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

The bookers for the 44th annual camping-and-country music fest in northern Minnesota are finally catching on. The young people want to party to new country. Therefore, for the second consecutive year, the headliners are all relatively newer (and younger) stars: the hard rock-tinged Hardy, party starter Jon Pardi and Texas hero Cody Johnson. The rest of the lineup also skews fresher with the likes of Megan Moroney, Kip Moore and Ashley McBryde. The only “old-timers” are ’00s faves Gretchen Wilson of “Redneck Woman” fame and Rodney Atkins, remembered for “Watching You,” as well as ’90s hitmaker Sammy Kershaw, who still convinces with “Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer” and “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.” (Gates open at 2 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, $139 and up, wefest.com)

Simply put: The remade lineup of this intense Texas thrash metal band was monstrous last year opening for Metallica at U.S. Bank Stadium. Longtime Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante aren’t just capable but also enthusiastic filling in for the band’s late sibling co-founders, “Dime Bag” Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott. The two surviving heyday members, frontman Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, thrive off the chance to keep the music alive and try to offset the tarnish Anselmo has brought on the quartet over the years. Sweden’s Amon Amarth and Australia’s King Parrot open. (7 p.m. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $24-$197, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Bay Area percussionist Sheila E has gone a long way from a Lionel Richie sidewoman to Prince protege to funky, Grammy-winning Latin jazz queen (6:30 & 9 p.m. Thu. & Fri. the Dakota, $74.91 and up); KC & the Sunshine Band take us back to the disco heyday of “That’s the Way (I Like It)” and “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” (7 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, $50 and up); the 45th annual Minnesota Bluegrass August Festival is free this year and features New Lone Pinon from New Mexico, the all-female supergroup Sister Sadie and such regional favorites as the Foxgloves and Pop Wagner (Thu.-Sun. El Rancho Mañana Campground, Richmond, Minn., free though there is a charge for parking and camping); one of the rockiest and rowdiest nights in this year’s Lowertown Sounds series will feature Meghan Kreidler’s mighty Kiss the Tiger previewing their album due out next month with kindred openers Keep for Cheap (6-10 p.m. St. Paul’s Mears Park, free); a warm-up and fundraiser for the annual Irish Fair of Minnesota, the Ceol on the River concert will feature Dublin rockers the Coronas and Róisín O with local Van Morrison celebrators the Belfast Cowboys (6-10 p.m., Harriet Island, $35-$125); innovative Iranian-rooted singer Aida Shahghasemi performs with a band of local MVPs and opener Anna Johnson (7 p.m. Berlin, $28).

Why does St. Paul get all the cool, free, summer music fêtes? Alongside TC Jazz Fest and Lowertown Sounds comes this two-day, nonprofit, lakeside pickathon where the music genre really is “anything guitar-related.” That wide definition this year includes Twin Cities indie-folk troubadour Mason Jennings, Mexico’s dramatic Spanish-guitar ace Ehekatl Arizmendi and Eau Claire’s neo-twanger Hemma on Friday night. Saturday’s eclectic daytime lineup is led by Grammy-winning New York jazzist Mark Whitfield, with blues vets Joe and Vicki Price, warm-vibe groovers the Neighborhood Quartet, classical/jazz hybrid Duo Corda, Foxgloves’ Liz DeYoe, experimenter Paul Metzger and more. (6-10 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 Lexington Pkwy. N., St. Paul, free, missionmusic.com)

After collabs with Jelly Roll, Diplo, Maren Morris, Koe Wetzel and Teddy Swims, among others, this 20-year-old Alabama native is making waves with her own music. Her second album, “Sex Hysteria,” finds her sounding like a woozy Amy Winehouse with a buzzing voice on her hit “Blue Strips” as she seems equally comfortable with R&B, hip-hop, pop and country sounds. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $60 and up, ticketmasters.com)

Many Twin Cities music fans already know how much piano rocker and author Mallman loves horror movies, ghost stories and — maybe scariest of all —performing in dive bars, all of which is celebrated on his imaginative new album, “Magic Time.” They maybe don’t know how much he’s into funk and disco, influences that come out alongside his garage-band influences on his 11th LP, which is out now via Soul Asylum guitarist Ryan Smith’s label Hygh Tension Records. Its release follows several years of semi-hiatus after Mallman published his musical self-help memoir, “The Happiness Playlist.” He should be extra happy in this storytellers-style return to the stage for a release party. (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $20-$25, theparkwaytheater.com)

In its 36th year offering hot blues vets and newcomers down by Duluth’s cool harbor, the three-day festival will be headlined by Serbian guitar slinger Ana Popovic on Night 1 with New Orleans all-star unit Desoto Tiger’s Testimony, Memphis harmonica ace John Nemeth and regulars the Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Twin Cities own Dylan Salfer. Saturday has California stars Tommy Castro & the Pain Killers plus Texas powerhouse Sugaray Rayford. Sunday’s lineup boasts two longtime Louisiana favorites, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas and boogie queen Marcia Ball. (Fri.-Sun. Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, $65-$169, bayfrontblues.com)

There have been a lot of noteworthy moments of late for bluegrass’ brightest new star. On Sept. 27, 2024, Billy Strings released “Highway Prayers,” which became the first bluegrass album to top Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart in more than 20 years. Two days later, his first child, a son, was born. In February, Strings won his second Grammy for best bluegrass album, this time for “Live Vol. 1,” his first concert album, which is more adventurous than “Highway Prayers.” On June 20, Strings’ mom died in her sleep after he played a concert that night in his home stage of Michigan. The next day onstage in Lexington, Ky., he asked the crowd: “Instead of a moment of silence, can you please make as much noise right now for my mom?” After setting attendance records with two sold-out arena shows in Denver this year, Strings makes his first arena headline appearance in the Twin Cities. (7:30 p.m. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $61-$102, axs.com)

As our country is swept up in immigration raids, this would be a good time to revisit Minnesota Opera’s powerful 2023 production of José “Pepe” Martinez’s mariachi opera “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna.” A filmed version will be shown on a big screen in St. Paul’s Rice Park, providing an opportunity to experience one of the most exciting and deeply involving productions the company has offered this century. Employing a classical-mariachi musical hybrid, it follows a family divided by the border between the U.S. and Mexico. (7 p.m. Rice Park, 4th and Washington streets, St. Paul, free, ordway.org)

Also: Best-known from the “Titanic” movie, Irish folk faves Gaelic Storm are back to headline the Irish Fair of Minnesota with the Hounds of Finn, Rattle & Hum and more (10 a.m.-10 p.m., Harriet Island, $15-$25); another second-generation zydeco bandleader Dwayne Dopsie channels his dad, Rockin’ Dopsie, and other Louisiana greats with his aptly named Zydeco Hellraisers (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $35-$40); also from Louisiana, grungy metal revivalists Acid Bath are charging very unmetallic prices for their Live Nation-promoted local tour stop (7:30 p.m. the Fillmore, 15 & older, $86); experimental drummer/keyboardist Martin Dosh heads up an indoor/outdoor mini-fest of instrumental groovers with his all-star improv act the Larry Schaefer Memorial Orchestra, L.A. Buckner and more (5 p.m.-midnight, Palmer’s Bar, $10-$15); the Turf Club is hosting a fun trio of women-led tributes to the Clash, Linda Ronstadt and David Bowie with RudeGirl, the de’Lindas and Cracked Actor (8 p.m., $12).

Contemporary composers have grown increasingly fascinated with percussion as a means of expressing their ideas, and this Iowa foursome is the go-to group when they seek the unique sound that can be created by mallets sonorously striking bars of rosewood. A Midwest tour brings them to Minneapolis, where they’ll perform pieces that range from a contemplative chorale inspired by the forested “Lost 40” of northern Minnesota to local composer Paul Dice’s “Dance of the Curl-ups” to an ebullient celebration of camaraderie by the group’s leader, Matthew Coley. (7:30 p.m. Center for the Performing Arts, 3754 Pleasant Av. S., Mpls., $15-$30, heartlandmarimba.com/events)

Also: Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Earth Wind & Fire, the jazzily soulful horn band featuring longtimers Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, brings “September,” “Serpentine Fire” and “That’s the Way of the World” to Waite Park (7 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, $65 and up); Charlie Parr’s electric band Portal III leads a West Bank tribute to Spider John Koerner with the Davu Seru Ensemble and Aida Shahghasemi (noon-4 p.m., Edna Park next to the Wienery, free); catch jazz/R&B legend Cornbread Harris’ weekly Church of Cornbread gigs before Palmer’s Bar closes next month (5-7 p.m., free ); Twin Cities piano man Ben Cook-Feltz heads up a live performance of Harry Nilsson’s “Son of Schmilsson” album with guests including Dylan Hicks, the High 48s, Jillian Rae and Leslie Vincent (7 p.m. Parkway Theater, $20); Gully Boys and Mayyadda will be featured at Fateh Fest, a fundraiser for Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh (7 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$22); California alt-rockers Hoobastank are back to remind us they had a hit, “The Reason,” in 2003 (7 p.m. Mayo Park, Rochester, free).

Twin Cities jazz vocalist Sophia Shorai is back at the Dakota accompanied by Prince keyboard pal Tommy Barbarella (7 p.m., $19.29 and up).

The award-winning Canadian dancer has transitioned into a pop star. She had a breakthrough with the 2020 tune “You Broke Me First” before scoring a big hit with “Greedy.” Now McRae has landed at the top of the pop charts with her Morgan Wallen collab, “What I Want,” and the momentum continues with her “Sports Car,” “Revolving Door” and “Just Keep Watching,” from the “F1″ soundtrack. All those dance moves will be showcased on the 22-year-old’s first arena headline trek, the Miss Possessive Tour. (7 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $37-$500, ticketmaster.com)

Also: The mystical, magical neo-soul force Erykah Badu has promised to drop her first album in 15 years but so far she’s only released the song “Next to You” (8 p.m. Fillmore, $93 and up); former Bad Plus pianist and reputable jazz journalist Ethan Iverson teams up with the stellar Twin Cities rhythm section of bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Kevin Washington (6 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $25-$35).