MUSIC
Billie Eilish
The title of her latest album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” is a hint at what to expect from the Los Angeles bedroom-pop hero this time around. She has been balancing hard-grooving electro-pop hits like “Bad Guy” with softer ballads going back to her first tender hit at age 13, “Ocean Eyes.” Now 22, Eilish leaned into her mellower strengths on the new record, just as she did with last year’s Oscar- and Grammy-winning megahit, “What Was I Made For?” We strongly suspect that she’s still going to be ultra-dynamic and highly energetic in concert, as she was at each of her three previous Twin Cities appearances. She’s making it a two-nighter this time around, her first without brother Finneas on the road with her. British singer/songwriter Towa Bird opens. (7 p.m. Sun. & Mon., Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, resale tickets only)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Little Big Town and Sugarland
Sugarland has reunited. Again. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have dropped a new EP, “There Goes the Neighborhood.” The Nashville duo also teamed with Little Big Town on a new single, a cover of Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home.” The female-fronted country vocal groups have collaborated before on a song, “Life in a Northern Town” in 2008, and now they’re joining forces once again on a co-headline tour. It’s been a minute since either has scored a hit, but they have a popular catalog from the ‘00s and ‘10s, including “Girl Crush” and “Pontoon” for LBT and “All I Want to Do” and “It Happens” for Sugarland. The Castellows open. (7 p.m. Thu. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $24.50 and up, ticketmaster.com)
JON BREAM
Happy Apple
Before they went off to play with the Bad Plus, Bon Iver, Zebulon Pike and numerous other groundbreaking acts in the 2000s, drummer Dave King, saxophonist Michael Lewis and (electric) bassist Erik Fratzke were one of the edgiest and weirdest yet accessible and wowing jazz trios around. They played just enough in ensuing years to never officially be on hiatus. Now they’re formally releasing the first Happy Apple album since 2008, “New York CD,” featuring 10 new originals ranging from the jubilant and madcap “1976 Aquatennial Parade” to the low-glowing beauty “Black and Blue Magic.” An early version was issued online in the pandemic to raise money for Appetite for Change. They’re finally getting around to celebrate its vinyl release via Sunnyside Records. (7 p.m. Fri. & Sat., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $35-$45, dakotacooks.com)
C.R.
Ana Gabriel
Despite her long-held status as one of Mexico’s most iconic singers, it takes a pretty special occasion to get the so-called “La Diva de América” up to Middle America on tour. How about celebrating her 50th anniversary in the music business? The dramatic, mariachi- and ranchera-schooled mega-voice is doing just that on her Un Deseo Mas Tour (“one more wish”), singing some of her 20 songs that have reached the top 10 in Billboard’s Latin singles chart, including the soaring ballads “Ay Amor” and “Evidencias.” (8 p.m. Sat., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $64-$134, axs.com)
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