The Big Gigs

STATE FAIR Three heavenly singers -- bluegrass/folk thrush Sara Watkins as well as the soulful sister sirens Jevetta and Jearlyn Steele -- will join Garrison Keillor for his seventh consecutive "A Prairie Home Companion" at the grandstand. Expect the affair to extend beyond the usual two hours you hear on the radio. The storyteller extraordinaire likes to explore the nooks and crannies of the fair and spend intermission leading audience sing-alongs. (7:45 p.m. Fri., grandstand, $23 & $28.) (J.B.)

The fair's most left-field entry this year, Dosh is the solo vehicle of veteran Minneapolis drummer and keyboardist Martin Dosh, who's a member of indie-rock hero Andrew Bird's band and has seen his own, mostly instrumental records garner international raves and ample local airplay on the Current and Radio K. He can create a symphony of atmospheric soundscapes and infectious melody/rhythm lines using tape loops and usually just one bandmate, saxophonist/bassist Mike Lewis of Happy Apple and Gayngs notoriety. (7:30 & 9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., International Bazaar. Free with fair admission.) (C.R.)

You may remember Caitlin Crosby from such TV series as "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Living With Fran." But she's also a singer/songwriter whose 2009 CD "Flawz" suggests a Sheryl Crow acolyte who'd fit in on Cities 97 or Lilith Fair. (3:30 & 4:45 p.m. Fri.-Sat., bandshell.) (J.B.)

An alt-country hero, Jim Lauderdale has written hits for George Strait and the Dixie Chicks and recorded with the likes of Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams. Lauderdale just released his second collaboration with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, the intelligent but earthy "Patchwork River." (1 & 2:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., bandshell.) (J.B.)

It wouldn't be the State Fair without polka. Eddie Blazoncyk and the Versatones are Grammy-nominated heavyweights from Illinois. Maybe they'll be brave and play their football anthem in enemy territory -- "Chicago Cares About the Bears Polka" -- or their unexpected cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man." (3:30 & 4:45 p.m. Sun.-Mon., bandshell.) (T.S.)

Three hitmaking rock veterans -- Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and blue-eyed soul men Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald (of Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan fame) -- will team up for the awkwardly named Dukes of September Rhythm Revue. Expect R&B chestnuts, songs from the Band and hits from each singer's own catalog. Read an interview with the trio in Sunday's Variety A+E. (7:30 p.m. Mon., grandstand, $45.) (J.B.)

HIP-HOP When Nas and Damien Marley first played First Ave together last summer, it turned out to be one of the more riveting hip-hop performances the club has ever seen, fueled in large part by Marley's jamrocking live band and both vocalists' top-tier MC skills. And that was before they put out a record. The Brooklyn rap giant and the Jamaican music heir are back with a new album in tow, "Distant Relatives," an impressive and thoughtful collection that bridges numerous cultural gaps but sounds born of the same fire and fervor. Expect the new tracks along with older ones from each camp. (9 p.m. Mon., First Avenue. $42.50.) (C.R.)

Hazy, half-baked, free-flowing New Orleans rapper Curren$y was signed to his hometown hero Master P's label as a teenager and later worked with Lil' Wayne's Cash Money Records, but he's still mostly an underground phenomenon. That could change with this month's release of his third album, "Pilot Talk," issued through Roc-A-Fella and largely produced by quirky New York wiz Ski Beatz, with guests including Mos Def and Jay Electronica. (10 p.m. Sun., Karma. 18 & older. $15-$30.) (C.R.)

POP/ROCK Surf's up with a double CD-release party in northeast Minneapolis, and you can ride the waves for free with the Surf Dawgs, latest project of local legend Zippy Caplan (of the Litter). Get set for a bevy of rock instrumentals, paying tribute to the Ventures. Come early for openers the 99ers, who mix pop punk into their surfin' sounds -- hey, Jan & Dean, meet Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee. (9:30 Fri., 331 Club, free.) (T.S.)

The London-loved, New York-based Scissor Sisters are more disco-y than Donna Summer, more vivacious than the Village People and more gay than Gaga. Jake Shears, Ana Matronic and company are back, promoting their third album, "Night Work," an '80s-infused dance-floor workout with homages to Prince, Duran Duran and "Footloose." There are plenty of silly sexual metaphors, some overwrought power ballads and oodles of clubland fun, even if nothing here measures up to the Scissor Sisters' 2004 breakthrough disco treatment of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." Opening is Sammy Jo. (9 p.m. Sat., Epic, $27-$30.) (J.B.)

After a 10-year hiatus, lush popsters Crowded House reunited in 2006, made an album a year later and another one ("Intriguer") this year. While the first comeback disc seemed a bit like a Neil Finn solo project, the new one feels like a full House album, with those familiar rich harmonies and smart melodies. This is the final concert in a stellar summer series at the Minnesota Zoo. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Minnesota Zoo, $47.) (J.B.)

Last seen in town during the Republican National Convention, Billy Bragg has issued only one new album in the past eight years, but he certainly hasn't been inactive of late. To protest the U.K. government's bank bailouts, the British folk troubadour notoriously refused to pay his taxes earlier this year, and he was especially vocal in England's recent elections. He also launched a new charity, Jail Door Guitars, providing instruments to inmates. The blue-collar bard said in a 2008 interview that Twin Citians, more than in any other U.S. city, "understand where I'm coming from." Australian folkie Darren Hanlon opens. (8 p.m. Wed., Cedar Cultural Center. $25-$28.) (C.R.)

Violinist Scarlet Rivera first gained attention touring with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975. She went on to record a series of instrumental albums in various styles, including New Age, Celtic and worldbeat. She's also performed with Keb Mo, Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls and others. She'll talk about these experiences in a conversation and concert that will kick off the Blue Thursday series at the reopened Music Box Theatre. Minneapolis musician Paul Metsa will moderate, and St. Paul's Gene LaFond and the Wild Unknown will accompany Rivera. (7 p.m. Thu., Music Box Theatre, $12-$14.) (J.B.)

JAZZ Fresh from the Chicago Jazz Festival, singer Rene Marie makes a rare one-night appearance. A veteran of four MaxJazz CDs, three self-released albums, a one-woman show called "Slut Energy Theory," and a controversial rendition of the national anthem, Denver-based Marie has become more overtly political in recent years, like one of her acknowledged heroes, Nina Simone. She's also emerged as a prolific songwriter in her 50s, but then Marie's whole career has been a testament to late-blooming -- she cut her debut CD at age 42. (7 p.m. Sun., Dakota Jazz Club. $20.) (T.S.)

Back in the 1960s, when jazz artists could still score pop hits, nobody did it more often than funky Chicago pianist Ramsey Lewis and his trio. Lewis' string of smashes started with "The In Crowd" and rolled on with "Wade in the Water," "Hang on Sloopy," and "A Hard Day's Night," all of which cracked the Billboard Top 40. Lewis has gone on to a long, fruitful career, not only on club and concert stages, but also in radio and on national TV, and he occasionally composes neo-classical works for large ensembles. Still, groovy gospel-infused jazz trio sounds will always be his calling card, and he gets excellent support from bassist Larry Gray and drummer Leon Joyce. (7 & 9 p.m. Tue., Dakota Jazz Club. $40-$70.) (T.S.)

BLUES A rumor in his own time, Don Scott has been quietly playing the blues for nearly four decades in various locales -- Tucson, Los Angeles, Paris, Mexico, Brittany and his native Minnesota, of course. He was a big part of the understated and underrated Dust Bowl Blues Band in the Twin Cities before going solo and relocating to the Southwest, making the occasional CD of blues classics, original tunes and the odd swing jazz piece. His latest effort, "Some Other Day," is tasty and typical, with two Willie McTell songs and other choice covers (Memphis Slim's "Mother Earth," T-Bone Walker's "Here in the Dark"), some irresistible instrumentals ("Blues on Cruise," "For Big Bill"), and a title track that's a stark protest number about modern war and the treatment of veterans -- a tough subject he knows well. (7 p.m. Wed., 331 Club. Free.) (T.S.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider and freelancer Tom Surowicz.