No other gig in Minneapolis brings people together like Macy's Day of Music. The 24-hour showcase attracts a citywide array of music lovers to its worldly mix of Minnesota musicians and unbeatable downtown location(s), inside Orchestra Hall and outside on Peavey Plaza. From this year's lineup of 40 or so performances, here are some new acts that I think will have excellent coming-outs at the event, plus some older and more established acts who could shine in the unusual setting.
NEWBIES TO WATCH
Wishbook (5-6 p.m., Peavey Plaza North): The four members of this earnest and edgy pop-rock band used to play together as Cowboy Curtis. Since that group's demise, they've joined countless other acts. If it's not yet apt to call them an all-star band, it soon could be.
Davina & the Vagabonds (6-7 p.m., Peavey Plaza South): Southern-styled Florida transplant Davina Sowers has a powerful, pretty-on-the-inside voice that can wow everyone, but she and her band also have the musical chops to impress harder-nosed music snobs.
KaiserCartel (9-10 p.m. Peavey Plaza North): This male/female duo from Brooklyn is garnering an indie buzz with a new album, "March Forth," that sounds like a stripped-down Rilo Kiley.
'Round Midnight with George Maurer (11 p.m.-1 a.m., Orchestra Hall): The second installment of this late-night jazz set promises to be a strong one. The veteran pianist lined up a 16-member ensemble and guest vocalists to match the size of the Orchestra Hall stage.
Black Blondie (12:15 a.m., Orchestra Hall lobby): A nearly all-female, instrumental hip-hop group performing its terrifically mish-mashed, bombastic songs in the lobby of Orchestra Hall ... what's unusual about that? Everything.
OLD-TIMERS TO WATCH AGAIN
The Owls (4-5 p.m., Orchestra Hall): The coed somber-pop quartet -- darlings of local critics and Current DJs -- need no introduction. But they might be newly minted when the hall's impeccable acoustics meet their ornate harmonies.
Charanga Tropical (5-6:45 p.m., WCCO-TV Plaza): This sizzling salsa/timba/cha-cha big band has become a Day of Music mainstay, and there's a reason it gets invited back. On a hot summer day, no one else can make downtown Minneapolis feel and look so much like South Beach, Miami.
