The Big Gigs: Our critics' music picks

COUNTRY The second and majorly upgraded Country Splash continues tonight with the uncrowned king of country, Kenny Chesney, who has sold more concert tickets this decade than anyone in the genre; spitfire Miranda Lambert, who will burn it up with "Kerosene" and "Gunpowder and Lead," and fast-rising trio Lady Antebellum. On Saturday, Darius Rucker, the Hootie frontman turned Nashville star who is an invigorating performer no matter what the genre, will set the table for Rascal Flatts, the harmony-obsessed country-pop trio. (1:30 p.m. today-Sat., Float-Rite Amphitheater, Somerset, Wis., www.countrysplash.com) (J.B.)

POP/ROCK The Offspring never turned into a top-tier band like Green Day, though both pushed punk-rock into the mainstream with snarky hits in the mid-'90s. But the fly white guys from Huntington Beach, Calif., have hung onto their young skateboarder audience and are even earning a lot of radio play again with their latest album, "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace," featuring the fist-pumping singles "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" and "Hammerhead." It's no four-star rock opera, but it does show that these guys can get serious and still seriously rock. Boston's Irish-punk faves the Dropkick Murphys and Southern Cali newcomers Time Again open. (6:30 p.m. today, Roy Wilkins Auditorium. $39.50-$42.50.) (C.R.)

Part of the Nashville contingent that rebels against the wussies on Music Row by being extra wild and manly, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers kick up punkabilly and have an excellent showman/frontman in JD Wilkes. The quartet just finished a new album, "AgriDustrial," due in the fall. (9 p.m. today, 400 Bar. $12-$15.) (C.R.)

Powerhouse singer Lydia Pense, a mainstay for four decades on the San Francisco scene (and featured in this month's DVD "Fillmore: The Last Days"), brings her latest incarnation of brassy blues-rockers Cold Blood to town. She actually recorded "Piece of My Heart" before Janis Joplin transformed it into a classic. (8:30 p.m. Sat., Minnesota Music Cafe, $15-$20.) (J.B.)

This weekend's 36th annual Back to the '50s street-rod celebration features countless cool cars and two of the Twin Cities' biggest (and refurbished) garage-rock bands of the '60s -- the Castaways (1965's "Liar Liar") and the Trashmen (1963's "Surfin' Bird"). (6:30 p.m. Sat., State Fairgrounds, $10.) (J.B.)

You can't beat the setting (the Mississippi riverfront) or the price (free) of the Stone Arch Festival for the Arts, which also offers one of this summer's more colorful music lineups -- particularly of female artists, who are shamefully lacking at Taste of Minnesota and other events. Especially recommended Saturday are masterful pluckers Spaghetti Western String Co., Britrock quintet the Idle Hands, neo-folk team Roma di Luna, twangy kids Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps and songwriters Eliza Blue, Dan Israel and Brad Senne. Sunday's highlights include a trio of rustic indie-rock bands, the Absent Arch, Me & My Arrow and the Wars of 1812, plus Americana rocker Jason Shannon, soul-rock balladeer Chastity Brown and Parisian cabaret-styled Cafe Accordion Orchestra. (11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., St. Anthony Main and Father Hennepin Park, Mpls. Free. Set times at www.StoneArchFestival.com.) (C.R.)

Ah, the Church. "Under the Milky Way" was the stargazing anthem for music fans who grew up on "120 Minutes," and the Australian quintet produced quite a few albums' worth of similarly swooning and ethereal gems. The group's core trio -- Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes --have taken time out for solo albums but never stopped making albums together. Their latest, "Untitled #23" (yep, their 23rd!), is squarely ho-hum, but the songs will fit in OK around old favorites. They're on tour with another old alt-rock vet, Adam Franklin, who fronted the mighty guitar-swirly British band Swervedriver. (8 p.m. Sun., Varsity Theater. $23-$26.) (C.R.)

A pedal-steel guitar player featured on seemingly every other CD that comes out of the Twin Cities, Joe Savage is getting some deserved payback after being diagnosed with prostate cancer (caught early, thankfully). Trailer Trash, Hookers & Blow, Romantica, the Dollys, Pat Donohue, Pop Wagner and many others have signed on for a fundraiser to help offset his medical expenses. Even ol' Garrison Keillor will be on hand for a reading. (3 p.m.-midnight Sun., Minneapolis Eagles Club. $10 or more.) (C.R.)

Taking their Hollywood roots to heart, the surviving members of snarling punk band the Germs have reunited for a couple reunion tours with an actual actor standing in for singer Darby Crash, who committed suicide in 1980. The reunion was spawned by the little-seen 2005 movie on Crash, "What We Do Is Secret," which starred "ER" intern Shane West -- the guy now fronting the band. It's all apparently done with the wink and smirk permanently planted on the face of guitarist Pat Smear, who went on to play with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. He and the other two original members, Lorna Doom and Don Bolles, had enough fun with West, they're still playing shows for kicks. Texas punks the Krum Bums open. (8 p.m. Mon., Triple Rock. 18 & older. $15.) (C.R.)

Sofia Coppola's favorite band and France's trendiest export since (insert whichever fashion last came from Paris here), Phoenix recently proved on "Saturday Night Live" that they're not some highfalutin, pâté-flavored electronic act. Sure, the quartet crafts innovative dance tracks and expects us to know the significance of composer Franz Liszt and turn-of-the-century Paris with their hits "Lisztomania" and "1901." But their new breakout album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," is full of accessible, playful melodies and simplistic pop bliss. See Sunday's Variety A+E section for a feature on the band. (9 p.m. Tue., Varsity Theater. Sold out.) (C.R.)

Two newsworthy things about the return of X, Los Angeles' greatest -- and rootsiest -- punk band of the 1980s: 1) singer Exene Cervenka announced recently that she has multiple sclerosis but it isn't affecting her performances; 2) this is the Total Request Live Tour, which means fans can help build the nightly set list by voting at www.xtheband.com. My votes are for "Johny Hit and Run Paulene," "Los Angeles" and "Breathless," a swell showcase for Billy Zoom's rockabilly guitar. Opening is L.A. roots band Steve Soto & the Twisted Hearts, featuring ex-members of Royal Crown Revue, the Adolescents and Agent Orange. (9 p.m. Tue., Cabooze, $20 -$22. ) (J.B.)

Of all the retro-loving neo-swing bands, Pink Martini is probably the most musically adventurous. Beyond the usual jump blues and old-time rock 'n' roll, multilingual China Forbes and her crew from Portland, Ore., incorporate various styles of world music (tango, bossa nova, salsa, chanson), vintage film music and even lounge jazz. It's a blend as intoxicating as its moniker suggests. (7:30 p.m. Tue., O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, University of St. Catherine, St. Paul, $45-$48.) (J.B.)

For Conor Oberst fans: It looks like we're not in Nebraska anymore. Since he retired the Bright Eyes name in 2005, Omaha's indie-rock hero has been roaming North America in search of higher meaning -- and other highs, too, it seems. He settled in spiritual centers in Florida and Mexico and walked out with a new act, the Mystic Valley Band, which has become far more than a backing group. Their new CD, "Outer South," includes songs written and sung by two of Oberst's bandmates, who share his love for kicking up the dusty sounds of Neil Young, Gram Parsons and the omnipresent Bob Dylan. The weirdest thing is how classic and clear-headed it actually sounds. Should be even better in concert. Deep Sea Diver and Michael Runion open. (9 p.m. Wed., First Avenue. 18 & older. $24.) (C.R.)

Matthew Sweet, that icon of 1990s power-pop, returned to form on last year's "Sunshine Lies," with its glistening guitars and I-love-radio hooks. If you ever doubted his affection for pop radio, check out the new "Under the Covers Vol. 2" as he and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles explore classics by the Raspberries, Big Star and even the Dead. (8:30 p.m. Wed., Varsity Theater, $20.) (J.B.)

After he led the pioneering noise-punk band Big Black and around the time he became a big producer for Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey et al., Steve Albini teamed with Twin Cities-reared drum-kit demolisher Todd Trainer (ex-Riflesport) in Shellac. The punchy, fragmented and oftentimes ridiculously powerful trio, rounded out by bassist Bob Weston, has recorded only five albums since 1992, the last of which was 2007's underappreciated "Excellent Italian Greyhound." It plays gigs even more randomly, so don't miss this chance. Bear Claw and Three Second Kiss open. (8 p.m. Thu., Varsity Theater. 18 & older. $12.) (C.R.)

JAZZ Probably no one thought of New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint as a jazzman until his new album "The Bright Mississippi," featuring instrumentals of pieces by Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and others, delivered by an all-star combo that includes Marc Ribot, Nicholas Payton and Don Byron. The piano man won't have any big names with him tonight at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, but he will play many "Mississippi" numbers with his regular Crescent City combo as well as the pop and R&B hits ("Mother in Law," "Java," "Southern Nights") that landed this giant writer, arranger and producer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (8:30 p.m. today, Mears Park, downtown St. Paul. Free). On Saturday, check out funky and fine bassist Esperanza Spalding, who has played with Joe Lovano, Patti Austin, Pat Metheny and Regina Carter. (8:30 p.m. Sat.) (J.B.)

Perhaps no one has a more encyclopedic knowledge of jazz piano than Chicago's Jon Weber, who can play in any style from Tatum to Tyner. This weekend he anchors a quartet co-starring alto sax phenom Alex Han. Though just 21, Han has a slew of hip credits under his belt, including appearances with Roy Hargrove, Paquito D'Rivera, Herbie Hancock, Joey DeFrancesco, Marcus Miller and James Moody. (9 p.m. today-Sat., Artists' Quarter. $10.) (T.S.)

For the first time in her recording career, dazzling Japanese pianist Hiromi tackles the Great American Songbook ("Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," "My Favorite Things") and other familiar fare on "Beyond Standard," a showcase for her thoroughly international Sonicbloom band. U.S. guitar hero David (Fuze) Fiuczynski is the big recent addition to the cool combo, which also features British electric bassist Tony Grey and Slovak drummer Martin Valihora. The time-tested tunes get a hard-hitting, fusion transformation while the only original, "XYG," is jazz-rock at its bombastic best. Fiuczynski recalls Jeff Beck and John Scofield while Hiromi sounds as energetic, mercurial, fresh and compelling as ever. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota Jazz Club. $20-$25.) (T.S.)

On June 30 Concord Jazz will release "By Request: The Best of Karrin Allyson," the once-local singer's 12th album for the label, and a well assembled overview of her recording career: Tin Pan Alley and jazz standards, blues, Brazilian, bop, pop, songs in French and Portuguese, and a hip duet with West Coast legend Nancy King. Minnesota fans will be happy to know that two playful perennial Dakota "hits" ("Sweet Home Cookin' Man" and "O Pato") made the cut. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Tue.-Wed., Dakota Jazz Club. $25-$40.) (T.S.)

WORLD Formed by displaced musicians in the refugee camps of Guinea, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are now known worldwide. A hit at the State Fair in 2007, they offer infectious West African dance music that includes healthy dollops of roots reggae, lyrics that are generally in English, and an always uplifting vibe. They might even surprise new fans with covers of U2 and John Lennon from recent compilation CDs. (8 p.m. today, Cedar Cultural Center. $22-$25.) (T.S.)

HIP-HOP The Sugar Hill Gang might only be known to even diehard hip-hop fans for one song, but it was the song that started it all: "Rapper's Delight," a top 40 hit in 1979 for the New Jersey-reared trio and a classic that your mom probably knows without knowing it. All three original members -- Master Gee, Wonder Mike and Big Bang Hank -- still tour together, which should make it a delight. Local hip-hop/R&B ensemble the New Congress opens. (10 p.m. Wed., Fine Line. 18 & older. $12-$15.) (C.R.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider and freelancer Tom Surowicz.