POP/ROCK
Big Head Todd and the Monsters have performed at nearly every Twin Cities outdoor venue imaginable — from the Minnesota Zoo and Target Field to the State Fair and Basilica Block Party. Hey, the bluesy jammers of "Bittersweet" fame have found a new one: Hilde Amphitheater in Plymouth. The annual rock concert there will also feature bluesy Philly hip-hoppers G. Love & Special Sauce, another longtime Minnesota favorite, and JJ Grey and Mofro, the soulful Southern rockers from Florida promoting their new recording, "Ol' Glory," a laid-back, overlong collection featuring guitar guests Derek Trucks and Luther Dickinson. (6:30 p.m. Fri., Hilde Amphitheater, 3500 Plymouth Blvd., Plymouth, $37-$152.) Jon Bream
Singer/harmonica player Kim Wilson cut his teeth in the Twin Cities in the 1970s playing in a band called Aces Straights and Shuffles. He made his name in the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the band he still fronts. The group started out as a straight-ahead blues group but has evolved to embrace rock, soul and even Cajun. The Fab T-birds hit a commercial peak with "Tuff Enuff" in 1986 when Jimmie Vaughan was still on guitar, but he left three years later. Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller are now on guitar. The T-Birds are part of Mystic Lake's Northern Thunder motorcycle and hot rod rally in the parking lot this weekend. Headlining Saturday at 8 p.m. are those artfully grim rockers Blue Oyster Cult of "Don't Fear the Reaper" fame, featuring original members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom. (8 p.m. Fri., Mystic Lake, free.) Bream
It's the best pairing of song pickers and big-screen flicks among all of this month's movies and music series: The Pines, those Iowa-bred purveyors of gorgeously slow-building, big-sky poetic Americana tunes, will set the perfect tone for the similarly cult-loved, landscape-inspired 1999 David Lynch film "The Straight Story," about the Iowa farmer who drove his riding lawn mower across the Midwest to see his dying brother. John Deere parking will not be available at the show, but there are plenty of ways to bike there. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Lake Harriet Band Shell, free.) Chris Riemenschneider
Good fodder to shut up his naysayers, Dave Grohl soldiered through a gig in Sweden in June despite breaking his leg a few songs into the set and has kept up much of his Foo Fighters' summer tour plans since then, too, delivering hard-rocking 2½-hour concerts seated in a chair. We're not sure whether to hope the cast is on or off by the time his band returns to St. Paul, but we know fans will get their money's worth either way, even with the somewhat forgettable tunes from the new album/documentary series "Sonic Highways." Metal-reviving British duo Royal Blood opens. (7 p.m. Sat., Xcel Energy Center, $35-$75.) Riemenschneider
Jonny Lang is no stranger to the Minnesota Zoo or Twin Cities music fans. The Fargo native spent his pivotal teen years on area stages, winning fans with his old-soul voice and hot guitar licks. At 34, he still has the timelessly soulful voice, an expanding guitar vocabulary and a habit of mixing blues, rock, soul and gospel into a heartfelt experience, as evidenced on 2013's "Fight for My Soul," which soared on both the blues and Christian album charts. Opening is Nashville's Guthrie Brown and the Family Tree. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Minnesota Zoo, $65-$77.50.) Bream
Kind of like its restaurant workers packing a lot of protein into one burrito, the Chipotle Cultivate Festival offers a surprisingly strong array of national and local bands for a free one-day event — albeit an all-white-male lineup that doesn't exactly scream "Mexican food!" Cincinnati's bubbly pop/rockers Walk the Moon, who played a warmly received two-nighter at First Ave in March, will headline over Australia's "Trojan"-singing indie-popsters Atlas Genius, moody upstate New York rockers X Ambassadors and two very promising newcomers, Nashville's vintage soul rocker Anderson East and Twin Cities wunderkinds Hippo Campus. DJ Christopher Golub also performs. (Noon-7 p.m. Sat., Loring Park, downtown Mpls., all ages, free.) Riemenschneider
One of the first bands to deserve the now-ubiquitous chamber-rock tag, Rasputina has been rocking the cellos since the late '90s. Kansas-bred bandleader Melora Creager is back with a new album, "Unknown," and has reunited with original cello mate Carpella Parvo, who had been long sidelined by carpal tunnel syndrome. Jezebel Jones returns home to open along with Eliza Rickman. (9 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, $15.) Riemenschneider
Two things were noticeably different about Bettye LaVette's return to her beloved Dakota Jazz Club in April. The veteran R&B stunner wore red instead of her usual black. And she sang her new album, "Worthy" (featuring songs written by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Stones and producer Joe Henry), in its entirety to open the show. Both proved to be canny moves. Don't know if the Detroit-bred song stylist will take the same approach but all her performances at the Dakota have been beyond worthy — they've been exceptional. (7 p.m. Mon., Dakota, $40-$45.) Bream
An indie-folk bard who sings in falsetto, made his debut album in a remote cabin and now records elaborate, lush, horns- and strings-filled albums — attention: Bon Iver fans — James Vincent McMorrow is making his Minnesota Zoo debut on a short summer tour that follows recent dates with Mumford & Sons and Dawes. Slow-bopping, R&B-flavored Pittsburgh singer/songwriter Kevin Garrett opens. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Minnesota Zoo, $38.) Riemenschneider
If you've lost track of the Vaccines since they came out of the gate with a classic case of British overhype in 2011, the London quartet has evolved into more of an eclectic, playful, Bowie/Blur-esque rock band than was initially suggested. Their third album, "English Graffiti," was coproduced by Flaming Lips cohort Dave Fridmann and could make for a quirky but fun live show. (9 p.m. Mon., Triple Rock, $17-$20.) Riemenschneider
A great twofer pairing for the old MTV "120 Minutes" audience and gloomy '80s pop/rock lovers, the Psychedelic Furs and the Church will return to Minneapolis together three weeks into a five-week summer tour. The Furs have been resoundingly impressive on recent tours despite the fact that they haven't issued a new album since 1991, with singer Richard Butler looking and sounding as stylish as ever while brother Tim Butler anchors their remade lineup through burning versions of "Pretty in Pink" and "Heartbreak Beat." Those "Under the Milky Way"-singing Aussies in the Church were more hit-and-miss at the Cedar this spring without guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper in tow, but their new album "Further/Deeper" is worthy of their best work. DJ Jake Rudh landed warm-up duties. (8 p.m. Tue., State Theatre, $25-$28.) Riemenschneider
With the way they blend Mexican and Dust Bowl folk influences into their gritty rock and helped blueprint alt-country, Joe Ely and Alejandro Escovedo are two of the most Texan entrants in the mighty league of Texas songwriting legends. They paired up for the first time on tour last year with violinist Susan Voelz and a cleverly matched batch of thematically tied story songs, and now they're back for a very welcome encore. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, all ages, $40-$45.) Riemenschneider
Minnesota State Fairgoers seem to love classic-rock oldies doubleheaders even if the bands are from different eras. Def Leppard rocked the '80s with "Rock of Ages" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me." While guitarist Vivian Campbell is still receiving treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma (he is on tour), the Leps are promising a new self-titled album this year — their first studio recording in seven years. Styx started in the '70s with "Lady" and "Come Sail Away." Since getting theatrical in the '80s, the Chicago band has undergone some personnel changes. Guitarist/singers Tommy Shaw and James Young are still on board but keyboardist Lawrence Gowan has been the main lead singer since 1999. With Tesla. The tour returns indoors Oct. 5 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. (7 p.m. Thu., State Fair grandstand, sold out.) Bream
JAZZ
Gaby Moreno has had numerous brushes with pop culture. She co-wrote the theme to "Parks and Recreation," recorded and toured with pianist and "House" TV star Hugh Laurie, sang on soundtracks as diverse as "Fred Claus" and the documentary "The Cove," won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2006 and had a huge Latin hit, "Fuiste Tu" (in a duet with Ricardo Arjona). But the 34-year-old Guatemalan singer-songwriter is at her best cross-pollinating blues, R&B, folk and cabaret onstage with her expressive vocals and guitar in an intimate setting like the Dakota. (7 p.m. Sun., Dakota, $25.) Britt Robson
Pianist Cyrus Chestnut has learned from some of the legendary mentors in jazz, including the late vocalist Betty Carter, whose on-the-spot instructions marinated her bands in creative spontaneity, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who demands you come prepared with top-notch scholarship. Chestnut absorbed those complementary virtues and added a distinctive, soulful dollop of gospel to his jazz. Lately he's been concentrating on trio work, including his HighNote label debut, "A Million Colors in Your Mind." Drummer Neal Smith and bassist Michael Hawkins round out the ensemble. (7 p.m. Tue., Dakota, $30.) Robson
Ben Sidran comes to town every year to reunite with Ricky and Billy Peterson, longtime cohorts who helped him compose the backbone of Steve Miller's touring ensemble (Sidran composed "Space Cowboy" way back when). But this year's gigs are special because the "2 families, 1 groove" dynamic he has with the Petersons and his son Leo has been captured on a well-received new album, "Blue Camus," which has Sidran mixing rap and spoken word in a blend of hipster jive, jazz history and philosophical existentialism. It's a chance for the Ph.D from Sussex to flash his cerebral chops against some gymnastic funk. (7 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Dakota, $25.) Robson
