Big Gigs for Sept. 12-18: Ed Sheeran, Eric Church, P.O.S. and more

He's had hits singing about beer, Springsteen and Jesus. Even though he's won major country awards and is nominated for four CMA trophies this year, the high-energy, rock-inclined Eric Church still views himself as a Nashville outsider. Hence, the title of his CMA-nominated album, "The Outsiders." He's performing in the round this time, with the great California country maverick Dwight Yoakam opening. Read an interview with Church in Tuesday's Variety section. (7 p.m. Tue. Target Center, $25-$59.50.) Jon Bream

Formerly the frontwoman of ambient Minneapolis rock outfit Aviette, Holly Muñoz struck indie-rock gold after moving to the Bay Area to work with the San Francisco Symphony. She raised $50,000 via crowdfunding to make a solo album and then landed one of her musical heroes, acclaimed tunesmith John Vanderslice, as producer. The result is "Maps and Lists," a deep, ornate, dark vs. light collection that variously recalls Throwing Muses and Sharon Van Etten. She's returning to town to promote with a cast of friends including Dosh and the Starfolk. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $15-$18.) Chris Riemenschneider

Winner of the Blues Foundation's entertainer of the year award in 2009, Janiva Magness has had some tough sledding since 2010. She got divorced, left Alligator Records, had neck surgery that prevented her from singing for a stint and lost her foster mother. But Magness, who spent her musical salad days in the Twin Cities, has bounced back with the impressive "Original," a deeply emotional album on which she co-wrote eight of the songs. Her singing is fierce, whether on the R&B stomp "I Need a Man" or the Sly Stone-evoking "With Love," a duet with Dan Navarro. (8 p.m. Fri., Dakota, $20.) Bream

The Dandy Warhols have enjoyed MTV fame, toured with David Bowie and starred in a hit rock documentary ("Dig!"), but the haze-poppy Portland, Ore., rock quintet never put out a live album before now. It's a live rendition of their 1997 breakthrough album, "Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia," featuring "Bohemian Like You" and more fan favorites we're sure to hear again. Los Angeles' Bonfire Beach opens. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, $20.) Riemenschneider

When Pat DiNizio isn't doing solo house concerts, he gets together on weekends with his old New Jersey band, the Smithereens, to re-create such 1980s memories as "A Girl Like You" and "Only a Memory." They remain a spirited bunch of rockers, as they proved last year touring with Tom Petty. Minneapolis' own '80s new-wave aces, the Flamin' Oh's, open. (9 p.m. Fri., Famous Dave's, $25-$35.) Bream

Make room for yet another young, bearded Minnesota bluegrass band: Sans Souci steps up with versatile string picking and a nice variety of original songs on its second album, "On the Line," recorded with Rich Mattson at his Sparta Sound studio in the North Woods. Mandolin-manning frontman Eric Larson writes with a traditional touch that puts his violin- and banjo-laced quartet pretty close to Pert Near Sandstone on the pick-o-meter. Doug Otto & the Getaways open the release party. (10:30 p.m. Fri., Icehouse, $10-$12.) Riemenschneider

A great after-party for the nearby Replacements concert, the Blind Shake and Birthday Suits double-header will also be the perfect test for the new Turf Club sound system. The beloved and bedeviling noise-punk bands are headed to Chicago together Friday for a RiotFest after-party and will celebrate the St. Paul return Saturday of Birthday Suits singer/guitarist Hideo Takahashi, who has been residing in his native Japan since last year. Prissy Clerks offshoot band Whatever Forever opens. (10 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, $8-$10.) Riemenschneider

Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne wasn't just talking out of his confetti gun in July when he said the band liked playing First Ave so much, it would be back soon. Two months after that colorful but also refreshingly musical, not-too-gimmicky gig, the Oklahoman acid-punks are returning and should really appease old-school fans this time around. They're playing their 1993 album "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" in its entirety, featuring their unlikely hit "She Don't Use Jelly" and some of their most pleasantly fuzz-rocky work. (9 p.m. Sun., First Avenue, $49.50.) Riemenschneider

A downright bizarre band that's turning into something of a worldwide cult, South African duo Die Antwoord delivers a high-adrenaline, dizzying brand of dubstep-infused rave-rap delivered in Afrikaans and English languages. Much of their fame has been built on viral videos laced with creepy, cinematic creatures — paging Maynard James Keenan! — but their albums for Interscope Records are starting to sell well, too, including the latest, "Donker Mag." (9 p.m. Sun., Myth, all ages, $29.50.) Riemenschneider

A solo acoustic guitarist headlining an arena? Well, Ed Sheeran is no ordinary solo act, using loops to augment his sound and his larger-than-life personality to fill giant rooms. He did it opening for Taylor Swift. Now, with two hits ("The A Team" and "Sing") and two hit albums under his belt, the 23-year-old Brit will try to make an arena full of girls and young women swoon. Rudimental opens. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Target Center, $40 & $59.50.) Bream

Last seen in town opening for Cage the Elephant at Myth, hard-boogying Virginia rockers J. Roddy Walston & the Business are finally back to play a local headlining show again. Their last was an unforgettably rowdy, piano-tipping throwdown in the Entry last September on the eve of the release of their breakout album, "Essential Tremors." The band has since earned heavy Current airplay with the howling single "Heavy Bells" and the more rollicking gem "Take It as It Comes." No surprise that tickets are long gone. Should've been in the First Ave main room. (8:30 p.m. Mon., Fine Line, sold out.) Riemenschneider

The romance is over, and Meshell Ndegeocello's emotions and lyrics are raw on "Comet, Come to Me," an ambitious, artful breakup album that includes a cover of Whodini's 1980s hit "Friends" and such potent originals as the Princely "American Rhapsody" and the nasty, slow-burn, jazzy Joni Mitchell-like "Folie a Deux." (7 p.m. Tue., Dakota, $35 & $42.) Bream

Nellie McKay, the delightful and immensely talented oddball, loves performing without a net. So it's not surprising that she's teaming up with the Turtle Island String Quartet. On the surface, it's an enigmatic match, the jazzy San Francisco string foursome with the kooky New York cabaret entertainer who can sing anything from reggae and rap to Doris Day and Loretta Lynn. Well, the Turtles are pretty eclectic themselves, essaying everything from Miles Davis and Bob Dylan to bluegrass and classical music. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. Wed. Dakota, $30-$45.) Bream

Besides being two of the wildest, most physical acts on tour nowadays, Atlanta's Black Lips and Germany's King Khan & the BBQ Show also are two of the best purveyors of '60s-era psychedelic garage-rock, the former in a high-revving punk vein and the latter in more of a soulful, horn-laced style. The Lips' Turf Club show in April was a blast in more ways than one, with nary a sound check and lots of rambunctious new gems off their latest album, "Underneath the Rainbow." (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, $16.) Riemenschneider

When Mick Jagger and the other folks behind the current James Brown biopic "Get on Up" needed someone to impersonate JB's singing voice, they turned to Lee Fields. The 60-something throwback soul man mines the same vein as Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley. Fields is the real deal, as evidenced on this year's "Emma Jean," on which he's buoyed by the horn-driven Expressions, who may be the equal of the Dap-Kings. Opening is Black Diet, the Twin Cities garage-soul outfit fronted by dynamic star-in-waiting Jonathan Tolliver. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, $15-$18.) Bream

Brooklyn's premier party band, Red Baraat combines insistent north Indian "bhangra" rhythms with Crescent City-style brass band horn funk. It's a volatile fusion, even before they add some bilingual hip-hop rapping, and toss in bracing avant-garde jazz solos. (6 p.m. Thu., Dakota Jazz Club, $30.) Tom Surowicz

St. Paul's West Side rap vet Maria Isa has been spending a lot of time on the West Coast around Los Angeles of late, and it seems to have influenced her thematic new album "Valley of the Dolls." Her collaborators/producers included Audio Perm's Bobby Raps and Kanye West cohort Andrew Bergen. She's taking over the Dakota's Late Night series with a band for the release party with guests including her Villa Rosa mate Muja Messiah and Dante Pedro. (11 p.m. Fri., Dakota Jazz Club, $10.) Riemenschneider

As part of the Cabooze's 40th anniversary celebration, the Lamont Cranston Band makes a now-rare visit to the scene of past glories, with original members Larry Hayes and Bob Bingham returning as special guests. The latter will do an opening set with harmonica great Curtis Blake, performing original tunes from Bingham's excellent recent release, "New Ground," which finds him venturing onto fresh musical turf, including some country-flavored songs with help from fiddler Randy Sabien and steel guitar ace Joe Savage. (9 p.m. Sat., Sept. Cabooze, $10.) Surowicz

The 13th annual Selby Jazz Festival has a big headliner in drummer extraordinaire Harvey Mason, known for his work with Herbie Hancock's original "Head Hunters" band, Grover Washington, the Brecker Brothers, George Benson and more recently John Legend. Mason's overtly commercial yet quite fine new CD, "Chameleon," is well-named, since the drummer is equally adept playing genuine fusion, crackling straight-ahead jazz, slick R&B and funk. Also appearing at this free event are Dick & Jane's Big Brass Band, the much-bigger Brio Brass and versatile singer Maurice Jacox. (11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Sat., Selby. & Milton Avs., St. Paul, selbyavejazzfest.com) Surowicz

John Raymond is an impressive young fluegelhorn player and bandleader who grew up in Minneapolis, headed to New York City for advanced schooling and has since made a name for himself in that jazz mecca. This weekend's homecoming gig features his Roots Trio, co-starring outstanding Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman and rising star drummer Colin Stranahan. It's good company for Raymond, who favors music with lots of space, thoughtfulness and warmth. (7 p.m. Sat., Studio Z, 275 E. 4th St., Suite 200, St. Paul. $15. 651-755-1600.) Surowicz

With its season opener, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Partner Roberto Abbado kick off an exploration of the complete symphonies of Beethoven with two of the least familiar: the Seventh and Eighth. Beethoven began composing both in May 1811, but they could not be more different. The Seventh is an explosive work, reflective of Europe still in the grip of the Napoleonic Wars, while the Eighth is gentler and more sophisticated. Pianist Emanuele Arciuli joins the SPCO for the world premiere of "Urban Gardens" by composer Nicola Campogrande. (8 p.m. Sat., Ordway Center, 2 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, $10-$40.) William Randall Beard

What better way to celebrate a beautiful autumn afternoon than listening to the Minnesota Orchestra at Lake Harriet Bandshell? Conductor William Eddins leads a trio of Russian classics: the Overture to Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Ludmila," selections from Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet," and the "Polovtsian Dances" from Borodin's opera "Prince Igor." In a nod to this fall's Richard Strauss festival, the program also features Strauss' tone poem "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks." (3 p.m. Sun., 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy, Mpls.) Beard