The best Twin Cities concerts of the week: Jesca Hoop, Novalima, Marc Cohn, Pert Near Sandstone

Jesca Hoop: The poetic California indie-folk songwriter has ties to Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (whose children she nannied) as well as Iron & Wine's Sam Beam (with whom she made the excellent 2014 duets album "Love Letter to Fire"). She has also built her own name-brand recognition over six deep, evocative albums, including her latest, "Stonechild," produced by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls., all ages, $15-$18.)

Marc Cohn: After umpteen performances at the Minnesota Zoo, the "Walking in Memphis" piano man heads indoors for a two-nighter in the intimate Dakota. Recent set lists have drawn heavily from his 1991 eponymous debut that led to the Grammy for best new artist. (7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Dakota, Mpls., $62-$82)

PJ Morton: The Maroon 5 keyboardist has just dropped his sixth solo album, the self-released "Paul" — that's his first name, which he shares with his gospel-singing father. Sounding like a hybrid of Stevie Wonder and John Legend, the New Orleans native gets philsophical ("Kid Again"), romantic ("Built for Love" with Jazmine Sullivan), political ("MAGA?" with a mention of Philando Castile) and community-minded ("Buy the Block Back"). (7:30 p.m. Fri., Varsity Theater, Mpls.)

Blues Traveler: Last year, while celebrating their 30th anniversary, these New Jersey jammers dropped "Hurry Up & Hang Around." Produced in Nashville by Matt Rollings (pianist in Lyle Lovett's Large Band), the record emphasizes well-structured songs with crisp arrangements, but don't be surprised if John Popper and his pals find ways to extend this new material into adventurous excursions — especially the bluesy "Phone Call from Leavenworth" and "Miss Olympus." (7:30 p.m. Fri., Pantages Theatre, Mpls., $45-$55 )

Vaz: Former Moorhead/Minneapolis rockers Jeff Mooridian and Paul Erickson are still banging away in this thundering power trio, which grew out of their locally beloved, Amphetamine Reptile-endorsed group Hammerhead. They're pairing up with Gay Witch Abortion to make some noise in one of Minneapolis' favorite old watering holes. (9 p.m. Fri., Palmer's Bar, $8.)

Jerry Douglas and Pert Near Sandstone: After recruiting Douglas to play their Blue Ox Music Festival in June, local bluegrass/folk band Pert Near Sandstone invited the 14-time-Grammy-winning resonator guitar and dobro master of Alison Krauss & Union Station fame to join them Saturday at their favorite hometown rock club plus a bonus gig Friday in Duluth. Douglas will play a solo set and then join the headliners both nights, promising a pickathon that should rock as boisterously as anything First Ave has seen this year. Useful Jenkins opens. (8 p.m. Fri., NorShor Theatre, Duluth, $30, norshortheatre.com; 8 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $20-$25, eTix.com.)

Band Together: A broad range of Twin Cities music stars are teaming up with Will Steger's Climate Generation for a one-of-a-kind night of music, storytelling and fundraising centered on climate change. Participants include Astralblak, Aby Wolf, Jeremy Messersmith, Chastity Brown, Eric Mayson, Lucy Michelle, Lazerbeak, Ben Weaver, Strong Buffalo and Colorado's teen indigenous rapper Xiuhtezcatl, who is a plaintiff in the Youth v. Gov. federal lawsuit (7 p.m. Sat., O'Shaughnessy, St. Paul, $55-$125, climategen.org.)

One Night Affair: It's a throwback soul affair, with '90s stars Johnny Gill of "Rub You the Right Way" fame; Monica, remembered for "The Boy Is Mine" and "The First Night," and Ralph Tresvant, known for the solo hits "Sensitivity" and "Do What I Gotta Do" as well as being the lead voice of New Edition. He and Gill also formed Heads of State along with Bobby Brown (whom Gill replaced in New Edition). All's fair on an oldies tour. (8 p.m. Sat., Orpheum Theatre, Mpls., $59-$149)

Julia Jacklin: The Australian indie-rocker was a lo-fi, chilled-out charmer on her 2016 debut album but stepped it up on multiple levels with the follow-up, "Crushing," produced by Courtney Barnett cohort Burke Reid and featuring more aggressive, urgent fuzz-rock and sharper hooks, as evidenced by the riveting, Current-spinning single "Pressure to Party." (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, all ages, $18-$20.)

Trigger Hippy: While his ex-bandmates the Robinson brothers are about to hit the road again under their old moniker, former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman has made a name for himself in other ways of late with a well-received memoir, a fun syndicated radio show and now this Southern-rocky band with Band of Heathens singer/guitarist Ed Jurdi. (9 p.m. Sat., 7th St. Entry, Mpls., $18-$20.)

Okee Dokee Brothers: This past week's weather was a perfect set-up for the Ordway return of the Grammy-winning, family-friendly hometown folk music heroes, the "Can You Canoe?" hitmakers who celebrated cold-weather fun with ultra-warm results on last year's album "Winterland." Lifelong pals Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing find out Wednesday if the record landed them another Grammy nomination. Seems like a snowy shoo-in to us. (11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Sun., Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $19-$32, ordway.org.)

Kinky Friedman: Last year, the detective novelist, former Texas gubernatorial candidate and politically incorrect songwriter with a humorous bent released his first album of new material in four decades. A quiet triumph, "Circus of Life" is a gentle twang fest with songs that are either sweetly sentimental or predictably clever. Those songs, jokes and political commentary — coupled with such old faves as "Sold American" — made Friedman's 2018 Turf Club performance a rollicking, rib-tickling good time. (7 p.m. Sun., Turf Club, $30-$35)

Novalima: This Afro-Peruvian octet is made up of high school pals from Lima who wound up in different corners of the world and stayed bonded by making music over the internet. Hence the electronic vibe in their psychedelic Latin rock and funk sounds, but their songs are also deeply rooted into Quechua language/heritage and African diaspora music traditions from Peru's own tragic slave trade. They're heading up a terrific pairing of Latinx groups with openers Ladama, an all-woman vocal quartet with a wide assortment of South American roots that blew folks away at the Cedar's 2017 Global Roots Fest. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $18-$20, thecedar.org.)

Joe Demko: The former guitarist with Willie & the Bees and the Wolverines shows a flair for crafting nifty lounge jazz that swings on "Walking on a Wire," his new CD under the moniker Radio Joe and the Jazzbos. Together since 2012, this Twin Cities combo will celebrate their first CD of original material and probably throw in some vintage swing things associated with Frank, Dean and Tony. Bring your dancing shoes. (7 p.m. Mon., Mancini's, St. Paul, free)

King Diamond: One of metal's most theatrical and dramatically voiced veterans is on tour with an opera-like stage production previewing his first new album in 13 years, "The Institute," ahead of a reunion with his old band Mercyful Fate slated for next year. Florida's Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats open. (7 p.m. Tue., Palace Theatre, St. Paul, $40-$60.)

Nellie McKay: On her palate cleanser of a new EP, "Bagatelles," the quirky New York cabaret darling offers solo interpretations of standards, accompanying herself on either ukulele or piano. There's a hushed intimacy whether it's the gentle purr of "I Concentrate on You," the breezy jazz of "Accentuate the Positive" or the least zippy "Zip-a-De-Do-Da" you've ever heard. (7 p.m. Wed., Dakota, $30-$40)

CMA Songwriters Series: A week after the CMA Awards, a group of Nashville songwriters tell the stories behind their hits — and then sing them in stripped-down form. The lineup includes three members of the hitmaking band Old Dominion (lead singer Matthew Ram among them) plus tunesmiths Josh Osborne (cowriter of "Merry Go Round," "Vice" and "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16") and Shane McAnally ("Mama's Broken Heart," "Better Dig Two," "Follow Your Arrow" and "T Shirt"). (7 p.m. Wed., Ordway, $25-$35)

Charlie Parr: After digging in against depression on his last album and licking wounds from a skateboarding accident that laid him up for months, Minnesota's widely celebrated acoustic folk/blues picker sounds healed and hopeful on his latest release for Red House Records. The eponymously titled collection includes some fine new originals plus reworkings of his older tunes "Jubilee" and "Cheap Wine" and covers by two of his heroes, Spider John Koerner and the late Grant Hart. The two-part release party is split into an acoustic night and then an electric night. (8 p.m. Thu. & next Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $20-$25, thecedar.org.)