The Velvets: Those long, harsh Duluth winters have stirred up another fun side project from Low's frontman, Alan Sparhawk, and bassist, Steve Garrington. They formed this Velvet Underground cover band last year with Mark Gartman of Glitteratti and Steven Yasgar of Communist Daughter to a great response, and now they're bringing it down I-35 for the first time. Two sets, with plenty of deep cuts. (8:30 p.m. Fri., Hook & Ladder Theater, $18.)
Ex Hex: One-time Helium and Wild Flag co-leader Mary Timony has finally issued a second album by her Washington, D.C.-based trio. "It's Real" is filled with the same kind of choppy, scuzzy but melodic garage-rock that landed their previous Merge Records release, "Rips," near the top of the 2014 Pazz & Jop Poll. L.A. punk trio Moaning opens. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, $18-$20.)
Casting Crowns: Twenty years since he launched his Grammy-winning contemporary Christian band out of a Daytona Beach church where he served as youth pastor, Mark Hall continues leading musical worship services in sports arenas and is touting a new album this time, "Only Jesus," with openers Zach Williams and Austin French. (7 p.m. Fri., Target Center, $17-$78.)
Todd Snider: The Texas/Oregon country-folk troubadour whittled his music down to just acoustic guitar on the new album "Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3," recorded in Johnny Cash's old cabins with echoes of Woody Guthrie and John Prine as the wordsmith combs through the oddities and atrocities of the modern era. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Fitzgerald Theater, $30-$35.)
Kind Country: Offering the kind of rowdy, good-timey, picking-heavy acoustic country you're more likely to hear at jam-band festivals than the Grand Ole Opry, this Twin Cities-based sextet — including banjo, mandolin, fiddle and pedal-steel — is dropping its third full length album, "Hard Times," produced by Steve Kaul of the Brass Kings. It's sure to offer a much-needed spring warm-up in concert. The Wooks and Ginstrings open. (8 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, $15.)
Lucinda Williams: To commemorate the 20th anniversary of her breakthrough "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," the Americana queen is performing that pivotal, Grammy-winning 1998 album in its entirety in concert. Even though many of these songs like "Joy" and "Drunken Angel" have been cornerstones in her setlists for years, this time she adds commentary and backstories. She and her band Buick 6 will round out the evening with a handful of choice songs from her rich repertoire. (8 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, $39.50, etix.com)
Amanda Palmer: Well-known as the indie artist who broke the $1 million crowdsourcing barrier for her 2012 album "Theatre Is Evil," the former Dresden Dolls cabaret rocker is back with another fan-funded LP, "There Will Be No Intermission," a heavy, dramatic, personal opus driven largely by piano ballads and produced with St. Vincent cohort John Singleton. The New York native has Upper Midwest ties via her husband, author Neil Gaiman, and is performing at St. Catherine's University timed to the weekend-long Minnesota Music Summit for aspiring musicians. (7:30 p.m. Sat., O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul, $27-$47, eTix.com.)
Champagne Confetti: Two MVP vocalists and arrangers well-known in the Twin Cities music scene, Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson, head up this ambitious, XL-size classical/pop crossover ensemble, which also features members of Fort Wilson Riot, Nooky Jones, the Laurel Strings and Dessa's bands playing new songs written just for the group. This is their debut gig, but their in-studio session from 89.3 the Current is archived for a taste of what to expect. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Parkway Theater, $15-$20.)
