Best Live Music in Minneapolis-St. Paul This Winter
Minnesota is home to one of the nation’s most diverse and vibrant music scenes. Between its top-notch orchestras (the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra), the iconic First Avenue, and countless independent venues, there’s always a listen-worthy experience just around the corner.
Visit us this fall to see why Prince famously declared that "rock and roll is alive (and it lives in Minneapolis)!"
Cursive
Zhora Darling
Dec. 1
Cursive ring in their 30th anniversary with selections from “Devourer” and material from “Domestica” and “The Ugly Organ.”
Thievery Corporation
Palace Theatre
Dec. 3
Rob Garza, Eric Hilton and an airtight live band toast three decades of genre-jumping bliss.
S. Carey
Berlin
Dec. 4
Longtime Bon Iver bandmate Sean Carey unveils tracks from his new “Watercress” EP alongside four collaborators.
Dillinger Four
Turf Club
Dec. 5–6
Two nights of blast-from-the-past punk from the Minneapolis band whose guitarist/vocalist Bill Morrisette runs Extreme Noise.
The Lemonheads
Fine Line
Dec. 6
Evan Dando’s ever-evolving band draws from his recent move to Brazil and the first album of original Lemonheads material in nearly two decades.
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles
Fitzgerald Theater
Dec. 11
Alan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles perform songs from their first collective Sub Pop record, complementing last year’s solo LP “White Roses, My God.”
Earl Sweatshirt
Uptown Theater
Dec. 12
The former Odd Future phenom supports his fifth solo effort, “Live Laugh Love.”
Dijon
Fillmore Minneapolis
Dec. 12
Rough-around-the-edges R&B for Frank Ocean fans.
The Jayhawks
Fitzgerald Theater
Dec. 13
One of Minneapolis’ longest-running bands revisits the alt-country sound they helped shape with Uncle Tupelo and the Honeydogs.
Dessa
Aster House
Dec. 14
Dinner and a show headlined by recurring Minnesota Orchestra/Doomtree collaborator Dessa, with support from fellow shape-shifter Lady Midnight.
Bush
Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Dec. 19
Grunge demigods never say die.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Dakota
Dec. 19–20
Celebrate a Creole Christmas with a cornerstone of the French Quarter.
The Bad Plus
Dakota
Dec. 25–28
A four-day, eight-show residency featuring Reid Anderson, David King, Ben Monder, and Chris Speed.
Soul Asylum
First Avenue
Dec. 27
Rock bills don't get more Minnesotan than a Soul Asylum show rounded out by former Replacement Tommy Stinson.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Target Center
Dec. 28
’Tis the season for pyrotechnics.
Charlie Parr
Turf Club
Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25
The Cactus Blossoms
Turf Club
Jan. 5, 12, 19, 26
Two local favs keep the Turf Club kicking on Sundays and Mondays throughout January — residencies that are sure to shake any lingering wintertime sadness.
Atmosphere
First Avenue
Feb. 1
While we may never see Rhymesayers host another Soundset festival, two of its top co-founders (Slug and Ant of Atmosphere) have quite a stacked lineup sorted for their Winter Carnival tour, including a special performance by underground legend Kool Keith and a groove-locked DJ set from Mr. Dibbs.
The Music of Pink Floyd
Orchestra Hall
Feb. 6 - 7
The Minnesota Orchestra tackles "The Dark Side of the Moon" and many of Pink Floyd's other heady hits, a sterling example of the ensemble's progressive, shine-on-you-crazy-diamond programming.
Meshell Ndegeocello
Dakota
Feb. 9
Grammy-winning great Meshell Ndegeocello leads her lithe bass lines down a winding, singular road between soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, and rock.
Motion City Soundtrack
Palace Theatre
Feb. 14
What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with Minneapolis' own Motion City Soundtrack — resurgent members of the mall-punk/emo scene that gave us Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, and the band that's batting cleanup on this date, Say Anything?
Brandi Carlile
Target Center
Feb. 21
The downtown Minneapolis den of the Minnesota Timberwolves is just one of 10 stops on Brandi Carlile's winter tour, which arrives hot on the heels of a solo album ("Returning to Myself") and a separate effort with the one-and-only Elton John.
Gogol Bordello
First Avenue
Feb. 25
Lest you think otherwise, Gogol Bordello's latest run is in support of the aptly named album "We Mean It, Man!" Given how loose and life-affirming their live show is, we'd expect nothing less.
Cat Power
First Avenue
Feb. 26
Chan Marshall performs her beloved album "The Greatest" in its entirety on the eve of its 20th anniversary, and an EP that features a full band — including members of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Delta 72, Lizard Music and Dirty Three — and her show-stopping take on Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U."
Check out this winter's top events and theater shows.
