Chrissie Hynde with the Pretenders at First Avenue in 2009

Star Tribune photo by Marlin Levison

Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders has a new band. It's a side project called JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys. They've released an indie album called "Fidelity." And now they're going on tour, coming to St. Paul Oct. 11 at the Fitzgerald. Hynde's main partner in the British project is JP Jones, a 31-year-old British journeyman rocker who has played with the bands Big Linda and Grace. Read an intriguing interview with Hynde about this project at spin.com. Not to worry, the Pretenders are not disbanding.

Tickets, priced at $25 and $28, will go on sale at noon Friday.

In other concert news, the Max Weinberg Big Band, which sold out two shows at the Dakota in July, will return Oct. 25 to the Guthrie Theater. Tickets, priced from $37 to $42, will go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday.

Also returning after a summer performance is Dark Star Orchestra, the Grateful Dead cover band that recreates exact sets from Dead concerts. DSO rocks Oct. 21 at the Varsity Theater. Advance tickets, priced at $25, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.