In 1959 the Key Club took over where the Labor Temple had left off a few years before, bringing major Rhythm & Blues acts to the Twin Cities.

• Sister Rosetta Tharpe, January 1959
• Cozy Cole and Quintet featuring Barney Bigard, January 14, 1959
• Big Maybelle, January 26, 1959

February shows at the Key Club:

• Roy Milton, February 1959
• Jimmy Witherspoon, February 1959

Key Club Shows, March-April 1959

• Sarah Vaughan, March 16-22, 1959
• T-Bone Walker, March 23-29, 1959
• Abbey Lincoln, March 30-April 5, 1959
• Ray Charles and the Raelettes, April 6-12, 1959
• Ernestine Anderson, April 13-19, 1959
• Joe Medlin, April 20-23, 1959
• Della Reese, April 24-May 3, 1959

May shows at the Key Club:

• Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, May 4-10, 1959
• Chris Connor and her Trio, May 11-16, 1959
• Miles Davis, May 18-24, 1959
• Tommy Edwards and Donna Hightower, May 25-May 31, 1959

June shows at the Key Club:

• Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, solo tenor sax, with singer Donna Hightower, June 1-7, 1959
• Martha Davis and Spouse, June 8-14, 1959
• Ruth Brown and the Paul Williams Band, June 15-21, 1959
• Clyde McPhatter, June 22-28, 1959
• Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, June 29-July 11, 1959

July shows at the Key Club:

• Stepin Fetchit, well past his prime, and Lonnie Sattin, July 13 – 17, 1959
• Miles Davis with John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly
• Brook Benton, July 27-August 2, 1959

August shows at the Key Club:

• Bobby Freeman, August 10-16, 1959
• Ink Spots, August 17-30, 1959
• Sammy Turner, with Doris Hines, August 31-September 6, 1959

September shows at the Key Club:

• Steve Gibson and the Red Caps – as seen on Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, and Arthur Godfrey, September 7-21, 1959
• Anita O’Day, September 20-27, 1959.  She got sick in New York and missed her opening night but showed up for the rest of the run.  Charles Hanna of the Minneapolis Tribune reported that it was her first performance in Minneapolis; she had appeared in St. Paul in 1948 and 1949.
• Nellie Lutcher, September 28-October 11, 1959

October shows at the Key Club:

• Roy Hamilton, October 12-18, 1959
• Hammond organ stylist Bill Doggett, October 19-25, 1959