The Big Gigs, March 1-7

It's been 30 years since the late Bob Feldman restarted Greg Brown's Red House Records and built it into one of the world's most important purveyors of acoustic music. Three of the label's brightest talents will team up to celebrate the anniversary: thoughtful New York singer/songwriter Lucy Kaplansky; Canadian folkie Heather Masse (of Wailin' Jennys), who just put out a nifty album of standards with pianist Dick Hyman, and Michigan's heartwarming and versatile Claudia Schmidt, a "Prairie Home Companion" favorite. (7:30 p.m. Fri., the O'Shaughnessy, University of St. Catherine, $20-$35.) Jon Bream

Bon Iver Sound-Alike Alert #437: Indians is a one-man band who often sings in falsetto and sounds like his heart is entombed in ice. The real-life Sǿren Lǿkke Juul hails from Denmark, though, not Wisconsin, and relies a lot more on mellow electronics and ethereal synth parts to round out his hallowed songs, sometimes meriting comparison to 4AD labelmate Grimes. His debut album, "Somewhere Else," arrived Jan. 29. Night Beds and Cat Martino also perform. (9 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry, $12.) Chris Riemenschneider

After tearing through their older favorites for a 10th straight year at First Avenue on Thanksgiving Eve, the Ike Reilly Assassination will test-drive new songs in the smaller room next door. This show kicks off another Twin Cities residency by the Irish-eyed Illinois rockers, which continues March 16 (St. Paddy's Eve) at the Turf Club, where the band's local legend was born. Local teen rockers Stereo Confession open. (10 p.m. Sat., 7th Street Entry, $15.) Riemenschneider

Who says Maroon 5 doesn't have a sense of humor? The Los Angeles popsters' songs — "Payphone," "Moves Like Jagger" and "One More Night" — are all over the radio, frontman Adam "The Voice" Levine is all over TV, and the band's album is titled "Overexposed." After numerous Twin Cities gigs both big (State Fair) and small (Fine Line), Maroon 5 is headlining a sold-out arena show. Opening are Minnesota's own radio-friendly pop group Owl City and Utah's Neon Trees, known for the hit "Everybody Talks." (7:30 p.m. Mon., Xcel Energy Center.) Bream

One of the buzziest club shows this year, Tame Impala's sold-out concert foretells a busy festival season (Sasquatch, Bonnaroo) for the psychedelic quartet from Perth, Australia. Heavily influenced by the Beatles' "Revolver" and akin to fellow Aussies the Easybeats, their slow-chugging single "Elephant" has been a staple on the Current's playlist and there's plenty more fiery and richly textured songs on last year's sophomore effort "Lonerism," the first album from Down Under to top NME's year-end poll. Another Western Australian band, the Growl, opens. (8 p.m. Mon., First Avenue, sold out.) Riemenschneider

South Dakota-born Shawn Colvin is usually a charmer in concert, a witty conversationalist and warm, sensitive singer/songwriter. But at her gig last August at the Guthrie, the sleep-deprived singer seemed to be on autopilot, finding no joy in her performance. She didn't even plug her then-new memoir, "Diamond in the Rough." Here's hoping the Grammy-winning Texan will return to form at this three-night stand. (7 p.m. Tue.-Thu., Dakota Jazz Club, $50.) Bream

Tegan and Sara have sold out and gone pop, some fans contend, as the cult-adored twin sisters return behind their month-old album "Heartthrob." It's true, this one's a lot slicker and more accessible than past albums, with throbbing dance beats and bubblegummy choruses that suit the Bieber-like, teen-centric title. The Quin siblings' sophisticated harmonies and jagged songwriting style are still front and center, though. Any fans who want to sit this one out obviously don't know how to have fun. Fellow Canadian band Diana opens. (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, sold out.) Riemenschneider

The masses discovered her on TV's "America's Got Talent" in 2010, and now pseudo-hip violinist Lindsey Stirling has gone viral with her own You Tube channel, lindseystomp. Her "Crystallize" video, which she describes as dubstep violin music, has more than 49 million views; the number can be heard on "Lindsey Stirling," a collection of original tunes. But she established herself with interpretations of songs from "Mission: Impossible," "Lord of the Rings" and "Phantom of the Opera." (7 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, sold out) Bream

When the Four Bitchin' Babes got their start in the early 1990s, the hilarious Christine Lavin and the rising Patty Larkin were among their members. But they moved on, and Sally Fingerett has remained the den mother of this wise-cracking quartet of humor-inducing folkies, which now includes Debi Smith, Deirdre Flint and new member Marcy Marxer. Their latest show, "Mid-Life Vices: A Guilt-Free Musical Revue," takes aim at Facebook, organized scatterbrains and boys and their big wheels. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Burnsville Performing Arts Center, $34-$39.) Bream

Always one of the more fun-loving hip-hop acts in the Twin Cities — and maybe the last rap act of note to get its start at the defunct Dinkytowner — the Tribe & Big Cats apparently aren't having much fun anymore. They're calling it quits after four years, two albums and this one final blowout. The group's tongue-wagging/tieing MC, Truth Be Told, reportedly plans to strike out on his own using his new moniker, Rapper Hooks. Producer Big Cats already made his own successful solo excursion last year with his well-received album "For My Mother." Their farewell bash will feature Toki Wright, MaLLy and DJ Snuggles. (10 p.m. Fri., Triple Rock, $7-$10.) Riemenschneider

After going M.I.A. for a couple of years around the time he put his pioneering label Def Jux to bed, Aesop Rock returns for his third show in less than a year with crew-of-late Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. The gruff-voiced, rapid-tongued indie-rap hero has deep ties in the Twin Cities that include memorable sets at the inaugural and most recent Soundset fests, and last year he joined the Rhymesayers roster to release his wild album "Skelethon." He and pal Kimya Dawson will soon issue a rockier album on the label under the murky moniker Unclouded. Los Angeles scenester Busdriver opens. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, $17-$19.) Riemenschneider

Another indie-rap stalwart with ample local history — his Felt albums with Slug remain fan favorites — Murs returns to town halfway into his Road to Paid Dues Tour, a warm-up to the Soundset-like hip-hop fest he helped start back home in Los Angeles. He returned to a classic L.A. rap sound for last year's album "Love & Rockets, Vol. 1: The Transformation." Local star Prof is part of this tour but not part of the local lineup (at least not officially), leaving Fashawn, Black Cloud Music and Kosha Dillz to do the opening honors. (9 p.m. Sat., Fine Line, $15-$17.) Riemenschneider

Karan Casey is one of the jazzier, more adventurous singers in Irish music. Guitarist John Doyle was her former bandmate in the group Solas. Both have extensive credits on both sides of the ocean, working with everyone from James Taylor to Linda Thompson to Garrison Keillor and co-starring on the 2010 CD "Exile's Return." For Celtic folk fans, here's a duo to savor. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, $20-$22.) Tom Surowicz

Only one jazz CD cracked last year's Twin Cities Critics Tally on local albums in the Star Tribune, but it was a great one: "New Hope," by Chris Bates' Red 5. Diverse and dynamic, spiritual and spirited, "New Hope" offered both fine writing and stirring solos. The release party last August was packed and exhilarating, yet the band has rarely played together since, with all the members busy in multiple combos, especially bassist/leader Bates. But Red 5 is back to deliver the kind of fireworks you could never find at a roadside stand in Wisconsin. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter, $15.) Surowicz

An outstanding trumpeter from California, particularly adept at free improv though impressive in mainstream settings as well, Phil Grenadier comes from a musical family (his brother Larry is a well-known jazz bassist while another brother, Steve, plays guitar). He has played with some big names, touring the globe and selling out Carnegie Hall with John Scofield's band. His latest offering is a moody and cool duets album ("Plunge") with the great Swedish bassist Bruno Raberg. He'll appear with the talented youths of the Dakota Combo, plus MacPhail Center for Music profs Adam Linz and J.T. Bates, at what the school is rather grandly calling a jazz festival. (7 p.m. Sun., MacPhail, $15-$20.) Surowicz

Jazz goes to church as St. Paul guitar great Dean Magraw and his newly assembled band the Siblings play a concert titled "Healing With Feeling." A benefit for St. Joan of Arc church, it co-stars versatile singer Bruce Henry, outstanding post-bop pianist Bryan Nichols, "A Prairie Home Companion" drummer Peter Johnson, Ticket to Brasil percussionist and singer Lidia Berman and St. Joan "house" bassist Dick Hedlund. A promising crew, indeed. (7 p.m. Sun., St. Joan of Arc, 4537 3rd Av. S., Mpls. $20. 612-823-8205.) Surowicz

After steady gigs with Windy City giants Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, John Primer spent 14 fruitful years backing up the recently departed Magic Slim before establishing himself as a worthy urban blues standard bearer with a dozen or so solo albums. Let's hope he shares a few Magic Slim stories at this gig — enjoy your Chicago bluesmen while ye may, folks. (9 p.m. Fri., Famous Dave's Uptown, $5.) Surowicz

VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers present a whiff of spring with "English Garden," a celebration of the music of Percy Grainger. Australian by birth, Grainger lived in England from 1901 to 1914, embodying the elegance and luxury of the Edwardian era. He was a concert pianist as well as a composer, and an avid collector of English folk music. His arrangements gave artistic stature to these charming and whimsical melodies. The chorus is joined by the U of M Concert Wind Ensemble. (8 p.m. Sat., Ted Mann Concert Hall, $10-$40.) William Randall Beard