POP/ROCK If you build it, Elton John will come. Fresh from the royal wedding, Las Vegas' resident rocker is playing Duluth's Amsoil Arena -- a new addition to the harborside Duluth Entertainment Convention Center -- as part of a tour that brings him to some smaller North American markets, including Saskatoon and Regina in Canada. (8 p.m. Fri., 350 Harbor Dr., Duluth. Sold out.) Jon Bream

After winning a local band contest at Club 3 Degrees in Minneapolis, Hyland has become a national band to watch in the Christian rock world. Its debut EP, "Quotients," was co-produced by Skillet's Ben Kasica, and Alternative Press named it one of 100 bands to watch this year. Tuesday, the baby-faced quartet issued its full-length debut on Tooth & Nail Records, the label behind Underoath, Jeremy Camp and other holy rock 'n' rollers. The record boasts a polished but punky power-pop sound that Motion City Soundtrack fans might dig, whether or not they dig into the lyrics. (6:30 p.m. Fri-Sat., Living Word Christian Center, 9201 75th Av. S., Brooklyn Park. All ages. $10.) Chris Riemenschneider

Back on the road following their annual "420 Celebration," San Diego's sun-baked, reggae-tinged rockers Slightly Stoopid made the wise decision of bringing along veteran twang-punks the Meat Puppets for an opening act. The Puppets are back from a decade of near-tragic calamity and just made one of the best records of their influential career, "Lollipop." They're touring their way out to the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, where they'll play their entire album "Up on the Sun" at the request of curators Animal Collective. (8:30 p.m. Fri., First Avenue. 18 & older. $25.) Riemenschneider

Though he'll soon turn 60, Jonathan Richman still seems like the man-child fans got to know and love back in the heady 1970s punk explosion. He's been covered by many a rock luminary (Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, the Sex Pistols, David Bowie), but nobody does a Richman song like the man himself, accompanied by longtime drummer Tommy Larkins. They're at their evocative, folk-rockin' best on the recent CD "O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth." (9 p.m. Fri. Triple Rock, $15-$18.) Tom Surowicz

As a former elementary teacher and the mother of two young boys, Sheryl Crow is an avid supporter of children's education. That's why she decided to perform at the 29th annual benefit for the Pacer Center, which works with kids with disabilities. The veteran pop star promises to treat this like a regular gig even though it follows a gala and live auction. The concert is open to non-benefit-goers. Read an interview with Crow at startribune.com/music. (8 p.m. Sat., Mpls. Convention Center auditorium, $65 for concert only. More info at Pacer.org) Bream

Ex-Men at Work frontman Colin Hay is a delightful charmer in song and conversation. Funny enough to be a standup comedian, he tells long-winded yarns about celebrities, drugs and rock 'n' roll and does impressions (musical and spoken). This time around, there might be more serious moments as Hay sets up songs from his new album, "Gathering Mercury," which addresses the recent death of his father. (8 p.m. Sat., Pantages, $26.50.) Bream

We can't help but wonder how Bob Schneider's onetime girlfriend Sandra Bullock would feel about "Penélope Cruz," a love letter of sorts to an unattainable actress. It's one of the lighthearted, easygoing, daydreamy songs on "A Perfect Day," the latest album by Texas' answer to John Mayer. (9 p.m. Sat., Fine Line. 21 & older. $21-$24.) Riemenschneider

Though Yelle's lyrics are entirely in French, most Stateside fans are content to absorb the trio's saccharine synth sounds and minimalistic dance bursts. Who needs lyrical content cluttering up infectiously fun electro-pop, anyway? Julie Budet (aka Yelle) and her namesake crew have one famous fan in pop queen Katy Perry, who had the group remix her hit "Hot n Cold" and pegged them as a supporting act on her recent UK tour. French Horn Rebellion and Estate open. (7:30 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, $13-$15. 18 & older.) Michael Rietmulder

When she takes the stage at the Dakota Jazz Club, Judy Collins could try on many hats -- folkie, activist, author, icon, chanteuse, classical pianist, suicide-prevention crusader, storyteller, muse (Crosby Stills & Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"), comedian, mother. Whichever, it should add up to a memorable evening. (7 & 9 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota, $40-$65.) Bream

A love-it-or-hate-it act of the precious and possibly pretentious variety, Tune-Yards is the nom de warble of Merrill Garbus, a ukulele-playing and drum-looping California singer/songwriter who's earning widespread critical raves for her second album on 4AD, "whokill." The disc boasts an unlikely mish-mash of hip-hop and Afrobeat rhythms with high-wavering, Tiny Tim-like vocal bits, a complex and occasionally off-putting mix that Garbus pulls off live with help from a three-piece band. Another uke-rock favorite, Buke & Gass, opens. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $10-$12.) Riemenschneider

Scoping out bands with overt Dylan influences is an easy task, especially with the Felice Brothers. The group hails from the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, and frontman Ian Felice's craggy, vowel-howling voice is unabashedly Bob. Musically the group is straight-up Americana: well-executed roots rock with strong folk underpinnings. South Carolina-based, lady-fronted country duo Shovels & Rope opens. (9 p.m. Mon., Triple Rock, $13-$15. 18 & older.) Jay Boller

Any goon with an asymmetrical haircut gets play in indie music, but where's the metal? The traveling Exposed Music Festival aims to scrounge it up, with a localized lineup of headbangers at every stop. Among the Twin Cities bands slotted to perform: Silenced at 801, Soulshine, We Are Legion and Summoned to Rest. (6 p.m. Tue., Station 4, $10-$12. 16 & older.) Boller

He's not billing it as a farewell tour, but classic-rock giant Bob Seger thinks this could the last time. There's no new album in the mix; just a single of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train," which Seger says he recorded before Rod Stewart did. The pride of Detroit reports that he's performing better than on his 2006 comeback tour -- his voice is stronger and he's in better shape physically, offering two dozen songs. Read an interview in Sunday's Variety section. Frankie Ballard opens. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Xcel Energy Center, $67.) Bream

Cake truly has gone the distance. Fifteen years after achieving one-hit-wonder status with "The Distance," the weirdly atonal and unabashedly repetitive Sacramento band has maintained a cult following all the way through to its recent comeback album "Showroom of Compassion," which debuted at No. 1 in Billboard and has racked up airplay locally on the Current. Frontman John McCrea continues to charm critics with his wry, stream-of-consciousness diatribes in songs such as "Federal Funding" and "Bound Away." This is an "Evening With" show, so no opener. (8 p.m. Thu., State Theatre. $38.50-$41.50.) Riemenschneider

After 33 years and more than 4,500 gigs -- many of them in the Twin Cities -- the Radiators are bringing their funky New Orleans jam-band gumbo to an end in June because keyboardist/singer Ed Volker is tired of touring. (9:30 p.m. May 12-14, Cabooze, $30.) Bream

The Afro-European-soul exotica of Les Nubians is on full display on "Nü Revolution," the accomplished new album by the French-Cameroonian sister duo. Even though many of the songs are in French, this 14-track collection suggests the ambition and versatility of Erykah Badu. Helene and Celia Faussart essay ballads, trip-hop, spoken word, hip-hop/soul, dance music, Afropop, jazz, traditional African music, Prince-influenced funk and Euro-soul. A highlight is the sassy French funk of "Nü Soul Makossa," featuring famed African saxophonist Manu Dibango and samples of his 1972 hit "Soul Makossa." (7 p.m. Thu.-next Fri., Dakota, $40.) Bream

HIP-HOP Mystikal and Juvenile are calling their joint tour "The Nola Explosion," but a better name might be "The Ass Men." The two New Orleans rappers once heated up the charts with such hits as "Shake Ya Ass" and "Back that Azz Up," but they've fallen out of favor in the now-you're-hot-now-you're-not world of mainstream hip-hop. Still, there's strength in numbers, and Mystikal, back from a long prison term, and Juvenile, jettisoned from his longtime home at Cash Money Records, are aiming for a 2011 comeback. (10 p.m. Fri., Epic, $25-$50.) Tom Horgen

ACOUSTIC/FOLK Arriving this time without Jack Casady (Half Tuna?), guitar legend Jorma Kaukonen will be joined by mandolin all-pro Barry Mitterhoff in a night of blues and roots. Now that he has two solo projects and a Hot Tuna CD out on St. Paul's Red House Records, Twin Cities fans can almost claim Kaukonen as their own. The new HT platter, "Steady as She Goes," comes complete with the video endorsement of local superfan Andrew Zimmern, of cable TV's "Bizarre Foods." (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$28.) Surowicz

A star of the 1960s "Great Folk Scare," Tom Rush carved out a niche as the guy who discovered the songs of such future stars as Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Underrated as a guitarist, he remains a great live act, an easygoing charmer. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, $30-$40.) Surowicz

Fans of the blues-rich "American primitive" school of guitar playing (see: Leo Kottke, John Fahey, Peter Lang) should check out Michael Gulezian. A formidable player who helped pioneer the style with the fabled Takoma Records gang, he appears in a benefit for the Red Thread Movement, which rescues Nepalese teens from sexual slavery. (7 p.m. Sat., New Life Community Church, 6900 W. Fish Lake Rd., Maple Grove. $15. 763-325-1372.) Surowicz

JAZZTurn off your cell phones, keep your conversations to a minimum and clap with gusto between songs. Why? The Atlantis Quartet tapes a live CD this weekend They're fresh from a tour that wrapped up with three nights in NYC, and all four members -- Brandon Wozniak (sax), Zacc Harris (guitar), Chris Bates (bass) and Pete Hennig (drums) -- have new compositions to document. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter, $10.) Surowicz

The sleeper gig of the week stars great drummer Bill Goodwin, known for his long tenure with the Grammy-winning Phil Woods Quintet -- 37 years and counting! -- and his work on Tom Waits' live album "Nighthawks at the Diner." Goodwin will commune with excellent New York saxophonist Adam Niewood and some of the Twin Cities' finest: pianist Bryan Nichols and bassists Gordy Johnson (first set) and Adam Linz (second set). (8 p.m. Thu., Artists' Quarter, $10.)

NEW MUSIC Ensemble 61, named for the U.S. highway (think Bob Dylan), is a locally based new-music startup comprising soprano Carrie Henneman Shaw, flutist Linda Chatterton, pianist Matthew McCright, percussionist Erik Barsness and guitarist Jesse Langen. Their inaugural program is "Across the Divide" -- the divide being that between the French and the Germans. Representing France: composers Olivier Messiaen, Tristan Murail and Philippe Hurel. Representing Germany: Wolfgang Rihm, Helmut Lachenmann, Matthias Pintscher and Hans Thomalla, who'll be on hand for a pre-concert talk. (8 p.m. Sat., Studio Z, 275 E. 4th St., St. Paul. $5-$15. www.studiozstpaul.com.) Larry Fuchsberg

An accordion maverick with few peers, Guy Klucevsek plays everything from chamber music to polkas to avant-garde fare, with the likes of John Zorn, Fred Frith, Dave Douglas, Laurie Anderson and Brave Combo. He's had a fertile association with Twin Cities composer Mary Ellen Childs, and next week he joins St. Paul's premier new music ensemble, Zeitgeist, for a three-night concert run titled "Hammers, Horns, Skins n' Squeezebox." (7:30 p.m. Thu.-May 14, Studio Z. $10.) Surowicz