POP/ROCK

Well received when they performed between local faves Motion City Soundtrack and Now, Now at the Varsity last fall, Philadelphia piano-pop trio Jukebox the Ghost are still in motion behind last year's Ben Folds-flavored third album "Safe Travels." This time their opener is Philly vet Matt Pond, who dropped the "PA" band moniker for his more solo/singer-songwriterly new album, "The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand." Ohio quintet the Lighthouse and the Whaler also performs. (9 p.m. Fri., Fine Line, $14.) Chris Riemenschneider

A hit at last summer's Basilica Block Party, Las Vegas' Imagine Dragons have been riding high on the smash single "It's Time," which has a bit of the Mumford & Sons' hand-claps-and-mandolin vibe before it explodes into something of an anthem for the misunderstood. On the best-selling "Night Visions" album, the versatile I-Dragons also suggest Passion Pit and the Killers. The radio-savvy newcomers — who injected their current single "Radioactive" with the still-trendy dubstep — have landed atop the coolest radio-boosted bill of the winter, along with Australia's hipster quartet Atlas Genius, featuring the three Jeffery brothers and the head-bobbing hit "Trojans" (they have their own headline gig scheduled June 4 at the Fine Line), and the aggressive, arty L.A. alt-rock quartet Nico Vega. (7 p.m. Fri., Varsity Theater, sold out.) Jon Bream

Fresh from Carnegie Hall comes Princess, Maya Rudolph's Prince tribute band. Backed by Roots drummer Questlove and various veterans of the Minneapolis Sound, Princess will headline ex-Prince & the Revolution drummer Bobby Z's second annual fundraiser for the American Heart Association. The drummer suffered a near-fatal heart attack two years ago. He's assembled an all-star lineup including "The Voice" finalist Nicholas David, Alexander O'Neal, Stokley Williams of Mint Condition and Prince alums Andre Cymone, Dez Dickerson and Dr. Fink. The night ends with a DJ set by Questlove. Read an interview with Rudolph and Questlove. (8 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, $65.) Bream

Dar Williams is back at the Cedar, a year after performing there upon the release of her 10th album, "In the Time of Gods," a collection inspired by Greek mythology — "I had such a crush on Hermes," the always literate New York singer/songwriter told the Wall Street Journal. Her sound is dark and moody, her images rich and heavy, her voice pretty and passionate. Opening is accomplished Milwaukee singer/songwriter Willy Porter. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, $31-$36.) Bream

In dress and sound, Los Angeles' Vintage Trouble harks back to another era. Frontman Ty Taylor suggests Jackie Wilson backed by a punk-funk Black Crowes. This quartet, which last time through town opened for the Who, knows how to blend rock and soul into a seamless, knockout show. (9 p.m. Sat., Mill City Nights' Nether bar, sold out.) Bream

Who the hell is Hoodie Allen, and how did he manage to sell out First Avenue? If you have to ask, you're probably not part of the carefully and wisely chosen college-girl demographic that this Long Island-reared pop-rapper has targeted like the smoothest of pickup artists. The real-life Steven Markowitz, 24, won an mtvU new-talent competition, quit his job at Google and applied his Wharton School-learned marketing skills to become a Web-based star. His formulaic white-boy bro-rap — he's the one who frequently brings up his whiteness, by the way — makes fellow dorm-room rap star Macklemore look like John Lennon compared with his Davy Jones. His Cruisin' USA Tour also features AER and Jared Evan. (7 p.m. Sun., First Avenue, sold out.) Riemenschneider

Charles Lloyd

Texas hard-rock bands Flyleaf and Drowning Pool also share the distinction of carrying on without their original lead singers. Flyleaf's powerhouse frontwoman Lacey Sturm sang on last year's album, "New Horizons," but quit to focus on motherhood. New singer Kristen May seems to be getting good marks. "Bodies" hitmakers Drowning Pool are working with their third fill-in singer since the 2002 death of Dave Williams, to whom they paid tribute with last year's single "In Memory Of." Stars in Stereo open. (6 p.m. Tue., First Avenue, $20.) Riemenschneider

You've seen them on PBS and perhaps at Mill City Nights last year, so what can you expect from Brit Floyd this time around? Recent set lists from the preeminent U.K. Pink Floyd tribute band — not counting Roger Waters' own entourage, of course —have featured full album sides played chronologically, starting with "Dark Side" on up to "Division Bell." These blokes deliver on both the musical and visual front. (8 p.m. Thu., State Theatre, $39-$49.) Riemenschneider

BLUES

The accolades for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Buddy Guy keep on coming. Last year, he received Kennedy Center Honors and added bestselling author to his glorious résumé with his autobiography "When I Left Home: My Story." The 76-year-old blues-rock showman always gets fired up when sharing a bill with his buddy Jonny Lang. Their collaborations were among the brightest highlights at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010. The Minneapolis-launched sensation, now 32, has been tearing it up during his full-length sets on the Guy tour. His band still features the Minneapolis rhythm section of bassist Jim Anton and drummer Barry Alexander. (7 p.m. Sun., State Theatre, $53.50-$104.) Bream

JAZZ

Piano giant McCoy Tyner is playing only select gigs these days, so it's a coup for the Hopkins Center to present the five-time Grammy winner, who changed musical history with the classic John Coltrane Quartet and went on to make a slew of superb albums as a leader. Making the show even more of an event is co-star Gary Bartz, the alto sax man who's been associated with Tyner since 1968 while working with a "who's who" of other jazz legends, including Max Roach, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. (8 p.m. Sat., Hopkins Center for the Arts, $36.) Tom Surowicz

Versatile trumpeter Randy Brecker could name-drop all night long. Frank Zappa, Yoko Ono, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, P-Funk, Steely Dan — Brecker has appeared on hundreds of albums and been part of some popular bands along the way (Blood, Sweat & Tears, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Billy Cobham & Spectrum). The 67-year-old trumpet man will guest-star with the JazzMN Orchestra in a program featuring a few Brecker Brothers hits. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center, 2400 Lindbergh Dr., Minnetonka. $17-$29. www.jazzmn.org) Surowicz

Jazz saxophonist extraordinaire Charles Lloyd has a beautiful new duets album with the often-inspiring younger pianist Jason Moran. Listeners have come to expect surprising song choices from Lloyd, and "Hagar's Song" has several, including Billy Strayhorn's haunting and seldom-heard "Pretty Girl"; the Beach Boys' ever-lovely "God Only Knows," and an oblique version of "I Shall Be Released," dedicated to Levon Helm. Lloyd will be in different but esteemed company in a two-night stand, fronting his Sky Trio with bassist Reuben Rogers and the great drummer Eric Harland plus a splendid special guest, the well-schooled pianist and recent Grammy nominee Gerald Clayton. (7 & 9 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota Jazz Club, $35-$45.) Surowicz

COUNTRY

Country newcomer Thomas Rhett has been building an impressive résumé. The son of country star Rhett Akins, he wrote "I Ain't Ready to Quit" for Jason Aldean. A lover of hip-hop and AC/DC, the newcomer has released two singles, "Something to Do With My Hands," fueled by a classic-rock guitar riff, and "Beer With Jesus," an acoustic ballad that employs two classic country themes that aren't usually mixed. (9 p.m. Sat., Cabooze, $17-$20.) Bream

WORLD

Ballake Sissoko follows up the worldwide 2009 hit "Chamber Music" with another gorgeous, intimate, deep recording of Malian folk-based kora sounds. His collaborator on that project, free-thinking French cellist Vincent Segal, is back as producer of "At Peace," and appears on about half the tracks. The duo makes their second West Bank appearance this weekend after a sublime 2011 show. The new album is not a reprise of "Chamber Music," but an extension that is as distinct as it is organic-sounding. The full band tracks are a little revelation — stirring, with gripping melodies, yet ultimately placid and warm. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$35.) Surowicz

Fresh from winning her first Grammy for regional Mexican music album, Lila Downs will return to her alma mater, the University of Minnesota, for what could be one of her most personal gigs ever. The ornately voiced singer of traditional ranchera ballads and modernized folkloric tunes is paying tribute to her late father, Allen Downs, a longtime professor of art and cinematography at the U who is also the subject of a new exhibit on campus. Lila richly applied the school's anthropological lessons to last year's culturally analytical album, "Pecados y Milagros" ("Sins and Miracles"), which spent three weeks atop Billboard's Latin albums chart and won a Latin Grammy for folk album in addition to the main Grammy last month. (4 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota, $15-$150.) Riemenschneider

A hit as a solo act at the old Nordic Roots fests, Finnish vocal wonder Wimme is back after several years, bringing a band this time. The Sami joik traditional music singer used to use a lot of electronics to flesh out his stirring chants and vocals. But that techno element has been scaled back now that Wimme has a quartet featuring clarinet, strings and percussion. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, $18-$20.) Surowicz

CLASSICAL

Young, hyper-dynamic Asian pianists are thick on the ground these days, but few have a résumé to match South Korea's Yeol Eum Son. Silver medalist at the Van Cliburn and 2011 Tchaikovsky competitions, she's been lauded for her Chopin and her work as a chamber musician. The program for her Frederic Chopin Society recital combines a generous helping of hyphenated virtuoso pieces (Weber-Liszt, Schubert-Godowsky, Mendelssohn-Rachmaninoff, Strauss-Tausig) with Prokofiev's wrenching Sixth Sonata. (3 p.m. Sun., Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Macalester College, 130 Macalester St., St. Paul. $12-$23. 612-822-0123 or chopinsocietymn@aol.com.) Larry Fuchsberg