over 20 million Spotify streams, top five tracks on radio's AA format and various TV appearances (Conan, Late Show With David Letterman, and Late Night with Seth Meyers), it's easy to see why Shakey Graves is one of the hottest Americana acts right now.

Shakey Graves has been releasing music for the past four years and did a great job of playing both new and old songs. The crowd especially loved hearing his breakout single "Dearly Departed" which was released on his newest album And The War Came from 2014. Each song showcased both Rose-Garcia's amazing voice and his talent at the guitar.

All photos were taken by Jayme Halbritter. See more at the Shakey Graves/Those Darlins Photo Gallery.

Shakey Graves at First Avenue, Minneapolis (4 Nov 2015) photo courtesy of Jayme Halbritter, jaymehalbritter.com

langen (langen@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Minneapolis: November 4, 2015

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on November 4, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Shakey Graves Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. … Those Darlins We love Those Darlins. Currently the Nashville band will be releasing latest album Blur the Line this October 1st, and the band will be heading out on tour in support of the new record. .…

SHAKEY GRAVES
at First Ave
Wednesday, 11/04/2015, 7:30pm ($20)
first-avenue.com

We previously caught Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) at this year's Festival Palomino. He recently took home the Emerging Artist Of The Year award at Americana Music Association's 14th Annual Honors & Awards. Shakey Graves gained over 20 million Spotify streams, thanks to his strong single "Dearly Departed" from his 2014 album And The War Came (Dualtone Music Group).

Opening up the show will be our favorite Those Darlins, the cow-punk/garage rock trio from Nashville. We have seen the band almost every time they come through town: Oct 2013, July 2013, July 2012, Apr 2011, Sep 2010, Apr 2010, Nov 2009, and July 2009.

Check out our interview with Jesse:

W♥M192 (11 mins)

Tour Dates:

11/01 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
11/02 Missoula, MT Top Hat
11/05 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
11/06 Chicago IL Thalia Hall
11/09 Montreal, QC Virgin Mobile
11/11 New York, NY Terminal 5
11/12 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
11/13 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
11/14 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
11/15 Washington, DC 930 Club
11/16 Washington, DC 930 Club
11/18 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
11/19 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
11/20 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
11/21 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
11/22 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
11/23 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
11/24 New Orleans, LA The Civic Theatre

Read More Small Black Small Black is back on tour, and stopping by St Paul's Turf Club next Saturday, April 5th. The band will likely play tracks from their latest Limits Of Desire and upcoming EP Real People … Painted Palms San Francisco's Painted Palms were not used to the snow here. After launching into "Falling Asleep", singer Reese Donohue confirmed it as much, "I think it's a little cold here." …

SMALL BLACK
at First Ave
Wednesday, 11/04/2015, 7:30pm ($10)
first-avenue.com

Small Black is back with their new album Best Blue (Jagjaguwar). This is the group's third LP, which is said to hit their sweet spot of smoky intersection of considered & vulnerable songwriting and loose, almost nonchalant ambience.

We previously saw the band (singer/keys Josh Hayden Kolenik, guitarist Ryan Heyner, bassist Juan Pieczanski and drummer Jeff Curtin) last year at the Turf Club and noted they were "80s-style keyboard riff and ultra dance-y beat."

Painted Palms will open the show. The last time we saw the duo (Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme), it was in 2013 when they only had one EP and a single (so they played everything they've ever wrote). Of course, now they have two albums: their debut Forever and Horizons, both available on Polyvinyl.

Tour Dates:

11/02/15 Kansas City, MO Tank Room
11/03/15 Iowa City, IA The Mill
11/04/15 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street
11/06/15 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
11/07/15 Detroit, MI UFO Factory
11/08/15 Toronto, ON The Garrison
11/10/15 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa
11/11/15 Burlington, VT Signal Kitchen
11/12/15 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall

Read More Vanessa Carlton As a hardcore nessaholic, I have awaited "Rabbits on the Run" for some time but was happy when she released a compilation album with a bunch of my most favorite songs! I'd ...

VANESSA CARLTON
at Cedar Cultural Center
Wednesday, 11/04/2015, 7pm ($25)
thecedar.org

Vanessa Carlton will be in town in support of her latest album Liberman (Dine Alone Records). The ten songs on the upcoming album reflect Vanessa's current state of mind since moving from NYC to Nashville, marrying husband John McCauley (Deer Tick) and having a baby girl.

Canadian singer/songwriter Joshua Hyslop to open the show.

Upcoming Tour Dates

Nov 01 Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre
Nov 02 Green Bay, WI @ Meyer Theatre
Nov 04 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
Nov 05 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Nov 06 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
Nov 07 St Louis, MO @ Duck Room
Nov 09 Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
Nov 10 Chicago, IL @ City Winery
Nov 11 Evanston, IL @ SPACE
Nov 13 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
Nov 14 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
Nov 15 Cleveland, OH @ Music Box Supper Club
Nov 17 London, Ontario @ London Music Hall
Nov 18 Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club
Nov 20 Montreal, Quebec @ Lion d'Or
Nov 21 Ottawa, Ontario @ Mavericks
Nov 23 Hamilton, Ontario @ Molson Canadian Studio
Nov 30 New York, NY @ City Winery
Dec 01 New York, NY @ City Winery
Dec 03 Troy, NY @ Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Dec 04 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
Dec 05 Portland, ME @ Asylum
Dec 07 Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Dec 08 Fairfield, CT @ StageOne
Dec 09 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Dec 11 Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre
Dec 12 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
Dec 14 Durham, NC @ The Carolina Theatre
Dec 15 Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Dec 16 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay
Dec 17 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
Dec 19 Asheville, NC @ New Mountain Theatre

Read More X Ambassadors For X Ambassadors, an unshakable sense of brotherhood has long shaped the sound and spirit of the band. Growing up in small-town upstate New York, frontman Sam Harris ... Skylar Grey For the 10th edition of Red White and Blue, this is a bonus color: Fifty Shades of Grey. ... 14. “I Know You” - Skylar Grey ... Kevin Garrett Also on the bill was Brooklyn's Kevin Garrett; he's joined by Sean Mullins on drums and Jeremy McDonald on keys/etc. Garrett's set included some very sensitive/personal ...

X AMBASSADORS
at First Ave
Wednesday, 11/04/2015, 7:30pm ($15/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

The first time we saw X Ambassadors, they were the support act for Canadian singer Lights. At the time, we noted that they had family connection in the Twin Cities: "The band, who has producer connections to, and has opened for Imagine Dragons, has learned the art of audience participation well and had a built-in cheering section, as several members of guitarist Noah Feldshuh’s family were enthusiastically present on the main floor."

Their single "Jungle" (featured both Jay Z and Jamie N Commons) winning the Bronze Award at the 2015 CLIO Awards (for providing the soundtrack to the latest round of Jeep ads), and recently, their latest single "Renegades" is a hit in the charts (#19 at Pop Radio, #3 at Hot AC, #18 at Top 40, #3 at Alternative and #27 on the Hot 100).

Five-time GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Skylar Grey is listed to open. Her critically acclaimed album Don't Look Down (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records) was produced by Eminem and Alex Da Kid.

Joining on this sold-out show will be Kevin Garrett, a musician that is on both MTV and Grammys' "artist-to-watch" list. Garrett's latest single "Refuse" previewed on Zane Lowe’s Beats One Apple Music Radio Show... taken from his Mellow Drama EP.

Tour Dates:

11/03 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
11/04 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
11/06 Des Moines, IA Wooly's
11/07 Kanas City, MO Arvest Bank Theater
11/09 Dallas, TX House of Blues
11/10 Dallas, TX House of Blues
11/11 Austin, TX Scoot In
11/13 Tucson, AZ The Rock
11/14 Los Angeles, CA Fonda Theater
11/15 San Diego, CA Observatory North Par

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Festival Palomino 2015

Trampled by Turtles Setlist Wild Animals Burn For Free Victory Are You Behind The Shining Star? Arming of Infants Empire Winners New Son/Burnt Iron Valley The Darkness and the Light Repetition The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover) Codeine Truck November Wait So Long Whiskey Midnight on the Interstate Alone / Amazing Grace Dr Dog Setlist Shadow People These Days Be the Void Broken Heart Nellie How Long Must I Wait The Beach That Old Black Hole Cuckoo Jackie Wants A Black Eye Lonesome The Rabbit, The Bat, And The Reindeer Heart it Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover) Father John Misty Setlist I Love You, Honeybear Strange Encounter Only Son of the Ladiesman When You're Smiling and Astride Me The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt. I'm Writing a Novel Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) Bored in the USA Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings The Ideal Husband Benjamin Booker Setlist Always Waiting Chippewa Old Hearts Shout Bamalama (Otis Redding cover) Falling Down Blues Wicked Waters Violent Shiver Have You Seen My Son Shakey Graves Setlist Roll the Bones If Not For You The Perfect Parts Dearly Departed Where a Boy Once Stood Family and Genius Late July Laura Marling Setlist Take The Night Off / I Was An Eagle Breathe Master Hunter Salinas Once My Manic And I Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (Dolly Parton cover) What He Wrote Alpha Shallows Rambling Man Calexico Setlist Frontera Falling from the Sky Maybe on Monday Splitter Stray Sunken Waltz Bullets & Rocks Corona (Minutemen cover) Cumbia de Donde Read More Festival Palomino We covered Trampled By Turtles' first ever Festival Palomino last year. It was such a great learning experience for us, and we had a great time... so much that it made it onto my top ten favorite shows from 2014 (out of … Trampled by Turtles Trampled By Turtles (aka TBT) had a very special two-day CD release shows for Friday and Saturday at First Ave, in Minneapolis. For the first night, they were supported by The Devil Makes Three ... Dr Dog If you couldn't get into Dr Dog's sold out show at the Turf Club on Thursday, the good news is that (as of this writing) their Friday's show at the bigger capacity venue, First ... Father John Misty J. Tillman under his moniker Father John Misty will be back in Minneapolis this April 4th, in support of his latest Sub Pop album I Love You, Honeybear. … Benjamin Booker New Orleans' Benjamin Booker opened up the show with a 40-min performance of this nice mix of rock/punk/blues fusion music. We recently caught Booker at Northside Festival, in New York … Laura Marling Laura Marling just started her U.S. Summer 2013 tour for her latest album Once I Was An Eagle last night at the sold-out Assembly at the Woman's Club show in Minneapolis. .... Lydia Loveless Lydia Loveless has a reputation for putting on passionate, sometimes chaotic live shows and Sunday night’s gig at the Turf Club was no exception. With the help of her dynamic band (husband Ben Lamb … The Lowest Pair Portland/Minneapolis' The Lowest Pair will be releasing their album The Sacred Heart Sessions at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on April 4th. ...

If local festivals were racehorses, Festival Palomino is best in show.  Again.

The Trampled by Turtles-curated festival, held again in the inside greens of the horse racetrack at Canterbury Park in the southwest suburb of Shakopee, triumphed once more in its sophomore year, as a prime example of a highly enjoyable, expertly-run day of music.

Festival Palomino

Last year, the two stages were placed on each end of the festival grounds, with each band starting when the previous one finished, though the area was small enough to easily walk to the other stage, or simply turn your head, to experience the next band.  This year, the stages (nicknamed ‘Stars’ and ‘Satellites’) were set up next to each other, with a cordoned VIP section in the middle, for a double-barreled look, which also saved the organizers an additional separate set up crew, speaker stack, and front of house board set up.

The result was a little claustrophobic compared to the previous staging, but no less enjoyable, with the only very occasional interference being the sound checking on one stage, bleeding over a couple times to the full performance going on at the other stage.  The rest of the festival grounds featured food trucks, traditional and specialty food vendors as well as other beverage and merchandise stands.

With summer’s last breath of warm sunshine in the afternoon followed by the impending fall’s slight chill in the evening, this year’s weather was perfect and a welcome change from the previous year’s storms that evacuated the grounds briefly.

1:30pm Lowest Pair (30 mins)

Lowest Pair

Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee are a string music/ indie folk duo that was the ideal opener for a day-long event of Americana music as well as being an act with local ties.  Lee is a Minneapolis native who first met Winter at a bluegrass festival in Winona and a few years later, their debut album 36¢ (Team Love Records) was produced by TBT’s Dave Simonett, with latest album Sacred Heart Sessions (recorded in Duluth), out earlier this year.

Their dual banjo-picking roots sound with gentle harmonies on songs like ‘Irene’ and the new ‘Minnesota Mend Me’, was a worthy appetizer for the full day ahead.

2:05pm Lydia Loveless (35 mins)

Lydia Loveless

Columbus, OH native Loveless was next, playing a somewhat dark punk blend of traditional and alt-country, with four-piece band including stand-up bassist and husband, Ben Lamb, in tow.

Her latest full-length is last year’s Somewhere Else (Bloodshot Records) and her sound on songs like ‘Head’, ‘Chris Isaak’, and ‘Out on Love’, sound like a revv’d up Maria Mckee (of Lone Justice fame), or maybe what Chrissie Hynde would do, if she ever went bluegrass.

2:45pm Calexico (45 mins)

Calexico

A refreshing bit of Tex-Mex indie rock was served up midday by Tucson, AZ Calexico, spotlighting songs from their newest release, Edge of the Sun (ANTI-/Epitaph Records), and featured seven band members including upright bass and a horn section.   1998’s ‘Frontera’ began their set on a somewhat somber note, but things quickly picked up with ‘Falling From the Sky’, the new album’s opener, and one of three new songs played.

Martin Wenk played some fierce accordion on ‘Sunken Waltz’, the new ‘ Bullets & Rocks’ seemed especially poignant in light of the refugee crisis in Europe,  and an “old song from San Piedro, CA”, their cover of The Minutemen’s ‘Corona’ was a Latin-transformed pleasant surprise.  Set ender ‘Cumbia de Donde’ got most in the crowd shuffling in place, transposing them to the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán that inspired the song and the new album.

3:35pm Laura Marling (45 mins)

Laura Marling

Adorned in layered whites and pastels with a thin scarf blowing in the wind and golden shoes, UK singer-songwriter Laura Marling may have been the best dressed of the day but her storytelling folk songs were what mesmerized the crowd the most.

In support of the this spring’s Short Movie (Ribbon Music), Marling entranced the hushed crowd starting with opener, ‘Take the Night Off / I Was an Eagle’ and for the next 45 min. with a Joni Mitchell-like set of poetry and folk.  Marling remains notoriously shy - not saying much between songs, and probably comforted by the shade covering her face for the first half of her performance.

“We’re gonna do a Dolly Parton cover… to lighten things up a bit” she said mid set before launching into a butterfly delicate ‘Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?’  She overcame a few feedback issues following, ending somewhat sad but no less resonant on ‘Alpha Shadows’ and 2010’s ‘Rambling Man’.

4:30pm Shakey Graves (45 mins)

Shakey Graves

Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between.  Playing his own blend of blues/folk/alt-country and with a large Texas flag draped on a speaker stack, Garcia’s set drew mostly from last fall’s And the War Came (Dualtone Music Group).

There is a raw fuzziness to his music, evident in his mission to “raise the turbo out here in the racefield” that he declared early-on, and prompting the crowd for “oohs” and clapping throughout the set. Playing live, the band is more raw and loud than on record, with an additional grittiness added to songs like ‘The Perfect Parts’ and ‘Where a Boy Once Stood’.

A bit gloomy in the narrative Dylan way, the band ended with the brooding ‘Late July’, about a man murdering his gold-digging wife – “I’m eager, young, and starry-eyed” Garcia sings in the song and with newfound fans discovering his music at the festival, no one can argue with that verse.

5:18 pm Benjamin Booker (45 mins)

Benjamin Booker

Dressed unassumingly in a red striped shirt, with cigarette dangling from his mouth, New Orleans’ Benjamin Booker turned everything up in volume for a quaking set of noisy garage rock.  Last year’s self-titled debut album (on ATO Records) still sounds fresh, with his style being a hybrid culmination of his influences which include The Gun Club, Blind Willie Johnson, and T. Rex.  Booker too, didn’t say much between songs, most artists preferring to let their music do the talking.

Any local fans of early Replacements or Hüsker Dü responded in kind to the punk elements of Booker’s music, often done at breakneck speed with raspy vocals and little abandon, but there was also a soul influence shown on his Otis Redding cover and a swampy country/blues element on ‘Falling Down Blues’, played only with fiddle and mandolin.

Set closer, ‘Have You Seen My Son’ evolved into an almost ten-minute long blitzkrieg crescendo of feedback and guitar jamming before Booker and bandmates casually walked off, like nothing at all had happened.

5:56pm Father John Misty (60 mins)

Father John Misty

Any award for sardonic wit and snarkiness has to be given to Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman), who also delivered a soulful hour-long set that had him in the crowd several times, making an indelible impression.  Tillman dressed all in black, with a crack five-piece band, referred cheekily to the venue a couple of times as the “Minneapolis dog-fighting pits”, which got a big laugh.

Opening with the title track of his latest, I Love You, Honeybear (Sub Pop Records), Tillman and band immediately raised the anthemic level of songs and kept momentum going, for most of his hour-long time.

The always self-effacing Tillman mocked himself for trying to dance with Laura Marling during an instrumental of one of his songs, and intro’d ‘The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.’ as a “horrible little folk ballad”.

‘I’m Writing a Novel’ had a Beatles “Paperback Writer”/Simon and Garfunkel upbeat feel to it, he praised the day as one of “authentic, listener-supported folk rock”, and ‘Bored in the USA’ was pre-empted by tuning at the nearby Satellites stage, prompting Tillman to say “Should we have an Organ-Off, buddy? – I will not hesitate to strap on a keytar”.

7:10pm Dr Dog (60 mins)

Dr. Dog

Pennsylvania’s Dr. Dog was next, with a hour-long low-fi , feel good, set of indie rock that brought their most devoted fans crushing to get up front.  “It’s the right night… for the wrong company” from 2010’s ‘Shadow People’ seemed to be the right lyric as the faithful nudged forward for a better view.

The band hasn’t had a studio album since 2013’s B-Room (ANTI- Records), but did release a live album earlier this year, with new music in the offing soon.  Singers Scott McMicken (lead guitar) and Zach Miller (keyboards) traded off on lead vocal chores, with McMicken’s sounding more laid-back and Miller being the higher-pitched of the two.

“You guy’s got a killer sunset out here”, McMicken noticed before ‘Broken Heart’, getting everyone to turn right to see the last rays on the horizon.  The band smartly stayed with mostly upbeat songs, culminating with an Architecture in Helsinki cover of ‘Heart It Races’to end their hour.

8:20pm Trampled by Turtles (90 min.)

Trampled by Turtles

Finally, it was time for the headliners to take to the Stars stage, amidst fog, dim lighting, and a still gusty wind.  The Duluth band  started introspectively, with the title track to last year’s Wild Animals (BanjoDad Records) but soon jumped into their trademark hyper-bluegrass with ‘Burn for Free’.

“It’s been quite a day for us, as fans of music” singer Dave Simonett said, finally speaking twenty minutes in, before a harmonizing ‘Empire’.  The aching ‘Winners’ about their hometown, seemed appropriate with its opening line, “There were dreams on a full moon night” as a fall chill and clear night embraced the jacketed crowd.

Mandolin player Erik Berry shined on ‘New Son/Burnt Iron’ and bass player Tim Saxhaug took over lead vocals for The Band’s ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’- done very faithful to the original, yet with that TBT trademark twang added.

Banjo player Dave Carroll took centerstage for his own ‘Truck’ as the band teased Outkast’s ‘So Fresh, So Clean’ while tuning up.  The string quartet that accompanied the band like last year, reappeared for a haunting ‘Midnight on the Interstate’, rounding out the song with a rousing elegance.

When you thought that couldn’t be topped, the encore of ‘Alone’, complete with a large troupe of bagpipers that took the song into ‘Amazing Grace’, exceeded everyone’s expectations. The only negative was that the stage was still lit so minimally, it was hard to tell just how many people were on stage for the finale, but that didn’t take away from the majestic performance.

And with another successful day in the books, next year’s Festival Palomino has already started their planning for 2016, which will no doubt be a three-peat, in terms of success.  Never has a full day at a horse track sounded so good.

Trampled by Turtles at Festival Palomino, Shakopee (19 September 2015)

john + vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Photos: Festival Palomino 2015

Trampled by Turtles Setlist Wild Animals Burn For Free Victory Are You Behind The Shining Star? Arming of Infants Empire Winners New Son/Burnt Iron Valley The Darkness and the Light Repetition The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover) Codeine Truck November Wait So Long Whiskey Midnight on the Interstate Alone / Amazing Grace Read More Festival Palomino We covered Trampled By Turtles' first ever Festival Palomino last year. It was such a great learning experience for us, and we had a great time... so much that it made it onto my top ten favorite shows from 2014 (out of …

Trampled by Turtles and First Avenue did it again: Festival Palomino 2015 was a smashing success! This is quickly becoming of the best music festivals in the Midwest. It's incredibly well-organized and everyone had a great time watching and dancing to the music.

We'll get to the recap and review a little later, but we just wanted to get the photographs uploaded right away.

Festival Palomino 2015 Schedule:

Stars Stage
1:30pm The Lowest Pair
2:45pm Calexico
4:25pm Shakey Graves
6:05pm Father John Misty
8:20pm Trampled by Turtles

Satellites Stage
2:05pm Lydia Loveless
3:35pm Laura Marling
5:15pm Benjamin Booker
7:10pm Dr Dog

Lydia Loveless	Calexico	Calexico
Laura Marling	Laura Marling	Shakey Graves

Shakey Graves	Benjamin Booker	Benjamin Booker	Benjamin Booker	Father John Misty	Father John Misty
Father John Misty	Dr Dog	Dr Dog	Dr Dog	Trampled by Turtles	Trampled by Turtles

Trampled by Turtles at Festival Palomino, Shakopee (19 September 2015)

john + vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com