Thursday, March 10

Parquet Courts and Mdou Moctar: What a disparate but delectable double bill. Parquet Courts, New York's beloved quirky art-punks, found some eccentric and often downtempo dance grooves on 2021's "Sympathy for Life," their seventh full length. Co-headlining is excitingly psychedelic Nigerien guitarist Moctar, whose electrifying desert blues disc "Afrique Victime" was one of the most arresting albums of 2021 in any genre. Minneapolis' Pit Stop opens. (8 p.m. Thu. First Avenue, 701 1st Ave. N., Mpls., $27-$32, first-avenue.com).

Also: Country's "Road Less Traveled" hitmaker and "American Idol" runner-up Lauren Alaina (7 p.m. Varsity, $30 and up); rockin' country outlaw Whiskey Myers (8 p.m. Armory, $32.50); New York's Celtic crew Cherish the Ladies (7 p.m. Dakota, $45-$50); Hiss Golden Messenger (8 p.m., Fine Line, $26); Lolo's Ghost (Driftwood Char-Bar).

Friday, March 11

Tank and the Bangas: A nominee for the Grammy for best new artist in 2020, Tarriona "Tank" Ball is a joyful force of modern New Orleans soul. Preparing to drop their third album, "Red Balloon," in May, Tank's quartet has previewed the project with "No ID," a breezy lite-funk about going deeper in a relationship, and "Black Folk," a jazz-and-spoken-word celebration of Black culture like a family reunion in the park and big Sunday hats with ribbons. With Cory Henry, the former Snarky Puppy keyboardist who has collaborated with Kanye West. (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. SE, Mpls., $25-$42.50, ticketmaster.com).

Swell Season: The on-and-off duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová is on again for six U.S. shows — their first tour dates in 11 years. The busking art-imitates-life duo rose to fame in the endearing 2007 drama "Once" in which they portrayed themselves and won an Oscar for best song for "Falling Slowly." The movie was adapted into a 2012 Broadway musical that captured eight Tony Awards. Other than a concert documentary "Swell Season" in 2011, there has been little more than cameo duo appearances since then. While Hansard has been a prolific solo artist (touring this winter in Eddie Vedder's solo band the Earthlings), the low-profile Irglova recently posted a short film "Among the Living," shot in Iceland where she lives with her husband and three children. (7 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $49.50-$59.50, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Papa Roach and Hollywood Undead (6:45 p.m. the Armory, $47+); Andy Cook's new local all-star project Marathoner hosts an EP release party (8 p.m., Parkway Theater, $20-$27); the Dollyrots and Von Tramps (8:30, Uptown VFW, $16); Andrew Walesch does his Frank Sinatra tribute with his orchestra of Twin Cities players (8 p.m. Crooners, $40-$45); "Invention Session" with Muskellunge and Charlie Parr's Portal III (8 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $20); Julius Collins and Tommy Barbarella (8 p.m., Icehouse, $30); Cindy Lawson (7:30 p.m., Palmer's Bar); Minnesota Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra with pianist Alon Goldstein (7 p.m., Roseville Lutheran Church, free).

Saturday, March 12

Chastity Brown: How fitting for this genre-crossing, trailblazing Twin Cities singer/songwriter to open the new Music & Storyteller Sessions series from music industry pioneers Sue McLean & Associates. Other names in the intimate series at the historic, hidden-gem venue include Eric Hutchinson (April 1), Dessa (April 11) and Mason Jennings (April 16). The earthy and passionate Americana folkie Brown will be debuting songs from a new album with blues rocker Annie Mack opening. (7:30 p.m., Women's Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove St., $35-$45, suemclean.com)

Elle King: She's ballsy and bluesy, a genre-defying vocal powerhouse who has triumphed in rock with "Ex's and Oh's" and in country with "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" with Miranda Lambert. King's setlist include covers of material made famous by Bonnie Raitt and Charlie Daniels. The new mom has baby Lucky Levi on tour, but he'll be asleep when she's rocking hard. (7:30 p.m. Fillmore Minneapolis, 525 N. 5th St., $30 and up)

Marisa Monte: On her longest U.S. tour ever, the veteran Brazilian songstress will offer new material from "Portas," her recent collaboration via long distance with art-rocker Arto Lindsay in New York, Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler in Spain and a string section in Portugal. Read our interview with Monte ahead of the show. (8 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $45-$108)

Also: Dance-pop band Hot Freaks reunites amid "Puppy Princess" TikTok fame (8 p.m., 7th St. Entry); Momentary Lapse of Reason performs "The Wall" with Twin Cities Ballet (7:30 p.m., also 2 p.m. Sun., Fitzgerald Theater, $37-$53); Persian music singer Aida Shahghasemi (8 p.m., Icehouse, $15); Davina & the Vagabonds (7 & 9 p.m., also Sun., the Dakota, $35-$45); ABBAsolutely Fab (Le Musique Room at St. Michael Cinema, $28); longtime Twin Cities country-rockers Daisy Dillman Band begin their farewell year (8 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sun. Crooners, $40-$45); four-band Christian rock bill headlined by Toby Mac (7 p.m. Target Center, $20-$90); the Gibson Brothers (8 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, $25).

Sunday, March 13

Tool: It took the artful prog-metal kings another ridiculously long stretch — 13 years! — to finally drop another album, and then it took another two years for them to tour behind it, thanks to COVID. The record, "Fear Inoculum," probably won't go down as any fans' favorite, but it'll at least offer more crescendoing moments and freaky visual gimmicks for Maynard James Keenan and his bandmates' first Twin Cities date in five years. The Acid Helps open. (7:30 p.m., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $72-$155, axs.com)

Dale Warland at 90: Few groups have done more to alter America's choral landscape than the Dale Warland Singers. As the conductor approaches his 90th birthday, 80 alumni are converging on Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall to celebrate his legacy with the Singers, formed after his retirement in 2004. The group will premiere a new work commissioned in Warland's honor, "Changed by Beauty," by composer Timothy Takach and librettist Brian Newhouse. (3 p.m., 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $5-$45, singersmca.org)

Also: Madeon and Yung Bae (8 p.m., the Fillmore, $30+); We Banjo 3 (8 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, sold out); Parcels (8 p.m., First Ave, $22); Johinie Brown's tribute to Teddy Pendergrass (7 p.m., Chanhassen Dinner Theater, $40); Cornbread Harris' new weekly gig (5 p.m., Palmer's Bar, free).

Monday, March 14

Mitski: With help from Minnesota songwriting vet Dan Wilson on her current hit song "The Only Heartbreaker," the Japan-born, New York-educated synth-pop singer is flirting with Top 40 stardom without sacrificing her inventive sounds and often dark, anxious lyrics. She's playing most of her sixth and newest album, "Laurel Hell," on a U.S. theater tour before a summer of festival dates, including Glastonbury and Pitchfork. (8 p.m. Mon., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, sold out except for resale, AXS.com)

Also: Keep believin' in classic rockers Journey and Toto (7:30 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, $45.50-$399); blues guitar ace Tinsley Ellis (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$45).

Tuesday, March 15

Billie Eilish: The 20-year-old Grammy-sweeping pop phenom assured us with her aptly titled 2021 sophomore album that she's "Happier Than Ever." Not only is she a savvy in-the-bedroom-with-her-producer-brother recording artist who has tapped into the zeitgeist of youthful outsiders and mainstreamers alike, but she is a confident, delightfully eccentric performer, with bopping infectiousness and minimalist aspirations. Along with her galvanizing electro-pop treats like "Bad Guy," expect some acoustic numbers, a cherry-picker to transport Eilish to the cheap seats and, of course, Finneas, her brother backing her on various instruments. LA. rapper Duckwrth opens. (7:30 p.m. Tue. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $150-$500, ticketmaster.com).

Also: Bonobo, the British producer/DJ who makes downtempo electronica that never sounded so soothing (7:30 p.m. Palace Theatre, $39.50-$65); Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who bring their uplifting South African harmonies with diamonds on the soles of their shoes (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$65); St. Dominic's Trio plays for Foothold Twin Cities (7 p.m., Driftwood Char-Bar); Texas exes Trevor McSpadden and Mary Cutrufello (6 p.m., White Squirrel Bar).

Wednesday, March 16

Car Seat Headrest: Seven years since they broke big in indie-rock terms with the clever lo-fi garage-rock album "Teens of Denial," Virginia bedroom rocker Will Toledo and his now-Seattle-based band lived up to the hype with their most ambitious album yet, 2020's "Making a Door Less Open," which incorporated more electronic and new-wave influences but maintained a rocking spirit. They're finally out promoting it with Bartees Strange opening. (7 p.m., Palace Theatre, St. Paul, $30-$40, etix.com)

Also: Scottish traditionalists Skerryvore (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30); Wry alt-twang favorite Todd Snider (8 p.m., Fitzgerald Theater, $30+); Thao of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down (8 p.m., Fine Line, $25-$42); the Score (8 p.m., Amsterdam Bar, $22); Dan Israel & Steve Brantseg (7 p.m., Carbone's, Mpls., free).