The Big Gigs: Shows and highlights of the upcoming entertainment week

HIP-HOP

In 2006, Miami-based rapper Rick Ross broke out as an unlikely star -- his lumbering frame only eclipsed by an even bigger beard. Lucky for him, Jay-Z and Def Jam found his molasses flow intriguing, signing Ross and making his single "Hustlin'" a new anthem in the South. After his debut, "Port of Miami," did respectable numbers, he's back with a new album of big-budget tales about drug deals and shootouts: "Trilla," due for a February/March release. Until then, he's staying busy with a slew of singles, most of them with guest stars currently heating up the Billboard charts. Ross has T-Pain doing his robotic croon on the new single "Boss," plus Flo-Rida helped out on "Street Money," and R.Kelly lent his pipes to "Speedin'." (10 p.m. today, Myth, $40, 18 & older.) (T.H.)

POP/ROCK

An annual tribute that dates back to when its namesake still walked the Earth, the Cash Only VIII salute to Johnny Cash arrives again with an ain't-broke-don't-fix-it two-night lineup. Local honky-tonk kingpins Trailer Trash and their guest-filled Cash Choir return to headline both nights, along with repeat favorites the White Iron Band, Ol' Yeller and resident Cash expert Sherwin Linton. One new twist just for Saturday night: Linton -- whom Cash befriended after he made the 1971 tribute album, "Hello, I'm Not Johnny Cash" -- plans to perform all of Cash's 1957 Sun Records debut album "Hot Blue Guitar." (9:30 p.m. today & Sat., Cabooze. 18 & older today, 21 & older Sat. $12.) (C.R.)

Iowa's most buzzed-about female singer-songwriter meets up with her Minnesota counterpart as Pieta Brown returns to town on a great double bill with Haley Bonar. Brown's new third album, "Remember the Sun," emphasizes her rollicking, Lucinda Williams-like twang, which she crafted with some ace help from guitarist/partner Bo Ramsey (also her dad Greg's cohort, and a former Williams sideman). Bonar, meanwhile, just completed her own third album, "Big Star." It's being mixed by renowned studio wiz Tchad Blake and should be out in March. (8 p.m. today, Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $10-$12.) (C.R.)

Stylish local quartet Bella Koshka's debut opus "Slow Dancing on the Ocean Floor" (produced by Kid Dakota's Darren Jackson) combines the pleasures of live/electronic collage, string arrangements and a compelling vocalist. Laura Boland whispers, sighs and trills through her dark, grownup poetry; Hilary Davis' violin adds lithesome textures, and the overall effect is something like a lost classic from the underground British dream-pop label 4AD. (10 p.m. Sat., Bryant-Lake Bowl. $8-$10.) (S.P.G.)

Versatile young violin ace Zack Kline, known for his work with the Celtic band Piper's Crow, plays a broad range of music with his Orange Mighty Trio -- jazz, folk, "new"grass, Americana, neoclassical. Boundaries will only get easier to obliterate when the band welcomes like-minded guitar master/renegade Dean Magraw as a guest this week. Double-bassist Nick Gaudette and pianist Mike Vasich round out the freewheeling ensemble. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center. $10-$12.) (T.S.)

Last seen on tour with Girl Talk and Dan Deacon, 25-year-old synth-pop singer/character White Williams sounds like an ultra-light, flowery, asexual Beck. The Cleveland-reared, New York-based digi-wiz just issued an album on Kid 606's Tigerbeat6 label called "Smoke." A better title might've been "Fluff," especially with its tepid cover of "I Want Candy," but a buzz has nonetheless begun. Baltimore's Ecstatic Sunshine opens. (9 p.m. Mon., Triple Rock. 21 & older. $10-$12.) (C.R.)

Xavier Rudd is an unlikely cross between Jack Johnson and That 1 Guy or the Blue Man Group. An Australian surfer dude who plays softly sung, reggae-influenced, hippie-dippie-ish acoustic music, he also performs with a funny-looking Erector Set-like musical contraption that houses many different drums, stringed instruments and, as if to emphasize his Aussieness, even a didgeridoo. He toured with Dave Matthews last year and just played "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Monday. His opener, Bermuda-reared songwriter Mishka, is signed to Matthew McConaughey's JK Living label. Dude! (7:30 p.m. Mon., First Avenue. 18 & older. $20.) (C.R.)

Former punks and rockers turned stringband players, Foghorn Trio hooks up two members of Portland's Foghorn Stringband -- fiddler (and Minnesota native) Stephen "Sammy" Lind and mandolinist Caleb Klauder -- with local fiddle phenom Tim Foss for a night of driving tunes that will make your feet amplify the beat, plus traditional country songs with heartaching melodies. The Ditch Lilies kick off the evening with their all-girl hillbilly swing and honky-tonk blues. (9 p.m. Tue., Lee's Liquor Lounge. $5.) (C.C.)

For a change, the ever-prolific Todd Rundgren doesn't have a new album to promote. But he has four decades worth of songs to choose from. Reports about the computer wizard's current tour indicate that he's doing sort of a career retrospective, spotlighting his often overlooked guitar prowess. Here's a request for many things from "Something/Anything." (7:30 p.m. Tue., Pantages Theatre, $33.) (J.B.)

A dance-punk band that actually knows how to rock -- and hard -- Montreal trio We Are Wolves is back with its sophomore album, "Total Magique." Soviet Panda, host of the Too Much Love dance nights, will spin an opening set. (9 p.m. Wed., First Avenue. 18 & older. $6.) (C.R.)

Low-key yet subversive, acoustic yet respected by headbangers and guitar tech freaks, U.K. wizard Adrian Legg is just as comfortable touring with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as he is penning droll road stories for NPR's "All Things Considered." Constantly tinkering with his souped-up "electro-acoustic" guitar, and fine-tuning his wry raconteuring, Legg will dazzle you with his fingers, amuse you with his tongue and leave you warm and fuzzy with his romantic waltzes. 7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $16-$18.) (T.S.)

Before he releases his eighth album, "It's Time for a Love Revolution," on Feb. 5, Lenny Kravitz is performing in small venues in nine cities. His new single, "I'll Be Waiting," is a piano ballad, which is not what we've come to expect from this unabashedly retro rocker. But "Bring It On," which can be heard on his MySpace page, is in a more familiar Kravitz vein -- a heavy blues-rocker straight out of the late 1960s. And what can we expect from a tune called "Back in Vietnam" that's also on the new CD? Expect Kravitz to preview "Love Revolution" and rock the house with his less-than-revolutionary hits. (8 p.m. Thu. Myth, $48.) (J.B.)

BLUES

Fresh from a festival gig in Chile last weekend, guitar hero Melvin Taylor, one of the jazziest, most adept players on the Chicago blues scene, brings his compact yet potent Slack Band to town for a one-nighter that's sure to feature lots of soulful fretboard fireworks. (9 p.m. Sat., Famous Dave's Uptown. $5.) (T.S.)

FOLK

Maybe you've heard the Carolina Chocolate Drops on NPR or "A Prairie Home Companion," where their old-time fiddle- and banjo-driven music fits in perfectly. But their backstory is almost as fascinating as their music. Three young black musicians researched the black music of the Carolinas, and now they are entertaining and edu cating the world about old-time Piedmont music. The Chocolate Drops' "Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind" was one of 2007's left-field delights. In addition to their evening gig, CCD will do a workshop at 2 p.m. Sunday at the new MacPhail Center for Music. (7:30 p.m. Sun. Cedar Cultural Center, $15 advance, $18 door.) (J.B.)

JAZZ

Jon Pemberton, a fine hard-bop trumpeter and the composer of three jazz liturgies (he's also music director at Mercy Seat Lutheran Church), gets to step out in a rare weekend two-night gig that's not a tribute to his hero, Lee Morgan (but may still include a Morgan tune or two). Pemberton is debuting a quintet that co-stars sax vet Jim Marentic, guitar guru Dean Granros, bass stalwart Tom Lewis and house drummer Kenny Horst. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter. $10.) (T.S.)

Longtime Chuck Mangione reedman Chris Vadala stars in two concerts with the JazzMN Big Band this week. The first features an opening set by the Apple Valley High School Jazz Ensemble I. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Apple Valley High School at 7:30 p.m.). The second show features swingin' club singer Judi Donaghy with JazzMN in the first set, followed by the Vadala set. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center. Call 651-209-6689 for tickets to either show.) (T.S.)

Patriots vs. Chargers? Packers vs. Giants? Slide vs. valve? For those not enthralled by the NFL playoffs, the Artists' Quarter offers a musical alternative, a friendly afternoon meeting of two types of trombones, where everybody wins. Dave Graf (slide trombone) and Brad Bellows (valve trombone) are joined by the excellent rhythm section of Peter Schimke (piano), Gordy Johnson (bass) and Mac Santiago (drums). There'll be free hors d'oeuvres to go with your bebop. (3-7 p.m. Sun., Artists' Quarter. $7) (T.S.)

The talent-stuffed Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra makes a rare Twin Cities appearance, led by trumpet superstar Wynton Marsalis and featuring a truly remarkable trumpet section of Sean Jones (who blew Dakota audiences away late last year), Iowa post-phenom Ryan Kisor and Marcus Printup, all small group leaders in their own right. The LCJO will be presenting a program of "Ellington Love Songs," and we bet some of those ballads will star Scottish baritone sax legend Joe Temperley, who has always excelled emoting at slower tempos. Highly recommended. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Orchestra Hall. $35-$77.) (T.S.)

She's a lithe blonde with a dusky voice. You could easily mistake Sophie Milman for the daughter that Twin Cities jazz thrush Connie Evingson never had. Born in Russia, raised in Israel and now living in Canada, Milman, 24, is making a name for herself as jazz's hot young chanteuse. Her 2004 self-titled debut has sold nearly 100,000 copies (she's big in Japan and Canada), and her splendid 2007 CD, "Make Someone Happy," shows a more confident, seductive singer who does distinctive readings of "(It's Not Easy) Bein' Green" and "Matchmaker, Matchmaker." Read an interview with Milman in Sunday's Arts section. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Mon. & Tue. Dakota Jazz Club, $15-$20.) (J.B.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream, Chris Riemenschneider, Tom Horgen and Simon Peter Groebner, and freelancers Tom Surowicz and Cyn Collins.

While most electronic performers hunch over their gear on stage like nerds in science class, Dan Deacon approaches his performances more like P.T. Barnum, Iggy Pop and Har Mar Superstar. The beefy, bespectacled Baltimore-based gadget guru -- who actually went to graduate school for music -- led a dance-floor dance-off and pulled numerous other stunts his last time in town. His playfulness is equally evident in wild, whirring, whimsical songs such as "Pizza Horse" and "All Wet and No Boner." This tour will include two drummers and visuals from his new DVD, "Ultimate Reality." Highly recommended, especially with local favorites Gay Beast and Vampire Hands opening. (7 p.m. Thu., First Avenue. 18 & older. $10.) (C.R.)