Summer of music: What concerts are coming to the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities has one of the most diverse and famous live music scenes in the country. Over the years, many notable concert tours have had electric sets take place in either Minneapolis or St. Paul. This summer hopes to continue the tradition that has been set in the past. So without further ado, here are some of my recommendations for concerts to see over the coming months

Soundset Festival @ MN State Fairgrounds-May 27

Soundset is an annual hip hop festival that brings in some of the most popular acts in the genre for one action-packed day. The lineup for this year has been stacked from top to bottom with a solid mix of up and comers like Logic and Brockhampton paired with a lot of established legacy artists such as Erykah Badu and Ice-T. Headlining the festival will be Logic and Migos, who are both two of the most popular artists to emerge over the past few years. Needless to say, if you are a fan of any sort of rap, Soundset has you covered.

Harry Styles @ XCEL Energy Center- July 1

Harry Styles is embarking on his first solo tour since the breakup of One Direction in 2016. He released his solo self-titled album in May of last year and was notable for being a departure from the pop-oriented music with 1D. Styles decided to take his music in more of a soft rock direction and debuted at number one of the Billboard 200. Tickets for the concert have been available for over a year, so his appearance in the Twin Cities is not out of the blue. Fans of Styles and/or his country-singing opening act Kacey Musgraves should check out ticket sites.

Janelle Monae @ State Theatre- July 3

Whether it be on the big screens of Hollywood or in earbuds or speakers of R&B fans, Janelle Monae has not missed a beat throughout her quest for stardom. Monae has returned to the music realm after being featured in critically acclaimed movies such as Hidden Figures and Moonlight. Her return album, Dirty Computer, is an extremely provocative and powerful R&B record that received overwhelming praise from pundits. This multi-talented performer should excel in her live performance at the State Theatre.

Drake & Migos @ XCEL Energy Center- August 1

The Aubrey and the Three Amigos Tour will most likely be the most talked about tour to take place in the second half of 2018. If you haven’t heard about Drake already, all one needs to know is that one of his two singles, either “God’s Plan” or “Nice For What,” have sat comfortably on the top of the charts for a majority of this year. With an album set to release next month, the hype will only intensify over the coming months. Also, let’s not forget about Migos, arguably the biggest rap group in the game at the moment. The success of their last two albums and radio hits like “Motorsport” and “Walk It Talk It” (with Drake) have shot them to the forefront of the current rap scene. When they pop up at the X in early August, it will be one of the biggest music spectacles of the summer.

Jack White @ The Armory- August 6

Jack White is one of the most versatile musicians of this generation. While many people in the music industry have been criticized for not being instrumentalists, the same cannot be said about White. He played a lot of the instruments used for his projects as well as producing and mixing a lot. He has recorded albums with three different bands and has a solid solo career to boot. White’s most recent work on Boarding House Reach has been some of the most experimental and diverse in his catalogue. This Grammy nominated artist will arrive in the Twin Cities in early August and hope to wow his supporters.

Beyonce & Jay-Z @ US Bank Stadium- August 8

Music’s biggest power couple will be hitting the stage at the Twin Cities biggest entertainment venue later this summer. Over the past couple of years, the narrative of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s relationship took an interesting turn. This has shone through in their respective music, with Beyonce airing out rumors that her spouse had cheated on her on the commercially and critically successful album Lemonade and Jay-Z responding with the apologetic and heartfelt record 4:44. These two seem to have made up and are hitting the road together in a sequel to their well-received On The Run Tour in 2014. Both of these performers are among the best to ever do their craft and are worthy of performing in a stadium the size of US Bank.

Lil Uzi Vert @ Myth- August 14

Ever since dropping a bunch of popular mixtapes in 2015 and 2016, Lil Uzi Vert has been one of the most prolific rappers that have came up over the past few years The 2016 XXL Freshman stepped back into the limelight with his debut album Luv Is Rage 2 last August after a lengthy absence. Uzi has made himself notable off hit songs such as “Money Longer” and “XO Tour Llif3,” as well as hectic concert performances, with the most memorable coming from the 2017 and 2018 Rolling Loud Festivals. If those two performances indicate anything, it’s that somebody who is looking for a crazy, off the wall experience, a Lil Uzi Vert concert is the place to be.