MUSIC
Shelby Lynne
A gifted Alabama singer/songwriter of dark, painful alt-country songs, Grammy’s best new artist of 2001 has been mostly low-profile for the past decade, save for her 2017 collaboration with her sister Allison Moorer, “Not Dark Yet,” and 2021’s “The Servant,” a collection of her soulful, languidly bluesy treatments of hymns like “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot.” She has a Substack newsletter, Dirt and Fiction, and in her Jan. 7 entry, she not only promises a new album with a new crew but she will explore the Dusty Springfield catalog backed by a trio in Minneapolis, at the request of the Dakota’s owner. In 2008, Lynne’s 10th album, “Just a Little Lovin’,” was a tribute to Springfield. (7 p.m. Wed. & Thu. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $65-$75, dakotacooks.com)
JON BREAM
Lucius
You may have seen them elegantly singing behind Brandi Carlile or Roger Waters at recent shows, but those who heard Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig’s uncannily tight vocal harmonies a decade ago in their 7th St. Entry debut with their dramatic rock group Lucius knew they were already soaring. They’re on tour again marking the 10th anniversary of the band’s first album, “Wildewoman,” and playing two nights in a row next door to the Entry. The first night is their own show with New York strummer Jeff Taylor opening, and the second is to celebrate the Current’s 19th anniversary with local indie-popster Ber and Texan Abraham Alexander. (7:30 p.m. Thu. & Fri., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $40 Thu., sold out Fri., axs.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Cécile McLorin Salvant
She is a modern-jazz marvel. The most esteemed jazz vocalist of her generation, the triple Grammy winner, 34, is a brainy, playful adventurer. In 2023, Salvant released “Melusine,” an eclectic concept album (sung primarily in French, Haitian Creole and Occitan) about being a hybrid of cultures that’s led to two Grammy nominations. Last year, she premiered at Walker Art Center “Ogresse,” an ambitious original chamber opera accompanied by her own hand-drawn animation and a 13-piece orchestra. Previously, she’s captivated with her vocal-and-piano dialogues with Sullivan Fortner at the Dakota. Always a must-see live performer, Salvant returns to downtown Minneapolis with a trio featuring drummer Savannah Harris, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and Fortner. (6 & 8 p.m. Sun. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$45, dakotacooks.com)
J.B.
Digable Planets
Using a jazzy sample of Fred Wesley and the J.B.’s and a sly boy/girl vocal interplay, Digable Planets carved a new path for hip-hop in the pop mainstream in 1993 with their Grammy-winning sleeper hit “Rebirth of Cool (Cool Like Dat).” The New York trio only issued two albums before splitting in 1995, and co-leader Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler went on to do innovative work with the duo Shabazz Palaces. He and Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving have been sporadically doing Planets gigs again since 2015 and are out now marking the 30th anniversary of their debut album, “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space).” (8 p.m. Sat., Varsity Theater, 1308 SE. 4th St., Mpls., $124, ticketmaster.com)
C.R.