Top Minnesota musicians plan January residencies at Twin Cities area clubs

For trailblazing Minneapolis musician Martin Dosh, the main goal behind his month of hometown gigs in the coldest month of the year is to create warm moments with friends.

"Especially in winter, it's nice to get a bunch of friends together all in one room each week and have fun," said the drummer/keyboardist known simply by the stage moniker Dosh, who begins his January residency series at the aptly chosen Icehouse on Monday.

"The music is still important, but the friendships come first — which really winds up driving the music."

Dosh rejoins the fun crop of world-traveled local musicians staying home for the month of January and setting up shop with a weekly residency gig. For the next four Monday nights, he will be joined by a blizzard-like array of his musical chums at the south Minneapolis jazz and rock supper club.

Venues like Icehouse and the Turf Club welcome such affairs, because they have trouble getting musicians from out of town to come to town in winter. Go figure. And musicians love these gigs for the safe proximity to home.

The best-known of these January saviors are Charlie Parr and the Cactus Blossoms, who both spent much of 2022 on tour promoting new albums. Now, right on cue, they are starting 2023 by settling back into their usual winter Turf Club gigs every Sunday and Monday night, respectively.

A newcomer to the mix this year — and a relative newcomer to the Twin Cities — Alex Schaaf is starting a residency at Icehouse on Jan. 12 with his reborn rock group Yellow Ostrich, which released two albums for the Death Cab for Cutie-affiliated label Barsuk Records in the early 2010s.

"I like the idea of a residency because it seems to encourage more experimentation," said Schaaf, who also booked an Icehouse series last January, but it got canceled by COVID's omicron strain.

"[It's] an excuse to break out of the mind-set of having an 'official show' where you can't deviate too far from what you already know you're good at."

As for music fans, these residencies make a great excuse to break out of sweatpants and general isolation. Here's a rundown of each run.

When: 7:30 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 29.

Where: Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul.

With: Detroit 12-string specialist Todd Albright (Jan. 8); indie folk-rock vet Haley (Jan. 16); fiddler Mike Gangloff and Pert Near Sandstone's Adam Kiesling (Jan. 22); Duluth buzzmaker Emma Jeanne (Jan. 29).

What to expect: This will be the Minnesota acoustic folk/blues wizard's eighth January residency at St. Paul's similarly well-worn watering hole; not counting the socially distanced, livestreamed gigs he did at First Ave during 2021 lockdown.

Armed with a prized guitar recently given to him by folk legend Spider John Koerner (torch-passing alert!), Parr is using the five-week run to prep for an album he plans to record next month, the follow-up to 2021's Smithsonian Folkways release "Last of the Better Days Ahead."

"I'm trying to round up a few folks to do some of the new songs," Parr said. "I'm not sure who I'll be able to get, the curse of the perpetually solo act. But I'm going to road-test a bunch of new songs and some covers I've been working on. So it'll be mostly the usual fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants production."

Tickets: $16-$18, axs.com.

When: 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Jan. 30.

Where: Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls.

With: Andrew Broder, Charlie Parr and Jeremy Ylvisaker, plus Food Team and Mark Erickson (Mon.); Larry Schaefer Memorial Orchestra with Bryan Nichols, Joey Van Phillips, Chris Tomson, Erik Fratzke and more (Jan. 9); jazz bassist Adam Linz's La Percheron (Jan. 16); Sans Le Systeme with JG Everest, Truth Maze, Jacqueline Ultan, plus Liz Draper and Tasha Baron (Jan. 30).

What to expect: As was the case with his recurring House of Dosh music series in the mid-2010s, the music experimentalist who pioneered tape-looping techniques in the early 2000s is looping in a wide array of musicians for these gigs to basically see what happens.

"It will mostly be improvisation, save for some minimal talking-through beforehand," Dosh said of the shows, which will involve two different sets each night — and which could result in another record like his well-received "House of Dosh" live album from 2015.

"We'll be recording every week. I'm super-excited to hear the results."

Tickets: $12-$15, icehousempls.com.

When: 8 p.m. Mondays through Jan. 30.

Where: Turf Club.

With: Duluth's serene folkie Lanue (Jan. 2), Minneapolis countryman Michael Gay (Jan. 9), throwback country singer Molly Brandt (Jan. 16), alt-twang kids Pit Stop (Jan. 23), Iowa song maven Pieta Brown (Jan. 30).

What to expect: Singing brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey and their harmonious retro-twang band held down a weekly gig at the Turf in the early 2010s before becoming road hounds. This will be their seventh January run there, and it follows their return to touring in 2022 behind third album "One Day" — a busy year that included Wilco opening slots. So consider these shows a breather for them.

Their Turf Club sets also are often rife with cover tunes. This year, those could include cuts from their new EP, "If Not for You (Bob Dylan Songs, Vol. 1)," and whatever they plan for the Paul McCartney tribute show at New York's Carnegie Hall on March 15.

Tickets: $20-$25, axs.com.

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Jan. 12-26.

Where: Icehouse.

With: Noodling indie-rock trio Poolboy and Lamar (Jan. 12); Trash Date and Hippo Campus singer Jake Luppen's solo act Lupin (Jan. 19); shoegazerly rockers Brunette (Jan. 26).

What to expect: This will be the first Twin Cities residency by the delicately psychedelic indie-rock band. Native Wisconsinite Alex Schaaf launched the group via New York, disbanded it in 2014 and then moved to Minneapolis in 2017.

Schaaf rebirthed Yellow Ostrich last year with another LP, "Soft," featuring Bon Iver guitarist Mike Noyce, Lissie bassist Megan Mahoney and other regional players. He will be toying with new configurations over the Icehouse run.

"I feel like I can get away with trying out more new songs, changing the makeup of the band each week, changing the instruments, etc.," Schaaf said. "That's fun for us musicians, and I think that in turn makes it a little more fun for the listener."

Tickets: $12-$15, icehousempls.com.

Here are some recommended year-round weekly shows keeping venues around town warm through winter.

Sundays: Cornbread Harris (5-7 p.m., Palmer's Bar); Dr. Mambo's Combo (8 p.m., Bunker's)

Mondays: Roe Family Singers returning in February (8 p.m., 331 Club); weekly jazz series with rotating hosts post-Dosh (8 p.m., Icehouse); the Matt Arthur Contraption (10 p.m., 331 Club).

Tuesdays: Mary Cutrufello and Trevor McSpadden (6-8 p.m., White Squirrel Bar); St. Dominic's Trio (7-10 p.m., Driftwood Char Bar); International Reggae All Stars (9 p.m. Bunker's).

Wednesdays: Daina De Prez (5-7 p.m., Shaw's Bar); JayBee & the Routine with Jellybean Johnson (6:30-9:30 p.m., Minnesota Music Café); Dylan Salfer (9 p.m., Bunker's).

Thursdays: Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs (7 p.m., Palmer's Bar); Lolo's Ghost (8 p.m., Schooner Tavern).