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

Thursday, May 9

1. Minnesota Orchestra: Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan's ascent to stardom has been meteoric. She was still in graduate school at the University of Michigan when she was named assistant conductor of the London Symphony, subsequently winning jobs with Swedish opera company NorrlandsOperan, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Belgium's Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Her Minnesota Orchestra debut features Peter Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony (inspired by Ukrainian folk tunes), a piece by Unsuk Chin and Erich Korngold's Violin Concerto, with fast-rising American violinist Benjamin Beilman as soloist. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $25-$106, minnesotaorchestra.org.)

2. Minnesota Tango Music Festival: It's a four-day fest held in four different Minneapolis venues to celebrate the beloved, dramatic dance associated with Argentina. Performers include such Minnesota groups as Kingfield Ensemble, Rogue Tango and Northwoods Ensemble. DJs Rachel Moon and Paul Lohman will be spinning discs. Gastón Torelli and Gri Montanaro from Buenos Aires will be offering tango lessons throughout the inaugural festival as will local teacher Sabine Ibes. (Thu.-Sun., various venues, $15-$30, $75 all-events pass, schedule at twincitiestango.com)

3. UltraBomb: After his cancer diagnosis delayed the coming-out tour by his new band last year — and that was after his 35-year hiatus from touring! — Twin Cities punk legend Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü fame is making up for lost time this year. The hard-blasting, familiar-sounding trio just spent three weeks on the road with Me First & the Gimme Gimmes and is coming back to Norton's home turf to celebrate the release of its second album in as many years for DC-Jam Records. He's joined in the band by singer/guitarist Finny McConnell of Canadian band the Mahones and drummer Jamie Oliver of the U.K. Subs. Their party will feature openers the Silent Treatment, Big Salt and Jaw Knee Vee (8 p.m. Hook & Ladder Theater, 3010 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., $24-$30, thehookmpls.com)

Also: Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Mark O'Connor, who has distinguished himself in bluegrass, country, jazz and classical circles, teams up with his wife, violinist/vocalist Maggie O'Connor, for an evening of Americana tunes that they honed during 70 weekly streamed concerts during the pandemic (8 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts, $33-$43); hard-hitting Southern rockers Whiskey Myers pair with another Texas group of adventurous rockers, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, who were Neil Young's backup band from 2015-19 (6:30 p.m. the Armory, $47 and up).

Friday, May 10

4. Teezo Touchdown: Recently seen on the cover of Rolling Stone's Future of Music issue and on many of Travis Scott's tour dates (alas, not ours), the 31-year-old rapper and singer harnessed high-profile features on Tyler the Creator and Drake songs to build up momentum for last year's debut album "How Do You Sleep at Night?" Tracks like "Impossible" and the Janelle Monáe-accompanied "You Thought" show off a wide, hip array of alt-rock, R&B and electronic influences to sound like little else on the hip-hop charts at the moment. That variety bodes well for his local headlining debut, which got bumped up to the Mainroom from the Amsterdam Bar. (7 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., all ages, $25, axs.com)

5. Trey Anastasio: After a trippy and triumphant run at the Sphere in Las Vegas with Phish (68 different songs in four nights), the singer/guitarist will visit the Midwest with Classic TAB (bassist Dezron Douglas, drummer Russ Lawton, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski) before they land for three nights in Brooklyn and he performs with National Symphony Orchestra on June 25. In St. Paul, expect a mix of songs from Phish and Anastasio's solo catalog, including 2022′s "Mercy." Meanwhile, Phish returns to the road in July for its residency-focused run of outdoor shows. (7:30 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $59.50 and up, axs.com)

Also: Georgia rapper and Young Thug protégé Gunna of "Drip Too Hard" fame is out on a headlining trek touting his fifth album, "One of Wun," with Flo Milli opening (7 p.m. the Armory, all ages, $47); lots of Twin Cities bands and fans are heading down to Winona for the two-day Mid West Music Fest, with an opening-night lineup that includes Black Eyed Snakes, Night Moves, Monica LaPlante, Texas Toast, Christy Costello and the Shackletons (4 p.m.-1 a.m., downtown Winona, $35-$80); Broadway veteran Morgan James brings the smoldering, sometimes jazzy pop-soul sounds of her 2023 album, "Nobody's Fool" (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$40); with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the always enjoyable English conductor, harpsichordist and SPCO artistic partner Richard Egarr explores Mozart (the Overture to "The Magic Flute"), Charles Ives ("The Unanswered Question") and Franz Schubert (Ninth Symphony) (7 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Ordway Concert Hall, 2 p.m. Sun. Benson Great Hall, $11-$55); Toronto's thrilling, high-volume noise-rock band Metz is back out promoting its latest LP for Sub Pop, "Up on Gravity Hill" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $22); an all-star cast of Twin Cities jammers, including Big Wu members, will recreate the Dead's legendary Cornell '77 concert to kick off the second weekend of the Under the Canopy series (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $20-$40); Los Angeles indie-rocker Julia Holter's new album for the Domino label, "Something in the Room She Moves," just made Pitchfork's best-new-music list (9 p.m. Fine Line, $20); local jazz experimenters Happy Apple kick off a two-night stand in Minneapolis' intimate new jazz hub (8 p.m., Sat. also, Berlin, $30).

Saturday, May 11

6. Kamasi Washington: Last Friday, the revolutionary jazz man dropped "Fearless Movement," another epic effort featuring a parade of guests including George Clinton, Thundercat, Andre 3000, BJ the Chicago Kid, D Smoke and Terrace Martin. Working primarily with his touring band, saxophonist Washington offers 86 minutes of trippy, intense, spiritual, spirited jazz-rooted sounds with hip-hop and R&B influences. Washington's first studio project under his own name in six years found him thinking about mortality following the birth of his now 3-year-old daughter Asha, who contributes a piano figure on one piece. After enthralling audiences at Rock the Garden, First Avenue and the Dakota, Washington brings his group to a St. Paul theater. (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, $38 and up, axs.com)

7. Hermanos Gutiérrez: Fresh off a string of dates with another band that's making groovy instrumental music cool again, Khruangbin, brothers and dueling guitar partners Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez blend the cultural influences from their upbringing between Ecuador and Switzerland into a similar hybrid of international musical styles. They're releasing a new Dan Auerbach-produced LP next month and were a big hit at last month's Coachella fest, which suited their tunes' desert-baked psychedelic style. (8:30 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)

8. Scott Sansby benefit: If it's any indication how respected and loved percussionist and graphic artist Scott Sansby was in the Minnesota music community, more than 20 artists have volunteered to play at a two-day benefit marathon for him this weekend. Sansby, a Twin Cities musician for more than 50 years who also created posters for performers, was partially paralyzed after a fall last summer. He played percussion in numerous local groups including Passage, Doug Maynard Band, Zarathustra and Scottie Miller Band and he toured with Leon Russell and Mary McCreary. Among those appearing at the benefit are the Butanes, Rich Dworsky & Richard Kriehn, Lisa Wenger, Maurice Jacox and the We Still R Band, the New Primitives, Jimmi and the Band of Souls, Dean Magraw, Bobby Schnitzer & Dan Neale and the Peterson Family. (Noon to midnight Sat. & noon to 8 p.m. Sun., Shaws, 1528 University Av. NE., Mpls., $20 suggested donation)

Also: Veteran jazz guitarist/singer John Pizzarelli joins JazzMN Orchestra (6 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$65) and then he returns with his trio on Sunday (4 & 7 p.m., $35-$45) to explore tunes from last year's "Stage & Screen," released 40 years after Pizzarelli's debut; Minnesota garage-rock legend Tony Andreason of the Trashmen is going surfing on his guitar again in a special pairing with Deke Dickerson and the Surf Dawgs (7 p.m. Icehouse, $20); Twangfest returns to the patio at Palmer's Bar with a daylong lineup including Trailer Trash, Doug Collins & the Receptionists, Sarah Morris, Cole Diamond, Mother Banjo and Mary Cutrufello (3-10 p.m., $12-$15); Juno Award winner Kiran Ahluwalia is touting her new album "Comfort Food," filled with modern Indian sounds seasoned with West African blues, rock and jazz (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $35-$40); fresh off his usual string of Jazz Fest appearances in his beloved New Orleans, piano-plunking R&B/funk John "Papa" Gros will play a solo set before Wisconsin blues groovers Paul Cebar & Tomorrow Sound for the Under the Canopy series (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $25-$40); Day 2 of the Mid West Music Fest features Heiruspecs, Rafaella, Rogue Valley, Cindy Lawson, Landon Conrath and many more (noon-1 a.m., downtown Winona); the 30th annual Gays Mills Festival starts on Friday with a dance but the main event is a concert featuring Miss Myra and the Moonshiners, West Fork Gals and Lonesome Dan Kase (7 p.m. Community Commerce Building, Gays Mills, Wis., $15, $5 for kids).

Sunday, May 12

9. Mariah the Scientist: Still one of the hottest-ticket club shows of the year so far after being postponed from March due to illness, the local headlining debut by Atlanta's fastest-rising post-pandemic R&B star follows a stream of viral hits, festival appearances and collaborations with the likes of 21 Savage and Young Thug. The 26-year-old singer born Mariah Buckles is touring for her third album and first for Epic Records, "To Be Eaten Alive," which falls somewhere between SZA and Sade with its sultry soulfulness and atmospheric electro whir. (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, 1308 SE. 4th St., Mpls., all ages, resale only, livenation.com)

Also: Milwaukee's hard-strumming punk vets the Violent Femmes are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their eponymous debut album by playing all of it and its follow-up LP, "Hallowed Ground," on tour (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, $50); Twin Cities vocalist Erin Schwab and pianist Jay Fuchs have been doing Mother's Day shows for more than two decades and this time they'll be joined by Schwab's singing daughter, Sophie Todaro (5 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); the 21-member Gustavus Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dave Stamps, helps celebrate Mother's Day with a program of music composed by women, including Mary Lou Williams, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Minnesota's own Maria Schneider (4 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $20-$30); Haley's monthlong residency series continues at Berlin with Charlie Parr's portal iii (7 p.m., $10).

Monday, May 13

Last seen accompanying Jose James here in December, jazz piano savant Christian Sands, a Grammy-nominated Mack Avenue recording artist, returns with his trio (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$35).

Tuesday, May 14

10. Megan Thee Stallion: Since Minneapolis has the opening date on her first arena-headlining trek, it's hard to know what to expect of the Houston rapper's Hot Girl Summer Tour, which comes just three weeks after her collaborator in the single of the same name, Nicki Minaj, lit up the same venue. The "Hiss" and "Savage" hitmaker earned high marks for her incendiary delivery and highly choreographed twerking at festival gigs over the past two summers. She's bringing along rising Tennessee rapper GloRilla, who is featured on Megan's new single "Wanna Be." (7 p.m. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N, Mpls., $35-$830, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Big Richard, the all-female Colorado bluegrass supergroup whose members have played with everyone from Chick Corea to Nathaniel Rateliff, are known for delivering spirited originals and covering Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Radiohead's "Creep" (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$45).

Wednesday, May 15

Veteran Colorado bluegrass-y groovers Yonder Mountain String Band settle in for a two-night, four-show stand (6:30 & 9 p.m., also May 16, the Dakota, $35-$45).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.