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

Award-winning Canadian fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, parents of seven children, bring their Celtic Family Christmas to St. Paul (7:30 p.m. Ordway Concert Hall, $34 and up); Grammy-winning hill country bluesman Cedric Burnside, grandson of R.L. Burnside, returns to Minneapolis (7:30 Parkway Theater, $25 and up); Bon Iver band member S. Carey is stepping up to the mic again touting an elegant, new singer/songwriter EP, “Watercress,” with two sets and a full band that includes pedal-steel wiz Ben Lester (7 & 9 p.m., Berlin, $20-$27).

Despite being sidelined most of the year by a debilitating stroke, John Munson wasn’t about to miss this trio’s annual Holiday Shows. Pentatonix, Stella Cole and others have already presented their yule shows in the Twin Cities but the holiday spirit really doesn’t kick in until, Munson, Chan Poling and Steve Roehm stage their delightful, surprise-filled show with a parade of guests who are never advertised in advance. The New Standards’ jazzy arrangements of pop and seasonal favorites and the priceless repartee between Munson and Poling are worth the price of admission, but the guests are the brandy in the New Standards eggnog. (8 p.m. Fri. & 4 & 8 p.m. Sat. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $75 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Punk-rock is the most timeless type of rock ‘n’ roll, and D4’s new album proves it. Largely, frustratingly inactive through much of the 2010s, the Twin Cities punk vets capped off several recent years of festival appearances and short tours by finally offering up new product, albeit a LP made of older material. “This [Expletive] Is Geniuser” compiles a trove of the quartet’s 7-inch tracks and other assorted nuggets, including “An American Banned,” “Twin Cities Sinners United” and “Like Sprewells on a Wheelchair,” the latter a 2004-era “Rock Against Bush” compilation track that sounds too timeless. The two-night hometown release party features three noisy openers each night. (8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, $35, axs.com)

The Minnesota treasure’s annual post-Thanksgiving Twin Cities concert has creeped into December for a second consecutive year. The Guitar Player Hall of Famer, 80, has been doing these late-in-the-year hometown concerts for 40-some years. Kottke will take Minnesotans on an unpredictable adventure on six- and 12-string guitars, punctuated by an occasional baritone vocal number and his idiosyncratic yet invariably humorous stories. Opening is the OK Factor, the Twin Cities classical crossover duo of cellist Olivia Diercks and violinist Karla Peters. (7 p.m. Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $50-$75, Ordway.org)

For the past decade, the cabaret queen has been a regular visitor to Crooners, often in May (yes, it’s fitting). With a December engagement, the Kansas City denizen might sprinkle in some seasonal favorites along with her knowing journey through the Great American Songbook with New York pianist Tedd Firth, punctuated with zingers that will generate genuine belly laughs. Her timing — comic and musical — are impressive, especially at age 97. And she might even muster a show-bizzy leg kick for good measure. (7:30 p.m. Fri. & 4 p.m. Sat. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, and 7 p.m. Sun. main stage, 6161 Hwy 65, Fridley, $71.38 and up, eventbrite.com)

Also: A dance floor-testing, stacked triple bill of horns, Afrobeat and Minneapolis funk finds Black Market Brass teaming with Obi Original and Purple Funk Metropolis (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $20-$25); Twin Cities-reared bluegrass revivalists and Blue Ox music fest hosts Pert Near Sandstone return to First Avenue with a new single to tout and openers John Stickley Trio and Clare Doyle (8 p.m.); Fargo-reared rapper/songwriter/radio-host Diane makes her live debut at the newly smoking Animales BBQ (7 p.m., free).

When the Grammy nominations were announced last month, people wondered who is this Leon Thomas who received six nods including best new artist and album of the year? He’s the soul man behind the hit “Mutt,” the dreamy ballad about taking a chance on love even though he might get burned again. Thomas is not exactly a newcomer. As a kid, he appeared on Broadway in “The Lion King” before going on to become a successful songwriter/producer for Ariana Grande, Drake, Toni Braxton, Post Malone and SZA, whose “Snooze” led to Thomas’ first Grammy for best R&B song. His Mutts Don’t Heel Tour, which kicked off on Oct. 30, makes a Minneapolis stop. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1^st Av. N., Mpls., axs.com)

It’s time to celebrate Hanukkah with the New York ensemble that has been purveying Jewish music for 40 years. The Klezmatics mix Yiddish music with contemporary sounds sung in various languages including Aramaic and Bavarian. But this tour emphasizes their Hanukkah repertoire, as showcased on their 2006 album, “Happy Joyous Hanukkah,” their collaboration with long-lost Woody Guthrie lyrics. Expect “Hanuka Gelt,” “Spin Dreydl Spin” and “Happy Joyous Hanuka” and perhaps a preview of the Klezmatics’ 14th album, “The New York Sessions,” due early next year. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $47.10 and up, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Revelation, a new all-star Twin Cities band, surveys the Minneapolis Sound with vocalists G Sharp, Ashley Commodore and Jay Bee and players including Michael Bland, Tommy Barbarella, O’Dell and Ricky Kinchen (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $45 and up); Garrison Keillor presents “A Prairie Home Companion Christmas” with Heather Masse, Christine DiGiallonardo, Fred Newman, Sue Scott, Tim Russell and Richard Dworsky & the Guy’s Shoe Band (7:30 p.m. Sat. & 3 p.m. Sun., Fitzgerald Theater); Charlie Parr steps out with his experimental drone act Abandoned Cities on a bill with string maestro Paul Metzger (7:30 p.m. Cloudland Theater, $12-$15); Grammy-winning Puerto Rican jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenón explores the Latin American songbook with pianist Luis Perdomo (6:30 & 10:30 p.m., Berlin, $25-$30); Cornbread Harris and his jazzy band are now playing every first Saturday of the month at Animales BBQ (3 p.m., free), where Doug Otto & the Getaways go on later (7 p.m., free); Wayzata piano maven Lorie Line dresses up holiday music for her annual tour (3 p.m. Sat. Ames Center, Burnsville, 3 p.m. Sun. New Ulm High School, 3 p.m. Dec. 13 Sheldon Theatre, Red Wing; 7 p.m. Dec. 18 Paramount Center for the Arts, St. Cloud; 3 p.m. Dec. 20 Providence Academy Performing Arts Center, Plymouth).

Before joining the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for Handel’s “Messiah” later this month, this excellent 40-plus-voice choir will bring its sumptuous harmonies to three concerts full of Christmas-themed music. The concerts they call “What Sweeter Music” are always a soothing salve for any agitated heart or mind. Matthew Culloton will conduct works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Morten Lauridsen, Stephen Paulus, Dale Warland and others. (3 p.m. Sun., Westwood Lutheran Church, 9001 Cedar Lake Road, St. Louis Park; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 4801 France Av. S., Mpls.; 2 p.m. Dec. 14, Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, 1938 Stanford Av., St. Paul; $38; singersmca.org.)

Also: Wisconsin singer/songwriter Jeffrey Foucault will be joined by some of the players who accompanied him on last year’s deeply felt album “The Universal Fire” including John Convertino (Bon Iver), Eric Heywood (the Pretenders) and Minnesota’s own Erik Koskinen (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$35); the sixth annual Rock ‘n’ Roulette benefit for the empowering music school She Rock She Rock pairs budding adult amateurs with pros Katy Vernon and Big Salt (6 p.m., Hook & Ladder, $20); Twin Cities jazz pianist Kavyesh Kaviraj launches a December residency with different collaborators on every Sunday, joined this time by MMYYKK and Omar Abdulkarim (7 p.m. Berlin, $15); the Twin Cities’ retro-jazz unit Southside Aces present holiday tunes New Orleans style (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25.47 and up).

It’s a rattle-your-jewelry kind of year for the local Beatles love fest that started in 7^th St. Entry hours after John Lennon’s murder in 1980 and has been held next door at First Avenue for the past 43 years. This year it’s moving to the more-regal Fitz, which is owned by First Ave and offers something that the event’s longtime attendees now love almost as much as hearing “She Loves You” and “All You Need Is Love” every year: seats. Curt Almsted and his army of Twin Cities musicians aren’t benching their usual approach, though, covering the breadth of Lennon’s canon, including solo work. (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, axs.com)

Widely remembered from their appearance in Vince Vaughn’s 1996 breakout movie “Swingers,” Southern California’s retro big band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are back with their Wild ‘n’ Swingin’ Holiday Party Tour (7:30 p.m. Pantages Theatre, $50-$84); Minnesota bluegrass mainstays Monroe Crossing kick off a two-night stand for their Christmas show (7:30 p.m. Tue. & Wed., Crooner’s, $40-$50); jazz pianist Travis Anderson leads his trio through the “Charlie Brown Christmas” music repertoire (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota); Cheap Perfume celebrates a new release with fellow punk noisemakers Srly Grrly (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry).

Equally at home in bluegrass and classical circles, the Grammy-winning string master is joined by his fiddler/singer wife Maggie O’Connor for a program titled Appalachian Christmas. Mark, who plays violin, mandolin and guitar, has been touring with this holiday show for nine years. His golden resume includes playing with Stephane Grappelli, Yo-Yo Ma and Chet Atkins, among others. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $69.76 and up, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Blue-eyed soul man Allen Stone is back, behind his new EP “Mystery” (7 p.m. Fillmore, $53 and up); popular New Age piano man Jim Brickman brings his annual holiday show to Rochester with Minnesota singer John Trones (7 p.m. Mayo Civic Center, $50 and up); the full-volume December residency for Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club MPLS continues with King Sized Coffin and unnamed “special guests” (8:30 p.m. Mortimer’s, $15).