DULUTH — The music industry calls this month “Rocktober” because of all the tours that happen in the sweet spot between summer festivals and holiday celebrations. A number of those tours are coming through Duluth, and a couple of shows are highlighted below.
Brian Eno famously said that although the Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut album sold poorly, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.” The same could be said of the self-titled 1976 debut by the Modern Lovers, and they were one of those bands.
Jonathan Richman, who saw the Velvet Underground dozens of times before achieving indie-rock stardom in his own right, has forged a more immediately endearing version of the Velvets’ intellectual punk. Millions are familiar with his work through his series of musical appearances in the 1998 rom-com “There’s Something About Mary.”
Wednesday, Oct. 15, marks a rare opportunity to see Richman in Duluth: He’ll be at The West Theatre, supporting his new album “Only Frozen Sky Anyway”
Contributed / Jebeh Edmunds
Jebeh Edmunds is a Duluth educator who consults with local organizations to increase their cultural competency. She is also the author of a new novel: “The Orange Blossom” that hits shelves Thursday, Oct. 16.
“The Orange Blossom” draws on Edmunds’ connection to Liberia, where she was born before immigrating to the United States at age 2.
“This book is my love letter to my homeland — a story that honors our roots, our resilience, and our brilliance,” wrote the author in a statement. “Follow Joviah across oceans with an envelope marked ‘The Truth,’ where memory meets courage and a daughter learns what it costs to come home to herself”
Contributed / Bluebird Improv
Duluth’s improv comedy scene has flown the coop. Zeitgeist, which typically presents Renegade shows at its on-site Teatro, is bringing Bluebird Improv to the St. Louis County Depot on Thursday, Oct. 16.
The nationally touring group includes Marc Evan Jackson (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), Brad Morris (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Joe Canale (The Second City Chicago) and Matt Walsh (“VEEP”). The group presents an evening of improv inspired by a conversation with audience members at the outset. That means, wrote publicist Joe Thornton in an email, “The Duluth show will never be replicated … EVER!”
Contributed / Ballroom Recordings
Dan Wilson would be a Minnesota music great if only for the success of his early band, Trip Shakespeare. As it happened, he went on to lead Semisonic, whose “Closing Time” is still a signature song of the ’90s. Wilson has since gone on to achieve success as a solo artist and songwriter, co-writing songs with Taylor Swift, Adele, the Chicks, Laufey and many others.
There is no better place to see him in Duluth than Sacred Heart Music Center, where he will perform on Thursday, Oct. 16. Dave Mehling will open the show
Jay Gabler / 2025 File / Duluth Media Group
Does Jay Gatsby’s
shirt collection include a tee reading, “I’ve been to Duluth”? It could! The mention of our city in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel is brief, but more than most American cities get, so we’ll take it.
The combination of the centennial and the local tie adds interest to a Sunday, Oct. 19, performance of a dance adaptation presented by World Ballet Company at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center’s Symphony Hall. The company promises a “multinational cast, lustrous hand-crafted costumes and sweeping Art Deco-inspired sets”
Contributed / Anne Fishbein
Many authors dread readings and public appearances. Not David Sedaris, who could make a career entertaining audiences even if he never sold another book. The humorist’s most recent book is “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2022), which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.
The book finds Sedaris in a reflective mode, particularly with respect to the recent death of his father at age 98. He writes about finding affirmation in talking about his childhood with live audiences, and he will surely receive plenty of such affirmation Sunday, Oct. 19, at the NorShor Theatre
Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He’s a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he’s also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Association. You can reach him at [email protected] or 218-409-7529.
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