Big Gigs, Nov. 7-13: New Pornographers, Hoodie Allen, Vance Joy and Garth (of course)

POP/ROCK

Like Garth Brooks, Garland Jeffreys took time off to be a father to his daughter. Then in 2011, the quintessential New York rocker released the masterful "The King of In Between," his first studio album in 19 years. Last year's "Truth Serum" proved that Jeffreys is still in the rock/reggae groove. His two recent Twin Cities performances have been winners — a potent mix of rock, politics and a tip of the hat to his old college pal Lou Reed. (7 p.m. Fri., Dakota Jazz Club, $35.) Jon Bream

A young Twin Cities band that sounds as if it could've been around in the 1990s, Sun Gods to Gamma Rays delivers ethereal, trip-hoppy astral pop that falls somewhere between Mazzy Star, Sneaker Pimps and newer Canadian indie faves Stars. Siren-voiced singer Brianna Kocka sounds pristine on the quintet's sonically vibrant, sexy but sometimes too sleepy full-length debut, "A Ghost to Find," produced by local studio wiz Joe Mabbott. Their release party also features all-star electro-collage band Votel. (11 p.m. Fri., Icehouse, $8.) Chris Riemenschneider

Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto has worked with everyone from David Byrne and Kenny G to Caetano Veloso and Stan Getz. On this summer's "Tudo," her first album in five years, she mixes elements of bossa nova, jazz, samba and adult pop. Singing in Portuguese, French and English, she appeals with breezy sensuality. One highlight is a seductive bossa treatment of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon." (7 & 9:30 p.m. Sat., Dakota Jazz Club, $30-$60.) Bream

Usually it goes the other way: Start a band, build up a following and then tick off half of your fan base by starting a solo career. Rogue Valley frontman Chris Koza did that trajectory in reverse, releasing three well-received solo records before giving his band its own name and identity. He's back to releasing a record under his own name, "In Real Time," which carries a little more slick production and poppy hookery than the RV albums without sacrificing any of Koza's soft, bright-eyed songwriterly charms. He recorded it with a more veteran cast of players, some of whom will help out at the release party, including Semisonic bassist John Munson, pedal-steel ace Joe Savage and percussionists Ken Chastain and Richard Medek, plus elegance specialists the Laurel Strings Quartet. Reina del Cid opens. (8 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, all ages, $12-$15.) Riemenschneider

Indie folker Vance Joy could be a household name or at least a tabloid newspaper star by this time next year: Taylor Swift picked the Australian singer/songwriter (real name: James Keogh) to open her "1989" tour, including two shows next September at Xcel Energy Center. The seemingly unlikely pick signals Swift's growing hipness rather than VJ selling out. In concert, he sounds like a pleasant cross between a less-twangy Marcus Mumford and a less-mopey Damien Rice. (8 p.m. Mon., Varsity Theater, sold out.) Riemenschneider

David Bazan working with a string quartet seems like a natural fit given his penchant for dramatic, ambitiously arranged recordings. However, the former Pedro the Lion leader eschewed the usual indie-rock-goes-orchestral formula for a darker and more atmospheric, experimental sound on "David Bazan + the Passenger String Quartet," featuring the Seattle area neoclassical group that has also collaborated with DJ Spooky and Macklemore. David Dondero opens. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Cedar Cultural Center, all ages, $20.) Riemenschneider

The New Pornographers are bringing out the big guns this time around. Auxiliary members Neko Case and Dan Bejar are back from their respective solo careers and touring under the leadership of A.C. Newman with the Vancouver-bred power-pop band for the first time in about five years. Their inclusion seems like a foregone conclusion once you hear the group's latest and biggest-sounding album yet, "Brill Bruisers," a jubilant, bursting effort laced with integral contributions from all the participants. New York fuzz-pop gang the Pains of Being Pure at Heart should make for a terrific opening match. (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, $25-$28.) Riemenschneider

Ryan Bingham is hitting the reset button. The raspy-voiced, Oscar-winning alt-countryman behind Jeff Bridges' "Crazy Heart" anthem "The Weary Kind" just finished an album with a new backing band and Wilco producer Jim Scott, titled "Fear and Saturday Night." He's on a solo acoustic tour, previewing the tunes ahead of a Jan. 20 release date. (8 p.m. Wed., Turf Club, sold out.) Riemenschneider

When working solo, triple Grammy winner Shawn Colvin can get chatty — and funny. Let's hope the South Dakota-reared, Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter doesn't dwell on the battles with depression, alcoholism and anorexia she chronicled in her 2012 memoir "Diamond in the Rough." Better to share her other 2012 work, "All Fall Down," a fine album with top-notch tunes about love gone wrong that should fit in seamlessly with her Grammy-grabbing signature "Sunny Came Home." (7 p.m. Thu. & next Fri.-Sat., Dakota, $45 & $50.) Bream

After a three-month stint in Hollywood scoring the Amazon Web series "Betas" and eight years doing similar work in Copenhagen, Todd Casper has put his old Twin Cities-based band the Great Depression back together. The psychedelic, sunbeam-tinted guitar-pop group has a new co-vocalist, Wendy Lewis (Redstart, Bad Plus), and a grandiose concept album to celebrate, "In a Starry State." New songs such as "Hey Go Easy (Serpentina)" and "Visiting on Davenports" have a Flaming Lips/Polyphonic Spree flavor that's easier to swallow than the Philip K. Dick-inspired sci-fi story line about a girl from a parallel universe. (10 p.m. Thu., Bryant-Lake Bowl, $10-$12.) Riemenschneider

In the past few years J.D. Souther has no doubt gained some fans, portraying a legendary producer on ABC's "Nashville" following roles on the series "thirty-something" and in the movie "Postcards From the Edge." He's made some great albums, too, starting with the gripping comeback "If The World Was You." But the 69-year-old troubadour will always be best known for the hits he penned for the Eagles ("Best of My Love," "New Kid in Town," "Heartache Tonight") and old girlfriend Linda Ronstadt ("Faithless Love," "Prisoner in Disguise"). He's a fine low-key showman. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, $35-$40.) Tom Surowicz

Chase Rice put together a curious résumé before becoming a country singer: University of North Carolina linebacker, NASCAR pit crew worker and contestant on TV's "Survivor: Nicaragua." His "Ignite the Night," which hit No. 1 this summer, oozes bro-country, which is no surprise since he co-wrote Florida Georgia Line's smash "Cruise." Such songs as "How She Rolls," "Ready Set Roll" and "50 Shades of Crazy" are textbook bro-country but more appealing is the piano confession "Jack Daniels and Jesus." (8 p.m. Thu., Skyway Theatre, $22.50.) Bream

Competing hard for the title of most vanilla white-boy rapper ever, Hoodie Allen offers plenty of raunch and sharp wit on his new album, "People Keep Talking," but still sounds about as edgy as a butter knife. The real-life Steve Markowitz — a 26-year-old former frat boy from Long Island — has carved quite a niche for himself in three short years through mostly DIY methods, ignited by his iTunes-topping 2012 EP "All American." He graduates from a sold-out First Ave to a suburban mega-club with Chiddy Bang and Taylor Bennett opening. (8 p.m. Fri., Myth, all ages, $25.) Riemenschneider

Acclaimed European improv music arrives at cozy Jazz Central Studios, as the mostly Norwegian quartet Dans Les Arbres makes its Twin Cities debut. Its sounds can be exotic and entrancing, as evidenced on two albums for the prestigious ECM label, with instrumentation including bowed banjo and harmonium in addition to clarinet, electric guitar, piano and percussion. Pianist Christian Wallumrod has a half-dozen ECM albums of his own. Recommended to fans of John Cage, LaMonte Young, Alvin Curran and perhaps Terry Riley. (7:30 p.m. Fri., 407 Central Av. SE., Mpls., $10.) Surowicz

After releasing one of the best albums of her career, "All the Cats Join In," local singer Connie Evingson goes back to the Ella Fitzgerald well for a concert drawing on Fitzgerald's "Songbooks" series, saluting Broadway and Tin Pan Alley composers. She will be backed by old pal Gordy Johnson on bass and encyclopedic New York City piano man Jon Weber. (4 & 7:30 p.m. Sun., Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., $25.) The following night Weber presents "From Joplin to Jarrett — 115 Years of Piano Jazz," a program that New York Times critic Stephen Holden called "fascinating and essential." (7 p.m. Mon., Dakota Jazz Club, $15.) Surowicz

Born and raised in Tucson, Ariz., tenor and soprano sax man Tony Malaby long has been one of New York City's more formidable proponents of post-bop and improv jazz. He has more than a dozen albums as composer/bandleader, plus he's been part of Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and Fred Hersch's quintet. A rare Twin Cities appearance will feature bassist Anthony Cox and drummer J.T. Bates.(9:30 p.m. Mon., Icehouse, $15.) Surowicz

He's played with Boston, Philly, S.F., Vienna and London, so it's high time Russian-born American pianist Kirill Gerstein made his Minnesota Orchestra debut. He will perform two concertos (No. 2, by Shostakovich, and No. 1, by Prokofiev) as Courtney Lewis conducts the troops in a miniseries devoted to Russian music. Two fairy-tale inspired works — "Snow Maiden" selections by Tchaikovsky and the Symphonic Suite from Stravinsky's "The Fairy's Kiss" — open and close the program. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Orchestra Hall, Mpls., $25-$95.) Peck