POP/ROCK

As evidenced by the lead-off single "Miracle Mile," Cold War Kids have found a way to balance out frontman Nathan Willet's hyper-dramatic warble — as heard in their 2007 hit "Hang Me Up to Dry" — with a poppier, more anthemic sound. There's a compelling Killers/U2-ish vibe all over the new album, "Dear Miss Lonely Hearts." The Southern Cali quartet is out on a short "underplay" tour to hype the record with Modest Mouse's Dann Gallucci added on guitar. Wilderness-residing, Chicago-bred boy/girl duo Houses opens. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, sold out.) Chris Riemenschneider

Eighteen years since its smash debut album and five since its last go-round, Garbage did not exactly make a huge comeback with last year's album, "Not Your Kind of People," but it came back on its own label and terms. Bewitching frontwoman Shirley Manson is still carrying the weight she brought to the early hits "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains," while Butch Vig and his Wisconsinite bandmates tastefully updated the post-grunge guitar-pop sound without losing their punch. The touring lineup includes Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery. Los Angeles' whir-to-roar boy/girl electro-rock duo IO Echo opens fresh from a buzzing South by Southwest run. (9 p.m. Fri., Mill City Nights, $42.) Riemenschneider

On 2012's acclaimed "Sing the Delta," her first album of original material in 16 years, Americana singer/songwriter Iris DeMent paints portraits of the important people in her life. Nothing hits harder than "The Night I Learned How Not to Pray," about the death of her little brother from a fall down the stairs. DeMent's words are detailed, literate and penetrating while the songs are melancholy and as slow as a Southern summer afternoon — some ballads, a few slow waltzes and an occasional toe-tapping, medium-tempo tune. DeMent, who now calls Iowa home with husband Greg Brown, will be accompanied by her three-man band. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar, sold out.) Jon Bream

Like Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert remains an essential first-generation reggae performer. The sweaty soul man undertook an acoustic tour last fall as he celebrated his 70th birthday. Now the Otis Redding of Jamaica, the man who proved reggae got soul, is lighting up stages with all the Toots & the Maytals favorites, including "Pressure Drop," "Funky Kingston" and "Monkey Man." (9 p.m. Sat., Mill City Nights, $26-$28.) Bream

Tuesday, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora cancelled a telephone interview with the Star Tribune. Wednesday, the group announced that Sambora would not be on board for this leg of the tour. It's not the first time that he's missed gigs; in 2011, guitar man Phil X filled in for a dozen or so shows while Sambora was in rehab. These Jersey boys know how to stay focused even if their new album, "What About Now," which shot to No. 1 last month, is a lesser effort, filled with self-important topics. Not to worry. The set list for this tour is pretty much greatest hits plus two or three new ones. And Jon Bon Jovi remains an ageless, charming, do-gooder frontman who gives journeyman rock a good name. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Xcel Energy Center, $17.50-$147.50.) Bream

On 2012's "Josh Billings Voyage," folklore star Tim Eriksen creates sort of his own Lake Wobegon world in song. Except his place is Pumpkintown, somewhere in New England. Eriksen, a former University of Minnesota professor who has worked with everyone from Ralph Stanley to Jack White, uses a tapestry of sounds to explore the multi-cultural roots brought back to New England by its seamen. Strains of African, French, American Indian, Irish and English music can be heard in these Eriksen originals, driven by his bajo sexto. He's touring with percussionist Peter Irvine and fiddler Zoe Darrow as Trio de Pumpkintown. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Ginkgo Coffeehouse, $12-$15.) Bream

Garbage

Two refreshingly gimmickless American hard-rock bands held over from the Ozzfests of the late '90s, Sevendust and Coal Chamber are teaming up on tour to tout the former's ninth album, "Black Out the Sun" — which is earning high praise from the metal press — and the latter's return from an eight-year hiatus. Sevendust's. Italian goth-bangers Lacuna Coil open along with Pennsylvanian newcomers Candelight Red. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Mill City Nights, $29.50.) Riemenschneider

Caitlin Rose has Nashville roots — including a songwriter mom who shares a Grammy with Taylor Swift — but she's more a product of that scene's hip alt-country underbelly. After garnering a small buzz from her indie debut and tours opening for the likes of the Old 97's, she is earning bigger accolades for her sophomore album, "The Stand-In," featuring her potent Patsy-Cline-meets-Patty-Griffin singing style with edgy heartache songs. Texas songwriter Andrew Combs opens with St. Paul music mayor Martin Devaney. (8 p.m. Mon., Triple Rock, $10.) Riemenschneider

With the just-released "This River," JJ Grey and Mofro add gritty, horn-flavored Southern rock-soul to their potent repertoire. Raspy-voiced Grey mines some of the Southern rock territory tapped by fellow Jacksonvillians Lynyrd Skynyrd. In fact, "99 Shades of Crazy" is pure Skynyrd, with the potential to be a live show-stopper, while "Florabama" is Prince party music with some sassy horn work. Opening are the Slide Brothers, a sacred-steel guitar quartet whose self-titled, Robert Randolph-produced debut includes a smokin' rendition of the Allman Brothers' "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'." (8 p.m. Wed., Varsity Theater, $24-$26.) Bream

More reliable than an official P-Funk show nowadays, the Bernie Worrell Orchestra features the longtime Parliament/Funkadelic keyboardist and one-time Talking Heads collaborator steering a hot, young nine-piece ensemble through some of the best-known classics from his résumé along with jazzier and more world-beat-flavored new tunes. (8 p.m. Wed., Skyway Theater, $12.) Riemenschneider

For his first album in five years, San Francisco blues/soul singer Boz Scaggs traveled to Tennessee's Royal Recording Studios, where Al Green and the late producer Willie Mitchell worked, to record "Memphis," a sweet and soulful tribute to the city and Southern sounds. Scaggs' "Gone Baby Gone" is a Green tribute, complete with surging B-3 organ. There's a caressing warmth to "Rainy Night in Georgia," "Love on a Two-Way Street" and the gently bluesy "Corinna Corinna." Scaggs exercises his blues muscles on the swampy "Cadillac Walk" and the Meters' raw "Dry Spell," featuring Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica and Keb Mo on dobro. "Memphis" is a savvy late-career move for the silky soul man. (7:30 p.m. Thu., State Theatre, $53.50-$63.50.) Bream

"Night," a collaboration by rock-star classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein and Americana thrush Tift Merritt, is a gorgeously understated art record. They do a little Bach, piano variations on a Leonard Cohen melody, a Billie Holiday tune, the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger," a trio of Merritt originals, a Schubert piece and Patty Griffin's title tune. This is late-night, careful listening — until the final track, the dawn-heralding "I Can See Clearly Now." This song cycle, commissioned as a program for a Duke University concert hall, should be breathtaking in an intimate club. (7 p.m. Thu., Dakota Jazz Club, $36.) Bream

If Owl City's Adam Young was more into rap-metal and recruited a Travis Barker copycat as a drummer, he might sound something like Twenty-One Pilots. The emo/rap/balladeer Ohio duo, fronted by high-strung collegiate Tyler Joseph, graduated to teen-rock specialty label Fueled by Ramen and is heading up an MTV Artist to Watch tour. Openers are feisty Copenhagen trio New Politics and Nashville's Five Knives, the latter tellingly signed to the new Red Bull Records. (8 p.m. Thu., Triple Rock, sold out.) Riemenschneider

COUNTRY

Used to be in country music, if an artist had one big hit, he or she could have a long career. Clint Black had a jukebox full of hits, from 1989 to '99. Even though he hasn't visited the Top 10 since 2000 or released an album since 2005, Black, 51, has more than enough hits to fill an evening — from "A Better Man" to "A Good Run of Bad Luck" to "When I Said I Do" — and a career to be proud of. This show will be an acoustic affair. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Burnsville Performing Arts Center, $55.) Bream

The fun-loving hit single "Cruise" has made newcomers Florida Georgia Line popular enough to sell out the Myth nightclub. Tyler Hubbard from Georgia and Brian Kelley from Florida met at Nashville's Belmont College. Their 2012 debut album, "Here's to the Good Times," is standard-issue, rock-flavored party music that suggests FGL has a ways to go before becoming the next Brooks & Dunn. Opening is Rachel Farley, an 18-year-old rookie who has worked with Brantley Gilbert. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Myth, sold out.) Bream

JAZZ

Making a triumphant return to the club he used to routinely pack, Hammond B-3 organist Billy Holloman will again show soul-jazz fans just how animated and roof-raising the music can be. Holloman has been hanging out in Philadelphia, America's No. 1 organ jazz town, which brought us Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott, Charles Earland, Trudy Pitts and current B-3 king Joey DeFrancesco. Fitting right into that grand, hard-grooving tradition, Holloman likely will get a bar hero's welcome. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter, $15.) Surowicz

As saxophonist and composer John Zorn approaches his 60th birthday, his curiosity and artistry remain inexhaustible. Walker Art Center will celebrate "Zorn @ 60" with an array of events Saturday starting with a free talk at 3 p.m. and concluding with a free organ concert by Zorn at midnight, across the street at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. In between are concerts at 4, 7 and 10 p.m. ($20 each; limited availability) featuring many longtime cohorts, including guitarist Marc Ribot, keyboardist John Medeski and cellist Eric Friedlander. See Saturday's Variety for a story about the event. (Info at www.walkerart.org) Britt Robson

Two premier jazz guitarists who can rock out when the spirit moves them join forces in John Scofield's Hollowbody Band, as "Sco" trades licks with Mike Stern. Each played bracing fusion with Miles Davis in the 1980s before launching solo careers full of fireworks and variety. Scofield has fared well in previous two-guitar settings with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell. And the guitar heroes will have a splendid rhythm section, with the funky and fascinating Bill Stewart on drums and versatile, vital Ben Street on bass. (7 & 9 p.m. Mon.-Tue., Dakota Jazz Club, $32-$42.) Surowicz

FOLK

Maine folk legend Gordon Bok makes a rare local appearance, bringing his big resonant baritone and exceptional 12- and six-string guitar playing to a south Minneapolis church. A folklorist, song collector, noteworthy songwriter, wood carver, sailor and authority on New England maritime culture, Bok sings in more than a half-dozen languages and has spent a half-century helping to collect and preserve the music of the Kalmyk people, who migrated from Mongolia to settlements in Philadelphia and New Jersey. A remarkable man, Bok is a comfy, easygoing performer. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4120 17th Av. S., Mpls. $20 at the door, $18 in advance from Homestead Pickin' Parlor, 612-861-3308.) Surowicz

WORLD

Palestinian oud and violin player Simon Shaheen is always up for a musical challenge, and that has led him to collaborate with Bill Laswell, the Klezmatics, Henry Threadgill, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and actress Vanessa Redgrave, among others. On the West Bank (of Minneapolis, not Jerusalem), he'll play duets with Tareq Rantisi, a Jerusalem native and Berklee College of Music grad who's well versed in jazz and Latin fare, along with Palestinian folkloric sounds. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$30.) Surowicz

BLUES

Ready for some second generation blues fun? Cassie Taylor toured the globe as a teenager, playing bass and singing in her dad Otis Taylor's blues 'n' trance band. Now in her late 20s, she is an engaging, confident, albeit girlish vocalist, who also plays keyboards and leads a funky little trio she calls the Soul Cavalry. Her co-star is able guitarist Jack Moore, whose own dad was famous — the late Irish blues-rocker Gary Moore, of Thin Lizzy renown. (9 p.m. Fri., Famous Dave's Uptown, $6.) Surowicz

CHORAL

The It Gets Better Project was created to inspire hope for GLBT young people facing harassment. Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus takes a step beyond with "It Gets Amazing." The first half of the program includes the area premiere of "Testimony," a new work by Stephen Schwartz ("Godspell," "Wicked") written for the GLBT choral movement and based on texts from the It Gets Better Project. The second half is a revival of Tomie dePaola's "Oliver Button Is a Sissy," which hasn't been performed here since the chorus premiered it in 2000. Polar explorer Ann Bancroft serves as narrator. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 4th St. S., Mpls. $25-$48, 612-624-2345 or tcgmc.org) William Randall Beard

Caitlin Rose