MUSIC
Adrianne Lenker
As the increasingly vital and widely heralded folk-rock band Big Thief continues to expand its sound and experiment with styles from album to album, the group’s Minnesota-rooted singer seems intent on making her solo efforts as intimate and unadorned as possible. Her mostly acoustic new album, “Bright Future,” was cut straight to tape and sounds so raw and loose it feels like witnessing a rehearsal — albeit a very warm and inspired rehearsal with Lenker’s wondrous and healing lyrics front and center. The record contrasts the ornate setting for her nearly sold-out two-night homecoming stand with Texas opener Staci Foster. (8 p.m. Sat. & Sun., State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $35-$60, ticketmaster.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Ben Platt
The Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning “Dear Evan Hansen” star has much to celebrate: his engagement to fellow Broadway actor Noah Galvin, his new album “Honeymind” and his new tour, which arrives in Minneapolis on Pride Weekend. The timing is perfect because “Honeymind” is an open-hearted collection about queer love. Working with such Nashville pros as producer Dave Cobb and songwriters Brandy Clark and Natalie Hemby, Platt mines a vintage folk sound as he reflects on living through various romances and learning to love his authentic self. Clark, a terrific Grammy- and Tony-winning singer/songwriter, opens. (8 p.m. Sat., Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $39 to $139.50, ticketmaster.com)
JON BREAM
Blue Ox Music Festival
In its 10th almost-annual installment, this cozy and beloved Americana/string band/roots music campout in Eau Claire, Wis. ― 90 minutes from the Twin Cities — landed two booking coups: Probably the hottest name in alt-twang right now, bluegrass-y West Virginian singer/songwriter Sierra Ferrell, is playing her only Midwest festival date on Saturday, and South Carolina-rooted rock vets Band of Horses deliver their first regional set in eight years Friday. Other performers across three stages through the weekend include Molly Tuttle, the Devil Makes Three, the Sam Bush and Del McCoury bands, Leftover Salmon, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, the High Hawks and homegrown hosts Pert Near Sandstone. (3 p.m. Thu.-Sat., the Pines Music Park, 5024 Crescent Av., Eau Claire, Wis., $254/three-day, blueoxmusicfestival.com)
C.R.
Michael Cleveland
Last seen at the Dakota in Bela Fleck’s band, Cleveland is a fiddler supreme. Even though he was born blind and lost hearing in one ear because of a childhood infection, he took up the violin at age 4 and became a decorated master. He is a 10-time winner of fiddler of the year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards. In 2020, he earned his first Grammy, for best bluegrass album, and two years ago he was recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Indiana native’s credits include working with Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Marty Stuart and fronting his own group, the Flamekeeper. (7 p.m. Fri., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$55, dakotacooks.com)
J.B.