Pick Six: Praise for Brandi Carlile, the Mavericks, Madonna interview by Andy Cohen, more

A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

The Mavericks, Minnesota Zoo. Mixing in numbers from their new CD, "Mono," a few hits from the past and Raul Malo's exceptional voice on solo renditions of "Summer Wind" and "Harvest Moon," they put on a terrific show not to be forgotten.

Brandi Carlile, Cabooze Plaza. With surprisingly good sound, she and the Hanseroth brothers mixed rock, folk, country and blues in a Minnesota love fest. She can rock with the best of them, attracting a bit younger group, even an 11-year-old called up to accompany her.

Outdoor concerts for fans of all ages. At the Rolling Stones at TCF Bank Stadium and Paul McCartney at Target Field last year, plenty of Gen Xers and millennials joined the gray hairs and bald heads for these true events.

Cal Simmons, Edina

To contribute: popmusic@startribune.com.

Madonna interview by Andy Cohen, Entertainment Weekly. It's chatty, catty and cheesy — which pretty much describes Mr. Bravo. He asks questions fans would ask ("do you read comments under your Instagram posts?") and she answers straight up.

Big Sean, "One Man Can Change the World." The rapper tries to raise some consciousness with this easy-flowing sung/rap tune of encouragement. In sound and content, it may seem as mellow and simplistic as Eric Clapton's "Change the World," but what clinched it for a performance on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" was Big Sean's spoken coda about his grandma, who served in World War II and as a cop in Detroit and made home-cooked after-school meals for him. "There's a lot of craziness going on, but you gotta remember the power of the individual," he concluded.