The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

1. Lizz Wright: Equal parts gospel, blues, R&B and jazz, the earthy, enthralling, underappreciated alto is touring behind her new live-in-Berlin album, "Holding Space," the first on her own label (which allows musicians to retain the masters and rights to their music). Whether doing originals (love the swampy "New Game") or interpreting classics like Neil Young's "Old Man," Wright pulls you deep into her heart and soul. Before she heads to Europe again next month, she is touring in a duo with pianist/organist Kenny Banks Jr. A bittersweet footnote: Wright at the Dakota was the last concert Prince experienced before he passed. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $45-$65, dakotacooks.com)

2. Neko Case: Originally booked as part of First Avenue's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2020, the golden-voiced twang-pop redhead is finally making it back to the Mainroom. She has some other well-known vets as part of her band this time around, including New Pornographers bandmate A.C. Newman on guitar and Chicago stalwart Nora O'Connor as backup vocalist. She's also touring behind a new anthology, "Wild Creatures," featuring one extra-torchy new track, "Oh, Shadowless." Young Wisconsin rockers Disq are touring as her openers promoting their debut for Saddle Creek Records. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $36, axs.com)

Also: Minnesota State Fairgoers are going to keep on loving REO Speedwagon and their frequent tourmates Styx, whose grandstand pairing is nearly sold-out (7 p.m., $41-$51); rowdy Philly favorites Low Cut Connie of "Boozophilia" notoriety are back for a second night at the State Fair (8:30 p.m. Leinie Lodge Bandshell, free with gate admission), where local trio Turn Turn Turn is performing on another of the free stages (8 p.m. Schell's Stage at West End); Minneapolis guitar innovator JG Everest of Lateduster and Roma di Luna celebrates the release of a new album with poet/storyteller Rosetta Peters, titled "Hummingbird's Dance" (7:30 p.m. Icehouse, $12-$15).

3. Zac Brown Band: This Atlanta ensemble prides itself on being a great live group, as they proved last year at Twin Cities Summer Jam. Whether they're playing one of their 14 No. 1 country hits like "Chicken Fried" and last year's "Same Boat" or covers of Journey and Silk Sonic, ZBB comes across like a spirited bar band performing in big venues. Wonder if Brown will offer his recent collab with this week's grandstand hero Pitbull, "Can't Stop Us Now." Opening is steel guitar star Robert Randolph, long a favorite on the jam-band circuit. (7 p.m. Minnesota State Fair grandstand, $75-$194, etix.com.)

4. CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band: Making up for a bit of a drought in zydeco music offerings from Louisiana in the Twin Cities of late, the long-reigning heir to the king of zydeco, Clifton Chenier, returns for a two-night stand. CJ got his start playing with his dad at age 21, and he eventually took over as bandleader for Clifton's well-traveled band upon his death in 1987. He's made his own mark since then, blending blues and soul into the "happy feet" music tradition he so proudly carries. (7 p.m., aslo Sat. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$40, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Family Stone, featuring original saxophonist Jerry Martini, plays "Stand," "Everyday People" and the sterling repertoire of Sly & the Family Stone (8:30 p.m., also Sat. Leinie Lodge Bandshell, State Fair, free with gate admission); St. Paul Peterson & Minneapolis Funk All Stars deliver nuggets from the Minneapolis Sound with special guest vocalist Elisa Fiorillo of NPG (7 p.m. Canterbury Park, $20-$30); wild-eyed Canadian psychedelic garage-rockers King Khan & the BBQ are back with something of a surprising TikTok hit with the new single "Love You So" (9 p.m. Fine Line, $20-$35); jazz ensemble Twin Cities Seven featuring vocalist Maryann Sullivan does a fundraiser for YouLEAD, supporting young leaders from Ukraine (8 p.m. Crooners, free); Nur-D, the thoughtful Twin Cities hip-hop hero who seems to be everywhere around tune, throws down at the University of Minnesota (noon, Northrop Plaza, free).

5. Diana Ross: She's the queen of Motown, the voice behind "Where Did Our Love Go" and all those Supremes hits as well as such solo smashes as "I'm Coming Out" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." She promises new tunes from last year's "Thank You," her first album of new material in 22 years. Ms. Ross, as she prefers to be called, is a diva's diva — the gowns, the hair, the presence, the songs, the messages, the emotions. She will reach out and touch her fans. She's bringing one of her daughters, singer Rhonda, but not Tracee Ellis Ross of "Black-ish." A cappella group Naturally 7 opens. (7 p.m. Minnesota State Fair grandstand, $34-$60, etix.com)

6. Tedeschi Trucks Band: One of America's great live ensembles, this expansive, husband-and-wife-led jam band mixes its set list every night, especially with a truckload of material from the new four-LP "I Am the Moon." Plus, they cherry pick tunes from Susan Tedeschi's career and Derek Trucks' recordings as well as sprinkle in a blues chestnut or two. Tedeschi is a potent vocalist and expressive guitarist, and Trucks is a slide master and true guitar hero. By the way, the 12-member TTB includes Minneapolis-reared singer Mike Mattison. Los Lobos, another all-time great live band, will open, making the drive up north doubly worthwhile. Highly recommended. (6 p.m. Bluestem Amphitheater, Moorhead, $39.50-$125, etix.com)

Also: Minneapolis' feel-good neo-soul tunesmith Mayyadda is stepping out with Dahlia Jones (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $18); Caroline Jones, who sings with Zac Brown Band, sticks around for her own gig (8 p.m. Turf Club, $15); Prince tribute act Chase & Ovation returns to Bunker's (9 p.m., $20); local rock hound Little Man pairs up with the Silverteens (9 p.m. Eagles Club Minneapolis); surfy instrumental rockers the Black Widows are back from a tour ready to play outdoors with Timisarocker and Athereal Rose (6 p.m. Palmer's Bar, $15),

7. Water Is Life Festival: The follow-up to last year's rousing Bon Iver-led protest/fundraiser concert, this year's thankfully falls on a weekend and hues closer to the folky, women-led roots of organizing nonprofit Honor the Earth. The Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco alone make for a great twofer of modern folk music heroes, but the nine-hour lineup also boasts buzzy Americana innovator Allison Russell, hometown Duluthian heroes Low and Gaelynn Lea, Twin Cities songwriting stalwarts Dessa and David Huckfelt, and a broad range of Native American musicians, including Joe Rainey, Annie Humphrey, Keith Secola, Tia Wood and Corey Medina. (1 p.m. Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, $34-$50, axs.com)

Also: Music gigs don't get much more Minnesotan than having alt-twang/Americana-pop vets the Jayhawks settling into the bandshell for two nights at the State Fair, after a busy spring and summer that saw them playing everywhere from Jamaica to Toronto (7:30 p.m., Monday also, Leinie Lodge Bandshell, free with fair admission); fresh off enlisting Selena Gomez to sing on a remix of his single "Calm Down," Nigerian-born "Afrorave" singer/rapper Rema lands in town on his coming-out tour (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $25); and don't forget local legend Cornbread Harris (5-7 p.m. Palmer's Bar, free).

8. Laughing Waters Bluegrass Fest: After this 23^rd annual pickathon's ringleader Alan Jesperson of the Middle Spunk Creek Boys passed away in December, the Minnesota bluegrass scene rallied to keep his labor of Labor Day love alive. Longtime favorites King Wilkie's Dream and the High 48s will top off the lineup, preceded by harmonious coed quintet No Man's String Band and younger old-timey players LaPlant Road and Steam Machine. It's as cozy a setting as music festivals get, with Sea Salt and other food and beverage options rolled in. (1 to 7 p.m. Minnehaha Falls Park, Mpls., free, mscb.com)

Also: Hard-working old-school pickers the Roe Family Singers aren't taking Labor Day off from their weekly gig (8 p.m. 331 Club, free); replacing the canceled Disney Princess concert at the State Fair grandstand is a kids-music party with Brazilian duo 2Twins and the Dollipops (4 p.m., free).

9. Phoenix: Between COVID, family commitments and their soundtrack work — including those of singer Thomas Mars' filmmaker wife Sofia Coppola — these dance-pop maestros from palatial Versailles, France, have been playing hard-to-get as a touring act over the past decade. They're finally making the rounds in America again with some unabashedly fun new music including the single "Alpha Zulu," solid evidence they actually are a spirited live band that should get out more. Porches, aka synth-wielding New Yorker Aaron Maine, opens. (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7^th Place, St. Paul, $50-$75, axs.com)

Also: Liverpool's second-most-loved rock quartet, Echo & the Bunnymen of "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bring on the Dancing Horses" fame are back out playing mostly greatest-hits sets with singer Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant still at the helm (7 p.m. the Fillmore, $50).

10. Michael Buble: On this year's "Higher," his 11^th studio album, the suave Canadian crooner mixes jazz standards, pop standards and modern pop. He turns Paul McCartney's "My Valentine" into a lushly orchestrated standard (McCartney himself produced it) that sounds just right juxtaposed with "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." By contrast, Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" feels over-orchestrated. With a wink and a smile, the schmaltzy Buble somehow walks the line between sincerity ("Crazy," a duet with Willie Nelson) and camp (Barry White's "You've My First, My Last, My Everything"). (8 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $65-$800, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Welch power trio the Joy Formidable, whose reverberating live shows won them many more fans opening for the Foo Fighters pre-COVID, are finally back to promote last year's whirring album "Into the Blue" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $25); smart singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke explores her Cello Songs Project with fellow Minneapolis musicians Rebecca Arons and Adi Yeshaya (7 p.m. Dakota, $30-$35); traditional country vets Trailer Trash return for their monthly gig in south Minneapolis (7 p.m. Driftwood Char-Bar, $10); Curtiss A plays his monthly southside gig with old-school rock and blues band Dark Click (8 p.m. Schooner Tavern); London's the Fixx are back to sing 1983's "One Thing Leads to Another" along with Jill Sobule, who gained attention in the mid-'90s with "I Kissed a Girl" (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $55-$75).