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

Bringing fresh works by Minnesota-based composers to local ears is the focus of the Vanguard New Music Series. For three years, the series has been presenting concerts at a former Lutheran church in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood in collaboration with the 20-year-old Twin Cities new music group RenegadeEnsemble. This week, it will present this adventurous brass quintet premiering new works by Michael Maiorana and Isaac Mayhew, as well as offering recent pieces by Nora Farley, Klo Vivienne Garoute, Michael Gaydeski and Samantha Hogan. (7 p.m. Zion Community Commons, 1697 Lafond Av., St. Paul, $15, renegadeensemble.org)

Also: Original members Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden lead the long-lived Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on its farewell tour, featuring “Fishin’ in the Dark” and other pop/country faves (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $74.94 and up); trumpeter/singer/rapper Shamarr Allen offers a gumbo of district New Orleans sounds, mixing jazz, R&B, funk, hip-hop and bounce (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $17-$22); the Twin Cities’ own Belfast Cowboys bring their love of Van Morrison to the Belvedere tent at Crooners (7:30 p.m., $37.80 and up); after decades of playing at Lee’s Liquor Lounge, traditional Texas honky-tonk veteran Dale Watson has settled into the Uptown VFW as his new Minneapolis hang (8 p.m., $26); a collective of DJs/producers from Monterrey, Mexico, garnering some buzz, 3BallMTY makes its debut at First Avenue (9 p.m., $20); it’s women-who-rock night at St. Paul’s free Lowertown Sounds series with Annie & the Bang Bang and Maria & the Coins (6-10 p.m., Mears Park).

On the opening of the three-day fest, socially conscious Irish soul man Hozier is a worthy headliner, who will seduce the crowd with “Too Sweet,” “Take Me to Church” and the funky “De Selby (Part 2).” But we’re most excited about the return of Alabama Shakes, the Grammy-winning funk-rock group that’s on tour for the first time in seven years. Sheryl Crow makes her first Minnesota appearance since being inducted, deservedly so, into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Also appearing are Train, still chugging with “Hey, Soul Sister”; beloved quirky indie hero Father John Misty, who used his touring band for the first time in the studio for his latest “Mahashmashana”; buzzy singer/songwriter Gigi Perez, who is getting attention for “Sailor Song,” and others. (12:50 p.m. Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul, $150 and up, minnesotayachtclubfestival.com)

The veteran New York vocalist is probably best known for her 1980s hit duets with James Ingram, “Baby, Come to Me” and “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.” However, she also was a first-call background singer, contributing to records by a who’s who including Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Joe Cocker, James Brown and Luther Vandross. In this century, Austin turned to jazz vocalizing, grabbing a Grammy for “Avant Gershwin” in 2008. Last year, her elegant and knowing “For Ella 2” (as in Fitzgerald) featuring a 40-piece big band earned a Grammy nomination. She won’t have a large big band with her but she brings a honeyed voice and a special way with the Great American Songbook. (7 p.m. Fri. & Sat., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $108.50 and up, dakotacooks.com)

If you’re pining for some outdoor music this weekend and the Minnesota Yacht Club with Hozier, Green Day and others isn’t your jam, perhaps check out this country comer. Just four years after writing his first song, the Pennsylvania native is making a name for himself in country music. Zeiders’ power ballad “Pretty Little Poison,” the title track of his 2023 album, went to No. 1, leading to an opening slot on a big tour with Jelly Roll. Now the gritty-voiced, long-haired Zeiders — who grew up wanting to be a pro lacrosse player until an injury derailed him — is headlining his own gigs, showing he’s equal parts Nickelback rocker and romantic crooner. (7:30 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, 1700 Parkway Drive, Waite Park, Minn., $59-$185, ticketmaster.com)

There’s no other music act in the Twin Cities right now like Xina. Aka 26-year-old Rosemount native Elaina McRath, she blends evocative visual art and modern dance with a nervy sonic backdrop of psychedelic electro-soul and dramatic ballads, a wild whirl that’s part FKA Twigs, Blood Orange and Kate Bush. Her mad-scientist blend takes on a clearer and alluring scope on her new EP, “Iron X,” featuring collaborations with local innovators Psymun and Mike Kota, but mostly a self-produced and gushingly personal affair. She’s planning quite an eye- and ear-opening show for its release party with Freaque opening. (8 p.m. Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Av., Mpls., $25-$32, icehousempls.com)

Also: Chicago R&B singer Donell Jones, who made some noise with “U Know What’s Up” and “Where I Wanna Be,” at the turn of the century, leads a Lovers & Legends show with Keke Wyatt of “Nothing In This World” fame and Carl Thomas, known for “I Wish” (8 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, $75 and up); creamy-voiced social media favorite Tori Holub, who does a striking version of the Carpenters’ “Superstar,” interprets classic pop songs (7 p.m. Crooners, sold out); the Four Freshmen, a vocal institution started in the 1948 but boasting an updated lineup including Minnesota’s own Jake Baldwin, harmonize (8 p.m. Belvedere Tent at Crooners, $48.94 and up); one of the Twin Cities’ most celebrated Americana songwriters, Chastity Brown is playing her main hometown gig of summer as part of the Under the Canopy series (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $29-$40).

The poorest-selling day of the festival — the only day for which just a limited number of general-admission tickets are still available — it has a eclectic daylong undercard that even haters of headliners Fall Out Boy might find enticing. Southern Cali indie-pop Remi Wolf is in breakout mode with her cheeky hits “Soup” and “Sexy Villian.” Two big hometown names, Motion City Soundtrack and Cory Wong, each arrive with new music, joined by rising local buzz acts Laamar and Raffaella. Jake Clemons is fresh off gigs with Springsteen’s E Street to trumpet his own topical music. And if you don’t sing along to at least five Weezer songs in concert, you’re either living under a rock or with a stick up your butt. As for F.O.B., Pete Wentz’s band is touring one man down with guitarist Joe Trohman out for hand surgery, but they should do just fine with their usual arsenal of pyrotechnics and big, emo-y audience singalongs. (12:50 p.m. Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul, $150 and up, minnesotayachtclubfestival.com)

Also: It’s a ‘70s flashback with Bachman Turner Overdrive revisiting “Takin’ Care of Business,” Marshall Tucker Band resurrecting “Can’t You See” and Jefferson Starship reviving “Miracles” (7 p.m. Treasure Island Casino Amphitheater, $70 and up); stormy Indiana rock band Murder by Death is on its purported farewell tour after releasing a final album, “Egg & Dart,” and has Against Me! punk legend Laura Jane Grace for an opener (7 p.m. First Ave, $35); Dizzy, a new Twin Cities soul band exploring jazz standards with frontman Mark Johnson, will be joined by former Prince keyboardist Tommy Barbarella (6 p.m. Crooners, $37.89 and up); Nashville newcomer Hudson Westbrook has created a buzz with the divorce ballad “House Again” with 97 million streams on Spotify as his debut album, “Texas Forever,” drops next week (8 p.m. Fillmore, $131 and up).

Green Day never disappoints. That’s sort of just a fact. And given that frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is married to a Minnesotan and is a big fan of our local music legends, he will probably be a little extra-animated at his band’s first-ever festival appearance here following two outta-the-park performances at Target Field since COVID. While Green Day continues to make noteworthy albums, the rest of the day’s lineup is heavy on ‘90s nostalgia acts, including good-vibe-y groovers Blind Lemon, 311 and Sublime, the latter newly fronted by Jakob Nowell, son of the band’s late frontman Bradley Nowell. Meanwhile, Garbage is about to serve up a strong comeback album and is paired with a couple other hard-hitting female-fronted rock bands, Beach Bunny and the Beaches. (12:50 p.m. Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul, $150 and up, minnesotayachtclubfestival.com)

This excellent twofer of rootsy jam bands might be considered a trifecta when you add in the award-winning brewery hosting the show in its parking lot, kicking off the fourth year of concerts there. New Jersey pickers Railroad Earth are playing a lot of festivals and amphitheaters elsewhere this summer but seem to have a thing for breweries, too, having also just played Bell’s in Michigan. Colorado’s Yonder Mountain crew have also been putting in a lot of time on the road touting their 11th album, “Nowhere Next.” (5:30 p.m., Utepils Brewing Co., 225 Thomas Av. N., Mpls., $49-$137, etix.com)

Also: Sam Barber, the 22-year-old Missouri singer/songwriter who recalls Zach Bryan with his moody, brooding songs, dropped his proper debut last fall, the meandering, unpolished 28-song “Restless Mind” (8 p.m. First Avenue, sold out); not many chances left to catch local piano legend Cornbread Harris at his longtime Sunday early-evening gig at soon-to-close Palmer’s Bar (5-7 p.m., free); Raleigh, N.C., alt-country band American Aquarium is on tour again living up to the title of last year’s “The Fear of Standing Still” (8 p.m. Fine Line, $25-$30); Grammy-winning kids music duo the Okee Dokee Brothers are back playing under St. Louis Park’s big, canopied outdoor rec center (2 p.m., the R.O.C., $30); the ever-versatile Minneapolis vocalist extraordinaire Ginger Commodore salutes the late Roberta Flack (7 p.m. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, $53.35 and up).

Celebrated L.A. jazz tap dancer Sarah Reich will be accompanied by an all-star Twin Cities combo (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35.77 and up).

Known from such Current-rotated radio hits as “Wait by the River” and “The Night We Met,” Los Angeles rootsy folk-pop band Lord Huron is in town again just days after releasing its latest album, “The Cosmic Selector, Vol. 1,” and has a must-see opener in soul-man revivalist Lee Fields (7:30 p.m. the Armory, $80); Mumbai bassist/singer Mohini Dey, who has played with Willow Smith, Quincy Jones, Steve Vai and A.R. Rahman, brings her jazz/funk to Minneapolis (7 p.m. the Dakota, $43.92 and up).

A band that has lived on through several different all-star tours since the passing of frontman Alex Chilton in 2010, the highly influential Memphis rock quartet Big Star is being celebrated again with its only surviving original member, Jody Stephens, and four name-brand admirers who’ve been in the mix before. They are: R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, Wilco guitarist/keyboardist Pat Sansone, the dBs’ Chris Stamey and the Posies’ Jon Auer, who was also part of the revived Big Star lineup with Chilton and Stephens in the ’90s and ’00s. They’re picking songs off all three of the band’s albums. Stamey is also serving as the opening act. (7 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)

The three Villarreal Vélez sisters from Monterrey, Mexico, having been rocking since 2013, with two indie albums and two for Lava/Republic along with 20 videos. Their 2024 full length, “Keep Me Fed,” shows they know their way around both metal and garage-rock, while their recent collab with Dead Poet Society, “Hurt,” pairs slow, moody verses with blistering choruses and buzzing guitars. The Warning sisters are concert veterans, too, having toured with Halsey and rocked at festivals from South America to Europe. (7:30 p.m. Fillmore Minneapolis, 525 N. 5th St., Mpls., $35 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Martin Zellar is gearing up for another run of upper Midwest gigs with the Zamboni-saluting Gear Daddies, Austin, Minn.’s favorite rock band (6-9 p.m. Excelsior Commons, free); drummer and composer Abinnet Berhanu showcases his Ethiopian-rooted group Ahndenet for the free Summer at the Cedar series on the venue’s big patio (6-8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this story.