KDWB Star Party: His Fyre Fest shenanigans don't exactly make him a role model for kids, but hip-hop vet Ja Rule is cleaning the slate and heading up an eclectic end-of-school edition of the Star Party. Ex-Minneapolitan Lizzo is far and away the hottest act on the bill right now, but she'll only be doing an abbreviated set, as will Why Don't We, the State Fair-headlining boy band of "8 Letters" semi-fame. Other performers include Canadian production duo Loud Luxury, "Undrunk" singer Fletcher and New York singer/rapper Bryce Vine. (6 p.m. Fri., Myth, 3090 Southlawn Dr., Maplewood, ticket giveaways only, kdwb.iheartradio.com.)
Mazarati: With "100 MPH," the tune Prince wrote for them, appearing on his just-released "Originals" album, it seems like an opportune time for Terry Casey and the mid-'80s Minneapolis rockin' funkateers, under the tutelage of producer Brown Mark, to reunite for the first time in 10 years. It's on the Purple One's birthday, no less. Will they do "Kiss," which was originally intended for them? Brown Mark and Micki Free are scheduled to appear as well. (9 p.m. Fri., Muse, Mpls., $28-$80.)
Ingrid Chavez: A Prince protégé going back to the "Lovesexy" album who later starred opposite him in the movie "Graffiti Bridge" she's hitting Prince's favorite local record shop to perform and sign her personal and poetic new album, "Memories of Flying." (7 p.m. Fri., Electric Fetus, Mpls., free.)
The Specials: With an undercurrent of U.S. and European politics making their racism-fighting, anti-corruption songs relevant again, England's influential, mutli-racial ska band is on a 40th anniversary tour that coincides with the release of its first new album in 20 years, "Encore," and its first since 1980 with heyday co-vocalist Terry Hall. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, Mpls., $40.)
Rhett Miller: Fresh off launching his own new podcast about living a creative lifestyle, "Wheels Off," the Old 97's frontman is touring on his own again — really on his own this time, with no band. Wisconsin favorite Trapper Schoepp opens. (8 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, St. Paul, $22-$25.)
Billie Eilish: With such playful, dark-fantasy, electro-pop songs as "You Should See Me in a Crown," "Bad Guy" and her breakout "Ocean Eyes" earning mad streaming numbers, the 17-year-old Los Angeles singer has turned from a bedroom-bound online artist to one of the biggest acts on tour this summer, and her live show adds even more intrigue. Read our interview with her brother/collaborator Finneas at startribune.com/music. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Armory, Mpls., sold out.)
Chastity Brown & Minnesota Orchestra: Like Dessa, the New Standards and Jeremy Messersmith before her in recent years, Tennessee transplant Brown has been layering, arranging and rearranging her Southern-stewing folk-rock with the biggest band in town for its annual Symphony Ball. Here's hoping this promising pairing is the start of another beautiful hometown friendship. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Orchestra Hall, sold out.)
Rob Thomas: At 47, the Matchbox Twenty frontman has started to sing about being middle-aged. "Once we were young/ We were beautiful/ When we were young," he croons in "We Were Beautiful" on his fourth solo album, this year's "Chip Tooth Smile." In "One Less Day," he sings: "I'm not afraid of getting older, I'm one less day from dying young." Musically, he sounds pretty much the same, with a slightly broader palette thanks to producer Butch Walker. On his solo tour, Thomas is turning to mostly selections from his solo albums, with a few Matchbox Twenty tunes plus, of course, his Santana collab "Smooth." (8 p.m. Sat., Mystic Lake Casino, $60-$125)