Tuesday, December 23rd
Alexei and Channy Moon Casselle, the husband and wife duo that form the core of excellent local folk group Roma di Luna have multiple births to celebrate this year, their third album, Scatter the Bones, dropped to widespread acclaim this spring and their first child arrived this fall. The group will be making their live music debut as new parents with tonight’s show being billed as a “Holiday Special” at the Cedar Cultural Center, their first in many months. Whether Alexei’s gravelly voiced rumblings or Channy’s soulful slightly twangy soprano are taking center stage on the mic, Roma di Luna provides an authentic and spine tingling take on traditional roots music on par with the best in the business. Opener Chastity Brown favors an acoustic soul sound that does her Memphis background proud and fills an important void on the local scene. (7 p.m., $10 adv/$12 door, All Ages)
Piano pop singer/songwriter Daniel Ellsworth makes the kind of instantly accessible and genteel tunes it’s easy to envision being bastardized into truly horrifying grocery store Muzak by major label record executives (“We’re talking big hooks, people!”). Thankfully in Ellsworth’s hands, the songs manage to be infectious without going overboard into slick territory. A Minnesota native currently residing in Nashville, he’s home for the holidays with a new EP in tow featuring a full band (dubbed The Great Lakes—proof the boy hasn’t forgotten his Midwestern roots!) and more rocking sound than his debut. Ultimately Ellsworth still sounds like the awesomely strange love child of Bruce Hornsby and Jamiroquai, a very fun hybrid indeed. He’ll be performing at the lovely 318 Café in Excelsior alongside fellow Minnesotan expat Caleb Hawley. (8 p.m., $6, All Ages)
Friday, December 26th
After taking a few days off to do things like celebrate Christmas/avoid as many awkward conversations with relatives as possible, Friday makes for a great night to get back in the rock ‘n’ roll game and as always the Twin Cities scene will be there for you. St. Paul rock mecca the Turf Club features an evening of roots rock songwriters both long established (James Apollo, Martin Devaney) and relatively new (Jason Shannon, the fedora sporting rapscallions of A Night in the Box) to the scene. Apollo in particular is a can’t miss as even though the current New York City resident called the Twin Cities home for a number of years, he spends the majority of his time performing overseas to great acclaim from the British music press (You know something’s wrong with the world when the BBC seems more attuned to what’s happening in our own backyard than most of the radio stations here in town). His most recent album, Hide Your Heart in a Hive, is yet another windswept batch of hobo friendly balladry with plenty of grit to spare and hints of Tom Waits and various other gutter bum greats. (9 p.m., $TBD, 21+)
Those needing higher decibel musical kicks to cleanse the listening palette after enduring hours of treacly Christmas carols (or if you’re in my family, endless spins of Neil Diamond’s The Christmas Album) should check out Tim Rally Gold at the Uptown Bar. With the fuzzy bass/spiky guitars/reedy vocals combo that’s formed the core of many a great indie-rock trio before them, Tim Rally Gold’s awkward anthems probably would have been signed to Geffen and all over MTV’s Alternative Nation if the year were 1996. As it stands, you’ll have to settle for them being one of the great (largely unsung talents) on our local rock scene. They’re joined tonight by Kill to Kill, a female fronted trio with an archly dramatic goth-rock sound. (9 p.m., $5, 21+)
Saturday, December 27th
Local hip-hop of every stripe takes the stage tonight at the 7th St. Entry with one common denominator: all these acts are insanely ill on the mic. So whether you’re looking for live band rock inflected tunes featuring MC front men (Kristoff Krane, Hyder Ali) or the good old fashioned DJ/rapper combination (El Guante, Big Quarters, Carnage) the Entry’s got your rhyme craving number this evening. (9 p.m., $5 adv/$7 door, 18+)
The Triple Rock Social Club's month long celebration of its tenth birthday culminates this weekend with an appearance by the one and only Har Mar Superstar, the nom de plume of Sean Tillman. Tillman's alter ego as an overly sexed and absolutely shameless R&B geek showman has taken him on quite the wild ride over the years (scoring him a dance off cameo against Ben Stiller in 2004’s Starsky and Hutch and making him a minor celebrity in England where he’s served as the TV pitchman for both a cologne and vodka line). Prone to stripping down to his skivvies in live performance and performing lewd acts with his mic, Har Mar always keeps the crowd guessing and the joint jumping (when not laughing at his over top libido). The gig represents a guaranteed good time and great capper to the T-Rock’s birthday festivities. (9 p.m., $12, 21+)
