Big Gigs for Oct. 17-23: Pearl Jam, Iggy Azalea, Jason Derulo and more

Even after a six-year wait between local gigs — 11 if you don't count their '06 date opening for Tom Petty — Pearl Jam fans know what to expect: Low-frills production and a couple of hours of high-adrenaline rock, with a couple of long encores and a few covers thrown in. The set lists are unpredictable, however, as different tracks from the three albums since '06 are dropped in alongside a wide range of older hits and deep cuts. The band is winding down a short trek through the middle of the country around two weekends headlining the Austin City Limits Fest. No opener is scheduled. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Xcel Energy Center, sold out.) Riemenschneider

Iggy Azalea is everywhere these days. The Aussie rapper is on the pop charts with her own smash "Fancy" and as a featured performer on T.I.'s "No Mediocre," Ariana Grande's "Problem" and J. Lo's "Booty," and just got nominated for more American Music Awards than anyone else (six). This weekend she's at TCF Bank Stadium, headlining the University of Minnesota homecoming concert. We assume she'll bring a warmer outfit than the one she wears in the superhot "Booty" video. Walk the Moon opens. (8 p.m. Fri., TCF Bank Stadium, sold out..) Jon Bream

Maybe you know her from the movie "Once" or the duo Swell Season. But Markéta Irglová is no longer with Swell Season partner Glen Hansard, with whom she won an Oscar for writing "Falling Slowly." The Czech singer, who now lives in Iceland, recently released her second solo effort, "Muna." Somber, pretty and prayerful, it feels closer to Kate Bush than to Swell Season. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $22-$25.) Bream

Still considered by many Black Crowes fans to be the band's definitive lead guitarist, Marc Ford has had a fruitful post-Crowes career playing with the likes of Gov't Mule and Ben Harper and producing for Ryan Bingham and Phantom Limbs. He enlisted Limbs members to help with his new solo album, "Holy Ghost," which is mostly a singer/songwriter showcase but with plenty of tasty licks to go around. His son's band Elijah Ford & the Bloom opens. (9 p.m. Fri., Lee's Liquor Lounge, $15-$18.) Chris Riemenschneider

Betty Who probably isn't feeling so anonymous these days. The Aussie indie-pop chanteuse's debut single, "Somebody Loves You," put her on the map in 2012, later getting a viral bump when the chirpy track was used in a flash-mob-style marriage proposal video that topped 12 million YouTube views. Last week, the 22-year-old released her first album, "Take Me When You Go," a shimmery and anthemic synth-pop effort produced by her collaborator Peter Thomas. Next month she begins touring with Katy Perry. (9 p.m. Fri., Fine Line, $15-$30.) Michael Rietmulder

Already looking as if they walked out of a Roger Corman movie about a biker-chick gang, L'Assassins are taking their visual act a stiletto-heel step further with their new Mike Wisti-produced EP "Kill! Kill! Kill! … Bang! Bang! Bang!" The gear-grinding punkabilly quartet worked with filmmaker friend Tyler Jensen to make a wily, campy, B-movie-inspired short film incorporating four of the EP's six songs, which musically furthers the band's brand of Rev. Horton Heat-meets-Runaways rawk. They're throwing a release/viewing party opening for Phoenix's Calabrese, with Fury Things and Leather Sweater for support. (9 p.m. Sat., Triple Rock, $7.) Riemenschneider

Forever-mellow "I'm Yours" dude Jason Mraz may have added an exclamation point to this year's "Yes!" But his fifth studio album is more of the same sun-kissed love songs that are easy like Sunday morning. There are echoes of the Beach Boys and Ed Sheeran in these strummed acoustic ditties, and he offers a surprisingly wooden reading of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." (8 p.m. Sat., State Theatre, $25-$75.) Bream

"We're like brothers. We fight a lot," Foxygen's Jonathan Rado said last year of bandmate Sam France. True to form, live meltdowns and freakouts dominated the duo's 2013 tour in support of its breakout album, "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic." Behind the infighting, however, are two California youngsters with serious rock-geek cachet and an affinity for astrally psychedelic pop sounds. This month's "… And Star Power," their third full-length, channels an iPod's bounty of influences — Syd Barrett, Bowie, Todd Rundgren — but there's some genius beneath the excess. (9 p.m. Sat., Fine Line, $16-$30.) Jay Boller

Fans of granola soul man Allen Stone are still waiting for his sophomore album. Meanwhile, he's dropped an EP, "Radius Preview," which teases with three tracks. Stone promises to spin the new album during a meet-and-greet with fans. And he'll participate in a Q&A to discuss the album and other pressing issues. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Fine Line, $25-$40.) Bream

What are the chances that Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams would appear in the Twin Cities in the same seven-day stretch? What are the chances that Bryan will cover a Ryan song, as Ryan did with Bryan's "Run to You"? Bryan's new album, "Tracks of My Years," is a collection of covers of Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, Creedence and the like. His tour is a solo acoustic format. (8 p.m. Sun., State Theatre, $33.50-$89.) Bream

Like Bettye LaVette and Nellie McKay, Ruthie Foster is one of those underappreciated gems who performs regularly at the Dakota. Foster is a Texas singer-songwriter whose music is equal parts soul, gospel, blues and folk, with a dash of country. Her new album, "Promise of a Brand New Day," is a triumphant showcase for her potently soulful vocals, uplifting positivity and joyful sound. Produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, the album is her best since 2008's "The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster." (7 p.m. Tue., Dakota, $40.) Bream

Magical flutist Ian Anderson is back to his fictional storytelling ways. His new album, "Homo Erraticus," picks up the story of Gerald Bostock, hero of the landmark Jethro Tull album "Thick as a Brick" and its 2012 sequel "Thick as a Brick 2." On the new disc, Bostock, a former politician, discovers a manuscript from the 1920s, left by a malaria-ridden old British soldier-turned-historian. Prog-rock ensues. (7:30 p.m. Tue., State Theatre, $39-$79.) Bream

Richard Marx, the high-haired pop star behind the '80s/'90s hits "Endless Summer Nights" and "Right Here Waiting," is back with a new album, "Beautiful Goodbye." It's a collection of late-night romance by a real smoothie, who ironically announced the dissolution of his 25-year marriage before the record was released. (9 p.m. Thu., Mill City Nights, $49.50.) Bream

Fingerstyle guitar champ Phil Heywood sings more than usual on his fine new CD, "Rollin' On." And he casts his net a bit wider for cover tunes, augmenting the usual blues classics of the Rev. Gary Davis and Leroy Carr with songs by Bob Marley, the Beatles, Dylan ("One Too Many Mornings") and Tennessee Ernie Ford ("Sixteen Tons"), and the cool title track by Mark Knopfler, about a traveling clown's life on the road. There are just two of Heywood's trademark original instrumentals, both winners. "Vermilion" evokes a lakeside retreat while the delightful "Tomato Truck" heads south for a little musical tableau from Mexico. This weekend's release party will also feature duets with guest guitar heroes Tim Sparks and Dakota Dave Hull. (8 p.m. Sat., Riverview Wine Bar, 3747 42nd Av. S., Mpls. $13. 612-722-7234.) Tom Surowicz

The world's premier progressive Cajun combo, BeauSoleil kicks off its latest release, "From Bamako to Carencro," with a classic Bayou dance number. But after that, surprises abound, including hip covers of James Brown ("I'll Go Crazy," sung in French), John Coltrane ("Bessie's Blues," sounding like back-porch country) and jazz trombone great Roswell Rudd (whose "Bamako" was inspired by the people and music of Mali). (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$30.) Surowicz

Pre-eminent Minnesota jazz thrush Connie Evingson has found a winning groove with Django Reinhardt-inspired gypsy jazz. "All the Cats Join In," her third album in this style, is an inventive collaboration with the John Jorgenson Quintet, who will join her for a CD release party. It's a perfect pairing as Jorgenson, who portrayed Reinhardt in the Charlize Theron film "Head in the Clouds," is a master of the genre. The ever-resourceful Evingson tackles Beatles songs and standards in this style, and enlists jazz vocal giant Jon Hendricks, 93, for a vocalese duet on the title track. (7 & 9 p.m. Fri., Dakota Jazz Club, $30-$35.) Bream

Since 2007, veteran trumpeter Herb Alpert and his wife of 40 years, Lani Hall, former vocalist of Brasil 66, have been performing as a duo. On their two most recent records, 2009's "Anything Goes" and 2013's "Steppin' Out," they cover everything from standards and Brazilian music to funk and Alpert's Tijuana Brass classics. Expect similar range, warmth and rewards in concert. (8 p.m. Sat. & 7 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota, $50-$70.) Bream

The Cabooze's swell 40th anniversary series continues with "Legalize It," a tribute to Peter Tosh — apropos since Tosh played a memorable gig there in 1978 that drew a couple of his pals in the Rolling Stones. A founding member of the Wailers and a seminal force of reggae music, Tosh was sadly shot to death by robbers in his prime. His hits — "Get Up, Stand Up," "Stepping Razor," "Downpressor Man," "Equal Rights" — and misses will be performed by the International Reggae All-Stars and Innocent. (9:30 p.m. Fri., Cabooze, $10-$15.) Surowicz

Once upon a time there was a popular local group called Quintessence, whose music was hard to categorize but easy to like, combining world folk, jazz, chamber classical and new-age elements. They're still together, under the clunkier moniker Mauilotus: The Marilyn Allysum Group. Allysum was always the focal point, playing piano, flutes and Chinese harp, and adding synthesizer and vocal exotica on the new CD "Visions of Unity." David Wolfe, her co-star on and offstage, gives the band its unique character, taking his santoor (a Persian harp) on new territorial excursions. Charles Fletcher adds lyrical electric bass and Mike Hurley plays all sorts of cool percussion. These global mind-trippers even get close to pop on their new track "The Coolness Within." (7:30 p.m. Fri., First Unitarian Society, 900 Mount Curve Av., Mpls. $15-$20. 612-377-6608.) Surowicz

Minnesota Sinfonia opens its 26th season of providing free concerts with two performances this weekend. The professional chamber orchestra, led by Jay Fishman, welcomes Russian pianist Anna Polonsky in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major. Also on the program are works by Dvorak ("Czech Suite") and Rossini (Overture to "Cinderella"). In a world premiere and a Sinfonia commission, the ensemble plays "Variations on a Norwegian Folk Tune" by Linda Tutas Haugen. (7 p.m. Fri., Johnson High School, 1349 Arcade St., St. Paul, and 2 p.m. Sun., Basilica of St. Mary, 88 N. 17th St., Mpls., free, www.mnsinfonia.org.) Claude Peck