POP/ROCK
Coming off like a cross between Lady Gaga and Lorde, 21-year-old New Jersey singer Halsey (Ashley Frangipane) has been blowing up the pop charts and social media channels in recent months with her singles "Castle" and "New Americana." The latter tune's elementarily rhymed chorus is a good example of how her attempts to be oh-so-edgy sound forced: "We are the new Americana / Hot like legal marijuana / Raised on Biggie and Nirvana." But she's soon to headline Madison Square Garden and guest-star on Justin Bieber's next single, so get used to her. (7 p.m. Fri., Varsity Theater, sold out.) Chris Riemenschneider
After dabbling heavily in soul, R&B and jazz on past recordings, Twin Cities piano balladeer Alison Scott veers more toward rock and pop on her first album of original tunes in four years, "Stone Cold Love." Songs vary from a Melissa Etheridge-like howler about domestic abuse, "Go Out Swinging," to the truly powerful Adele-style power ballad "Perseus." Scott and her tightly knit band, led by producer Kevin Bowe, are making the rounds promoting the album before the singer welcomes her second child. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Lyric Arts Company of Anoka, $19-$25.) Riemenschneider
Rosanne Cash's "The River and the Thread" ranked as my top album of 2014 and her concert at the O'Shaughnessy, in which she opened by playing that album in its entirety, was among the year's best shows, too. Working with her husband/producer/guitarist John Leaventhal, Cash explores her Southern roots in song and photos with "The River" — and throws in some of her country hits as well as songs associated with her famous father, Johnny Cash. Highly recommended. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Presentation Hall, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, $28-$31.) Jon Bream
Another indie-folk bard who performs under a nom de strum, City and Colour is Toronto-area singer/songwriter Dallas Green, who has been plugging away for a decade now touring with the likes of Tegan & Sara and Pink. His fifth album, "If I Should Go Before You," showcases his soulful, burly voice and his solidified backing band, which includes Raconteurs/Dead Weather bassist Jack Lawrence and Constantines drummer Doug MacGregor. They have New Orleans' truly Americana sounding folk-twang darlings Hurray for the Riff Raff for a can't-miss opener. (9 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, $31.50.) Riemenschneider
After three decades crafting some of indie-rock's most elegantly chaotic and melodically innovative albums, Yo La Tengo took a simple approach to their latest album and tour: They've gone acoustic. The new record, "Stuff Like That," copies their 1990 effort "Fakebook" with a fun mix of new originals, remade originals and covers from the likes of the Cure and Lovin' Spoonful. New Jersey's cult heroes are following the same mold on tour with an added fourth member, original guitarist Dave Schramm, playing two sets with no opener. (8 p.m. Sat., Pantages Theatre, $30-$35.) Riemenschneider
It doesn't look like the robes are back in tow, but Dallas' Texas-sized psychedelic pop choir the Polyphonic Spree is going back to its roots in other ways on a 15th-anniversary tour. Frontman Tim DeLaughter (ex-Tripping Daisy) and his enclave-like band are performing their debut album, "Beginning Stages of … ," in full along with deep cuts for the outing. The robe gimmick got old, but the music and on-stage energy never did. Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy opens, fresh off releasing his first-ever solo album, "Naubinway." (8 p.m. Mon., Fine Line, $20.) Riemenschneider
At their best, Sleeping With Sirens generate unique energy with their mixture of pop and punk. They bait their hooks with a weighty thump, and unload visceral sentiments via the high, reedy voice and screams of Kellin Quinn, an acquired taste who rewards repeated listening. For their recent record, "Madness," they jumped to the Epitaph label and hired producer John Feldmann, who has buffed a platinum sheen for the rockers 5 Seconds of Summer. Under Feldmann, "Madness" mostly eschews the sugary-soft midtempo tunes that dotted recent SWS discs and instead adds gloss to jittery punk-pop like "Go Go Go." In other words, this seems like a good time to check them out. (8 p.m. Mon., Skyway Theatre, $25.) Britt Robson
There's very little middle ground on Jackson Browne. Either you revel and relate to his heartfelt and erudite chronicles of romantic angst and lefty political outrage or you wish he'd stop wallowing and step off the soapbox. In truth, Browne has become a lot more complicated in the decades since he literally wrote the template for SoCal soft-rock and then became a galvanizing force in the No Nukes musical movement in the 1970s. But there is still butter in his voice, sagacity in his lyrics and a deep catalog of tunes that are destined to give you goose bumps if you already care enough to fork over these hefty ticket prices to hear them. (7:30 p.m. Tue., State Theatre, $61.50-$103.50.) Robson
Since her delectably dark "Queen of the Minor Key" in 2011, Eilen Jewell has moved from Boston back to Boise, her hometown, and given birth to a daughter. She sounds in a comfortable groove on her new bluesy, sometimes twangy Americana album "Sundown Over a Ghost Town." "Hallelujah Band" sounds haunted, "Hometown" oozes surf guitar-bathed wistfulness and "Rio Grande," with its mariachi horns, gives a new meaning to a dry and lonesome sound. Jewell has again delivered a collection of Americana gems that are more artful than entertaining. (7 p.m. Wed., Dakota, $23.) Bream
Voted the world's top DJ two years running (2013-14) by DJ Magazine (and finishing second this year), Hardwell (aka Dutchman Robbert van de Corput) is a bona fide superstar of the genre, spearheading the EDM surge of 2012 with his remix of Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" and his own delicious track, "Spaceman," featuring his signature drum patterns and ascending beats, best showcased on his "Revealed" series of discs. But for a guy accustomed to wowing audiences outdoors at Tomorrowland, is the Skyway large enough? They don't call it "Big House" music for nothing. (8 p.m. Wed., Skyway Theatre, $35-$45.) Robson
After spending all of October touring Europe, Low is finally back home in Minnesota to play an overdue local release party for the latest and truly one of the greatest albums in its two-decade career, "Ones and Sixes." The Duluth trio — harmonious spouses Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker with long-cemented bassist Steve Garrington — enlisted Justin Vernon's studio ace BJ Burton to help add a burning new sonic edge to songs that otherwise sound like classic Low in the best sense, from the poppy but intimate relationship sweeper "What Part of Me?" to the psychologically frayed rocker "Landslide" to the religiously tinged acoustic closer "DJ." It wouldn't be disappointing if they played them all. Canadian songwriting bard Andy Shauf is their tour opener. (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, $20.) Riemenschneider
Organizers didn't have to plan long or look far to assemble an impressive cross-section of local bands for the Crushing Cancer With Shön concert, a benefit for local slide-guitar specialist Shön Troth, who is currently battling cancer. The lineup reads just like his résumé, including experimental rockers Dream Crusher, psychedelic dance-pop faves Solid Gold, wordsmith rappers Sean Anonymous and Phillip Morris, plus Communist Daughter's Johnny Solomon and Molly Moore. (6 p.m. Wed., LynLake Brewery, 2934 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., $15 donation.) Riemenschneider
The club that used to host the popular Grand Young Day tribute shows is hosting another kind of Neil Young tribute to celebrate the rock legend's 70th birthday. Ol' Yeller and Glenrustles leader Rich Mattson, who has long been moonlighting in the Tired Eyes tribute band with Low's Alan Sparhawk, will head up this show with drummer/brother Glen Mattson and others as Broken Arrow. (9 p.m. Thu., Turf Club, $10.) Riemenschneider
Edinburgh's We Were Promised Jetpacks have expanded from four to five pieces, and yet their last disc, "Unravelling," was gentler and more measured. Live, the band still excels at closing songs with a tsunami, which can be slow and swelling, or an abrupt seismic shift. With a Scottish burr in their vocals and a glimmer or a buzz in their churning riffs, their sprees are both charming and celebratory, as if the jetpacks, albeit tardy, have in fact suddenly arrived. (8:30 Thu., Varsity, $12.50-$15.) Robson
HIP-HOP
Big K.R.I.T. has been a big hit in concert locally, having put in lively appearances at both the Soundset and Hip-Hop Harambee festivals after garnering attention with his 2011-12 mixtapes "Return to 4eva" and "4eva N a Day." The Mississippi purveyor of classic Dirty South sounds graduates to the First Ave mainroom on his Kritically Acclaimed Tour, which follows last month's release of another mixtape, "It's Better This Way," and last year's release of his second Def Jam album, "Cadillactica." He's joined by BJ the Chicago Kid, Scotty ATL and Delorean. (9 p.m. Sun., First Avenue, $20.) Riemenschneider
After igniting a summer dance party like no other at P.O.S.' Best Show Ever block party in June, New Orleans bounce queen, Fuse reality TV star and transgender hero Big Freedia is back doing club dates on her Bounce Shakedown Tour. She has new outfits and a big dance crew on the road with her, along with a wicked new single, "Crazy." Opening act Boyfriend has gained notoriety around New Orleans for her striptease-accompanied "rap cabaret" shows. (8:30 p.m. Wed., Varsity Theater, $20-$22.) Riemenschneider
JAZZ
Vocalist Madeleine Peyroux is known for her wide-ranging choices of classic and contemporary cover songs, and for her daring phrasing and occasionally bold interpretation of those numbers. Her new "Best of" anthology feels like a stopgap — her previous disc, "The Blue Room," is nearly three years old — but has the advantage of containing many of the songs she performs live. She leans on the dolorous side of bittersweetness — Elliott Smith, Randy Newman and Leonard Cohen are usually among the tunesmiths — but deftly pirouettes around maudlin clichés with her trademark blend of jazz, blues and soulful folk. Recent shows have featured an intimate trio of Peyroux with guitarist Jon Herington and bassist Barak Mori. (7 & 9 p.m. Fri., Dakota, $40-$60.) Robson
Guitarist Nels Cline should be automatically patronized by open-minded listeners who enjoy having their preconceptions shredded. He's most famously been in Wilco, but has also collaborated with the cream of avant-garde jazzers and other experimental noisemakers, done film scores and worked with painters and poets. At the Cedar, Cline will pair up with renowned roots-folkie Sam Amidon after a brief solo Amidon set. Then, working under the beguiling and appropriate moniker of Stained Radiance, he'll spool out improvisations while painter Norton Wisdom rapidly lards the canvas with psychedelic imagery. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar, $22-$25.) Robson
After making his debut on Columbia Records at age 17, organist Joey DeFrancesco started recording with the likes of Miles Davis and Grover Washington Jr. Now he's known as a master of the Hammond B3, heir to the throne once occupied by Jimmy Smith, whose music he could imitate note for note at age 5. Fresh from a tour with sax star David Sanborn, perennial Down Beat poll winner DeFrancesco, who also plays trumpet, is touring with his trio, including drummers George Fludas and guitarist Jeff Parker. (7 & 9 p.m. Mon. Dakota, $22-$32.) Bream
CLASSICAL
Chop, mix, blend, mature, marinade — what cooks do with their raw ingredients is remarkably similar to what composers do with theirs when writing music. The two worlds come together in a novel Minnesota Orchestra presentation, where four top Twin Cities chefs concoct a special recipe live onstage, while conductor Sarah Hicks and the players provide an appropriate selection of music by Mussorgsky, Gershwin, Verdi, Brubeck and others to ease the culinary process. Get there early — free bite-size samples are available in the lobby for preconcert consumption. (8 p.m. Sat., Orchestra Hall, $30-$60.) Terry Blain
What do you get if you mix Bach with banjos? Something like Carol Barnett's Bluegrass Mass is the answer. Since its premiere eight years ago, the piece has become something of a cult classic, combining the sounds of a classical choir with the down-home twang of fiddle, guitar and mandolin. The results are uniquely affecting, and the presence of acclaimed bluegrass band Monroe Crossing, who played the premiere, lends added authenticity to this performance by the University of Minnesota Chamber Singers. Brahms' Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs) complete the program. (4 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota.) Blain
