There’s lots of excellent “kind of free” music being played at the Minnesota State Fair.
Well, kind of, because one does need to generally pay (I used to get free tickets from a former employer) for admission to the State Fair, which is currently $18 for adults walking up.
There’s some good live music options outside of the fair this week.
I’ll start with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke, who has a pair of shows on both Thursday and Friday at the Dakota.
Clarke is 73, and his contributions to music are greater than I can really cover here. Check out this short piece by National Endowment of Arts on Clarke.
Needless to say, he’s a badass bassist that was a founding member of Return to Forever, one of the earliest jazz fusion bands.
OMA, this four-piece jazz band out of Manchester, England, is coming to the Turf Club on Wednesday.
They cover hip-hop classics.
The other gig I’ll mention outside of the Fair shows this week is the Peter Gabriel tribute at Day Block Brewing Thursday. It features Chris Castino, guitarist for The Big Wu and Doug Christianson, percussionist for Frogleg.
I’ve got to say, I love seeing members of these two bands collaborating, and it was a pure joy seeing Terry V of The Big Wu play drums during Frogleg’s Twin Ports Music Festival set last year. Can’t believe it’s been a whole year since then.
Now, onto my State Fair recommendations.
Gotta mention L.A. Buckner and Big Homie, which play tonight (Monday) and Tuesday at the Schell’s Stage starting at 8 both nights.
The International Reggae All Stars, a weekly staple at Bunkers in North Loop, get a pair of shows at the International Bazaar stage Friday and Saturday, both shows also starting at 8.
There’s a hell of a lot more music happening at the Fair this week, but those are my picks.
Now, onto shows beyond this week.
Being that I am currently on King Gizzard tour, I’m again going to mention their show at the Armory Sept. 3. It’s my homecoming, having left for Phish’s Mondegreen festival more than a week ago, and this show will most definitely rip.
Blues Traveler plays First Ave on Sept. 17.
I’ll mention two more shows in September, Thievery Corporation at First Ave Thursday, Sept. 26 and Marcus King at Fillmore Friday, Sept. 27.