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

This Alabama ensemble has so quickly earned respect that it has performed at Lollapalooza, CMA Fest and the Rolling Stones tour — as well as snagging the Americana Music Award in 2024 for emerging artist of the year. The TikTok favorite “Wondering Why” and the recent single “Wanna Be Loved” showed that Red Clay Strays lead singer Brandon Coleman’s rich, emotive, Chris Stapleton-evoking voice is perfect for love songs. But last year’s Dave Cobb-produced album “Made by These Moments” indicated that RCS also has an affinity for muscular Southern rock. (7:30 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $70 and up, ticketmaster.com)

After playing a breezy greatest hits set last summer outside Surly Brewing, Black Francis and his old Boston crew are settling in for a two-night theater stand that will dig deeper into their discography. Night 1 will feature their pair of early ’90s albums, “Bossanova” and “Trompe le Monde,” played in full. Night 2 will offer an assorted mix of other earlier tunes, oddities and songs off recent albums, including last year’s decently rocking “The Night the Zombies Came.” The band has carried on no-problem with Band of Skulls’ Emma Richardson as its new bassist. Philly’s great haze rock maestro Kurt Vile is a must-see opener, too. (8 p.m. Thu. & Fri., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $65-$150, axs.com)

One of the most popular events of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Summer at Orchestra Hall doesn’t involve the orchestra at all. It’s when soon-to-depart creative partner Jon Kimura Parker takes the stage with three other pianists to perform arrangements that employ up to eight hands and four pianos. Parker will be joined by pianists Chelsea de Souza, Artem Kuznetsov and Ayane Nakajima. Speaking of departures, the orchestra’s longtime principal trumpeter, Manny Laureano, will join the pianists for his last solo turn before retirement. (7 p.m. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$100, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Also: On summer break from his professorial duties at the University of Georgia, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven bandleader David Lowery is on a rare solo outing doing a rare seated show at the Fine Line with Dan Israel (8 p.m., $30); influential Long Island rockers Blue Oyster Cult, still featuring original members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom, revisit “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” and other oldies (7:30 p.m. Canterbury Park, $40 and up); one of the acts that is booked every year at Lowertown Sounds, Salsa del Soul will have them dancing in St. Paul’s Mears Park again with Alma Andina (6-10 p.m., free); Palmer’s Bar mainstays Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs are playing one of their last gigs at the old haunt (7 p.m., free).

María Zardoya and her namesake chill rock band are swinging into town for their biggest headlining date yet on their way to playing Iowa’s red-hot Hinterland festival on Saturday. The hazy Los Angeles sonic stylists blended Tame Impala-style grooves, Beach House-y ambience and Spanish-language lyrics behind the catchy hooks of viral hits such as “Heavy” and “No One Noticed,” the latter from last year’s sophomore LP “Submarine.” They’ve also upped their profile via collaborations with Bad Bunny and Selena Gomez. L.A. shoegaze band Julie opens. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., resale tickets only, armorymn.com)

Also: The great Cuban American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, a 10-time Grammy winner and a 2024 Kennedy Center Honors recipient, is back at the Dakota (7 & 9 p.m., $40-$65); the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Music & Movies takeover of Lake Harriet Bandshell will pair local pop-rock hustlers Yam Haus with the Denzel Washington football pic “Remember the Titans” (7 p.m., free); the tribute band About to Run digs deep into the Phish catalog (8 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$22); local jazz-funk up-and-comers Room3 take on Berlin nightclub (7:30 p.m., $20); a rocking dance party installment of the Under the Canopy series pairs Mango Jam with ELnO and Apollo Cobra (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $20-$34); it’s billed as Pat Donohue’s Guitar Summit and it features three Twin Cities acoustic guitar virtuosos including Tim Sparks and Phil Heywood (5:30 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, sold out).

Whether she was on the comfy stage of First Avenue or in the mammoth surroundings of U.S. Bank Stadium (opening for Post Malone), this refreshingly quirky Americana music darling dazzled. The four-time Grammy winner charms with her ability to blend classic country, modern twang, bluegrass, gypsy jazz and even some tango and Tex-Mex. Now the colorfully dressed West Virginian heads outside for the first time in the Twin Cities to serenade with “American Dreaming,” “Dollar Bill Bar” and “Fox Hunt.” Opening is buzzy country singer Kaitlin Butts, whose underrated 2024 full-length “Roadrunner” featured the TikTok sensation “You Ain’t Gotta Die (to Be Dead to Me).” (7 p.m. Surly Brewing Festival Field, 520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., $65 and up, axs.com)

Among the growing list of hip-hop stars who’ve gotten hip to the Dakota, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-reared rapper of Black Star fame (with Mos Def) is one of the best fits to the jazz haven because of his knack for hyper-rhythmic, improvisational delivery and Afrocentric, socially themed lyrics — and especially because he tours with a killer, jazzy live band. They’re coming here straight after a three-night stand at the Blue Note in New York, so should be nice and tight. (6:30 & 9:30 p.m., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, $53-$62, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Veteran L.A. ensemble Fitz & the Tantrums dropped their sixth studio album, “Man on the Moon,” last week, with a mix of soul-styled pop and electro dance floor bangers (8 p.m. First Avenue, $52.18); Gully Boys will headline the 13th annual Nershfest with Heatbox, Saltydog, the Orange Goodness and China Rider (noon-10 p.m. 56 Brewing, $10 after 4 p.m.); the Legalized It fest will celebrate two years of legal THC with psyche-rock greats Flavor Crystals, American Cream and more (1-10 p.m. Insight Brewing); Night 2 of Yam Haus’ big weekend out finds the band headlining the Heartbeat for Hunger benefit concert with Nunnabove for the White Bear Area Food Shelf (6 p.m. White Bear Lake Park, $20-$25); local dancing queens (and kings) ABBA-solutely Fab! bring their summery tribute show indoors (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $40-$50); public radio raconteur Garrison Keillor celebrates his 83rd birthday with Twin Cities piano man nonpareil Richard Dworsky, singer Heather Masse and friends (7:30 Fitzgerald Theater, $63.21 and up); ever-versatile local vocal luminary Prudence Johnson returns to her jazz roots with the Halcyon Jazz Quartet featuring vibraphonist Dave Hagedorn, drummer Joe Pulice and bassist Kevin Clements (6 p.m. Crooners, $37.89 and up); the fourth annual Slavic Experience fest will feature musicians and dancers whose heritage represents various Eastern Europe countries including polka favorite Hank Thunander as emcee with Bandura Duo, Lev & Olga, Caribou Gone, Down on Curfew, Accent Deluxe and others (noon-8 p.m. Sat. & Sun. ROC, St. Louis Park, free).

A break in the many oldies acts playing the Ledge Amphitheater this summer, North Carolina’s psychedelic pop groovers Rainbow Kitten Surprise hit the outdoor venue in Waite Park with the Medium Band opening (7:30 p.m., $62-$192); Jalan Crossland, a national fingerstyle guitar champ from Wyoming who is a compellingly quirky storyteller, is back at Crooners in the Belvedere tent (7 p.m., $32.23 and up); old-school Twin Cities hip-hop fans may want to make the drive down to Rochester to catch Tone Loc in the Riverside series with local rap vet Desdamona (7 p.m., Mayo Park, free); fresh off releasing his innovative jazz/classical crossover album “Joyfire,” Twin Cities bassist Ted Olsen kicks off his monthlong Sunday night residency at Berlin with special guests (7 p.m., $15); Jearlyn Steele and Patty Peterson, mainstays from two Twin Cities family musical institutions, team up, accompanied by Fred Steele and Jason Peterson Delaire (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30.62 and up).

After going viral in a big way during the COVID-19 lockdown with their throbby hit “Heat Waves,” these British dance-rockers are making up for the lost time on the road over the past year. They recently filled Madison Square Garden and got near-top billing at the Bonnaroo and Governor’s Ball festivals, and now they’re mostly playing amphitheaters; except here. The Armory g.a. floor should turn into a giant dance floor as the bubbly Oxford groovers make a case for their fourth album, “I Love You So [Expletive] Much.” Orla Gartland opens (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., all ages, $80, ticketmaster.com)

The smartly opinionated country blog Don’t Rock the Inbox arrived last week with the headline: “Meet the Best Country Band You’re Not Listening To.” The Deslondes are a New Orleans quintet that could be classified as Americana, country-soul, country-folk, Kristofferson-country or just as gosh darn good. They’ve been kicking around for 15 years or so, have mastered those Flying Burritos Brothers-y harmonies and occasionally spike their mostly acoustic sound with a little NOLA R&B seasoning. And there’s a local angle that we can’t overlook: John James Tourville, the only member who doesn’t sing lead but plays guitar, fiddle and pedal steel, grew up in St. Paul. (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $26.88, axs.com)

Also: Having just won her first Grammy in her five-decade career, Bay Area percussion master Sheila E is back in Minneapolis for three nights of her special brand of Latin jazz, Princely funk and salsa (6:30 & 9 p.m. Tue., Aug. 7 & 8, the Dakota, $65-$75); the buzz is strong enough for arty and playful Chicago rockers Horsegirl’s second album for Matador Records, “Phonetics On and On,” their show got bumped from the Entry up to the Fine Line (7 p.m., all ages, $21.50).

Brooklyn’s Combo Daguerre has made a name for itself playing very specialized and surprisingly funky psychedelic French chanson music and is another adventurous booking for the outdoor Summer at the Cedar series (6-8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, free); banjo-buoyed Gadan is an Italian ensemble (with Irish and American members) that plays a mix of traditional Irish folk music, bluegrass and Appalachian sounds (7 p.m. the Dakota, $47.10 and up); sun-baked, reggae-fied San Diego rockers Slightly Stoopid prefer outdoor venues for obvious reasons and are trying out the Ledge Amphitheater with Iration (6:30 p.m., $50 & up).