John Paul White
He just released his third solo album since the breakup of his Grammy-winning duo the Civil Wars. And, despite mocking musical nostalgia in the opening track "The Good Old Days," he's assembled a loving shout-out to classic countrypolitan Nashville on "The Hurting Kind," with assists from vets Bill Anderson and Bobby Braddock as well as kindred traditionalists Lee Ann Womack and Jamey Johnson. Highlights: "Yesterday's Love," a gorgeous, twangy Everly Brothers-like reflection, and "You Lost Me," a flush of heartache set to a fiddle- and-pedal-steel-fueled country waltz. (8 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul, $20-$25, eTix.com)
JON BREAM
Conor Oberst
Omaha's poetic indie-rock hero has played a wide assortment of venues in the Twin Cities, going back to when he was a rising teenage star recording as Bright Eyes in the late '90s, and on up to the vibrant gig at First Avenue last March by Better Oblivion Community Center, his new band with Phoebe Bridgers. He has yet to play under the stars and citronella smoke at the zoo amphitheater, though, which should make a nice setting for what sounds like a loose and laid-back tour with a four-piece backing band and plenty of Bright Eyes tunes. New York songwriter Joanna Sternberg opens. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, $46, eTix.com.)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
