Riders in the Sky present: Christmas the Cowboy Way
2025-12-18 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago)
Winners of 2 Grammy Awards and back by popular demand!

Riders in the Sky stand hats and shoulders above the rest of the purveyors of comedy and western. For more than 40 years, they have kept the flame passed on by Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Here, they have become modern-day icons with their wacky humor, western wit, and cowboy way of life.
Riders in the Sky pay tribute to and poke gentle fun at the classic cowboy songs of the 1930s and 1940s. The group is made up of lead singer Ranger Doug, Woody Paul on fiddle and vocals, Too Slim on string bass and guitar, and, and “Cowpolka King” Joey Miskulin on accordion.
Recommended for fans of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Wills & Texas Playboys and Asleep at the Wheel.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Presents: A Creole Christmas
2025-12-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-19 21:30 - 23:30, 2025-12-20 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-12-20 20:30 - 22:30
“passionate… on a timely mission to bring joy to the world.” – All About Jazz

Celebrate the season as the incomparable Preservation Hall Jazz Band takes the stage with Creole Christmas. This memorable performance will feature New Orleans classics as well as beloved holiday selections with a twist. Founded in 1963, the band takes its name from Preservation Hall, the humble but historic French Quarter music venue. There, Preservation Hall is dedicated to keeping the past and future of jazz alive.
Throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge. Further, they mingle, resurface, and are transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Here, they have held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 60 years. Moreover, they carry it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrant, living history.
PHJB marches that tradition forward by tapping into a sonic continuum that stretches back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots. They look back to the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane. Then, they look forward to cutting-edge artists with whom the PHJB have shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport. They have shared the stage with legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and the Grateful Dead. Also, modern giants The Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and the Black Keys.
Recommended for fans of Kermit Ruffins, Tuba Skinny, Pokey LaFarge and Davina and The Vagabonds.

A Swingin’ Christmas w/ the Andrew Walesch Big Band
2025-12-21 17:00 - 19:00, 2025-12-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-12-23 19:00 - 21:00
“Fresh and classic at the same time” – Star Tribune

There’s no better place to be right before Christmas than at Dakota with Andrew Walesch and his eighteen-piece big band. Ring in the holidays with the songs of Bennett, Sinatra, Bublé, Basie, and more!
Like a good many before him, singer and pianist Andrew Walesch manages to encapsulate the sophistication of a cosmopolite and the self-effacing charm of a country boy. Leading his all-star big band, showman Andrew Walesch kidnaps the Blue Eyes tradition and makes it his own in his jazz-bent Sinatra revue. Thus, Walesch is a traditionalist and an iconoclast rolled into one.
Whether composing and arranging or appearing in settings ranging from solo artist to big band, this St. Cloud, MN native is as respectful of his predecessors as he is ready to take a leap into the unknown and chart a new course. Additionally, Andrew routinely jams venues all over the Midwest and beyond with a uniquely cross-generational audience. Walesch’s fans include jazz enthusiasts of a certain age, as well as a younger crowd compelled by his down-home insouciance. Here, all are drawn in by the knowing irreverence of a tried-and-true American nightclub entertainer.
“Although they are my idols, I don’t attempt to imitate the great pop and jazz artists of the 50s and ’60s,” says Andrew. “But I go for broke when we do our shows – vocally and musically!”
His vocal and piano chops, along with his keen sensibility to find and interpret a great lyric, have led to some great opportunities for Walesch. In 2023, Andrew accepted the position of artistic director of the MIM Music Theater in Phoenix, Arizona where he now resides.
Recommended for fans of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé and Bing Crosby.

VIP Event: Spending Christmas With Alicia Witt
2025-12-22 16:30 - 19:00
IMPORTANT: This is not a ticket to the show.

You must have a concert ticket in order to purchase this VIP Meet & Greet upgrade.
Join Alicia Witt for an exclusive pre-show VIP experience!
Your VIP upgrade includes:

Pre-show Meet & Greet with Alicia Witt
Photo Opportunity
Autographs (Bring your own items or purchase merchandise at the merch table)

Check-in Time: Please arrive at the venue by 4:30 PM.
After check-in, you’ll be escorted to the VIP area for the meet & greet, which takes place before doors open at 5:30 PM.

“This is a voice to treasure” – Broadway World

Alicia Witt returns to The Dakota to get you in the holiday spirit with a festive evening of Christmas music.
Witt is a classically trained, award winning pianist and Billboard Top 30 charting singer-songwriter. She released her first full-length Christmas album, I Think I’m Spending Christmas With You, in 2024. Critics and fans alike warmly received the album, which features nine heartfelt, uplifting originals and three holiday standards. Additionally, Christmas movie fans also recognize her for her ten holiday movies, including eight on Hallmark Channel. Moreover, many of those movies include her other original Christmas songs.
Witt starred in 2024’s smash hit movie Longlegs, opposite Nicolas Cage. Her four-decade career as an actor began at age seven with David Lynch’s classic DUNE (1984). She also appeared in Two Weeks Notice, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Urban Legend, Last Holiday, and 88 Minutes. Additionally, her TV credits include Twin Peaks, Orange is the New Black, The Walking Dead, Law and Order, The Sopranos, and Cybill, to name a few.
Witt started out in music by playing piano in the restaurant of the Beverly/Wilshire Hotel in the early 1990s. The Nashville Scene said of her 2015 album Revisionary History: “Witt’s new album Revisionary History is a piano-pop gem that sounds by turns like Grey Seal–era Elton John, an alt-universe Fiona Apple and a film-noir chanteuse notching her nights in cigarette burns on the fallboard.” Witt also played a recurring role in the TV show Nashville; she plays several songs throughout Season Four.
‘’…her skilled fingers flying over the keys and her rangy, honeyed voice, clear as crystal, pretty as a stained-glass window, carrying the audience into the ether… This is a voice to treasure, wrapped around visceral visuals, and memorable melodies. ‘’ – Broadway World
Recommended for fans of Ben Folds Five, Chappell Roan, Kathleen Edwards, Sara Bareilles and Neko Case.

Spending Christmas With Alicia Witt
2025-12-22 19:00 - 21:00
“This is a voice to treasure” – Broadway World

Alicia Witt returns to The Dakota to get you in the holiday spirit with a festive evening of Christmas music.
Witt is a classically trained, award winning pianist and Billboard Top 30 charting singer-songwriter. She released her first full-length Christmas album, I Think I’m Spending Christmas With You, in 2024. Critics and fans alike warmly received the album, which features nine heartfelt, uplifting originals and three holiday standards. Additionally, Christmas movie fans also recognize her for her ten holiday movies, including eight on Hallmark Channel. Moreover, many of those movies include her other original Christmas songs.
Witt starred in 2024’s smash hit movie Longlegs, opposite Nicolas Cage. Her four-decade career as an actor began at age seven with David Lynch’s classic DUNE (1984). She also appeared in Two Weeks Notice, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Urban Legend, Last Holiday, and 88 Minutes. Additionally, her TV credits include Twin Peaks, Orange is the New Black, The Walking Dead, Law and Order, The Sopranos, and Cybill, to name a few.
Witt started out in music by playing piano in the restaurant of the Beverly/Wilshire Hotel in the early 1990s. The Nashville Scene said of her 2015 album Revisionary History: “Witt’s new album Revisionary History is a piano-pop gem that sounds by turns like Grey Seal–era Elton John, an alt-universe Fiona Apple and a film-noir chanteuse notching her nights in cigarette burns on the fallboard.” Witt also played a recurring role in the TV show Nashville; she plays several songs throughout Season Four.
‘’…her skilled fingers flying over the keys and her rangy, honeyed voice, clear as crystal, pretty as a stained-glass window, carrying the audience into the ether… This is a voice to treasure, wrapped around visceral visuals, and memorable melodies. ‘’ – Broadway World
Recommended for fans of Ben Folds Five, Chappell Roan, Kathleen Edwards, Sara Bareilles and Neko Case.

Closed for the Holiday
2025-12-24 00:00 - 23:59
We will be closed on DEC 24 for the holiday.
BOOK YOUR EVENT HERE:

The Bad Plus
2025-12-25 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-12-25 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-12-26 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-26 21:00 - 23:00, 2025-12-27 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-27 21:00 - 23:00, 2025-12-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-28 21:00 - 23:00
“finely orchestrated, catchy original tunes, and a knack for radically reconstituted pop covers.” – The New York Times

The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past two decades, they have played with spirit and adventure and have made their own rules. Moreover, they do so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. Avoiding easy categorization, The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide. Further, their unique sound and flair for live performance make them a must-see ensemble.
Now in their twenty-fifth year, The Bad Plus continues to push boundaries. Here, founding members Reid Anderson (bass) and Dave King (drums) embark on a new piano-less incarnation of the band. Also, Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (tenor saxophone) join the group, instigating a new wave of excitement and anticipation. These new voices are re-energizing their sound and inspiration. The Bad Plus have constantly searched to bridge genres and techniques. Additionally, they explore the infinite possibilities of exceptional musicians working in perfect sync.
The Bad Plus released their fifteenth studio album, self-titled as a dynamic new quartet, in 2022. Evolution is necessary for life and creativity,” said Dave King and Reid Anderson. “We’ve evolved, but we’re still The Bad Plus.”
This is The Bad Plus in their most creative and expressive form. This is The Bad Plus now.
Recommended for fans of Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Kneebody and Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Preener's Eve w/The New Standards
2025-12-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-30 19:00 - 21:00
“The DNA of the band and its members has its feet firmly rooted into punk/pop culture.” – New York Times

Minnesota stalwarts The New Standards create an intriguing blend of everything from classic cabaret to punk rock. Here, they blend the freedom of jazz with the soul of pop and rock. They make it work through offbeat humor and sheer musicianship. The instrumentation is simple: John Munson of Trip Shakespeare/Semisonic fame on bass; Chan Poling, founder of the new-wave group The Suburbs on piano; and Steve Roehm on vibes. Chan and John split the singing. A footstomp here, a shout-out there, a fiery solo, and it’s cooked. Simple, elegant, illuminating.
The New Standards started in 2005 as an off-shoot project. Since then, TNS has grown into a globe-spanning adventure, filling theaters and clubs around the world. Additionally, they have created several albums, videos, cartoons, dance/theater projects, and ancillary gewgaws that have charmed and delighted faithful fans.
All three are fans of great songwriting. However, they sensed a lack of an interesting jazz trio repertoire beyond the usual “old standards”. Thus, they got together originally to play and sing their favorite songs from every era, particularly post-1960s pop music. Familiar tunes in a stripped-down acoustic setting, leaving room for solos and arrangements with the freedom of jazz. Yet, they never fully abandon the modest soul of pop and rock.
Another thing: though you may associate an acoustic tango version of Britney Spears’s “Toxic” with camp, TNS is not a lounge or novelty act. One listen to their music reveals that they take their music-making as well as their jobs as entertainers seriously.
And yet, they are very funny.
Recommended for fans of Joe Henry, Semisonic, The Suburbs and Dylan Hicks.

New Year's Eve w/Davina and The Vagabonds
2025-12-31 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-12-31 22:30 - 23:59
“Davina and the Vagabonds combat heartache with sugar and sass.” – Downbeat

Dinner Show — $185 SOLD OUTIncludes a four-course dinner, show admission, tax, and gratuity.
Cocktail Show — $115Includes a $20 food/drink voucher, a champagne toast at midnight, tax, and gratuity.
Scroll down to see menus.
Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene. Their high-energy live shows feature level-A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. Also, their influences range from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits. Moreover, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe.
Much like the music, the story spurns era, expectation and classification. The often unbelievable, sometimes harrowing, and wholly inspiring journey of Davina Sowers gave birth to her eponymous band in 2004. As the tale goes, she grew up in the economically depressed Allegheny town of Altoona, PA. She now describes the town as “awesome in the industrial era, but horrible for high school.” Then, she was adopted by her stepfather when he was in his 80s; he passed when she was just 13. Through him and his Edison phonograph, she first heard the music that would start her journey. For example, The Ink Spots, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and many others. “Great man. He was my angel and still is,” she says.
On her own, she vividly recalls hours in front of the record player at home. There, she religiously spun Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Simon and Garfunkel records belonging to her folk singer mom.
To this day, Davina still refers to music as “my first and eternal love.” Despite early dalliances with classical piano and guitar, she developed a heavy drug habit in high school. Further, this morphed into heroin dependency, left her homeless, sent her in and out of jail and brought on all manner of trouble. Kicking dope on the streets, she “got clean, started the band and worked [her] ass off every day since.”
Recommended for fans of Pokey LaFarge, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Hot Sardines and Squirrel Nut Zippers.

LIVESTREAM: New Year's Eve w/Davina and The Vagabonds
2025-12-31 22:30 - 23:59
“Davina and the Vagabonds combat heartache with sugar and sass.” – Downbeat

Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene. Their high-energy live shows feature level-A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. Also, their influences range from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits. Moreover, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe.
Much like the music, the story spurns era, expectation and classification. The often unbelievable, sometimes harrowing, and wholly inspiring journey of Davina Sowers gave birth to her eponymous band in 2004. As the tale goes, she grew up in the economically depressed Allegheny town of Altoona, PA. She now describes the town as “awesome in the industrial era, but horrible for high school.” Then, she was adopted by her stepfather when he was in his 80s; he passed when she was just 13. Through him and his Edison phonograph, she first heard the music that would start her journey. For example, The Ink Spots, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and many others. “Great man. He was my angel and still is,” she says.
On her own, she vividly recalls hours in front of the record player at home. There, she religiously spun Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Simon and Garfunkel records belonging to her folk singer mom.
To this day, Davina still refers to music as “my first and eternal love.” Despite early dalliances with classical piano and guitar, she developed a heavy drug habit in high school. Further, this morphed into heroin dependency, left her homeless, sent her in and out of jail and brought on all manner of trouble. Kicking dope on the streets, she “got clean, started the band and worked [her] ass off every day since.”
Recommended for fans of Pokey LaFarge, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Hot Sardines and Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Davina and The Vagabonds
2026-01-01 19:00 - 21:00

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
2026-01-02 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-02 21:00 - 23:00
“complex yet danceable beats… dirty blues, spacey soul” – Glide

KDTU has electrified audiences around the world for over twenty-five years. They have played the fields of Naeba in Japan at the infamous Fuji Rock Festival. Also, the hallowed stage of Madison Square Garden, joining the Dave Matthews Band and The Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Further, he performed as Sexual Chocolate (Karl was in the original band in the movie Coming To America and its sequel) at the Outside Lands Music festival in San Francisco. And, they were the first late night act at the inaugural Bonnaroo festival. KDTU has been a dominating force in music for nearly three decades.
All-night, sold-out concerts during Jazzfest in New Orleans have featured sit-ins by legends like Lenny Kravitz and Steve Winwood. (Karl has recorded and toured with both!) Also, avant-garde luminaries like Marc Ribot and Boyfriend. Rolling Stones bandmates Chuck Leavell and Bernard Fowler have also joined onstage and on record. There, Karl replaced the great Bobby Keys as saxophonist in 2014. Denson has also worked with Lukas Nelson, John Oates, Michael Franti, Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, and Anders Osborne. Additionally, Big Daddy Kane, Roy Hargrove, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Joshua Redman, Marcus King, and Bernie Worrell, among others.
Very few concertgoers have been untouched by the Tiny Universe live. They toured the country with the Allman Brothers, My Morning Jacket, D’Angelo, The Roots, and Public Enemy. Also, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, Parliament Funkadelic, Slightly Stoopid, and Widespread Panic. In addition to KDTU, Karl Denson aka “Diesel” is a founding member of the seminal groove act The Greyboy Allstars.
Recommended for fans of Parliament Funkadelic, Galactic, Greyboy Allstars and Soulive.

The Shabby Road Orchestra
2026-01-03 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-03 21:00 - 23:00
Taking only the Beatles seriously since 2017.

The Shabby Road Orchestra is a 12-piece Minneapolis ensemble known for its head-turning performances of late-period Beatles recordings.
The Shabby Road Orchestra:
Adam Levy, guitar, vocals
Andy Nelson, woodwinds
Brandon Sampson, guitar, vocals
David Foley, horns, woodwinds
Ken Chastain, drums, vocals
Jacqueline Ultan, cello
Joe Carey, guitar, vocals
John Eller, guitar, piano, vocals
John Fields, bass
John Sievers, trombone
Paul Scott, piano, keys
Tom Scott, keys, percussion, sound effects
Recommended for fans of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Who and The Monkees.
Band illustration by Anita White

Kindred the Family Soul
2026-01-04 19:00 - 21:00
“inspiring melds of soul, R&B, hip-hop, funk, pop… A mindblower.” – AllMusic

Kindred the Family Soul is a Grammy-nominated adult contemporary R&B duo from Philadelphia consisting of husband-and-wife Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon. Big hit singles elude them, but they maintain a strong following that appreciates their unwavering dedication to releasing relatable, mature R&B. Also, Dantzler and Graydon co-write most of their songs, which are rooted in traditional soul and gospel.
Dantzler and Graydon began as solo performers. Dantzler was born in Philadelphia and got his start in the music business writing songs for Pebbles and Bell Biv DeVoe. Graydon, from Washington, D.C., signed a solo deal at the age of 15. The two united and began writing songs, but then married and started a family. However, Dantzler went back to trying to make it on the local scene. He and Graydon began performing at the Black Lily club, where they caught the attention of Jill Scott.
They spent the next two years working on the debut Kindred the Family Soul album, 2003’s Surrender to Love. It featured an impressive cast of collaborators, including Scott, string arranger Larry Gold, Bilal, King Britt, and Jazmine Sullivan. Thus, it was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B/Soul Album. 2005’s In This Life Together was inspired by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis’ memoir of the same name. 2008’s The Arrival became their highest-charting title to that point. Here, it reached number sixty-seven on the Billboard 200 and number seven on the R&B Albums chart.
2011’s Love Has No Recession features guests ranging from go-go pioneer Chuck Brown to relative newcomer BJ the Chicago Kid. Kindred’s sixth full-length, 2016’s Legacy of Love, climbed into the top fifteen of the Billboard R&B chart.
Recommended for fans of Jill Scott, Sade, Mary J. Blige and Luther Vandross.
