MUSIC
Wilco
Wilco’s response to Metallica’s two-night no-repeat weekend in August: Hold our dad-brand IPA beers. Chicago’s experimental Americana rockers are making the same pledge to play entirely different set lists over three nights, and they’re promising to go long each night, too. No opener is scheduled for any of the shows. This is the latest in a long tradition of Jeff Tweedy and his tastefully jammy band having fun with their longtime Twin Cities base, 30 years after their 7th St. Entry coming-out gig. They’ve issued 13 albums and lots more in the interim to pull from, including a vibrant new EP, “Hot Sun Cool Shroud.” (8 p.m. Fri.-Sun., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $65 & up, axs.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Tower of Power
After more than 50 years together, the brassy Oakland R&B band has issued its first holiday album, “It’s Christmas.” The group has a one-two punch of vocalists, with high-tenor newcomer Jordan John and gravelly voiced co-founder Emilio Castillo. TOP starts with a jazzy instrumental take on “The Christmas Song” before getting into the gospelly “O Holy Night,” the funky “Silver Bells,” the gritty “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” the Hanukkah number sung in Hebrew “Maoz Tzur” and the original “It’s Christmas (A Long Way From Home),” which sounds like a classic Tower of Power ballad with a hint of Mel Tormé. (8 p.m. Sat. Mystic Lake Casino showroom, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, $39 and up, ticketmaster.com)
JON BREAM
Jose James
The hip-hop-embracing jazz crooner is once again coming home for the holidays. The Minneapolis native, who now lives in Los Angeles, invariably arrives with a standout pianist. On recent visits, he was accompanied by Julius Rodriguez and Christian Sands. This time, James has tapped Chicago-born Jahari Stampley, who last year won the Herbie Hancock International Jazz Institute Piano Competition, to join him for some Christmas nuggets as well as his own should-be-a-classic “Christmas in New York” with its Nat King Cole/Mel Tormé vibe. (7 p.m. Fri. & Sat. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$55, dakotacooks.com)
J.B.
Los Lobos
Like Wilco, Los Angeles’ culturally rich and musically electrifying Mexi-Cali rock legends have gone from playing 7th St. Entry their first time in town (1983) to hitting a long list of other Twin Cities venues since then. About time they gave Minneapolis’ renowned jazz club a try — a nice, intimate contrast to the large outdoor setting of their heated and thrilling gig this past summer at St. Louis Park’s ROC. Still boasting all four original members, plus longtime utility player and producer Steve Berlin, the “La Bamba” hitmakers just marked the 40th anniversary of “How Will the Wolf Survive?,” widely ranked as one of the best albums of the 1980s and just the beginning of what’s now a large canon of classic songs. (7 p.m. Sun., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $100-$135, dakotacooks.com)
C.R.