Justin Bieber, Eric Church and Roger Waters among Twin Cities concerts this spring and summer. Here’s the list.

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·8 min read
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Large-scale concerts are back in the Twin Cities in a major way, with a spring and summer filled with arena shows, stadium gigs and outdoor festivals.

No, there won’t be a Basilica Block Party or Music in the Zoo this year. But there’s plenty of other options, from current hitmakers (Eric Church, Justin Bieber) to classic acts (Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Poison, Roger Waters). Keep in mind that some large venues use dynamic pricing, which means ticket prices can vary. Also, the prices noted here do not include VIP packages, which typically run into the hundreds of dollars.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap for the coming months.

Eric Church with Morgan Wallen

June 11: Country star Eric Church is set to play his largest Twin Cities concert to date and to celebrate(?) he’s bringing controversial newcomer Morgan Wallen along for the ride. Over the past decade, North Carolina native Church has been nominated for more than 80 major awards and has won a dozen, including 2020 entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards. He has previously headlined Target Center four times, including a two-night stand in 2019. As for Wallen, his sophomore effort “Dangerous: The Double Album” earned glowing reviews and was the biggest hit of any genre in 2021. But he’s stirred up plenty of controversy, including an arrest for public intoxication and disorderly conduct and having his “Saturday Night Live” debut delayed after he broke COVID-19 protocols. A video showing Wallen using a racial epithet went viral just weeks after the release of “Dangerous,” leading radio stations and streaming services to temporarily drop his music from their platforms. The backlash didn’t affect his record sales and Wallen’s music returned to radio in August with his No. 2 hit “Sand in My Boots.” 6:30 p.m.; U.S. Bank Stadium, 401 Chicago Ave., Mpls.; $295-$195; ticketmaster.com.

More country: Dierks Bentley (8 p.m. May 27; Treasure Island Amphitheater; $110-$42.50), Sam Hunt (8 p.m. July 8; Treasure Island Amphitheater; $119-$42.50), Alan Jackson (7 p.m. July 29; Xcel Energy Center; $186.50-$56.50), Brandi Carlile (6:30 p.m. July 30; Xcel Energy Center; $95.50-$25.50), Kenny Chesney (5 p.m. Aug. 6; U.S. Bank Stadium; $355-$38) and Zac Brown Band (7 p.m. Sept. 2; Minnesota State Fair Grandstand; $194-$75).

Justin Bieber

May 6: Canadian pop star Justin Bieber emerged in 2009 and took the nation’s young-and-female population by storm, selling 3 million copies of his album “My World 2.0,” which landed a series of smashes on radio, including “One Time,” “Baby” and “Somebody to Love.” He found continued success with his sophomore record “Believe,” but his career faltered after a series of run-ins with the law that inspired more than 270,000 people to sign a petition urging the White House to deport Bieber. He launched a comeback with his fourth album “Purpose” and announced his first U.S. stadium tour in 2017. But he canceled it because of “unforeseen circumstances.” He spent 2019 carefully wading back into pop music and returned to the charts with a string of hits including a run of five Top 5 singles last year. 7:30 p.m.; Target Center, 600 First Ave. N., Mpls.; $202.50-$62.50; axs.com.

More current pop: Lorde (7:30 p.m. April 25; Armory; sold out with VIP tickets available), Shawn Mendes (7 p.m. July 9; Xcel Energy Center; $115.50-$35.50), Five Seconds of Summer (7 p.m. July 23; Armory; sold out with VIP tickets available), Machine Gun Kelly (7:30 p.m. July 28; Xcel Energy Center; $125.50-$25.50), OneRepublic (7 p.m. Aug. 7; Xcel Energy Center; $131.50-$36.50) and Twenty One Pilots (8 p.m. Aug. 18; Xcel Energy Center; $99.50-$35.50).

Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Poison

Aug. 14: Way back in December 2019 – four years after playing what Motley Crue said was their final concert – the ’80s metal band announced a stadium tour with Def Leppard and Poison. And fans responded by buying more than 700,000 tickets for the first 22 shows over the first weekend of sales, with gross box office receipts totaling more than $90 million. Now, after pandemic delays, the outing will finally visit the Twin Cities with support from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. As for coming out of what they swore was a permanent retirement, Motley Crue has claimed there was renewed interest in the band following the release of “The Dirt,” a Netflix biopic based on Motley Crue’s best-selling 2001 autobiography. 4:30 p.m.; U.S. Bank Stadium, 401 Chicago Ave., Mpls.; $219.50-$49.50; ticketmaster.com.

More rock: Godsmack with Three Days Grace and Asking Alexandria (5:20 p.m. May 7; Target Center; $88-$19.93), Deftones (7 p.m. May 28; Armory; sold out with VIP tickets available), Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin with Bush (5:30 p.m. Aug. 25; Minnesota State Fair Grandstand; $79-$63) and Rammstein (7 p.m. Aug. 27; U.S. Bank Stadium; $146-$56).

New Kids on the Block

June 14: New Kids on the Block enjoyed a run of pop hits in the latter half of the ’80s, including “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step by Step.” They broke up in 1994, but reunited in 2008 for a wildly successful tour that ran 150 dates. The group has since toured regularly on package tours with acts like the Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men. This time around, they’ll be joined by Rick Astley, Salt-N-Pepa and SNP’s “Whatta Man” duet partners En Vogue. 7:30 p.m.; Xcel Energy Center, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; $125.95-$31; ticketmaster.com.

More classic pop: Keith Sweat, Tevin Campbell and Tamar Braxton (8 p.m. June 24; Target Center; $250-$65), Barenaked Ladies with the Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket (6:30 p.m. June 25; Mystic Lake Casino; sold out), Alanis Morissette with Garbage (7 p.m. July 24; Xcel Energy Center; $165.50-$75.50), Duran Duran with Nile Rodgers and Chic (7 p.m. Aug. 19; Treasure Island Amphitheater; $159-$39) and Diana Ross (7 p.m. Sept. 3; Minnesota State Fair Grandstand; $60-$34).

Roger Waters

July 30: Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters will return to the road this summer for a tour he’s calling This Is Not a Drill. Waters, 78, has spent recent years mounting several major tours, including one devoted to Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon,” which filled Xcel Energy Center in June 2007, and another focused on “The Wall,” which sold out the X twice, in October 2010 and June 2012. He returned to the road in 2017 for the Us + Them Tour. His upcoming tour will take place on an in-the-round stage. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer told Rolling Stone “it’ll be a new show. It will be no-holds-barred … political and humane.” 8 p.m.; Target Center, 600 First Ave. N., Mpls.; $199.50-$35; axs.com.

More classic rock: George Thorogood and the Destroyers (8 p.m. April 30; Treasure Island Resort and Casino; $59-$39), Third Eye Blind (7 p.m. July 1; Mystic Amphitheater; $75-$35), Rod Stewart with Cheap Trick (7:30 p.m. July 8; Xcel Energy Center; $145.50-$45.50) and Black Crowes (8 p.m. July 11; Mystic Amphitheater; $89-$49).

Rock the Garden

June 11: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Sleater-Kinney and Low are among the acts booked to play Rock the Garden, a single-day festival co-sponsored by 89.3 The Current and Walker Art Center. A native of rural Missouri, Rateliff launched his career with a series of folk albums before taking a turn toward retro soul with his band the Night Sweats, who returned to action last fall with their third album, “The Future.” During their first decade together, Washington state’s Sleater-Kinney stood among the most-admired American rock bands, thanks in part to the trio’s eclectic blend of spiky pop songs and feminist politics. They went on hiatus after 2005’s “The Woods” and reunited in 2014. Married couple Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker formed Low in Duluth nearly 30 years ago with the goal of making slow, quiet music. In the years since, they haven’t been afraid to experiment with their sound and instrumentation while maintaining impressively high standards. The rest of the lineup includes Filipino-British singer/songwriter Beabadoobee, California funk musician DaM-FunK, Nigerian blues guitarist Bombino and Australian doom metal duo Divide and Dissolve.1 p.m.; Walker Art Center/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.; $84; rockthegardenfestival.com.

More festivals: Winstock Country Music Festival (June 17-18; adjacent to the Winsted Airport; $155), Twin Cities Jazz Festival (June 24-25; Mears Park; free), Lakefront Music Festival (July 8-9; Lakefront Park; $75-$50), Twin Cities Summer Jam (July 21-23; Canterbury Park; $159-$25) and Lowertown Blues and Funk Festival (July 16; Dual Citizen Brewing; free, with VIP tickets available).

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