Rue Nouveau

Rue Nouveau play The Hook and Ladder on Friday, November 13, their only scheduled date in the city. It's a melodic rock band built around the songwriting of Gary Rue and Leslie Ball, and they've been a part of the Minneapolis scene since the mid-1980s, when they recorded for Columbia.

Their sound is built on hooky songs, sharp lyrics, and rich vocal harmonies, with echoes of Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, and Squeeze. That Costello connection runs deeper than just a sound-alike: the singer reportedly helped facilitate Columbia's right of first refusal on their 1985 sessions, and City Pages once wrote that Rue Nouveau was the band Costello checked out whenever he came through town. Their songs eventually found their way into the repertoires of Nick Lowe and Helen Reddy, too.

This is billed as a one-night-only show, so if you've been meaning to catch them, this is the date. It's ages 21+.

Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM on the Zen Arcade stage. Tickets are $20 in advance at the box office, $23 in advance online, and $26 at the door.