Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials, Chicago’s veteran boogie band led by slide guitarist Ed Williams, are a late addition to the Dakota’s calendar.
LIL’ ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS
JAN 17 • 7PM
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Two days before MLK Day, stellar vocalist Bruce Henry is back in his former home base to celebrate the unity that Martin Luther King advocated, backed by some of the Twin Cities finest players.
BRUCE A. HENRY PRESENTS: EVERYONE UNDER THE SUN
A CELEBRATION OF UNITY AND LOVE
JAN 18 • 7PM
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Grammy-winning New Orleans second-line mainstay Rebirth Brass Band is back at the Dakota before heading home for its long-standing Tuesday night gig.
REBIRTH BRASS BAND
JAN 20 • 6:30 & 8:30PM
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The Headhunters: Yes, they are the band that played with Herbie Hancock on his iconic 1973 fusion album “Head Hunters,” as well as two more collaborations. They’ve carried on as a group for 50 years, though the personnel has changed. Following 2023’s winning “Live From Brooklyn Bowl,” this New Orleans-based ensemble dropped “The Stunt Man,” their seventh studio effort, last fall. The Headhunters interpret George Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” and Wayne Shorter’s “ESP” as well as captivating modern jazz originals that blend elements of the Caribbean, New Orleans, Afrobeat and funk. The core trio of drummer Mike Clark, percussionist Bill Summers and saxophonist Donald Harrison will be joined by NOLA stalwarts Chris Severin on bass and Kyle Roussel on piano.
THE HEADHUNTERS
JAN 21 • 7PM
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Jontavious Willis: Just as Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is a young Southern bluesman carrying on the electric traditions of Muddy Waters and B.B. King, Willis is a young Southern bluesman carrying on the acoustic country blues traditions of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Willie McTell. Hailing from tiny Greenville, Ga., Willis first gained national exposure opening for the joint tour of Taj Mahal and Keb Mo in 2017, the year he self-released his first album. Both of those celebrated bluesmen joined Willis on his sophomore album, “Spectacular Class.” In 2024, Willis dropped his third effort, “West Georgia Blues,” a collection that mixes tradition-abiding originals (love “Rough Time Blues” and especially “Earthworm Basement Blues”) while moving the genre forward, notably on the jangly “Keep Your Worries on the Dance Floor” and the rollicking instrumental “Jontavious’ West Georgia Grind.” Equally accomplished as a singer and picker, Willis injects knowledge and humor into his passionate live presentations.