Jordan Davis: This Louisiana-bred country singer's hits, including "Singles You Up" and "Slow Dancing in the Parking Lot," are cookie-cutter but likable Nashville songs. What sets Davis apart is his James Harden-worthy beard. Take that, Zac Brown. Kassi Ashton opens. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Varsity Theater, Mpls., $25)
Tribute to Dolly Parton: Add another worthy entrant to the run of tribute shows filling in empty January club calendars, this one a most welcome nod to perhaps the most universally agreed-upon living American singer on her 73rd birthday. Younger indie-rockers, twangers and folkies will join a local all-star house band to perform "9 to 5," "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and other beloved Dolly classics to raise money for the Women's March 2020, including Haley, Bad Bad Hats' Kerry Alexander, Jaedyn James, Mayda, Katy Vernon, Savannah Smith, Faith Boblett, Mae Simpson and more. (8 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, $12-$15, eTix.com.)
North Mississippi Allstars: Last fall's rawly compelling "Up and Rolling" finds brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson — sons of legendary Memphis keyboardist/producer Jim Dickinson — revisiting their Mississippi hill country blues roots along with scions of RL Burnside and Otha Turner as well as current stars Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell and Duane Betts. It's earthy, communal and real — bucolic blues at its best. Southern Avenue opens. (9 p.m. Sat., Fine Line, Mpls., $25-$28, etix.com)
The Crystal Method: The Cabooze has never been the area's go-to spot for EDM, but then the Crystal Method isn't your typical big-beat EDM act. The Las Vegas duo has long enlisted stars like Tom Morello, Scott Weiland and Wes Borland to help out while also branching out to videogame and movie soundtracks (next is Guillermo Del Toro's Netflix TV animation series "3 Below"). In 2017, Ken Jordan decided to retire from the music biz, leaving longtime partner Scott Kirkland to carry on. In 2018, he released "The Trip Home," another trippy, often dark, sometimes infectious soundtrack with guests Franky Perez, Data Romance's Amy Kirkpatrick and Tool's Justin Chancellor. (9 p.m. Sat., Cabooze, Mpls., $20)
"Jay's Longhorn" & the Magnolias: Another screening of Mark Engebretson's loving and sometimes loony documentary on Minneapolis' '70s punk haven will be preceded by a too-rare-of-late opening set by '80s pop/punk mavens the Magnolias, who will dig into some of the earlier era's tunes. (7 p.m. Sat., Parkway Theater, Mpls., $10-$15.)
Marielle Allschwang & the Visitations: An experimental folkie who was part of the Bon Iver-affiliated Collections of Colonies of Bees cast, Allschwang has crafted an ambitiously arranged new album and multimedia show titled "Precession of a Day: The World of Mary Nohl," based on the life and iconic lakefront home of late Milwaukee artist Nohl. For fans of My Brightest Diamond or yMusic. Volcano Choir guitarist Chris Rosenau opens. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, all ages, $20-$22.)
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio: Seattle's improvisational-inclined jazz-soul instrumental combo nods to its influences in tunes like "Little Booker T" and "Al Greenery." But this organ-guitar-drums trio has been known to pull out anything from Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" to Eminem's "Real Slim Shady" to the Temptations' "My Girl." The 5-year-old group's debut, "Close But No Cigar," reached No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart in 2018. (7 p.m. Sun., Dakota, Mpls., $25-$35)
Martin Luther King tributes: Two of Minnesota's finest gospel-trained singers spearhead separate MLK birthday celebrations. Versatile Ginger Commodore, who sings with Moore By Four and has performed at Penumbra, Chanhassen and other local theaters, leads an ensemble at the Dakota that will include Julius Collins of Greazy Meal and Jesse Larson of NBC's "The Voice" fame. (7 p.m. Mon., Dakota, $20-$30) Over at Crooners, the mighty and masterful Robert Robinson will show why he's been called a genre unto himself. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Crooners, Fridley, $30-$40)
Your Smith: Minnesota fans still know her as our own Caroline Smith, but the former Twin Cities folk-pop strummer changed her stage name to Your Smith after moving to Los Angeles and growing into a soulful, R&B-infused singer, as evidenced by her 2014 Lizzo collaboration "Let 'Em Say." She just dropped her second effort under the new moniker, a breezy-sounding but lyrically empowered and infectiously groovy EP titled "Wild Wild Women" boasting the bittersweet single "Man of Weakness." Her homecoming gig is part of a 17-city tour with New Zealander Chelsea Jade opening. (8 p.m. Tue., Fine Line, Mpls., sold out.)
Ron Pope: An earnest, emo, largely acoustic Nashville songwriter who falls somewhere between Damien Rice and Charlie Puth, he's touring to preview his new record, "My Wildest Dreams," inspired by his wildest adventure yet: fatherhood. Fellow Music City picker Caroline Spence opens. (8 p.m. Wed., Fine Line, $25-$30.)
Kneebody: Last year, this bicoastal jazz quartet — some members live in Brooklyn, some in L.A. — released its eighth album, "Chapters," its first since the departure of bassist Kaveh Rastegar. Once again, the ambitious music is hard to define succinctly because it melds jazz, funk, electronica and chamber sounds with odd meters and occasional guest vocalists including Becca Stevens and Michael Mayo. Kneebody packs a book's worth of ideas into "Chapters." (7 & 9 p.m. Wed., Dakota, $15-$30)
