January is the time of year when many Minnesotans don't even like to leave the house. It also happens to be when many of Minnesota's hardest-touring musicians stay home.
Those seemingly opposing circumstances add up to a growing tradition in the Twin Cities music scene: January residency gigs.
This month, four popular Twin Cities acts — at least two of whom are big enough to fill First Avenue — are setting up shop in smallish venues for weekly gigs. Some will be showing off their varied musical sides with each weekly installment. Some will be trying out new material. All are inviting friends out to play with them.
Of course, they're also all hoping fans will come see them each week.
Just the idea of leaving the house in January was a hard sell for one of this month's residency stars, musical innovator Andrew Broder, when he kicked off his first weekly series this time last year at the Turf Club.
"Truthfully, the idea of a bunch of freezing cold Monday night shows in the dead zone of winter didn't appeal much to me," said the experimental bandleader of Fog and Cloak Ox notoriety, who also noted the "paralyzing dread" he felt around this time last year due to political changeover in Washington, D.C.
That dread, however, became something of a catalyst for Broder's shows, as he turned each week into a charitable fundraiser and emphasized "solidarity and love to our friends and ourselves" — a tradition he hopes to continue as he takes over the Turf Club on Thursdays in January.
Mondays at the Turf Club, meanwhile, are going to the Cactus Blossoms this month, a night the classic country harmonizers used to hold down every week before they turned into road warriors.
