Best concerts of the week: Drake, Lowertown Blues Fest, Dr. Dog, Warped Tour

Lowertown Blues & Funk Fest: Mears Park in St. Paul's Lowertown is a delightful outdoor venue and you can't resist the varied but winning sounds scheduled for this two-day celebration. Friday features Otis Day and the Knights of "Animal House" fame and the Family Stone, whose members used to back Sly Stone. Saturday offers the Rock Hall of Fame sounds of Booker T. Jones, the organ master behind Booker T. & the MGs, and blues-rocker Corey Stevens, blues guitar star Bernard Allison and Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown. (4 -10 p.m. Fri. & 12-10 p.m. Sat., Mears Park, St. Paul, free).

Krar Collective: The Cedar's African Summer series has an apt closing act with this uniquely creative, up-and-coming ensemble from Ethiopia. It is named after the six-string krar, which looks like a mixture of lyre and harp, electrified (in more ways than one) in the hands of Temesegen Zeleke into bent blues notes and wah-wah-inflected flourishes along with traditional chording. Add in the high, tremulous vocals and hand claps of Genet Asefa and the resonant beats from the double-headed kebero drum by Grum Begashaw and the result is music that manages to be both dense and spare, and full of life. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar, $18-$20.) Britt Robson

Antibalas: Between tour dates in Brazil and New York's Lincoln Center, Brooklyn's great Afrobeat big band of Daptone Records notoriety stops in for an unofficial offshoot of the Lowertown Blues & Funk Fest. with Black Market Brass opening, this is likely to be the funkiest show in town. (9 p.m. Fri., Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $15.)

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band: His hair is big, his band is large and his humor is dry. Despite weather befitting his hometown of Houston, the rootsy Texan opted for indoors this summer. (8 p.m. Fri., State Theatre, $53-$79. )

Dr. Dog: The crew at First Avenue brewed up something extra fun for a band that has put on some of the most dizzily fun live shows seen in recent years at Minneapolis's best indoor venue. Now Philadelphia's soulful, Beatles-y pop-rockers will perform outside Minneapolis's best brewery. Touring behind their aptly named new one "The Psychedelic Swamp" — featuring the Current-spun single "Bring My Baby Back" — the sextet's intoxicating hippie vibe is a great match to the hoppy product du jour. Texas blues-stomper Shakey Graves opens. (6 p.m. Sat., Surly Brewing, 520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., $30, eTix.com.)

Kitten Forever: Minneapolis' riotously fun, guitarless punk trio graduates to main-room headlining status in conjunction with its 10th anniversary and the release of its nationally touted third LP, "7 Hearts." It's a mini-fest of sorts with chummy openers Condominium, Royal Brat, Candace and Tony Peachka. (8 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, $12-$15.)

Drake and Future: He has the biggest-selling album of 2016, but can Drake also spark one of the summer's hottest tours? We have the fourth date on the Toronto rapper's Summer Sixteen tour with his Atlanta-reared, "Low Life"-hitmaking tourmate Future. Drake's long-awaited new album, "Views," is a lot like his prior local gig at Target Center in 2013: dazzling production but a dense and dull personality, aside from the radio-baiting singles "Hotline Bling" and "One Dance." He did release some fun mixtapes in the interim, including last year's "What a Time to Be Alive," a collaboration with Future. The current Rolling Stone cover-story subject went over big at the Soundset fest in May despite cliched showmanship. Openers DVSN and especially Roy Woods sound promising. (6:30 p.m. Sun., Xcel Energy Center, $47-$127.)

Warped Tour: Late-'90s pop/punk hitmakers Good Charlotte and Sum 41, ska-punk holdouts Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish, and metal mainstays Atreyu, Every Time I Die and Yellowcard head up the usual 60-band lineup and other youthful mayhem in a slightly different location outside the horse track. (11 a.m. Sun., Canterbury Park, Shakopee, $38, TicketWeb.com.)

New Edition and Babyface: Did the governor officially declare this '80s weekend in Minnesota? Duran Duran is set for Saturday at Xcel Energy Center and Culture Club for Sunday at the Myth. New Edition, the R&B boy band, has reunited without Bobby Brown, its biggest name. Babyface adds some smooth soul. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Target Center, $42-$128.)

Brian McKnight: The '90s R&B charmer, best known for "Back at One," connects with his swoon-inducing ballads and sweet talk. (7 & 9 p.m. Sun.-Tue., Dakota, $45-$75.)

Indigo Girls: Georgia-bred folkies Emily Saliers and Amy Ray showed their lasting chemistry on last year's album "One Lost Day," which they promoted last summer alongside a revival of their 1994 album "Swamp Ophelia" at the Eaux Claires Music Fest by special request of Justin "Bon Iver" Vernon. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Minnesota Zoo amphitheater, $50.)

Tower of Power: No group brings the horn-driven funk like this ensemble from Oakland, now in its 48th year. Four longtime members remain, including founder saxophonist Emilio Castillo, saxophonist Stephen Kupka, bassist Rocco Prestia and drummer David Garibaldi. (7:30 p.m. Wed. Minnesota Zoo, $42-$54.50.)

On an On: After working with Strokes/Spoon producer Joe Chiccarelli on last year's album "And the Wave Has Two Sides," the moody and mostly Minnesotan synth-rock trio has announced it's going on hiatus after its summer tour. (8:30 p.m. Wed., Turf Club, $12-$14.)

Bǿrns: Michigan-bred psychedelic pop singer Garrett Borns has earned steady rotation from the Current and other hipster media outlets with his fun, falsetto-heavy singles "Electric Love" and "10,000 Emerald Pools" and easily sold out his First Ave debut between summer festival dates. (7 p.m. Wed., First Avenue.)