The Big Gigs: 10 top concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

The St. Paul Chamber Music Institute has quite the distinguished faculty. This week, high school and college-age string players are gathering for master classes and rehearsals with the esteemed Jasper String Quartet, which is fresh from winning Chamber Music America’s “Album of the Year” honor for its latest, “Insects and Machines.” The foursome will play works of several centuries at a free concert at the History Center, which is also free for your exploring on Thursday evenings. (6:30 p.m. Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, free, thespcm.org.)

Also: Former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson is back in town for the Fourth, again playing his solo tunes and Bash & Pop nuggets with Al Church and his band as backers, and with Stinson’s soulful daughter Ruby serving as the opener (8 p.m. Turf Club, $26.92).

The Beach Boys cofounder will play his first gig since his dear friend and bandmate Brian Wilson died on June 11. Jardine knows it will be emotional singing “God Only Knows” but he’ll have fun, fun, fun with “Help Me Rhonda,” “I Get Around” and “Sloop John B.” Jardine also might offer something from his brand new EP “Islands in the Sun,” which features guests Neil Young and Flea. The newly dubbed Pet Sounds Band features members of the Brian Wilson Band. Fireworks will follow the show. Doug Collins opens. (5 p.m. Mystic Amphitheater, 2400 Mystic Blvd., Prior Lake, free, mysticlake.com)

Also: Country star Kane Brown, who scored another big hit with Marshmello “Miles on It,” usually headlines arenas, but he’s doing an underplay at Grand Casino Hinckley amphitheater (7 p.m., $125 and up, resale); Ann Hampton Callaway, the Broadway and cabaret veteran, is back at Crooners (6 p.m. Fri-Sat., $50-$60).

Back in downtown Minneapolis for the third consecutive year, the annual food-and-music fest with free admission has some winning veteran entertainers on tap. Headlining the main stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday is spunky Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joan Jett of “Bad Reputation” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” reputation; she’ll be preceded at 5:45 p.m. by power pop standard-bearers Cheap Trick, who landed in the Hall of Fame thanks to hits like “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me.” Headlining Sunday at 7:30 p.m. is rapper-turned-“Fast and Furious” actor Ludacris, who will entertain with “Money Maker,” “Runaway Love” and “How Low.” He’ll be preceded by premier Twin Cities rapper Nur-D. Two other stages feature local jazz musicians like Connie Evingson and singer/songwriters like Caribou Gone. (12:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Marquette Av. & Nicollet Mall between 4th St. & Washington Av. S., Mpls., free, tasteofmn.com)

It’s now Duluth’s biggest annual live music event and a highlight each year on Trampled’s always-bustling tour itinerary, drawing fans from all around the country. But the harborside homecoming show by the all-acoustic string sextet continues to avoid feeling stale. This year, the group is coming in with strong new songs off last year’s EP, “Always Here.” It also just dropped a stunning new LP with Low bandleader and (ahem!) Duluth resident Alan Sparhawk. Maybe best of all, Trampled is bringing in one of the buzziest songwriters in Americana as an opening act, Kentuckian S.G. Goodman, who just issued her second album last week. Local contest winner Sophie Hiroko also performs. (6 p.m. Bayfront Festival Park, 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth, all ages, $60, axs.com)

Also: Alt-metal mainstays Incubus of “Drive” fame have finished their next album, “Something in the Water,” due in the fall produced by Brendan O’Brien (Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) and their first with new bassist Nicole Row (8 p.m. Treasure Island Casino amphitheater, $55-$225); jazz singer Alyssa Allgood is making her debut at Berlin nightclub after being named a rising star in Downbeat magazine’s 2024 critics poll and “Best Individual Jazz Musician” in the Chicago Reader (7:30 p.m., $20); sister-led punk trio Loki’s Folly is back in action with Sunshine Emblem (7:30 p.m. Uptown VFW, $12); Van Morrison-inspired rocking big band the Belfast Cowboys return to the Dakota (7 p.m., $25-$35); local tribute bands Heartless and Trompe Le Monde head up the Summer Slam Tribute on the Palmer’s patio with their Heart and Pixies covers, plus more tributes to the Strokes, R.E.M. and the Crüe (5-10 p.m. Palmer’s Bar, $20).

Like Jelly Roll, new dad Swims is a heavily tattooed heavyweight who switched genres and found success with deeply emotional, deeply personal songs. A former hard-core rocker, Swims sent “Lose Control” to No. 1 last year and set some records doing so. The biggest single of 2024, it took an unprecedented 32 weeks to reach the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. In May, “Lose Control” set a record for longest time on the Hot 100, breaking Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” mark of 91 weeks. In addition to performing songs from both of his albums, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy” (parts 1 and 2),” the Georgia native with the rich, robust voice has been doing a choice cover every show by Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Shania Twain or Kings of Leon from his YouTube repertoire that helped launch his career. (8 p.m. the Armory, 50 S. 6th St., Mpls., $150 and up, resale, ticketmaster.com)

Ever since he took over the stage at First Avenue’s Best New Bands showcase in 2023, the Nigerian-born Minnesota singer/guitarist has turned up the volume and groove power in his expanded live band, the Black Atlantics. He and the nine-piece unit blend together Fela Kuti-style Afrobeat funk and soukous guitar licks with reggae and American soul influences to create a sweltering vibe even in winter. No surprise they’re in high demand with numerous big gigs this summer, including this club-headlining date they’re billing as the Highlife Dance Party, also featuring Afrocentric DJs, live art and guests from the co-op label that Obi co-founded, Ozone Creations. (9:30 p.m. Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul, $12, axs.com)

Also: The Rose, a K-pop quartet whose members’ military service is now behind them, have performed at Lollapalooza and Coachella (8 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, $65 and up); the always busy Bates brothers, drummer JT and bassist Chris, join guitarist Zacc Harris for the Twin Cities’ newest jazz trio (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25.47 and up).

Together since 1986, Moore By Four has been snazzy, jazzy entertainers for all occasions in the Twin Cities, refreshed with the addition of Ashley Commodore joining her mom, Ginger Commodore, Connie Evingson, Dennis Spears and piano man Sanford Moore (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30.62 and up); queercore/protest punk Surly Grrly are sharing a cool Monday bill with the Hole tribute band Most Cake (7-10 p.m. Palmer’s Bar, $5).

Many Americans first heard clarinetist McGill when he helped play a John Williams quartet at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. Now he’s arguably classical music’s foremost clarinetist and was named instrumentalist of the year by Musical America in 2024. When he’s not being principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, McGill travels around playing concertos with other major orchestras, as well as recitals like this one at Winona’s Minnesota Beethoven Festival, where he’ll perform works romantic and contemporary with pianist Rieko Tsuchida. (7:30 p.m. Page Theatre, St. Mary’s University, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona, $25, mnbeethovenfestival.org)

Also: With three trombones and a sousaphone, New Orleans’ Bonerama plays jazzy funk — or funky jazz if you prefer — a tasty gumbo seasoned with interpretations of hits by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers, among others (7 p.m. the Dakota, $47.10 and up).

After making three impressive albums for blues-centric Alligator Records, the Grammy-winning pride of Clarksdale, Miss., is promising a new full length this year on his own Red Zero label. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old blues sensation, who is equally authoritative as a guitarist and a vocalist, made a cameo in Ryan Coogler’s Clarksdale-focused film “Sinners” during the closing credits with Buddy Guy. Ingram’s Gone Fishin’ Tour features opener Samantha Fish, the Kansas City blues-rocker who has been tearing it up for the past 15 years and does so again on this year’s album “Paper Doll,” especially on the title track and “Rusty Razor.” (7 p.m. Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $55-$85, ticketmaster.com)

Jon Langford has been here plenty in recent years, including on tours with his twangier band the Waco Brothers and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. But it’s been too long since the Chicagoan-British underground legend has ridden to town with his old warhorse of a band, which fused country and American roots music with the punk sounds coming out of Leeds in the late ’70s and recorded some of their best-loved ’80s LPs for Minneapolis’ Twin/Tone Records. He and co-conspirator Sally Timms and the gang are touring with a wild new album, “Horror,” a topical takedown of British Imperialism set to a “Sandinista”-like collage of musical styles. Bluesy Chicago-to-Minnesota transplant Jake La Botz opens. (8 p.m. Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)

Remember when we told you to trust the Cedar’s adventurous bookings for discovering new and/or global talent? The nonprofit venue’s Summer at the Cedar series is the perfect chance to do just that, and not just because the shows are free. This kickoff gig is a prime example. Sudanese British American funk-rocker Ahmed Gallab, who performs as Sinkane, has worked with the likes of Yeasayer, Of Montreal and even David Byrne on various world-music projects and earned a 7.5 Pitchfork review for his latest album, “We Belong,” a joyful celebration of pan-Africanism. He’s first in the concert series on the venue’s plaza ahead of Colombia’s cumbia heir Yeison Landero (July 16), local Ethiopian jazzist Abinnet Berhanu (July 23), New York’s Combo Daguerre (Aug. 6), the Ukrainian Village Band (Aug. 20) and more. (6-8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., free, all ages, the cedar.org)

Also: Former Green on Red bandleader Chuck Prophet is touring with His Cumbia Shoes promoting the cool new record “Wake the Dead,” which finds him exploring the Mexican borderland music heard around his native Southern California (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$40); Pop Wagner, Minnesota’s cowboy folkie, teams with local folk revival trio Corpse Reviver (6 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $32.31 and up); frenetic and poetic Chicago indie-rocker Ezra Furman is back out with a new album, “Goodbye Small Head” (8 p.m. Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $25).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.