FELIX

9 p.m. • Cause • $6

After nearly two decades with his locally loved hip-hop band Heiruspecs, co-founding emcee Chris "Felix" Wilbourn has finally found a little "me" time. The St. Paul-reppin' rapper is stepping out with his first solo venture, "The Slow Cold" EP, a preamble to a full-length coming this spring. Where some similarly seasoned hip-hop artists have a tendency to get stuck in '98, the shrewd-flowing Felix sidesteps the dated tag by tacking scene-schooled bars and tasteful hooks to groggily coiling beats. With Ashley Gold, Mastermind/Kaleem and Try Bishop. MICHAEL RIETMULDER

DWIGHT YOAKAM

8 p.m. • Treasure Island Casino • 12-plus • $38-$48

Always a Nashville outsider, Yoakam has captured only one Grammy and no prizes from any of the major country award organizations. But this proud purveyor of Bakersfield country music has scored 14 hit country singles, sold more than 25 million albums and won the hearts of many fans with his honky-tonk tales, edgy big-screen acting and sexy dancing legs in concert. Yoakam's recent album "3 Pears" -- his first collection of original material in seven years -- was one of the best country albums of 2012. With a 1960s vibe permeating the collection, there are introspective ballads (the Buddy Holly-meets-Roy Orbison "Trying"), honky-tonk romps ("Dim Lights, Thick Smoke"), twangy Beatlesy pop ("Take Hold of My Hand") and Byrds-like pop-rock ("Nothin' But Love," "A Heart Like Mine," produced by Beck ). JON BREAM

METALLAGHER

10 p.m. • Triple Rock • 18-plus • $10

At least for those of us lucky enough to get a taste of its live shows back in the day -- and by taste, I mean smashed chunks of watermelon landing in your mouth -- Metallagher was an unforgettable antidote to the often overly serious mid-'00s music scene. The quintet concocted the who'd-a-thunk-it mixture of Metallica tunes and Gallagher bits, combining the biggest band of its members' youth with arguably the worst celebrity comedian of all time. They're back for an almost-annual gig to remind you how bad the hammer-swinging comic really is, but they're also good enough as cover bands to do the pre-"Black Album" tunes justice. The GoodBars and Deaf Mexico open.CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

LULU'S PLAYGROUND

9 p.m. • Artists' Quarter • $10

Lulu's Playground got started at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, where all four members matriculated, then relocated to the Twin Cities. The quartet's instrumentation is rather unique, with trumpet (Adam Meckler), cello (Cory Grossman), accordion (Steven Hobert) and electric guitar (Evan Montgomery). Trumpeter Meckler has already made quite a nice splash in the local jazz scene, leading his own orchestra and working with Todd Clouser's A Love Electric and the Jack Brass Band. In Lulu's Playground, he gets to play some decidedly non-jazz material, including Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," on which the band shows off its surprising four-part vocal harmony skills. LuLu celebrates an album release with tonight's show.TOM SUROWICZ