The big gigs: Our critics' music picks

All Taste of Minnesota shows are on Harriet Island in downtown St. Paul. Cost is $10 at the gate, which comes with a $10 food/drink voucher; $5 seniors, free for kids under 12. $50 VIP tickets are available.

If the last time you saw Judas Priest in concert was back when you still had feathered hair and acne, the Taste of Minnesota is a great way to catch up with them. After a 12-year hiatus, lead singer Rob Halford rejoined dueling guitarists Glen Tipton and KK Downing plus original bassist Ian Hill in 2003. At a Myth show last year supporting the concept album "Nostradamus," they sounded as masterful if not quite as monstrous as in their heyday. The results are captured on a new live album out this month, "A Touch of Evil." They're touring with David Coverdale's entirely remade lineup of Whitesnake. (6:30 p.m. today; Judas Priest at 8:30.) (C.R.)

Even though he's touring with his long-established Imposters and not his newly formed country-oriented Sugarcanes, Elvis Costello is likely to offer a taste of his swell new "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane," which is oozing with Americana sensibilities and sounds. Of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who has released two dozen studio albums, has too many songs to choose from; let's hope on this Independence Day he ends with "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding" right before the fireworks. (8 p.m. Sat.) (J.B.)

Bret Michaels is spending his summer bouncing between Poison gigs and stops on his solo "Rock of Love Bus Tour," named after his irrepressible VH1 reality-TV show. Michaels' opening act features another VH1 personality from "Celebrity Rehab," former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, who has his own GNR-copying band named Adler's Appetite. Read an interview with Michaels in Sunday's Variety A&E. (7 p.m. Sun.) (C.R.)

Not only are Toots and the Maytals responsible for naming the genre reggae (it comes from their 1968 single "Do the Reggay"), but they've always proved that reggae's got soul. Toots Hibbert is to reggae what Otis Redding was to R&B -- a super-passionate sweaty singer who infuses his singing with gospel fervor. Look for Toots (there really aren't any Maytals anymore) to explore 2007's "Light Your Light," which featured Ray Charles' "I Gotta Woman" and "Johnny Coolman" as well as guests Bonnie Raitt and Derek Trucks. Opening is Minnesota's long-lasting reggae champion Wain McFarlane. (7:30 p.m. today Minnesota Zoo, $43.) (J.B.)

It's more an event for kids, but the Walker Art Center's Fantastic Fourth party might be the antidote for those looking for an outdoor July 4th concert with more diversity and fewer mullets: Twang/folk/indie-rock songstress Haley Bonar plays her last gig as a locally based musician out in the Sculpture Garden at 1 p.m., followed by Ghana-reared Afrocentric rapper M.anifest at 2 p.m. And for something completely different, the Sumunar Javanese Gamelan Ensemble -- traditional Indonesian music that sort of sounds like wind chimes on acid -- also has a set at 11 a.m. Other activities include art classes, hula-hoop lessons and garden tours for families. (Sat., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av., Mpls. Free.) (C.R.)

An almost-annual tradition at the Triple Rock, Dillinger Four will take advantage of the number in its name and the fact that guitarist Erik Funk owns the place (and thus controls the beer supply) to play an Independence Day gig. The fun-loving punk quartet showed just how seriously rocking they can get on last year's electrifying Fat Wreck Chords release "Civil War" -- look for a little of both sides at this show. D4's pals Superhopper, the Arrivals (Paddy Costello's other band), Off With Their Heads and Dear Landlord all open. (9 p.m. Sat., Triple Rock. 21 & older. $8.) (C.R.)

In the fall, Rosanne Cash promises "The List," her interpretations of some essential country songs from a list of 100 that her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she was 18. Meanwhile, Cash, one of the most heartfelt singer-songwriters of any genre, is touring with just her husband, guitarist John Leaventhal, performing songs from a list of her many hits and album favorites. (7 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota, $36-$45.) (J.B.)

Sunset Rubdown is another offshoot of Wolf Parade, this one a forever-odd and ambitious psychedelic ensemble led by singer/keyboardist Spencer Krug, also of Frog Eyes indie fame. The group just issued its fourth full-length album, "Dragonslayer," a conceptually and musically fantastic, outlandish body of work loaded with prog-rock excursions, dramatic orchestral parts and Krug's Syd Barrett-ish songman style -- all of which should make for a memorable live show. Fellow Montreal acts Elfin Saddle and Witchies open. (9 p.m. Mon., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older.) (C.R.)

The power in Fountains of Wayne's cult-loved power-pop might be lost on its current all-acoustic tour (featuring the whole band), but plenty more could be gained in the intimate Cedar setting and the promised stripped-down arrangements. The unplugged gigs are a welcome changeup from that dreck Adam Schlessinger offered in the disappointing new "supergroup" Tinted Windows. Former Posies co-leader Jon Auer opens. (8 p.m. Wed., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $18-$20.) (C.R.)

Il Divo, the pop-opera quartet handpicked by talent-spotting god Simon Cowell, oozes amour -- in several different languages. For example, they give Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" an operatic treatment in Spanish. Also reimagined are ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All," Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." As a Florida critic said of a recent show where the audience went ga-ga: "It must be what a Jonas Brothers concert would look like if the audience was a couple decades older." In the Twin Cities, music lovers can choose between Il Divo and the Jonas Brothers on the same night. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Xcel Energy Center, $58.70-$128.70) (J.B.)

En route to two-night stands at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and his hometown of Boise, Idaho, Josh Ritter is swinging through Minneapolis with his band. The smart, ambitious singer-songwriter is beloved by the indie-rock crowd and by Stephen King, who called Ritter's "The Animal Years" the best album of 2006. Arrive on time to catch opener Joe Pug, who suggests Bob Dylan in all the right ways and will likely be doubly inspired performing on Positively 4th Street. (8 p.m. Thu., Varsity, $20.) (J.B.)

(9 p.m. Wed., Fine Line, $13.50 advance, $21.50 door.) (J.B.)

With his Shia LeBeouf-directed video for the freaky slow jam "I Never Knew You," Cage's career is in transformer mode between underground-rap notoriety and mainstream fame (read: teenage girls are getting into him). The Def Jux-backed New York rapper also known as Christian Palko -- who looks like Dane Cook and sounds like a less-visceral Eyedea -- earned a reception at the Soundset fest in May and is back on a solo tour promoting his third album, "Depart From Me." Fellow NYC goofball Yak Ballz opens. (9 p.m. Wed., Triple Rock. 18 & older. $15.) (C.R.)

On their way to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir make a two-night stop downtown to show off their wonderful songbag of African-American "survival music" -- spirituals, field hollers, work songs, ring shouts, blues, folk, uplifting anthems -- with the occasional R&B or jazz classic tossed in. The six-piece voice and percussion group is loaded with soulful, harmonious talent -- e.g., jazz, R&B and blues singer Rhonda Benin, who leads her own band (Soulful Strut), has a solo CD out ("A Matter of the Heart") and pops up on recordings by Maria Muldaur and Mickey Hart. (7 & 9:30 p.m., Wed.-Thu., Dakota Jazz Club. $17-$25). (T.S.)

Twin Cities-bred pianist Bill Carrothers has long been a favorite of European audiences and critics, with a particularly fervid following in France and Italy. But listeners in his home country have been much slower to catch on to Carrothers' potent, poetic (and playful) keyboard mastery. That may change soon, as Carrothers gears up for a six-night stand at the fabled Village Vanguard in New York City. Carrothers and his Belgian rhythm section of Nic Thys and Dre Pallemaerts will play a one-night-only St. Paul tuneup for their Vanguard run. Carrothers is generally full of surprises, covering everything from Thelonious Monk gems to Civil War songs to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." (9 p.m. Thu., Artists' Quarter. $10.) (T.S.)