The Big Gigs

POP/ROCK Jordin Sparks will become the first "American Idol" to headline the Twin Cities' most prestigious club. While her top 40 hits -- from "Tattoo" to "Battlefield" -- won't pass First Avenue's hipness test, her recent dance-chart topper "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" will keep the club kids dancing -- plus she has the kind of sunny personality that can light up a club. Opening are Virginia piano popsters Days Difference and newcomer Ashlyne Huff, 24, daughter of ace country producer Dann Huff. Her debut EP is overproduced radio pop with a slightly darker content. (6 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, $36.50.) (J.B.)

As is somewhat overstated in her new "Behind the Music" episode, Courtney Love is back. She's touring with an all-new lineup of Hole and doing pretty well, according to reviews. It's a solid band, too, playing classics such as "Miss World" and "Doll Parts" alongside the new record, "Nobody's Daughter," which is powerful in parts and loaded throughout with the singer's personality, for better or worse. The gig falls the night after Love's 46th birthday and the same night as Jordin Sparks at the club, probably both for the worse. Cincinnati rockers Foxy Shazam open. (10 p.m. Fri., First Avenue. 18 & older. $37.50.) (C.R.)

It's a match made in smooth-jazz heaven as saxophonist Dave Koz teams with South African crooner/guitarist Jonathan Butler, whose new CD "So Strong" is solid, especially his take on the Johnny Nash hit "I Can See Clearly Now." (7:30 p.m. Fri., Minnesota Zoo, $47.) (J.B.)

Oooh, that smell. You know, the smell of alcohol. It will be missing at Lynyrd Skynryd's concert, for once, as the enduring Southern rockers play the dry Mystic Lake Casino. Nonetheless, these good ol' boys -- still featuring original guitarist Gary Rossington -- will rock the joint, with "Free Bird," "Sweet Home Alabama" plus potent new stuff from last year's redneck-celebrating "God and Guns." (8 p.m. Fri., Mystic Lake Casino, $69-$89.) (J.B.)

Local fans might prefer to see Band of Horses at First Ave again (although their last show there was a little shabby), but the Seattle-via-North-Carolina quintet is a good fit for theaters this time around. Its third album, "Infinite Arms," is a sit-down, mellowed-out, often surprisingly elegant fuzz-rock collection whose serenity might have been the result of frontman Ben Bridwell dating a Minnesota girl and heading to a cabin in the northern part of the state to write many of the new songs. Bryan Cates opens. (7 p.m. Sat., State Theatre. $26.) (C.R.)

After touring last year with Blondie, Pat Benatar has hit the road with fellow 1980s survivors REO Speedwagon. Last month she published her memoir, "Between a Heart and a Rock Place," while REO has been branching out to other media, as well, releasing an online video game, "Find Your Own Way Home," last December. (8 p.m. Sat., Treasure Island Casino, $60-$70.) (J.B.)

For better or worse, Wolf Parade still sounds like a multi-personality band on its third album for Sub Pop, "Expo 86." The Montreal quartet's two distinct singer/songwriters -- Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, who have moonlighted in Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs, respectively -- bounce from wiry, guitar-soaked post-punk to moody dance-rock and a lot more on the mixed-bag collection. (8:30 p.m. Sun., First Avenue. 18 & older. $17.50-$20.) (C.R.)

After a half-decade of madcap underground recordings issued with help from Animal Collective and others, Los Angeles' psychedelic, lo-fi dance-pop guru Ariel Pink is garnering career-breakthrough press with his new album "Before Today," under the moniker Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. The off-kilter but bright and energetic recordings merit comparisons to everybody from P-Funk and Frank Zappa to Mamas & the Papas and the Bee Gees. How Pink will bundle it all together in concert is just another alluring mystery. (9 p.m. Mon., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $12.) (C.R.)

Rasputina -- the rock world's favorite chicks with cellos -- are back with a new CD ("Sister Kinderhook"), a DVD documentary ("Under the Corset") and a new member who -- egads! -- is a dude, Daniel DeJesus. Melona Creager, who has crossed paths with seemingly half the bands in modern rock (including Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson), remains Rasputina's fearless, colorfully dressed leader, while the current trio is completed by drummer Catie D'Amica. (9 p.m. Mon., Varsity Theater. $15-$17.) (T.S.)

From the barbecue-rich town of Lockhart, Texas -- also the film location of Christopher Guest's classic "Waiting for Guffman" (a lil' trivia for ya) -- hard-living, wild-eyed country-rocker Scott Biram has been criss-crossing the country for five years, wreaking havoc as a one-man-electric band. He's road-testing new songs before going into the studio, following up three greasy, bluesy hard-stomping discs for Bloodshot Records. (9 p.m. Tue., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $10.) (C.R.)

Omaha's pioneering dance-rock band the Faint is only playing four tour dates this summer before finishing up at the Maha Music Fest in its hometown next weekend with Spoon and Superchunk. (9 p.m. Wed., First Avenue. 18 & older. $18-$20.) (C.R.)

I'm tempted to call Squeeze one of the greatest underrated pop bands of all time. Working with various players, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook delivered a handful of FM classics in the early 1980s, including "Tempted" and "Pulling Mussels (From a Shell)." Whether working solo, as a duo or with Squeeze, they've continued to ooze pop smarts. After breaking up in 1999 and reuniting in 2007, Squeeze has hit the road again and announced plans to record its first studio album since 1998. Opening are ska stars the English Beat, featuring Dave Wakeling. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Minnesota Zoo, $38.) (J.B.)

COUNTRY After writing songs for Garth Brooks, Neal McCoy and Jamey Johnson, Kansas singer/songwriter Jerrod Niemann made his major-label debut this week with "Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury." He owes a lot to Jimmy Buffett but sounds totally country, cranking out tunes about drinking (his strong suit), loving Bakersfield (well, it's really about a woman) and being addicted to his honey. Although he's an accomplished writer who can turn a clever phrase, Niemann decided to release a soulful, harmony-happy acoustic cover of Sonia Dada's "Lover Lover" as his first single. Opening is Lost Highway, the local country outfit. (7:30 p.m. Wed., I Love This Bar. Free.) (J.B.)

R&B/GOSPEL The 30th anniversary of the Minneapolis Sound was excuse enough to revive the Minnesota Black Music Awards after a 12-year absence. Legacy awards are going to (duh) Prince, currently on tour in Europe, along with the first family of local gospel and R&B, the Steeles. The real reason to go is the lineup of scheduled performers, led by classic-flavored, forward-thinking R&B stalwarts Mint Condition, renowned gospel choir Sounds of Blackness, live hip-hop specialists Heiruspecs, the Ladies of Jazz quartet and current R&B club hounds the New Congress. (8 p.m. Fri., Pantages Theatre. $25-$50.) (C.R.)

After a rousing set that was the talk of Jazz Fest, Glen David Andrews is hot on the heels of his cousin Troy (Trombone Shorty) Andrews for the title of New Orleans' hottest young showman. Glen David plays trombone, too, but he's making his mark with a baptism-by-fire voice, an onstage blend of preacher and rock-star theatrics and a gumbo mix of gospel, funk, brass-band and R&B. He is staying in town after the Dakota Street Festival to head up a fundraiser for the Under the Radar Foundation's efforts for Gulf Coast residents affected by the BP oil spill. (7 p.m., the Dakota. $15.) (C.R.)

JAZZ Venerable saxophonist Dave Karr is best known for his tenor work, but once or twice a year he straps on a baritone for a tribute to the late great Gerry Mulligan. Along with Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, John Coltrane and a few others, Mulligan was a hard jazzman who crossed over and sold a lot of records to the general public, without compromising his high standards. Karr's band Mulligan Stew, featuring savvy trombonist Dave Graf, spotlights Mulligan's precise and timeless compositions. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter. $10. (T.S.)

Don't expect rap or funk at the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's two-night stand, but the veteran ensemble specializing in pre-swing New Orleans is featured with Mos Def, Trombone Shorty and Lenny Kravitz on "It Ain't My Fault," a funky new benefit single for Gulf of Mexico restoration. The PHJB also collaborated recently with a jaw-dropping list of guests -- including Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Ani DiFranco and Brandi Carlile -- on a swell album to raise dough for Preservation Hall itself, a two-CD set simply called "Preservation." There's clearly life in the old band yet. (9:30 Mon., 7:30 & 9:30 Tue., Dakota Jazz Club. $30-$40.) (T.S.)