A Guide to the Twin Cities Music Scene

Hello, Twin Cities! Are you ready to rock? Well, have we got a lineup for you. From world-class stages and neighborhood joints to spots to see A-listers and cozy clubs to catch local acts, we’re in one hell of a music town—get out and take it in!

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Neighborhood Music Bars

Amsterdam Bar and Hall

6 W. 6th St., St. Paul

Vibe: In the front barroom, you’re chatting and gathering; the back hall is grooving to everything from DJs to local bands to visiting rockers. Score a high banquette seat along the east wall to perch and head-bob.

Drinks: Duvel, a strong Belgian golden ale.

Snacks: Amsterdam Frites with the curry ketchup and mayo as sauces—trust.

Aster Cafe

125 SE Main St., Mpls.

Vibe: On the oldest street in Minneapolis, this classic riverfront café screams date night! The small stage showcases songwriters but this spot also throws down a mean bluegrass Sunday brunch.

Drinks: Show off by ordering a bottle of Tempranillo or the orange wine du jour.

Snacks: Wild mushroom flatbread for date night and French toast bake for brunch.

Driftwood Char Bar

4415 Nicollet Ave., Mpls.

Vibe: Kingfield hole-in-the-wall beloved by its loyalists. You may amble in to play pool and catch your neighbor’s teen’s band playing, or maybe you have a weekly date with the Grateful Dead tribute band. All ages, all good times.

Drinks: A tall glass of local craft beer, maybe a Fulton.

Snacks: The patty melt on pumpernickel will haunt you.

Mortimer’s

2001 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls.

Vibe: Dark and loud in all the right ways. Jam with bands at this institution or sidle into the barroom and have a drink and chat to give your ears a rest. Oh, hey—pinball!

Drink: A pitcher of Hamm’s and a pizza is $25, all day every day, or just get two fingers of Jameson.

Snacks: One of the better bar kitchens, so level up with a fried chicken sandwich with creole tater tots. 

Palmer’s Bar

500 Cedar Ave., Mpls.

Vibe: A historic dive bar with pedigree. You’ll find all walks of life in this Cedar-Riverside spot. The elevated stage in the corner loves edgy young bands, and the extra-chill patio pulls in the neighborhood and beyond.

Drink: Hamm’s.

Snack: Hit up The Wienery down the block—no kitchen on-site.

The White Squirrel Bar

974 W. 7th St., St. Paul

Vibe: The new hotness on West 7th is all about playing it small and cool. Fit yourself into the intimate space to appreciate local bands and righteously made drinks.

Drinks: This is a cocktail bar. Get the barrel-finished Is It Spring Yet? with gin, jalapeño syrup, hopes, and dreams.

Snacks: Food trucks in warm weather; Keg and Case is down the block. 

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Coming Soon: A New Uptown Theatre 

Things have been particularly bleak in Uptown since its landmark theater (which opened as the Lagoon Theater in 1916) shuttered its doors in 2020 during the pandemic and its tenant Landmark Theatres was evicted in 2021 due to unpaid back rent. Fast-forward and the blank marquee shows glimmers of hope. Expanding into the neighboring building, the theater is finishing renovations to become a 2,500-capacity, two-level music venue developed by Swervo (who took on the redo of the Armory), with Live Nation booking performers and a kickoff party featuring Yam Haus scheduled for this May. Once again, and soon enough, as Prince famously put it: “Everybody’s going Uptown.”

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DJs to Know

There is no more symbiotic relationship in music than the one between a DJ and their audience. Maybe because the task at hand is so clear for both parties: These bodies need to be moved. These three DJs understand the contract.    

DJ Keezy: Akeena Bronson, AKA DJ Keezy, has been rightfully crowned the queen of (night)clubs for her mix of high-energy funk, hip-hop, and soul. And by curating LGBTQ party nights such as The Klituation in the Mainroom, her upcoming collab with DJ QueenDuin at The Saloon, and the Queerspace Birthday Bash, Keezy ensures that anybody who wants to get down can. @dj_keezy

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DJ Jake Rudh: He started Transmission—a party celebrating his encyclopedic knowledge of anything new wave, post-punk, synth-pop, and Britpop—in a long-gone nightclub on Nicollet more than 20 years ago. In fact, it was exactly 22 years ago, because Transmission is celebrating its 22nd birthday in the Mainroom on April 15. @transmission_music

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Lonefront: Outdated city and state liquor and zoning laws that don’t allow for much to happen past 2 am have limited our passionate techno and electronic dance scenes to DIY and underground spaces. Ross Hutchens, AKA Lonefront, is such an important part of this scene, but for now, he’s pausing performance to start his own label, Uncoiled. But he’s promising an Uncoiled showcase this July at The Great Beyond festival. @lonefront

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Musicians to Watch

In our dystopian streaming-algorithm era, discovering new local music is a full-contact sport—you can try to keep up by tracking it on your socials, keeping tabs on venue calendars, or even listening to The Current (89.3 FM) or Radio K (100.7 FM). But the best way is probably to just ask people you like to tell you about new music they like. 

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Nobody has had a bigger last 12 months than Joe Rainey Sr., an Ojibwe singer from south Minneapolis who broke ground with his acclaimed electronic powwow album, Niineta. His passion and curiosity for Native music has led him to another voice: Kute, a Dakota-language rapper, whose debut album is Inkpata. 

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Diane Miller is a rapper and host of The Current’s Local Show. She studied music in college and covered Fargo’s scene before moving here to book talent at Icehouse in 2018. Miller digs Ber, a pop-folk singer-songwriter who also hails from a northern city—Bemidji—and who also studied music before moving to the Cities.

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Both Jake Luppen, the lead bop lord in Hippo Campus, and Nadirah McGill, the powerhouse drummer in the nu-grunge quartet Gully Boys, wanted to give their flowers to the same person. That new star? Papa Mbye, the north Minneapolis–via–Senegal poet and performer.

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Papa Mbye, for his part, is psyched by the entire burgeoning African music diaspora in Minneapolis. “It’s like being back home,” he says about a recent Best New Bands night at First Ave. He’s particularly proud of his homie Huhroon, a new artist who broke out of the slam poetry circuit to emerge as a dazzling auto-tuned bandleader. 

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Lazerbeak, the indie-rock kid turned Doomtree DJ turned hip-hop producer extraordinaire, is excited about the next gen of rap. Ricki Monique, a rapper and storyteller whose sound fuses together spoken word, jazz, hip-hop, and soul, has captured Beak’s eye—and ear. 

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Becky Hoffmann, the self-professed “gal with the clipboard” who manages Jeremy Messersmith’s and Dessa’s careers, says she has been loving a Welsh-born, Minnesota-raised up-and-comer. That up-and-comer? Thomas Abban. “He’s just so cool!” she says. We believe her. 

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Dua Saleh, the nonbinary Sudanese American rapper who is beloved by both Radio K and Netflix for their music and their acting, respectively, favors another music-scene-to-streaming-scene star. They love Kamilla Love, a multi-hyphenate singer-rapper-songwriter who landed on Pitchfork’s Best New Rap list and got one of her songs in the HBO film Share.

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Andrew Broder is a musician, painter, and DJ who has been focused on producing artists in recent years—among them Joe Rainey Sr., as well as Nashville indie-rock god Lambchop. His newest project is with Nat Harvie, a singer-songwriter who recently transplanted from Duluth. 

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Summer Takes Stage

Concert options expand with the addition of outdoor festivals and spaces that make it easier to catch a show alfresco during our beautiful summers in the city. Surly Brewing Co.’s Festival Field hosts a lineup of impressive national acts, and now that Sue McLean and Associates books shows at Utepils, the Bryn Mawr brewery has become a mini hot spot for seasonal shows. The OG of outdoor concerts just might be the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo for intimate shows in a great setting. And, of course, there is the grand finale of the season with a music-and-everything-else extravaganza, the Minnesota State Fair.

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Dr. Mambo’s Combo

Can you find utopia at a former biker bar in the North Loop? Writer Steve Marsh has a story to tell you. 

“My first night in town, I saw the Combo,” says Julius Collins. He’s referring to the night in 1991 that he first came up from Atlanta to see Dr. Mambo’s Combo, the band he now fronts, the band that’s been playing three sets on industry night at Bunker’s Music Bar and Grill since 1987. 

“That place was full of Black people, white people, rich people, poor people, fedoras, Birkenstocks, tie-dye,” Collins says. “It was my idea of heaven.” 

The only problem for Collins that first night was that the club’s St. Peter—in this case, former bandleader Tim Emerson, Dr. Mambo himself—had some bad news/good news for him. 

“I was supposed to be getting my first chance to sit in,” Collins remembers, laughing, “but Doc says, ‘Kid, I’d love to hear you sing, but Prince and Sheila E. are sitting in tonight.’” 

Of course Prince was enamored with the Combo. Since the band started, they’ve basically been the most blue-collar embodiment of Prince’s own Minneapolis Sound, taking a high-spirited, multiracial approach to interpreting the soul and funk of Sly and the Family Stone, the Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, and Donny Hathaway. The Combo still shreds, and all these years later, the most inclusive room in the city still vibes out and dances along with them.

“Because there aren’t fights and women being groped and nonsense like that, people seem to be all they wanna be,” Collins says. “It’s a level of investment that you get when people give a shit.”

Prince eventually hired his New Power Generation drummer, Michael Bland, after seeing him play at Bunker’s. And while Bland has been on sabbatical since 2019, Prince’s old NPG bass player, Sonny T., has since rotated in. The Combo’s through line continues to be powerhouse frontwoman Margaret Cox, a white woman in her 60s, whose soulful take on the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” has been melting faces at the end of the first set for 30 years now. 

“My favorite thing in the world is watching Black people react to her for the first time,” Collins says. “It’s hilarious, because they’re trying to make it all make sense, and there ain’t no making sense of cosmic magic.”  761 Washington Ave. N., Mpls.

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Where to Bust a Move

Hit the dance floor at Conga Latin Bistro for the flavors of Spanish, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and South American cuisine, and stay for the salsa, merengue, bachata, and reggaeton jams. 501 Hennepin Ave. E., Mpls. Mpls.

You can dance the night away at La Doña Cervecería, the first and only Latino-inspired brewery in Minnesota, on Saturdays until 2 am, with salsa and bachata dancing, plus beer. 241 Fremont Ave. N., Mpls.

The Tapestry Folkdance Center hosts everything from ballroom to Israeli to English country dance nights, plus 55+ dancing every Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 am and family folk dancing the second Saturday of each month. 3748 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls.

Throw down your best steppin’ at Eagles #34, which hosts line dance nights every Sunday, plus queer-friendly dance nights. 2507 E. 25th St.,

The recently renovated and historic Granada Theater frequently offers live Latin music and salsa dancing in Uptown, with dinner and drinks. 3022 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.

On Thursday evenings, the Ukrainian Event Center (AKA 301 on Main) is transformed into a Late Night Swing dance party, with DJ Terry Gardner playing everything from big band hits to blues and jazz until 1 am. 301 NE Main St., Mpls.

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Karaoke Trifecta

Unleash your inner performer and belt it at one of these Nordeast dives. 

Vegas Lounge: Karaoke every night of the week! This gritty Central Avenue spot fills up fast—so fast, you’ll want to arrive early to put your name and song request in. Need a drink to ease the stage fright? Don’t forget your bills: The lounge is cash-only. 965 Central Ave. NE, Mpls. 

The 1029 Bar: Not only is this gem known for its lobster mac (yes, it serves the Smack Shack menu), pull tabs, and bevy of bras that hang from the ceiling, it’s also a go-to for singers—both silly and serious—four nights a week. Put your name in using the touch-screen sign-up, then guzzle some liquid courage out on the patio if weather permits. 1029 NE Marshall St., Mpls. 

Otter’s Saloon: Mic fans flock to this cozy Marcy-Holmes beer joint brimming with regulars and karaoke kings and queens (seriously, it gets tight!) looking to rock out to crowd-pleasing tracks. Tip: Charge up your cell—the watering hole recently went high-tech with a smartphone song-request feature. 617 Central Ave. SE, Mpls.

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Dakota

Located at 10th and Nicollet, this downtown Minneapolis home for classic jazz acts, up-and-coming acoustic performers, and legendary stars like Graham Nash (performing May 2, 4, and 5)—plus a lovely dinner and cocktail—is a true gem of the upper Midwest led by the vision and tenacity of founder Lowell Pickett since 1985.

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A Love Letter to First Avenue

Dear First Ave,

You and I go way back, don’t we, dear? I’ve performed on your Mainroom stage close to 30 times. You feel like home to me. I know I can’t claim you for my own. The world has gravitated to your sticky floors to see and dance to the artists they’ve loved for more than six decades. So, I’m not the first, but let me add my uniquely experienced voice to the chorus in singing your praises.

Your backstory is the history of music in this town: Your famous façade is now painted black and festooned with stars, but first you had to rise from the ashes of The Depot (it was indeed originally the downtown bus depot) and then Uncle Sam’s, a very brief, but very fun, stab at disco in the late ’70s. We first met when your general manager Steve McClellan started booking an eclectic mix of live punk, funk, and world music, drawing from local and midsize touring acts. McClellan, a lovable hulk of a man who we were nevertheless terrified of, succeeded in finding the pulse of the music scene in the Twin Cities—and around the world. The ’70s and early ’80s saw the birth of punk, new funk, alternative rock, and pop that defined a generation and inspired the generation(s) to come. And First Avenue, you were the epicenter. To name just a few bands that I saw blow through your doors: the Ramones, The Suicide Commandos, Iggy Pop, U2, R.E.M., The Time, Prince, Duran Duran, James Brown, Trip Shakespeare, Soul Asylum, The Replacements, and oh, so many more.

I don’t think it will be lost on readers of this love letter that you were important to me and hold some indelible memories: watching U2 make their Midwest debut before retiring to my apartment, with the band, for the after-party; being invited to the filming of Purple Rain in the club and witnessing firsthand the performance of that song being born (yes, I knew Prince—he told me once that he loved my song “Love Is the Law”); chatting earnestly with Iggy Pop about everything but rock ’n’ roll (he’s a golfer, did you know?); accepting the challenge to drink straight from the bottle of vodka offered by Lemmy of Motörhead; watching my son meet one of his heroes, Gwen Stefani; and relaxing with family, friends, and bandmates after the show in the old bus garage behind the stage—not to mention the very many amazing audiences and performances with my band The Suburbs. Heck, the DJ booth was where I first asked out my wife!

First Avenue, we salute you. You’ve made history, you’ve made memories, you’ve changed lives, you mean something. You’ve kept the city alive.

Looking forward to seeing you April 21. Thirty-one times, baby!

Love,

Chan Poling, The Suburbs

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The Best Vantage Points to Catch a Show

Icehouse

“Up on the mezzanine, center, right in front of the stage. That usually has the best view of all musicians onstage.” —Dave Power, booking director 

First Avenue

“The tables on the balcony upstairs are coveted, and for good reason: They aren’t for sale. Members or guests of bands usually get those seats, but if you get in early, check for a stool or a space to stand along the railing.” —Ashley Ryan, VP of marketing 

Dakota

“The three-person booths are the treasured seats, as well as the short rows of tables in the front row center. There are great sight lines on the mezz—the high-top tables over the bar to the right of the stage. The best way to get great seats is to join our A-Train program!” —Becky Killerson, box office attendant 

7th St Entry

“If you get in early, grab a spot on the back wall where you can perch up above the crowd. It might be counterintuitive, but I love to watch a show from there.” —Ashley Ryan

Palace Theatre

“Standing behind the engineers during a loud and bright show. It’s slightly elevated, so you can see and move freely.” —James Baker, senior promoter rep and production manager 

The Turf Club

“My trick is to get there early for a spot in the Clown Lounge before the show, and then I make my way up house left to just in front of the soundboard once the band hits.” —Ashley Ryan

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Green Room

A win for Uptown: Green Room is the first live music venue to open in the beloved (and live music venue–lacking) neighborhood since 2009. Created by local musician Tanner Montague, the plant-and-disco-ball-infused 400-plus-capacity space officially opened its doors in January and hosts artists from around the country—plus killer album-release parties. Open only on show nights, Girard Ave. S. at Lagoon Ave.

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Paisley Park

Sure, the Purple Yoda has embarked on an eternal swim in the purifying waters of the great Lake Minnetonka in the sky, but his digs still rock. Paisley Park—a working recording studio—is open for tours but also hosts DJ nights and shows with Prince associates ranging from New Power Generation keyboardist Tommy Barbarella to Julius Collins. Plus, June 8–11, Paisley pulls out all the stops for Celebration 2023, this year’s iteration of its annual celebration of Prince’s June 7 birthday. paisleypark.com

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What Does Your Merch Say About You?

You remember Lizzo from her Chalice and tiny-venue days, and you’re quick to tell anyone who will listen. 7th St Entry mug ($23), from First Avenue, first-avenue.com

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You’re the friend who reminds everyone that Minneapolis isn’t the only music city around these parts. Turf Club baseball tee (starting at $25), also from First Avenue

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You like your summer music shows the way you like your sours: a little trendy, and definitely alfresco. Corduroy hat ($25), from Bauhaus Brew Labs, bauhausbrewlabs.com

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You’re down to bundle up and brave the elements only to snag a table for a moody show at this industrial-chic Eat Street outpost. Icehouse beanie ($25), from Icehouse, icehousempls.com

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To fill the void of Snelling’s storied Irish bar and music venue, you spend most of your State Fair days bellied up to a high-top at O’Gara’s for sing-alongs, brews, and a Danny Boy burger. O’Gara’s T-shirt ($32), from The Minnesotan, 2186 4th St., White Bear Lake

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Let’s face it: You have the coolest kids in town—and their first star-wall photo was snapped before they could even say “Prince.” First Ave onesie ($18), also from First Avenue

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Roxy's Cabaret

When is downtown Minneapolis like Las Vegas? According to Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, it’s when you book a hotel on Nicollet and go to Roxy’s Cabaret for the big Friday-night celebrity look-alike show. 

Check into your room with your best gal pals, don your sparkles, and head over to Roxy’s for a cocktail and the chance to see: Liza Minnelli! Dolly Parton! Barbra Streisand! Cher! And plenty more. After the show, maybe you go outside and take a selfie beside the 12-foot red stiletto that’s the new Spoonbridge and Cherry for Nicollet. Never heard of this place? Roxy’s Cabaret is a dream more than a decade in the making. 

Minnesota has always been a leader in drag, with spots like the Gay 90’s, which opened in the 1950s, showcasing drag for decades, and hometown heroes like BeBe Zahara Benet, who came up through the Gay 90’s and won the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009. In 2015, Benet, Monica West, and Nina DiAngelo left the Gay 90’s, and DiAngelo has been working on building Roxy’s ever since. The three-level cabaret and cocktail bar opened in October 2022, sharing a building with the 24-hour Nicollet Diner. 

“I call it state-of-the-art, intimate cabaret,” explains DiAngelo, now Roxy’s show director and producer and one of the three core star performers. “There’s something going on every night here: Cult Cinema Sundays, charity bingo Tuesdays, mellow jazz nights with standards on Thursdays, and our high-energy, high-fashion Saturdays.” DiAngelo says their big tourist nights are Fridays—when they get birthdays, anniversary trips, and lots of girls’ nights—and Sundays, for the drag brunch set. 

“Between BeBe, Monica, and me, we have 100 years of performing experience, and the level of experience and respect for what we do, it’s a notch above,” she says. “I call it ‘tight and right.’ When everything from the costuming to the sound to the experience of the performers is at that top level, the audience just relaxes. I’ve been surprised and impressed by how many people are coming dressed up to look fabulous themselves.” 

Turns out there is a little bit of Vegas sparkle in the heart of a whole bunch of Minnesotans just yearning for permission to come out and play. 1333 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.

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The Sound of Tickling Ivories

The Williamsburg Room at The Lexington: Treat yourself and dress up for the jazz trio in the venerable Grand Avenue restaurant’s side room. Drink big martinis, snack on beef tartare, and just soak in the sophistication. 1096 Grand Ave., St. Paul

Apostle Supper Club: The newest ivories in town are sitting right in the middle of the dining room of this modern downtown St. Paul supper club. 253 Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul

Kieran’s Irish Pub: Sweet Keys Dueling Pianos plays in the back room of downtown Minneapolis’s favorite Irish bar. No cover, so pour your money into your glass for the liquid courage to sing along. 85 N. 6th St., Mpls.

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High Fidelity

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