Thursday, February 6

Commanders Handsome

Loring Pasta Bar, Minneapolis

9:30 p.m., $5, 21+

Solid Gold frontman Zach Coulter and Doomtree MC and producer Cecil Otter team up for new collaboration that they describe as "beat heavy casual landscapes." See how casual those landscapes can get tonight at the Loring Pasta Bar when they help to kick off a new late-night music series at the restaurant. Commanders Handsome will return to the Loring every Thursday night in February.

Oaks

Kitty Cat Klub, Minneapolis

10 p.m., free, 21+

Have you gotten hip to Oaks yet? This Minneapolis-based Radio K favorite combines industrial and shoegaze elements to create blurry, buzzing, guitar-heavy dance music. Sample their tunes on Bandcamp, and see them tonight at the Kitty Cat Klub with Teenage Strangler and Persian Leaps.

High on Stress and Friends

Aster Cafe, Minneapolis

9 p.m., $6, all ages

Roots rock band High on Stress are celebrating their 10th year by rounding up some of their favorite local musicians to help them flesh out acoustic renditions of their favorite songs. They'll be joined throughout the night by artists like Western Fifth's Ryan Holweger, ukulele player and singer Katy Vernon, the Mad Ripple's Jim Walsh (who also hosts his own Hootenanny earlier in the night at Harriet Brewing), Hart Lake Mystery's Elliot Hilton, and more.

Friday, February 7

Drone Not Drones

Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis

7 p.m., $10 adv/$20 door, all ages

If you thought Low's 27-minute-long drone at Rock the Garden was impressive, how about 28 solid hours of nonstop noise? That's the goal of the two-day Drone Not Drones festival, which will call on Low and Twin Cities musicians like Flavor Crystals, Magic Castles, Marijuana Deathsquads, and dozens of others to string together one long, evolving song. "I’ve told everyone I want a nonstop drone, but for the most part I’ve left it up to everyone to interpret the phrase how they will," organizer Luke Heiken told the Morning Show this week. The concert will go overnight, into the next day, and end at 11 p.m. Saturday night.

Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra Album-Release Show

Icehouse, Minneapolis

11 p.m., $8, 21+

As the bassist for both Heiruspecs and Dessa's live band and the co-founder of Trivia Mafia, Sean McPherson, a.k.a. Twinkie Jiggles, is a familiar face here in town. On Friday night he'll step into the spotlight backed by a cast of familiar characters to celebrate his debut solo release, Too Big to Fail. The album builds on some of the same jazz textures that are prevalent in Heiruspecs' songs and explores soul and R&B melodies with the help of guest vocalists like Ashley Gold and Aby Wolf. Twinkie Jiggles will be joined by opener Greg Grease at this album-release show.

A Winter Downpour, Amy Abts, Turbo Rathvon

Red Star Lounge, Duluth

10 p.m., free, 21+

A Winter Downpour will take the stage Friday with a promise of new material. The atmospheric group’s early lyrical efforts seemed to have come from a pretty dark place, so we’ll see if the band has cheered up at all in the past year. Also joining the show will be Amy Abts, who was a staple in Twin Ports’ lineups until her move to the Northwest. She’s back in Minnesota and ready to return home to Duluth stages, as are the reinvented dance-rock friendly Turbo Rathvon who will complete Friday’s card.

Songs of Shipwreck, Phillip of Nazareth, Abe Curran and the Blue Rooster

R.T. Quinlan’s, Duluth

10 p.m., $5, 21+

Rock, folk, blues, punk—this diverse lineup really has it all. From the ashes of Gallus, Kent Paulsen and Sean Mahoney emerged with folk rock five-piece Songs of Shipwreck, and they’ve been busy gigging weekly and working on their debut record. Meanwhile, Phillip of Nazareth has morphed their early raw punk sound into something more jazz- and prog-influenced, giving their act a whole new dimension. Rounding out the show will be Abe Curran, leading his new rock act the Blue Rooster with blues riffs and infectious tunes.

Saturday, February 8

Tina Schlieske's One of the Boys

Icehouse, Minneapolis

11 p.m., $10, 21+

Minneapolis rock scene fixture Tina Schlieske (of the recently reunited Tina and the B-Sides) returns to the stage with a tribute project, One of the Boys, in tow. On her new EP, Pinned Up, Tina and onetime B-Side Patrik Tanner pay tribute to the "boys" who ruled the scene when she first started making music with smoky, sultry covers of the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Prince, and the Jayhawks. Meanwhile, a new Tina and the B-Sides album is currently being mixed and is due for a March release.

Seawhores Album-Release Show

Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis

9 p.m., $8, 18+

Foundation-shaking noise band Seawhores party in honor of their new release, which they're calling Offensive Little Noises as the Cats Are Coming But the Werewolves Are Here With A Little Piece of Something heavy For the Black Feast..... MY $&?@Y HURTS. Get all that? They'll turn it up to 11 with help from openers Gay Witch Abortion, Blackthorne, and Ex Nuns.

Februhairy Beard Off w/ Dirty Horse, The Boomchucks, Bear

Tycoons, Duluth

10 p.m., free, 21+

Celebrity judges will be on hand to help decide who will win title of Best Beard in Show at this year’s Februhairy Beard Off. Nate Case, who rocks fine facial hair himself, will not only be a judge but his band, Dirty Horse, will also be a part of the evening’s musical entertainment along with The Boomchucks and Bear. Register your beard at the event to be considered in the running. Duluth legend Frank Nichols is currently in Myanmar, so, men, you’ve got a chance.

Silverback Colony

The Reef, Duluth

9 p.m., free, 21+

When your band’s most recent performance included a 20 minute version of Cortez the Killer, you can be the only group listed on a bill and still wonder what songs you’ll have to cut from the night’s set list. The gloriously bearded Gabe Douglas and his cohorts in Silverback Colony will have the stage to themselves this Saturday at The Reef. Expect a mix of originals along with classic rock covers performed with unabashed energy.

IROMA Band Showcase

The Airway Bar, Hibbing

7 p.m., $5, 21+

Five Iron Range acts will combine forces for a showcase of talent this Saturday at Hibbing’s Airway Bar. All of these acts have traveled down to the big city for shows, and many have garnered quite a following throughout the state, but they all remain Rangers at heart. The show starts early and features acts from Hibbing to Babbitt to Virginia including the Slamming Doors, the Shades, Four Horse Johnson, Christopher David Hanson Band, and the Iron Range Outlaw Brigade.

Portage, Joey Ryan & the Inks

Red Star Lounge, Duluth

10 p.m., free, 21+

Northern Minnesota concert recommendations courtesy of our Duluth Local Show host Walt Dizzo.