POP/ROCK

Even without Neil Young and his scorching "Living With War" songs from 2006, expect Crosby, Stills & Nash to find the politics in their catalog -- "Military Madness," "For What It's Worth" and "Teach Your Children" -- in this election year. But these Woodstock veterans will also explore their long-standing love affair with harmony. (8 p.m. today. Orpheum Theatre, $64-$104.50.) (J.B.)

It's not too late to trek to Walker, Minn., for the last two nights of the four-day Moondance Jam. The KQRS-sponsored classic-rock campout features a round of '80s hair-band nostalgia on Friday with Poison, Sebastian Bach and Great White. Saturday has a Taste of Minnesota-like menu with George Thorogood, the Dennis DeYoung-less Styx and local country-rock heroes the Gear Daddies, plus young guitar hero Kenny Wayne Shepherd. (3 p.m. today and Sat., Moondance Ranch in Walker. $85/day. MoondanceJam.com.) (C.R.)

The Basilica's bash ain't the only rocking church party around. The fourth annual St. John Block Party in Rochester has a lineup that might convert plenty of Twin Cities rock fans this weekend, with perennial favorites the BoDeans and Soul Asylum as headliners and local club stars Cloud Cult, Haley Bonar, Dan Israel & the Cultivators, Romantica and the Alarmists. (Noon-11 p.m. Sat., St. John the Evangelist Church, 11 4th Av. SW., Rochester, Minn. 1-507-288-7372 or www.sjblockparty.org. $25.) (C.R.)

Last seen with Emmylou Harris, guitar god Mark Knopfler is touring with his own superb band this time, promoting his fifth, non-soundtrack solo CD, "Kill to Get Crimson." It's another mellow, folk-styled excursion that will give the finger-picking phenom more strong material to work with in concert. Look for a few Dire Straits tunes but not necessarily the big hits. Opening is dark, offbeat singer/songwriter Jesca Hoop. (7:30 p.m. Sat. Orpheum Theatre, $65-$110.) (J.B.)

In May, Eric Hutchinson opened for YouTube darling Marie Digby at the Varsity and now, thanks to some airplay on Cities 97 for "Rock & Roll" and the Basilica Block Party, he has his own headline gig. Actually, he's been on tour opening for Missy Higgins and since she's playing the Basilica kegger, well, he's at the Fine Line. (6 p.m. Sat. Fine Line, $12 advance, $14 door.) (J.B.)

Why a British bar even celebrates a French holiday has long since been beside the point with the annual Brit's Pub Bastille Day party, a fundraiser for One Heartland (children with AIDS/HIV) that brings England's own '70s pub-rock hero Graham Parker to town every year to play the unbeatable second-floor lawn-bowling patio. Parker's solo set (6 p.m.) will be sandwiched between a staging of "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)" (3:30 p.m.) and a screening of "Moulin Rouge" (9 p.m.). (Sun., Brit's Pub, 1110 Nicollet Mall, Mpls. Free.) (C.R.)

From the same great event planners who bring us the Red Stag and Uptown Pride block parties, the Barbette Bastille Day Block Party features reunions by two bands that ruled the scene around the turn of the century, neo-funk stalwarts the Sensational Joint Chiefs and the original lineup of Faux Jean. This summer's everywhere-band, Romantica, also performs along with sass queen Foxy Tann and young hotshots One for the Team and Black Blondie. It's another zero-waste event with organic food and local artisan booths. Proceeds benefit the Minnesota Fringe Festival. (4-10 p.m. Sun., outside Barbette restaurant, Lake St. at Irving Av. S., Mpls. Free.) (C.R.)

For the 10th incarnation of Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, the Beatles drummer has enlisted two (former) big stars (keyboardist Edgar Winter, guitarist Billy Squier) and a few do-you-remember-me rockers (Gary Wright, Colin Hay of Men at Work and Hamish Stuart of Average White Band). Of course, you'll remember all the hits, including "Dream Weaver," "Who Can It Be Now," "Pick Up the Pieces" and the inevitable "With a Little Help From My Friends." Starr may even do a tune or two from his little-heard 2008 CD, "Liverpool 8." (7:30 p.m. Mon. Mystic Lake Casino, sold out) (J.B.)

England's biggest metal band since the Priest/Maiden days (not counting the Darkness), Bullet for My Valentine echoes Metallica more often than its legendary countrymen. The quartet's sophomore disc, "Scream Aim Fire," debuted at No. 4 in Billboard and shows a thrashier, mightier sound than heard on the sissy 2006 radio hit "All These Things I Hate." Bleeding Through and the Cancer Bats open. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Myth. All ages. $23.50-$28.50.) (C.R.)

Last year, the Cowboy Junkies revisited their landmark 1988 "Trinity Sessions" album by re-recording the same material in the same Toronto church with some special guests, including Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant and Vic Chesnutt. The guests may have been an unnecessary marketing move because the songs hold up just fine without them. Presumably, Margo Timmins and the Junkies will re-explore the narco blues "Trinity" tunes on their current tour, which visits the fittingly intimate Fitzgerald Theater -- a more appropriate site than the group's 1989 debut at a Fine Line filled with chatty yuppies. (7:30 p.m. Thur. Fitzgerald Theater, $36-$38. ) (J.B.)

The Cadott Rock Fest officially tilts the scales from a '70s- and '80s-heavy festival to a '90s event this year, with a four-day lineup that includes marquee hard-rockers Godsmack and Stone Temple Pilots plus lighter hitmakers Matchbox Twenty, Three Days Grace, the Goo Goo Dolls and the Wallflowers. Poison and Tom Scholz's newly revamped Boston kick it off on a more old-school note Thursday. (Thu.-July 20, off Hwy. 29 northeast of Chippewa Falls, Wis. $87.50/day, $175-$245/four-day, Rock-Fest.com.) (C.R.)

REGGAE

Not yet as renowned as its bluesy counterpart, the third annual Bayfront Reggae Festival nonetheless pairs the best outdoor music venue in the state (overlooking Lake Superior near downtown Duluth) with the style of music best suited to the outdoors. The lineup features a trio of B-list Jamaican reggae stars: "Fresh Vegetable" and "Weekend Love" hitmaker Tony Rebel, Tinga Stewart and Steele. Trinidad-reared calypso singer Queen Omega also performs along with Minnesota favorites Les Exodus, Rass Kwame & Ananse and Uprising. (11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sat., Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth. $15-$29.) (C.R.)

COUNTRY

Country newcomer Luke Bryan is making waves. Kenny Chesney tapped Bryan to open his tour. Music Row magazine last month named Bryan "breakthrough songwriter of the year." The Chicago Sun-Times called him the Jason Mraz of country. The Cabooze, hardly a bastion of country, has brought Bryan back for a second time to sing his corny hit "Country Man" (in which he namechecks Hoobastank and Hank Williams in the same verse) and "All My Friends Say," his should-be hit about a hangover. Megan James opens. (9:30 p.m. Sat. Cabooze, $16 advance, $18 door.) (J.B.)

Austin-based swing savants Hot Club of Cowtown are happily back together after a two-year hiatus, picking up right where they left off with adroit sounds informed by the legacies of Bob Wills and Django Reinhardt, a mostly timeless oeuvre that made the band the youngest-ever inductees into the Texas Western Swing Hall Of Fame. Whit Smith is a dazzling guitar player -- indie film fanciers may have heard his soundtrack for the flick "Four Dead Batteries." Elana James' violin work so pleased Bob Dylan that he added her to his band in 2005. Stand-up bassist Jake Erwin, who's also been heard with rockabilly filly Kim Lenz, completes a truly swingin' trio. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Thu.-July 18, Dakota Jazz Club. $15-$20.) (T.S.)

BLUES

Blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite and blues/rock/jazz guitar hero Robben Ford have a long history together, recording with one another as early as 1971, and as recently as 2002 (on Musselwhite's great "One Night in America" CD). This week finds the old friends paired in a can't-miss double bill, each playing a set with his own band, then no doubt sharing the stage for some communal jamming. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota Jazz Club. $30-$45.) (T.S.)

WORLD

Bastille Day will last an extra 24 hours this year for fans of the Francophile band Cafe Accordion Orchestra. Its new CD, "Germaine," features hip detours to Brazil, Colombia, dry Arizona and fertile Tin Pan Alley, for some trés cool cumbias, a rumba, a mandolin showpiece and swing tunes. Bandleader Dan Newton's cha-cha instrumental, "Eiffel Tower," could easily be passed off as a lost and now revived 1930s Gallic gem. (8 p.m. Tue., Eagles Club, 2507 E. 25th St., Mpls. 612-729-4469. $5.) (T.S.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider, and freelancer Tom Surowicz.

Are you having trouble getting a handle on this year's lineup for the 14th annual Basilica Block Party sponsored by Cities 97? Let's see, there's the Timbaland-associated hitmakers OneRepublic, who are more KDWB than Cities 97. Cities apparently is in love with Dave Barnes, the vaguely Christian popster who evokes Maroon 5, and Augustana, whose sentimental songcraft should appeal to Fray fans. Throw in the Gin Blossoms, Cities' favorite band from the mid-'90s; promising Aussie singer/songwriter Missy Higgins (pictured); former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, whose resurrection of "Glycerine" will be more welcomed than anything from his recent I'm-happy-as-Mr. Gwen Stefani solo album, and Ziggy Marley, the son of the reggae god who seems to fit at every party. If the lineup isn't heaven-sent, then just enjoy the event, which raises money for refurbishing the Basilica of St. Mary. (6 p.m. today-Sat. Basilica of St. Mary, 16th St. and Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $35-$60.) (J.B.)