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

Hyped as India's version of Jose Gonzalez, singer/songwriter Prakeet Kuhad is making a stateside push (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $18); St. Paul's Lowertown Sounds series continues with Matt Wilson & His Orchestra, showcasing an elegant acoustic side of the former Trip Shakespeare singer, with Lucy Michelle's Little Fevers opening (6:30 p.m. Mears Park, free); Omaha's Potash Twins, regulars on the cable TV's food and travel channels, celebrate their new album "Hornography" featuring music stars Cory Wong and Robert Glasper and celebs Terry Crews and Andrew Zimmern (7 & 9 p.m. Dakota, $20-$35); Henry Cluney of the pioneering Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers is in town with the Silent Treatment (8 p.m. Uptown VFW, $10-$15); Rex Orange County, the British singer-songwriter who was featured on Tyler, the Creator's project (8 p.m. Armory, $50 and up); Twin Cities soul men G Sharp, Jay Bee and Mark Licktieg team up as Urban Classic (8 p.m. Crooners, $30 and up); Matt Caflisch and Folios play for the Pig's Eye Records night (8 p.m. White Squirrel Bar, free).

1. Winstock: After last weekend's big Eric Church/Morgan Wallen hoedown at U.S. Bank Stadium, the outdoor country-music festivals kick off with the 28^th incarnation of Winstock. Jake Owen on Friday and especially big-timer Tim McGraw on Saturday should be crowd-pleasing headliners. But the fest has a strong undercard with 2021 CMA winners Brothers Osborne and best new artist Jimmie Allen, popular veterans Gary Allan and Neal McCoy, and promising newcomers Casi Joy and MacKenzie Porter. (Fri.-Sat. Winsted Airport, Winsted, Minn., $175 and up, winstockfestival.com)

2. Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus: The chorus closes its season with its annual Pride concerts, which this year feature an original revue, "Avenue Queer," created by Brave New Workshop's Denzel Belin. There will be show tunes aplenty , many of them featuring lead vocals by Britney Coleman, who's taking a break from the Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" that just won five Tonys on Sunday. (7:30 p.m., also Sat. Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 Fourth St. S., Mpls., $10-$60, tickets.umn.edu.)

3. Pryes Block Party: A free Art-a-Whirl-style music bash thankfully not crammed into the same weekend as all the others, this fifth anniversary celebration for one of Minneapolis' best-loved taprooms boasts a two-day outdoor lineup along the riverfront. Glam-funk soul singer Jaedyn James, garage rocker Monica LaPlante and Earthcry perform Friday night. Saturday's six-act lineup is topped by North Carolina's psychedelic electro-rock band Papadosio with local rap hero Nur-D and his full band, plus Mike Kota, Prints and more. (5-10 p.m. Fri., noon-10 p.m. Sat., Pryes Brewing, 1401 West River Rd. N., Mpls., free, pryesbrewing.com)

Also: Grammy-nominated violinist/composer Ariana Kim presents "Plucked" as part of the Liquid Music Series (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$50); dreamy, lush Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring are making up canceled 2021 tour dates and have a new EP to go with them (8:30 p.m. First Avenue, all ages, $30.50); Camile Baudoin and Reggie Scanlan of New Orleans' Radiators join the Kung Fu Hippies' Geoff Prettner and B3 player Mikey Burkhart in the Cosmic Fishheads (8:30 p.m. Hook & Ladder Theatre, $12-$18); the duo that boldly and thrillingly bridges classical and hip-hop, Black Violin, is back for a third time at the Ordway (7:30 p.m. Ordway Music Theater, $45 and up); crunchy Atlanta thrashers Whores return with Tongue Party opening (8 p.m., Turf Club, $17-$20); local punk throwbacks Low Rats pair up with British band More Kicks (10 p.m. Palmer's Bar, $15)

4. Juneteenth: There is plenty of free music in Twin Cities parks to celebrate Black Independence Day. At Bethune Park, six hours of song are scheduled, starting at noon, with the likes of gospel singers Jovonta Patton and Cornisha Garmon, jazz saxophonist Jerome Treadwell and Chase & Ovation, a Prince tribute band. At Boyd Park in St. Paul, Jearlyn Steele and Thomasina Petrus — two singer/actors with big voices and big personalities — share the stage with R&B vocalist Johnnie Brown and spoken-word artists Beverly Cottman and Brittany Delaney. (noon-6 p.m. Bethune Park, 1304 N. 10th Ave., Mpls.; 3-7 p.m. Boyd Park, 335 Selby Ave., St. Paul, free)

5. Stone Arch Bridge Festival: Downsized from its pre-COVID sprawl to just the east side of downtown Minneapolis' scenic and historic riverfront, the fest boasts two stages of all-local singer/songwriterly fare and rootsy Americana over two days. Saturday's lineup includes Mary Bue, Faith Boblett, John Swardson, Mother Banjo, Andy Ulseth, Matt Jennings, Leslie Rich and Courtney Yasmineh. Sunday's schedule has Lonesome Dan Kase, Bev, Dan Israel, the Violet Nines, Katy Vernon, Seth Davin and more. (10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. & 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun., West River Parkway near Gold Medal Park, Mpls., free, stonearchbridgefestival.com)

Also: Boulder's veteran reggae-ish jammers the Samples (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $35-$65); '80s/'90s-loving rock-centric DJ Jake Rudh makes his long-awaited return with his Transmission dance night in the Mainroom (8 p.m. Sat., First Ave, $20); David Huckfelt & the Unarmed Forces' outdoor June residency continues with Coach Said Not to sibling bandmates Eve and Linnea Mohn (7 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$20); Los Angeles' psychedelic rock whirrers the Warlocks pair up with local wizards Magic Castles (9 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $17-$20)

6. Afropunk Festival: What started as a truly punk-centric festival at the Brooklyn Music Academy in 2005 has turned into a broader celebration of "alternative Black culture" including underground hip-hop and R&B, with satellite events in other cities, including Minneapolis for the first time. The lineup here is headed by three very different women from out of town, including two uniquely voiced J. Cole proteges, Ari Lennox and Mereba, as well as Chicago's sharp-tongued rap character Noname. Among the performers representing the Twin Cities are Miloe, Evv, Papa Mbye, Ricki Monique, MMYYKK and Blood $moke Body. (11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sheridan Memorial Park, 1300 Water St. NE, Mpls., $70, afropunk.com)

7. Ted Unseth: At age 75, the inveterate devotee of classic jazz orchestra music from the 1920s and '30s is coming out of retirement to conduct his De Stijlistics. Best known for his work with the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra, Unseth resurrects his note-for-note transcriptions of works by Paul Whiteman, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and others in an octet format. De Stijlistics feature such Twin Cities standouts as guitarist Tim Sparks and keyboardist Dan Chouinard. (2 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls. $15-$20, thecedar.org)

Also: The Soul of the Southside Juneteenth Festival will feature performances by iLLism, Kokou Kha, Blackfish Movement, Kashimana and others alongside speakers, poets, food vendors and more (1-6 p.m. Hook & Ladder, free); Liverpool-reared '80s synth-rock hitmakers China Crisis of "Wishful Thinking" fame make a rare stop in town on a 40th anniversary tour (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$45); acoustic blues/folk hero and cool dad Charlie Parr plays a special Father's Day brunch party with beer, mmm (noon, Surly Beer Hall).

8. Peter Himmelman: The St. Louis Park native has worn many hats — rocker, TV and film composer, children's music maker, singer-songwriter, author, painter and speaker on creativity. On 2020's "Press On," his 14th studio (non-children's) album, Himmelman tries on his blues and jazz fedoras, but he's no less poignant. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$40, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Enduring Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot, 83, is promoting two recent albums, along with his many classics including "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (7:30 p.m. State Theatre, $53.50-$63.50); versatile Twin Cities vocalist Jennifer Grimm steps up from the clubs (7:30 p.m. Pantages, $44-$54)

Winnipeg's alt-country duo the Brothers Landreth saw Bonnie Raitt record their "Made Up Mind" on her new album (7 p.m. Dakota, $25-$40); quirky but catchy Los Angeles indie-rocker Jerry Paper has collaborated with Tyler, the Creator and BadBadNotGood (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $16-$18); Texas exes Trevor McSpadden and Mary Cutrufello twang it up for their weekly happy hour gig (6 p.m. White Squirrel Bar, free); the open-mic blues jam at Wilebski's continues (7-10 p.m., free).

9. Femi Kuti & Positive Force: After starting out as a saxophonist in his dad's band, the eldest son of late Afrobeat legend and Nigerien civil-rights hero Fela Kuti has now had as long a music career as his old man. Femi continues to forge funky new sounds and carry on Fela's activist torch, too. This time around, he's bringing a third-generation Kuti along as a collaborator, his 26-year-old son Mádé, with whom he issued last year's double album, "Legacy+." KFAI's Salif Keita will also DJ. (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $50-$55, thecedar.org)

10. Kurt Elling/Charlie Hunter: The daring, Grammy-winning vocalist and the adventurous guitarist teamed up to make — surprise — a jazz-funk album. "SuperBlue," released last fall, is sophisticated yet funky stuff, with one foot in fusion and the other in neo-soul. Hunter and musicians from the group Butcher Brown find the head-nodding, finger-snapping grooves and Elling floats in with a hip flow that feels organic. Occasionally, they stray into Steely Dan territory and Elling's words feel a little forced. A highlight: a treatment of Tom Waits' spoken-word "Circus" set to a percolating James Brown-like beat. (7 & 9 p.m. Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$50, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Former Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson returns with the all-star Minneapolis rhythm section of bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Kevin Washington (8 p.m. Crooners, $25 and up); Virginia's veteran thrash metal band Municipal Waste arrives on its Summer Atrocity Tour (8:30 p.m. Fine Line, $25); hard-blasting local punk newcomers Surly Grrrly are kicking up a lot of noise with their Pride month residency gig at Mortimer's (9 p.m., $7); Texas alt-rockers the Unlikely Candidates are back on tour after landing the 2019 viral hit "Novocaine" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $17-$20).