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

· Australian pop strummer Dean Lewis returns to town riding high off last year’s album, “The Epilogue,” and its hit single, “With You” (7:30 p.m. Palace Theatre, all ages).

· Local jazz heroes Dave King, Anthony Cox and Brandon Wozniak are teaming up in the new trio Bulldozer School (7:30 p.m. Berlin, $20).

· A high-adrenaline, low-brow rock band that made a lot of noise locally in the ’00s, the Japhies are playing a rare reunion gig with the Modern Era and Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club MPLS (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry).

· Prolific Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo returns to Crooners (7 p.m., $30-$40).

After three elegant folk-rock LPs for the venerable Verve record label — one a Grammy nominee for best Americana album — the Kenyan singer/songwriter who moved to Minnesota out of love for Bob Dylan is going electric. Ondara (aka J.S. Ondara) is touring for the first time with a full band, dubbed the Jet Stone Conspiracy, featuring a collective of musicians he’s met in his widespread travels to various cities. They already toured the Western states and are now headed east and then to Europe, playing “reimagined” versions of Ondara’s album tracks, including all-too-relevant songs inspired by his immigrant past, such as “American Dream” and “An Alien in Minneapolis.” (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $23, all ages, thecedar.org)

Also on Friday:

· Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is heading up the Defend Minnesota! midday protest concert and fundraiser with mindful Chicago punk band Rise Against, First Ave regular Ike Reilly and “a very special guest,” reportedly someone to brag about (12-2 p.m. First Avenue, sold out).

· There might be no finer time than the present to soak up local favorite Chastity Brown’s soothing and thought-provoking folk-rock (7 p.m., also Jan. 31, the Dakota, $35-$40).

· Experimental sonic collagists Marijuana Deathsquads, helmed by Poliça producer Ryan Olson, are back in action with Pornonono (8 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$20).

· Minnesota heartland rockers American Scarecrows, who opened for the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls and REO Speedwagon last year, kick off 2026 headlining the Turf Club with Sister Species (8 p.m.).

The smallest gig the six-man acoustic band has played in its home state in about a decade is happening for an all too big a reason. The recently announced matinee show is a fundraiser for the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. Fans are also being asked to bring diapers, formula and other baby supplies to donate to Hennepin Healthcare clinics. In its posts announcing the concert, Trampled called it “a midday hootenanny celebrating the resilience and community that lies at the center of Minnesota’s unstoppable loving heart.” Hilary James’ experimental chamber-pop act Bathtub Cig opens. (1 p.m. Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, sold out, first-avenue.com)

Sort of England’s answer to Pink, the powerhouse, “Bang Bang” singer has had major life challenges in recent years: She was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, suffered a miscarriage, had breast cancer surgery and welcomed her first child. Last year, Jessie J dropped her sixth album, “Don’t Tease Me with a Good Time,” her first full-length LP in eight years. It’s an introspective, 16-song collection filled with R&B and pop ballads and danceable bops, with her strong, soulful voice being the through line. (8:30 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., axs.com)

If you’re not familiar with composer Florence Price, that’s unsurprising, for it was extremely difficult for an African American woman to get her work noticed in the 1930s and ‘40s. Nevertheless, she had both a symphony and piano concerto performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and had her songs championed by opera star Marian Anderson. Minnesota Opera is making a major contribution to the music world’s rediscovery of Price with an opera, “My Name Is Florence,” it commissioned from composer B.E. Boykin and St. Paul-based librettist Harrison David Rivers. (7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 5 & 7, 2 p.m. Feb. 8, Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $7-$275, mnopera.org)

Also on Saturday:

· New jack swing mainstay Keith Sweat is back with old favorites “I Want Her” and “Twisted” (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino Showroom, $59 and up).

· The sister-led Minneapolis band formerly known as Creeping Charlie, Agnes Uncaged headlines 7th St. Entry celebrating its new John Agnello-produced album “Cyanotype” with Gramma (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry).

· Texas’ old-school, hillbilly country singer Wayne “The Train” Hancock is pulling back into the Uptown VFW Post 246 (9 p.m., $26-$37).

· Twin Cities drummers Martin Dosh and JT Bates are teaming up for an improv session (7:30 p.m. Berlin, $15).

· Until Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson return to the road with their new drummer this summer, the next best thing for fans might be the Rush Tribute Project (7:30 p.m. Pantages Theater, $40-$152).

· The Twin Cities’ Double Down Daredevils feature banjo man and longtime KBEM bluegrass DJ, Phil Nusbaum (6 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $32.31 and up).

Going back to their Welcome to Minnesota tours of the early 2010s, hip-hop veterans Slug and Ant have made it a tradition to hit the road with Atmosphere in the dead of winter to fire up Middle America fans. They usually bring along some hot, young talent for the cold rides as opening acts. Marking their 30th year of making music, though, they’re bringing out some other veteran acts this time, including one of their heroes, Kool Keith, the Bronx rap giant known from Ultramagnetic MCs and his Dr. Octagon alter-ego. Longtime firebrand cohort Sage Francis also is out with them, along with R.A. the Rugged Man and Mr. Dibbs. (6:30 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., resale tickets only, axs.com)

This veteran jazz ensemble gained attention recently for backing out of a New Year’s Eve gig at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., because of how the institution is being run under a new board of directors. But the Cookers should be garnering attention for their splendid hard-bop musicianship. The players have more than 250 years of experience in jazz and have been heard on more than 1,000 recordings, by a who’s who including Sonny Rollins, Charles Lloyd and Dexter Gordon. The two younger Cookers, 60-something trumpeter David Weiss and saxophonist Donald Harrison, have played with Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Art Blakey, among others. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $52.25 and up, dakotacooks.com)

Also on Sunday:

· After canceling last week’s gig following the shooting of Alex Pretti outside the club on Nicollet Avenue, Afrobeat groovers Obi Original and the Atlantics will resume their Afrodisia residency series at Icehouse and are turning it into a community event with guests (9 p.m., donations).

· Esteemed Twin Cities vocalist Prudence Johnson sits in with Dan Newton’s Cafe Accordion Orchestra (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30 and up)

· Local jazzists the Southside Aces are gearing up for Mardi Gras season with another “Night in New Orleans” show (7 p.m. the Dakota, $15-$25).

Yes, they are the band that played with Herbie Hancock on his iconic 1973 fusion album “Head Hunters.” They’ve carried on as a group for more than five decades, though the personnel has changed. In 2024, they dropped “The Stunt Man,” their seventh studio effort, interpreting George Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” and Wayne Shorter’s “ESP,” as well as captivating modern jazz originals. Last year, the Headhunters released “Live at Garcia’s Chicago“ featuring old favorites like ”Watermelon Man.“ Longtime co-leaders drummer Mike Clark (drums) and Bill Summers (percussion) will be joined by New Orleans vets Chris Severin (bass), Clarence Johnson (saxophone) and Shea Pierre (keyboards). (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $52.25 and up, dakotacooks.com)

· New York singer/songwriter Samuel Holden Jaffe, aka Del Water Gap, is adding to his buzz and picking up festival gigs with his latest album, “Chasing the Chimera,” co-produced with Father John Misty collaborator Jonathan Wilson (7:30 p.m. First Avenue).

· After regrouping around last year’s vibrant album, “Dreams Go,” local digi-rock group Poliça is hosting its “Practice as a Show” residency at Icehouse through the month of February to record a new live album on the spot (8 p.m., $15-$20).