Freak folk

The Cedar warmly welcomes back the fabulous Ms Kimya Dawson! Kimya is touring in support of her new album Thunder Thighs, the first solo album from the ex Moldy Peaches artist since the Grammy winning, platinum selling soundtrack from the movie JUNO.

Of course, doing albums by oneself is not all that much fun for someone as gregarious as Kimya, so she naturally recruited a bunch of friends to help out, including Aesop Rock, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Nikolai Fraiture of the Strokes, Daniel Bryan, Forever Young Senior Citizen Rock and Roll Choir, Olympia Free Choir, and her own five year old daughter Panda. The result ends up being an eccentric journey through Kimya’s revealing and honest songs. Never one to compromise an iota, Kimya is releasing the album on her own label, Great Crap Factory.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

"She's the find of the year" - The Guardian

w h o k i l l, the sophomore album by Merrill Garbus’ tUnE-yArDs, is a thrill for fans of the live show that left most stunned in 2010.  No longer is her artful songwriting and soulful voice obscured by digital fuzz as it often was on her solo debut, BiRd-BrAiNs.  Transplanting herself from Montreal to sunny Oakland, California, while touring almost non-stop for over two years, Merrill has stripped tUnE-yArDs away to a more precise, concentrated and vivid sound. w h o k i l l retains the honesty of the lonely bedroom confessional characteristic of her early work, but with the addition of the fangs, claws and dented metal of its new surroundings.

Opening tonight is experimental Brooklyn duo Buke & Gass.

As we enter the darkest time of the year, take a few hours to enjoy the season with this evening's concert by chamber folk group Dark Dark Dark, who released an EP Bright Bright Bright at The Cedar early in 2010, and, later in the year, released their second full length album Wild Go. They'll have recently returned from a short European tour; be sure to give them an extra warm, home town welcome back!

Tickets go on sale at noon Fri Oct 29 from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), from hard-working Cedar volunteers in the front lobby during shows, from Cedar outlets (Electric Fetus, Irish on Grand, Homestead Pickin' Parlor, and Depth of Field), and online at Ticketweb.

All Cedar shows are all ages. Students with ID may gain discounted admission for tickets purchased at the door.

Smash double bill late show at The Cedar!

Tickets are on sale now from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), from hard-working Cedar volunteers in the front lobby during shows, from Cedar outlets (Electric Fetus, Irish on Grand, Homestead Pickin' Parlor, and Depth of Field), and online at Ticketweb.

All Cedar shows are all ages. Students with ID may gain discounted admission for tickets purchased at the door.

“Pitting finger-picking acoustic guitars against gentle synthesised beats, East London’s Tunng presents an aural collision of past and present ... the perfect soundtrack for a lazy post-millennial afternoon in the sunshine.” —Daily Telegraph

This wistful and winning experimental music collective from London bubbles up strangely compelling chamber pop that floats in the shadows of electronica and rustic folk. Beloved and revered for its bucolic oddness and modernist gleam, Tunng’s polyphonic future folk blossoms with enchanting melodies, simmering grooves, and found sound that has propelled the band into “a paradise of exceeded expectations” (Absolute Punk). Don’t miss Tunng on this rare U.S. visit.

Copresented with the Walker Art Center. Performance will be at the McGuire Theater located at the Walker Art Center.

Support provided by The McKnight Foundation.

DM Stith, "the peculiar genius" hailed by NME as the "Curious ringmaster," has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, Son Lux, Castanets, and recently returned from London where Esquire called his show a "performance of transcendent, spectral majesty. Seriously." His first album, Heavy Ghost (Asthmatic Kitty), a collection of songs rich with strings, polyrhythmic percussion, lofty choirs, epic electronic gestures and Stith's clear-as-a-bell voice, was released in early 2009 to universal critical acclaim which Tiny Mix Tapes called a "singular work from an extremely talented new voice." His follow up, Heavy Ghost Appendices (out May 25, 2010) is described by Stith as "a record of my progression from being an intensely private artist to working with other musicians and performing live."

Catch DM Stith in an intimate show at The Cedar, with opening acts experimental artist Inlets (new album Inter Arbiter out on 4/20/10) and Norwegian multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Silje Nes.

Ladies and Gentlemen!  Critics and hipsters!

We are proud to introduce "Evelyn Evelyn" - the world's only conjoined-twin singer-songwriter duo.

Discovered and launched by punk-cabaret queen Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls) and endless minstrel Jason Webley, Evelyn Evelyn is one of the most anticipated acts of 2010.  After three full years in the studio, the Evelyn sisters are gearing up for a world tour in support of their debut album, which hits the shelves on March 30th.

Epic in scope and production, the twelve tracks on "Evelyn Evelyn" showcase the twins' uncanny talent and versatility as musicians.  With a background in circus performance and a wide, bizarre range of influences, the twins compose original timeless songs full of humor, sadness, and double entendre.

The Swedish duo First Aid Kit comprises sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg (born 1990 and 1993, respectively), hailing from Enskede, a suburb south of Stockholm. Yes, they are very young, but the pure music they create speaks of bygone times and old souls. The emphasis is on narrative lyrics accompanying playful melodies with intense, dense harmonies.

A homecoming celebration for chamber folk sextet Dark Dark Dark as they make the last stop on a national tour (including SXSW) in conjunction with the release of their EP Bright Bright Bright. The choir that accompanied the group on the EP will even be on hand to add their touch, making this an extra bright, and unique, occasion.

Spirits of the Red City will open, and Brett Bullion (of Tarlton) will provide interlude music.

Transgender singer-songwriter Baby Dee has a rich, captivating, otherworldly voice. It soars majestically over mournful, sustained piano chords in Safe Inside the Day [Baby Dee's 2008 Drag City release] before retreating and returning, boldly and forcefully. Baby Dee's resume includes stints as a harpist, a street musician and a sideshow performer, but it seems as if she'd be most comfortable in a world of her own creation, singing vaudeville. Read more »