Tanya Tagaq: The fact that this Canadian Inuk (indigenous) singer and so-called "polar punk" appeared on a Björk album only hints at how wild and otherworldly her music is, equal parts Death Grips, Byrne/Eno and whale song. She's from way up near the Arctic Circle and practices the ancient art of throat singing, but she has modernized her sound enough to collaborate with the Kronos Quartet and win a Polaris Prize for her 2014 album "Animism." Truly a one-of-a-kind performer. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $27-$32, Ordway.org.)
Camila Cabello: Since leaving the vocal group Fifth Harmony of "X Factor" fame, she has quickly carved an impressive solo career. First, she collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly on the hit "Bad Things." Then, with a voice that can be world-weary and girlish in the same song, she delivered a nuanced, chart-topping debut album, "Camila," that has already produced a No. 1 song, the bewitching bilingual "Havana." The Cuban-American pop thrush's new single, "Never Be the Same," is quickly climbing the charts, too. (8 p.m. Fri. State Theatre, Mpls. $39-$55, ticketmaster.com.)
Liv Warfield: With all the Prince-related activities this weekend, she is the one must-see performer. A former NPG backup singer, she's an irresistible dynamo with powerful pipes. Her 2014 album, "The Unexpected," which Prince executive-produced, is a funk-rock knockout. Warfield tears it up live, like Annie Lennox if she could let her hair down. Maybe Warfield will essay something from Roadcase Royale, her side project with Heart's Nancy Wilson. (7 & 11 p.m. Fri. and 11:30 p.m. Sat. Dakota, Mpls. $40-$60, dakotacooks.com)
Phoebe Bridgers: The Los Angeles songwriter sings with a haunting elegance and writes emotionally raw, blunt-force lyrics akin to Conor Oberst, who guests on her debut album "Stranger in the Alps." (9 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, sold out.)
Whale in the Thames: The young-at-heart Minneapolis rockers, led by Choice Pickins and RudeGirl's Emily Bee (Slim and Chrissie Dunlap's kid), are hosting a party for their debut album "Whale Stampede," loaded with playful pop-punk, nostalgic nods to phone booths and Shopper's City and a loving ode to late Turf Club den mother Leah Rule. Rank Strangers, Doomchild, Mere Kats and more also perform. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Hook & Ladder Theater, $5-$10.)
Erik Brandt & Urban Hillbilly Quartet: Playing rootsy, piano-plunking barroom music since "Americana" was still just a wonky academic term, the St. Paul song man and his eclectic ensemble cover a lot of sonic ground on a new five-song EP, "South of Dark," from the straight country tune "Better Days" to the moody and bleak "Just Us." Matt Arthur opens. (10 p.m. Fri., 331 Club, free.)
Robbie Fulks: The ever-colorful Chicago alt-twang hero is touring with Milwaukee's Americana ensemble Buffalo Gospel as both his opening and backing band. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $20-$25.)
Record Store Day: Live music has become as much a part of this national shopping day as limited-edition 7-inches, especially in Twin Cities stores. Acoustic guru Charlie Parr kicks off the Hymie's Block Party at 11 a.m., followed by Southside Aces, Toki Wright, Blaha and more. Roadrunner Records' afternoon roster includes the Batson brothers, Kinda Kinky and the Carnegies. The Electric Fetus has Chris Koza, Greg Grease and Two Harbors. Barely Brothers boasts Erik Koskinen, Becky Kapell and Lutheran Heat. And Down in the Valley welcomes Dave Pirner to tout a 1992 Soul Asylum live album at 7 p.m. (Sat., Twin Cities area record shops, free, more at RecordStoreDay.com.)
Julius Collins: The ex-Greazy Meal frontman knows his way around Minneapolis stages and the Purple songbook. He'll be joined by former NPG players Michael Bland on drums and Tommy Barbarella on keys, his collaborators for previous Prince tributes. (7 & 11 p.m. Sat. Crooners, $39-$65.)
Dave Davies: The first time we've seen a Kinks co-founder in town since his brother Ray in 2011, Dave is back on the road following last year's sturdy solo album "Open Road," made with son and tour mate Russ Davies. Dave's return at age 70 is all the sweeter after his comeback from a stroke in 2004. His set lists include many classic Kinks tunes he sang and some of the standards he fueled with his unmistakable guitar riffage. Joey Molland opens with his modern Badfinger lineup. (8 p.m. Sat., Medina Entertainment Center, 500 Hwy. 55, Medina, $31-$44.)
Lord Huron: Still sounding like a more earnest and less ironic Father John Misty, Michigan indie-rock strummer Ben Schneider won't release his new album, "Vide Noir," until Friday, but his strong local base didn't wait to snatch up tickets to his Palace debut. (8 p.m. Sun., Palace Theatre, sold-out.)
Waxahatchee & Hurray for the Riff Raff: Katie Crutchfield of the elegant but stormy Birmingham, Ala., band Waxahatchee and Alynda Segarra of the rootsy yet edgy New Orleans ensemble HFRR make a perfect if not obvious pair for a co-headlining tour. Each of the visionary songwriters delivers imaginative, poetic yet topical and sometimes radical tunes. Each put out one of last year's best rock albums, "Out in the Storm" by Crutchfield's crew and "The Navigator" by Segarra & Co. Each has also already put on excellent live shows locally. Laura Marling-style Los Angeles singer Bedouine opens. (8 p.m. Mon., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $18-$20, First-Avenue.com.)
Calexico: Arizona's famed blenders of Mexico borderland music and modern rock just dropped one of their best albums yet, "The Thread That Keeps Us," laced with border politics and the usual dramatic urgency. (8 p.m. Mon., Fine Line, $25.)
John Scofield/Joe Lovano Quartet: The great guitarist and the stalwart saxophonist collaborated in the mid-1980s and made three acclaimed jazz albums together in the early '90s. They joined each other in the studio again for 2015's "Past Present," an inspired, mostly acoustic affair with Scofield composing all the pieces, which were sparked by his son's death from cancer at age 26. (7 p.m. Tue. Hopkins Center for the Arts, $45.)
Gao Hung: The distinguished Twin Cities pipa player celebrates her new album, "Life As Is," her collaboration with Syrian oud player Issam Rafea, who was an artist in residence recently at Carleton College, where she teaches. Subtitled "The Blending of Ancient Souls from Syria and China," the album is not only timely but offers an entrancing, exotic weaving of these two distinctly different sounding but compatible string instruments. Rafea joins her. (7:30 p.m. Wed. Cedar Cultural Center, $20-$25)
Robyn Hitchcock: The enduring pop surrealist, a Brit living in Nashville, walks the line between twang and psychedelia on his 2017 eponymous album, his 22nd studio effort. Assisted by producer Brendan Benson, Hitchcock goes for pop jingle-jangle on "Mad Shelley's Letterbox" and for unabashed honky-tonk on "I Pray When I'm Drunk." Most intriguing is "Raymond and the Wires," a veddy British remembrance of his late father, who was a writer and cartoonist. (8 p.m. Wed.-Thu. Turf Club, St. Paul, $20, etix.com)
