The Big Gigs: 10 top concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker, who walked offstage in New Jersey last week when he lost his singing voice (and gave refunds), returns to highlight his hit country catalog along with some Hootie favorites (7:30 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, Waite Park, $65 and up); after competing on TV’s “Rock Star: Supernova” and “America’s Got Talent” and continuing her on-again, off-again stint singing with Pink Martini, Portland powerhouse Storm Large has carved her own career in cabaret (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$45); one of the best of this year’s Lowertown Sounds lineups pairs harmonious Americana trio Turn Turn Turn with twangy tunesmith Molly Brandt (6-10 p.m., St. Paul’s Mears Park, free); Native American folk music hero and activist Keith Secola of “NDN Kars” fame is again pairing up with his Minneapolis compatriot David Huckfelt (8 p.m. Icehouse, $25); blues and soul specialist Annie Mack performs for free as part of the Sunset Series at Hopkins’ Downtown Park (7 p.m.); the Vertighost Quintet features Martin Dosh, Jacqueline Ultan, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mark Erickson with rapper Alexie Casselle (7 p.m. Berlin, $15).

If you’re looking for a chance to soak up the irreplaceable old-saloon vibes at Palmer’s before the bar’s scheduled closing in September, this three-day indoor/outdoor music fest is one of its wildest and best-loved events. Punky noisemakers the Silent Treatment, Unstable Shapes, Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club MPLS and more play Friday night. Saturday’s 13-hour run kicks off with bluegrassy pickers the Gated Community and continues with the likes of Wet Denim, Rad Enhancer, Christy Costello, Toilet Rats and Texas surf-punks Daikaiju. Sunday is the rootsier and funkier lineup with afternoon twangers the Cole Diamond Band and Miss Georgia Peach and piano man Cornbread Harris at 7 p.m., followed by the Brass Messengers and West Bank Social Club. (6 p.m. Fri., Noon Sat. & Sun., Palmer’s Bar, 500 Cedar Av. S., $10/day, palmers-bar.com)

After spending the past decade focused on other projects — like frontman Adam Levy’s newer trio Turn Turn Turn and drummer Noah Levy’s tours with Brian Setzer and Soul Asylum — the members of this almost-famous, heartland-rootsy Twin Cities rock band have come full circle in a full-bore way. They’ve put their original lineup back together, with guitarist Tommy Borscheid back in from Houston alongside bassist Trent Norton. They also got cranking on a new album, “Algebra for Broken Hearts,” which truly does crank. Loud guitars, hard-driving rhythms, big choruses, heart-on-sleeve lyrics. It’s as if they’re still in their 20s just trying to impress a 400 Bar crowd. Mission accomplished. This day-of-release party features pal Molly Maher as opener. (7:30 p.m. the Green Room, 2923 Girard Av. S., Mpls., all ages, $25, greenroommn.com)

After serious turns on his George Floyd-inspired dual albums “38th” and “Chicago Avenue” and then his collaboration with the most serious band in town, the Minnesota Orchestra, Matt Allen is back to goofing off. The Rosemount-reared rapper is headlining the Fillmore for the first time to celebrate his 10th release, “Chunkadelic,” an album audibly inspired by George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic and spiritually in line with anyone who makes a point of being happy and having fun to fight the haters and power. He and DJ Hayes and their high-energy live band will be preceded by Dakotah Faye and iLLism. (7:30 p.m. the Fillmore, 525 N. 5th St., Mpls., $41, ticketmaster.com)

Treasure Island Casino is again trying to create an annual two-day mini-fest with an eclectic mix of regional and national favorites. Headlining on Friday are Shane Smith & the Saints, those red dirt Texans known for their appearances on TV’s “Yellowstone,” with support from Trenton Fletcher, a red dirt artist from Stillwater, Okla., and Minnesota’s own outlaw country singer James Whatton. There are more familiar names on Saturday with Shakey Graves, the bluesy Americana mainstay from Austin, Texas, along with Minnesota rock champs Soul Asylum, still trumpeting last year’s solid “Slowly but Shirley,” Minnesota twanger Wild Horses and veteran singer/songwriter Mason Jennings, who has released six albums this decade, three under his own name and three with his side project Painted Shield. (7 p.m. Fri. & 1 p.m. Sat. Treasure Island Amphitheater, 5734 Sturgeon Lake Rd., Welch, $42 and up, ticketmaster.com)

After six summers, effervescent and uber-talented pianist Jon Kimura Parker is reaching the end of his tenure as creative partner for the Minnesota Orchestra’s “Summer at Orchestra Hall” concerts. He’s going out with an ultra-Romantic bang, performing piano concertos by Robert Schumann this Friday and Edvard Grieg at the Aug. 1 festival finale (both at 8 p.m.). In between, he’ll play some chamber music with members of the orchestra (7 p.m. Sat.) and team up with three other pianists for the “Grand Piano Spectacular” (7 p.m. July 31). (Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $20-$100, minnesotaorchestra.org.)

Thirteen years after topping the U.S. adult-contemporary charts with their stomping sing-along “Hey Ho,” the happy Denver-area strummers appear to be as big as ever. Their latest Twin Cities arena show is nearly sold-out following another catchy radio hit, “Same Old Song,” from their fifth album, “Automatic.” Picking partners Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites have also grown their audience the old-fashioned way, with spirited and communal live shows. Too bad it’s not outdoors but it should be one big, summery gig. Local pop-rockers Hippo Campus open this and several other dates on the tour. (7:30 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $229, ticketmaster.com)

Anyone who mistakes Minnesota as being part of Canada might point to the local popularity of this rootsy, Winnipeg-reared folk trio as proof. Harmonious singer/songwriters Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse have long maintained ties to the Twin Cities, both via their old St. Paul-based label Red House Records and their many appearances on “A Prairie Home Companion.” They haven’t put out a record as a trio in eight years, but they still sporadically tour and are making the most of this latest spin through our territory, with nearby shows in Rochester and Bayfield, Wis., in addition to a Minneapolis theater date. (7 p.m. Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., resale only; also 7 p.m. Fri. at Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield, and 7 p.m. Sun. at the free Riverside series in Rochester’s Mayo Park, wailinjennys.com)

A couple of Broadway legends were back in the pop-culture spotlight over the past few years, what with the passing of composer and librettist Stephen Sondheim and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-nominated film about composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, “Maestro.” Conductor Matthew Mehaffey and the Oratorio Society’s Summer Chorus will pay tribute to both at a concert full of show tunes, including from the Bernstein/Sondheim collaboration “West Side Story.” They’re joined by a pair of impressive soloists in soprano Sarah Lawrence and baritone Bradley Greenwald. A streaming option is also available. (7:30 p.m. Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 W. Roselawn Ave., Roseville, $10-$33, oratorio.org)

Also: Minneapolis’ psychedelic and neo-twangy groovers Night Moves are hosting the hometown release party for their latest album for indie hub Domino Recordings, “Double Life,” with openers Shady Cove, a new duo featuring local vets Sarah Rose and Sarah Nienaber (7:30 p.m. First Avenue, $27); South Korean K-pop boy band Big Ocean is made up of hearing-impaired members who perform with sign language (7 p.m. Uptown Theater, all ages, $79); Davina & the Vagabonds are always spirited and soulful whether they’re playing originals, New Orleans classics or Davina Sowers’ definitive interpretations of Aretha Franklin and Etta James (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$50); instrumental rockers Big Trouble take over the patio at the White Squirrel Bar (6-8 p.m., free).

After taking her 25th anniversary tour of “On How Life Is” to Europe this summer, the “I Try” hitmaker is back in the States. With her distinctively pinched, raspy, girlish voice, the Grammy-winning vet has been surveying her career in concert from “Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak” to “Relating to a Psychopath” as well as covers of Radiohead’s “Creep” and Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny.” She’s been trying to find where she fits in these days. While on one hand she has appeared on TV’s cheesy “The Masked Singer” in Australia, the States (she finished fourth in 2023) and England this year, she collaborated in 2023 with California Jet Club on “The Reset,” a modern R&B/jazz/hip-hop collection that was heavy on social commentary, notably about rogue police. Then this month Gray dropped a new single with a different vibe, “No One,” a spare, raw expression of love with an island flavor. (7 p.m. Fillmore Minneapolis, 525 N. 5th St., Mpls., $50 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Hippie hip-hop soul-rock vet Michael Franti of “Sound of Sunshine” and “Hey Now Now” fame and his band Spearhead always go better outdoors and should be a great fit for Plymouth’s Live at the Hilde series (6:30 p.m. Hilde Performance Center, $62-$137); having released five solo albums since leaving Barenaked Ladies in 2009, Steven Page is returning to the Dakota (7 p.m., $52.25 and up); Minnesota’s most enduring country singer Sherwin Linton, who grew up in South Dakota but we claim him, celebrates his 86th birthday (4:30 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $37.89 and up).

Lizz Wright, the earthy, enthralling, underappreciated alto who blends gospel, blues, jazz and R&B, is back at the Dakota, where she was the last concert Prince saw before he died in 2016 (7 p.m. the Dakota, $65-$75).

We love this cool pairing of an old, beloved Gen-X dinosaur act (no pun) and one of rock’s most impressive fuzz-rockers under the age of 30. Boston’s “Freak Scene” makers J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph have been cranking out strong albums together since their Dino J initial reunion 20 years ago, but their live shows are still stacked with ample ’80s-’90s cuts. Those tunes have been on Earth longer than Snail Mail auteur Lindsey Jordan, but the Maryland go-getter already has two smartly poetic and burningly catchy records to her name and sounds like she, too, could have been part of the Lollapalooza III lineup in 1993 with Mascis’ crew. Detroit opener Easy Action features John Brannon of Laughing Hyenas and Negative Approach. (6:45 p.m., the Fillmore, 525 N. 5th St., Mpls., $57, ticketmaster.com)

Also: We3, an Arizona jazz trio, is joined by local drummer Sheila Earley (6 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $37.89 and up); Tibetan roots music act the Buddha Prince plays the Summer at the Cedar series (6 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, free).