Fall Arts: More Folk

Brenda Weiler

When: Sept. 15

Where: 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls., 612-332-2903

Singer-songwriter (and former local) Brenda Weiler was a mere nineteen years old when she wrote and recorded her precocious debut, Trickle Down. One decade and six albums later, the now Portland-based Weiler returns to her former stomping ground.

Kálmán Balogh
When: Nov. 11
Where: The Cedar, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls., 612-338-2674
The cimbalom looks like a hammer dulcimer, but watching Kálmán Balogh play it is like seeing a musician masterfully take mallets to the inside of a grand piano. With The Gipsy Cimbalom band, he swirls folk, gypsy jazz, and a rock-star stage presence into a stunning performance.

Jon Langford
When: Sept. 7
Where: 7th St. Entry, 701 1st Ave. N., Mpls., 612-332-1775
After thirty years of pioneering punk with The Mekons and a decade of insurgent country with the Waco Brothers, the always prolific Jon Langford still creates passionate, genre-smashing, politically outspoken work worthy of his legacy.

Devendra Banhart
When: Sept. 15
Where: First Avenue, 701 1st Ave. N., Mpls.612-332-1775
Bay Area–based songwriter Devendra Banhart has been lauded by critics as the next (insert any famous songwriter here). Better yet, his twisted folk sound, with occasional hints of blues and psychedelia, is good on its own merits. 

Loudon Wainright III with Lucy Wainright Roche
When: Sept. 24
Where: The Cedar, 416 Cedar Ave., Mpls., 612-338-2674
Having played a forgetful gynecologist in the summer movie Knocked Up, LWIII is back to doing what he does best—singing about his strange life. Fittingly, his latest album, Strange Weirdos, features music “inspired by” the movie (though not necessarily heard in it).  Daughter Lucy joins him on the bill.

Gordon Lightfoot

When: Sept. 22

Where: State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave., 989-5151

Canadian legend Gordon Lightfoot sometimes gets unfairly written off as a seventies soft rocker—a cruel fate for one of the best songwriters in the past forty years. Revered by other artists and still a vital performer himself, his fans remain justifiably steadfast in their devotion.