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

Former Milwaukeean Buffalo Nichols has been garnering even more buzz after recently relocating to Austin, Texas, with his classic but forward-leaning blues-rock sound (8:30 p.m. Turf Club, $15); veteran Claudia Schmidt, the gifted New England singer-songwriter who has been focusing on jazz for the past two decades, is joined by her Minnesota accompanist Laura Caviani, the pianist and director of jazz at Carleton College (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); Minneapolis' own Kathleen Johnson has the voice and personality to deliver a knockout tribute to the great Etta James (7 p.m. Chart House, $30); Twin Cities jazz guitarist Zacc Harris will be joined by saxophonist Brandon Wozniak, pianist Bryan Nichols, bassist Chris Bates and drummer Peter Johnson (7 p.m. the Dakota, $15-$20); Minnesota's lariat-loving folk-and-western singer Pop Wagner continues his Thursday residency in February (8 p.m. Midway Saloon, free).

1. Big Turn Music Festival: After a three-year lull caused by COVID-19, Red Wing's all-Midwest answer to the South by Southwest music fest is returning to in-person showcases in a big way. More than 200 rock, folk, jazz, hip-hop and bluegrass acts will perform over two days across 21 venues, from the ornate Sheldon Theatre to the local Elk's Lodge, most of it conveniently contained to the historic downtown area. Performers include Turn Turn Turn, Lady Midnight, Connie Evingson, Humbird, the Foxgloves, Southside Aces, Sleeping Jesus, Mark Mallman, Filthy Kittens, General B & the Wiz, Chris Koza and Buffalo Weavers. (5:30 p.m. Fri.-close Sat., Red Wing, $50/day or $90/two-day, bigturnmusicfest.com)

2. Dave Holland/Kevin Eubanks/Eric Harland: These three jazz mainstays have formidable resumes. In 1968, Miles Davis asked British bassist Holland to replace the stellar Ron Carter in his combo. Holland, who is heard on Miles' classic "Bitches Brew," has gone on to play with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and other jazz greats. Guitarist Eubanks is best known for his 15-year stint as bandleader on "The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno," but he's released a dozen jazz albums under his own name and played on Holland's 2021 album, "Another Land." Harland, drummer for SF Jazz Collective, has recorded with Holland, Charles Lloyd and many others. This trio doesn't have a moniker — HEH, perhaps — but great chops and experience. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $35-$45, dakotacooks.com)

3. Minnesota Sinfonia: Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has become quite the buzz artist over the past few years, thanks especially to her "Reimagine: Beethoven & Ravel" album, which made some critics' top 10 lists for 2021. She'll be the soloist for Mozart's darkly beautiful Piano Concerto No. 20 on a program that also features works by Sinfonia music director Jay Fishman, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and, speaking of beautiful, Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis." (7 p.m. Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 W. Roselawn Av., Roseville; also 2 p.m. Sun., Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Av., Mpls., free, mnsinfonia.org)

Also: Is the reason the concert is sold out because of headliner Alter Bridge, the veteran melodic metal Creed spinoff fronted by Myles Kennedy, or the surging opener Mammoth WVH, led by Wolfgang Van Halen who are working on their second album? (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino showroom, $39-$79); stalwart Twin Cities guitarist Joan Griffith celebrates her new Brazilian CD, "Sambanova 2," with pianist Laura Caviani and cellist Ed Cadman (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30); a popular tradition at the long-gone Triple Rock, Dre Day is back and celebrating Dr. Dre and all his many cohorts led by house band the G-Funk Error and guest rappers such as Carnage the Executioner and Truth Maze (8 p.m. Ballentine Uptown VFW, $15-$20); the 12th annual, grant-funded Cedar Commissions series supporting new music compositions begins with Aram Kavoossi, DJ Fawzi and Emily Boyajian (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $15 or $25/two-day); Wisconsin's Chris Porterfield is back out with his psychedelic and ambient twang-folk troupe Field Report (9 p.m. Turf Club, $15-$18); St. Paul's soul-sational PaviElle heats up the Icehouse (10 p.m., $15-$18); the Gear Daddies, the still rockin' good-time band launched in Austin, Minn., will explain how to drive "Zamboni" (8 p.m. Medina Entertainment Center, $28-$38); local crew Ty Pow & the Holy North summon the Americana spirit of Tedeschi Trucks Band (9 p.m. 7th Street Entry, $14-$16); Lamont Cranston does the Twin Cities boogie once again (6 p.m. Blues Saloon, $20); Cajun dance band the New Riverside Ramblers host a Mardi Gras party ahead of Fat Tuesday (7:30 p.m. Eagles Club Minneapolis, $10).

4. Blake Shelton: He may be winding down his long tenure as a coach on NBC's "The Voice" but he's hitting the road again for his Back To The Honky Tonk Tour. Last July at Twin Cities Summer Jam, he trotted out Gwen Stefani, his wife, for duets on "Nobody But You" and "Happy Anywhere" to the delight of the fans. She always livens up his shows. But the country superstar has enough hits and humor to carry an evening by himself. Opening will be new Grammy winner Carly Pearce, the "I Never Wanted to Be That Girl" hitmaker, and newcomer Jackson Dean, who is making a little noise with the song "Don't Come Lookin.' " Read an interview with Pearce in Friday's Star Tribune. (7 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $65 and up ticketmaster.com)

5. Maggie Rogers: Half a decade after earning a music engineering and production degree at NYU (where Pharrell discovered her), this Brooklyn singer-songwriter picked up a master's degree in religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School. She reportedly used her 2022 performance at Coachella as the basis for a Harvard classroom assignment. However grad school transformed her, Rogers came out roaring on last year's "Surrender," a bracing electro-acoustic salvo (with guests Florence Welch and Clairo, produced by Kid Harpoon, Harry Styles' pal) that's a distinctive leap from the pop soul of 2019's "Heard It in a Past Life" that led to the buoyant hit "Light On" and a Grammy nomination for best new artist. Opening Rogers' Feral Joy Tour is Del Water Gap, a band in which Rogers participated as an undergrad. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $50 and up, ticketmaster.com)

7. Bob James: The veteran keyboardist has worn many hats: a pioneer of smooth jazz; award-winning TV composer best known for "Angela," the theme for "Taxi"; co-founder of the prolific jazz supergroup Fourplay, and one of the most sampled keyboardists by hip-hop artists (LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Warren G, Beastie Boys, Common et al.) Bob James Quartet will be joined by Ukrainian saxophonist Andrey Chmut. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m., also 7 p.m. Sun. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$45, dakotacooks.com)

Also: After four albums on Island, Swedish pop star Tove Lo of "Habits (Stay High)" fame has gone indie, releasing last year's "Dirt Femme" on her own Pretty Swede imprint, but she's still serving up dark-hued dance pop (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, $35 and up); Linda Purl, the veteran TV and stage actor who has pursued a jazz career since leaving "Matlock" in 1987, will offer standards, accompanied by New York piano savant Jon Weber (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $35-$45); Gear Daddies boss Martin Zellar revives his Neil Diamond schtick, which predates the au courant tribute-show trend (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $29-$59); Parmalee, the "Carolina" hitmakers from North Carolina, returned to the top of country charts two years ago with "Take My Name" (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $30 and up); after making its debut this winter at Icehouse, Brandon Commodore's NRG takes its jazz/funk/hip-hop genre-blending sound to Fridley, with special guests Ginger Commodore, Juice Lord and Lyndora Turner (8 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); Night 2 of the Cedar Commissions series features another eclectic roster with Theo Langason, Sophia Deutsch and Cydi Yang (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $15).

8. Margo Price: Five years since her last appearance in town, the Illinois-bred Midwest farmer's daughter — per the title of her 2016 breakout album for Jack White's Third Man Records — is back on tour, promoting a moving new memoir and a progressive new album. Titled "Strays," the record incorporates rockier and folkier sounds with bold tinges of psychedelia, as evidenced by the single "Change of Heart" and as informed by her experiences writing the very personal book as well as tripping on hallucinogenic mushrooms. British actress-turned-singer Lola Kirke opens. Read an interview with Price in Saturday's Star Tribune. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1^st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)

Also: Aussie singer Vance Joy, who made a splash with "Riptide" a decade ago, is back in the States, touting his third album, last year's "In Our Own Sweet Time" (8 p.m. State Theatre, $70 and up); the gospel loving Twin Cities trio of Sara Renner, Tonia Hughes Kendrick and Billy Steele share the music of the Winans (4:30 p.m. Crooners, sold out); Connie Evingson visits the Peggy Lee songbook, with pianist Jon Weber (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30); TikTok-inflated Canadian rapper Freddie Dredd plays an all-ages show in St. Paul (7 p.m. Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $20-$25).

It's been billed as a Tribute to the Winter Dance Party but music lovers might remember it as the Day the Music Died in Clear Lake, Iowa. Hear the songs of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, who perished in a plane crash that frigid February night, as well as hits by Dion & the Belmonts and Minnesota's own Bobby Vee (2 p.m. Le Musique Room, $30).

Also: Kimbra, the New Zealand singer featured on Gotye's chart-topping, Grammy-winning "Somebody That I Used to Know" in 2011, is touring behind her just-released fourth album, "A Reckoning," which blends hip-hop and electronica sounds (8 p.m. Fine Line $25-$40); the Brass Messengers and Brasszilla pair up on Fat Tuesday for a Mardi Gras-themed blowout (8 p.m. Palmer's Bar, $15); the Swamp Poppas host another Fat Tuesday party (7:30 p.m. Schooner Tavern, free).

10. The Beths: Since instantly charming garage-pop-loving Twin Cities audiences at Rock the Garden in 2019, this New Zealand quartet has put out two more hook-packed, smartly written albums, equal parts Go-Go's, Superchunk and Yo La Tengo. The latest one, "Expert in a Dying Field," finds frontwoman Elizabeth Stokes upping her storyteller game and the whole band firing on all cylinders. See why the National picked them as openers for an August show here. (8 p.m. First Avenue, $20, axs.com)

Also: Widely championed by the likes of ex-Replacements manager Peter Jesperson and Margo Price — who brought him onstage with her last week — San Francisco area songwriting hero Chuck Prophet is back out making a worth-the-wait go-around touting his COVID-stalled album "The Land That Time Forgot" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $25); Flamin' Oh's, forever rockin' Robert Wilkinson's enduring band, dust off Twin Cities classics "I Remember Romance" and "I'm the Gun," with St. Paul singer-songwriter Jon Berg opening (8 p.m. 7th Street Entry, $18-$20); twang groover Erik Koskinen's February residency gig continues at Icehouse (8 p.m., $15).