The Big Gigs: Benefit for the Electric Fetus

POP/ROCK While music's retail side has been a disaster scene of late, the Electric Fetus Tornado Benefit is being staged because of an act of God, not iTunes. The famed Minneapolis record shop was hit by a twister last August and underwent months of costly repairs. Local bands are rallying to re-raise the roof with a nonstop whirlwind of music on two stages, including the hiatus-breaking Cloud Cult (going on first in First Avenue's big room), honky-tonk kings Trailer Trash, Mark Mallman's synth-pop trio Ruby Isle, hip-hop stalwarts Unknown Prophets and Carnage, Jeremy Messersmith, Caroline Smith, Roma di Luna, the Bill Mike Band and buzzing newcomers Peter Wolf Crier and Total Babe. Proceeds will also benefit Haiti relief. (7 p.m. Fri., First Avenue and 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $16-$20.) (C.R.)

Atlanta's hot blues-rock newbies Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights made a big splash in the rain at last year's Austin City Limits Fest, which is no surprise since they sound a lot like Austin's short-lived but much-loved Arc Angels. Their debut, "Pardon Me," is due in April, after which they'll tour with Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They make their debut here opening for Minnesota's own favorite rednecky rockers, the White Iron Band. (9:30 p.m. Fri., Cabooze. 18 & older. $7.) (C.R.)

What Jasper T. Jowls the singing hound is to Chuck E. Cheese, the St. Dominic's Trio is to Kieran's. Terry Walsh's soul-rocking original-music offshoot of his Van Morrison-covering Belfast Cowboys has been a staple at the downtown Irish pub since 2002 and a regular at its St. Paddy's Day tent parties. The trio will play the final shows there before the pub relocates to Block E to stay close to the Twins. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Kieran's Irish Pub, 330 2nd Av. S., Mpls. Free.) (C.R.)

There's nothing cursed about the 13th installment of the lucky-us series Gastro Non Grata, offering one of the strongest lineups yet under its banner of cross-promoting regional flavor-makers (music + food + drink). Rocked-up rappers the Unknown Prophets, next-gen chamber ensemble Bella Koshka and punkabilly hellcats Bitch N' Brown fill up the music menu along with Noise Noise Noise, a punk band from Montana. Reps from Piccolo restaurant, the Cake Eat Bakery and Colorado's Left Hand Brewery will also be on hand with samples. (6 p.m. Sun., Triple Rock. 21 & older. $7.) (C.R.)

Known as Nickel Creek frontman Chris Thile's side project, the Punch Brothers also feature four bluegrass musicians whose credits include Leftover Salmon, Willie Nelson, Jerry Douglas and Beck. The Punch boys cut loose on everything from modern classical and bluegrass to blues and jazz, and even a little Radiohead. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Cedar Cultural Center, $18-$20.) (J.B.)

Quirky indie-folk songbird Laura Veirs has built up enough of a cult following to land her self-released album, "July Farm," atop Billboard's Heatseeker and folk charts last month. The Carleton College alum (now based in Portland, Ore.) recruited a string section and My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James for the disc. Her next release will be her second child, due in April. Fellow Portlanders the Old Believers and Seattle's Cataldo open. (7:30 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $12-$14.) (C.R.)

The English Beat and Fishbone started in the late 1970s, scored some 1980s dance-fueled hits, disbanded and reunited around key members. Dave Wakeling leads the English Beat, the ska revivalists known for the buoyant hits "Mirror in the Bathroom" and "I Confess." Angelo Moore and John Norwood Fisher still anchor Fishbone, the hyper-energetic L.A. blenders of ska, punk and funk, best remembered for "Party at Ground Zero" and "Sunless Saturday." Bring your dancing shoes. Louisiana's reggae-loving Outlaw Nation opens. (8 p.m. Thu., Cabooze, $22-$25.) (J.B.)

Exciting Afropop star Angelique Kidjo is about to release "Oyo," her salute to James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, Miriam Makeba and Bollywood. The native of Benin, who now lives in New York, adds African twists to such classics as "Cold Sweat" and "Baby, I Love You." If the performances on this April CD are half as moving as the reviews in Europe suggest, it will be as triumphant as her 2007 Grammy-winning "Djin Djin." And live, Kidjo is an emotional, electrifying performer. (7 p.m. Tue.-Wed., Dakota, $45.) (J.B.)

BLUES/ROOTS Roots blues/Americana trio the Brass Kings return for a CD release party at Cedar Cultural Center, where they recorded the 14 tracks of "Live Humdinger" over several years. The third release by the resophonic guitar, washtub bass and washboard band has lots of guests -- Molly Maher, Jon Rodine, Baby Grant Johnson, Nate Sipe of Pert Near Sandstone and Dave Babb from the Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs. (8 p.m. Fri, Cedar Cultural Center. $10-$12.) (T.S.)

Another Chicago blues legend hits Frogtown, as Jimmy (Fast Fingers) Dawkins communes with his old friends the Butanes. Dawkins' illustrious history includes lots of work with Otis Rush, Willie Dixon and Magic Sam, highly regarded albums on Delmark and Ichiban, promoting and producing a passel of other artists (Nora Jean, Tail Dragger, Queen Sylvia Embry) and even writing a column for Living Blues magazine. As a 2002 CD title proclaims, he's a "West Side Guitar Hero." (9 p.m. Sat., Wilebski's Blues Saloon.) (T.S.)

One of our area's best R&B and blues drummers, Donald (Hye Pockets) Robertson is battling back nicely from a heart attack and the attendant medical bills. Hospitalized Jan. 21, Robertson -- who toured the globe with Luther Allison -- is reportedly healthy enough to play at his own "Rock It for Pockets" fundraiser, and he'll be in good company with the Butanes, the Tom Hunter Band, Tim O'Brien Project, Big Walter Smith, Big John Dickerson, Willie Walker, Willie Murphy, Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs and Paul Mayasich & Billy Larson. Pockets will play the closing set with benefit organizer Moses Oakland's quintet. (5-11 p.m. Sun., Famous Dave's Uptown.) (T.S.)

It's not surprising that John Hammond's 2008 CD "Rough and Tough," featuring songs of Muddy Waters, Blind Willie McTell and Howlin' Wolf, earned him another Grammy nomination. Like his dad -- the late talent scout who discovered Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen -- Hammond has great taste. He's an inveterate blues traditionalist who also has a major appreciation for Tom Waits. (7 p.m. Sun., Dakota, $25.) (J.B.)

CLASSICAL Jaap ter Linden's bio reads like a history of the period-instruments movement. The Dutch cellist has been principal of Musica Antiqua Köln, the English Concert and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; he founded Amsterdam's Mozart Akademie, with which he's recorded the whole of Mozart's symphonic output; he also conducts opera. His program with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra features cello concertos by Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach and the peripatetic Nicola Porpora. (8 p.m. Sat., Sundin Hall, Hamline University, St. Paul. $6-$23. 1-800-595-4849 or www.lyrabaroque.org.) (L.F.)

Prodigies occasion some ambivalence. The better they play, the more insistent the question: To what extent must great music-making be rooted in lived experience? The extraordinary British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, who at 17 is making his second appearance at the Frederic Chopin Society, may not mute the questioning but should discourage facile answers, thanks in part to a demanding program that includes Liszt's Sonata, Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" and (on the eve of the composer's 200th birthday) three works of Chopin. (3 p.m. Sun., Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Macalester College, St. Paul. $12-$20. 612-822-0123 or www. chopinsocietymn.org.) (L.F.)

JAZZ Pianist Rick Germanson's third album, "Off the Cuff," got a lot of national jazz radio airplay last year. The Milwaukee native is one of New York City's busier keyboardists, working regularly with his own trios and as a sideman for Russell Malone, Tom Harrell, Pat Martino, Regina Carter and quite a few other bright lights. Why? He's a great team player and his solos captivate. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter. $15.) (T.S.)

For a Twin Cities Jazz Society-sponsored afternoon soiree, pianist Mary Louise Knutson ropes in a special guest -- nationally renowned violin star Randy Sabien. The concert's theme is "Spotlight on Melody," and her veteran trio also features all-pros Chris Bates (bass) and Jay Epstein (drums). (2 p.m. Sun., Bloomington Center for the Arts, $19-$22.) (T.S.)

Seven-string guitar star Charlie Hunter is in fine, funky form on his new CD. "Gentlemen, I Neglected to Inform You That You Will Not Be Getting Paid" is a soulful groove-a-thon for the smart set, an album full of hooks and free of snobbery. If you're a fan of anything from Steve Cropper to Bill Frisell to Jimmie Vaughan, it's easy to love Hunter's hip new sounds. And he'll have some cool accomplices in concert: Jazz Passengers/Lounge Lizards trombone crowd-pleaser Curtis Fowlkes and dance-oriented drummer Erik Kalb, known for his work with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Mon., Dakota. $20-$25.) (T.S.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider and freelancers Larry Fuchsberg and Tom Surowicz.