Pop music spotlight: Lissie

Thursday: When you see this Rock Island, Ill.-reared hippie powerhouse onstage, you'll understand why she had to cancel shows last fall due to shredded vocal cords. Lissie has a fiery, bellowing, gospelized voice that belies her laid-back, echoey soul-rock, part Patty Griffin and part Cat Power. Born Elisabeth Maurus, 28, she earned her big buzz at the South by Southwest Music Conference last spring along with local airplay on the Current (89.3 FM) for the single "Little Lovin'." Her soulful reinventions of Hank Williams' "Wedding Bells" and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" have also turned a head or two. She's back out touting her full-length Fat Possum debut, "Catching a Tiger." Alabaman opener Dylan LeBlanc was named one of Rolling Stone's rookies of the year. (8 p.m. Thu. $15. All ages. Cedar Cultural Center, 616 Cedar Av. S., Mpls. 612-338-2674.)CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER