The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Concert highlights for April 7-13, including Santana, Arooj Aftab, Ukrainian group Dakha Brakha and Slipknot
Prolific Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa teams up with Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita to celebrate their new album "Suba" (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$40); Twin Cities electro-R&B/soul singer Lady Midnight performs her 2019 album "Death Before Mourning" with an all-star live band (8 p.m., Icehouse, $20); Gayle, the Texas teen with the hit "ABCDEFU" (7 p.m. Fine Line, $15); grungy metal vets Clutch with EyeHateGod (8 p.m., First Avenue, $35)
Friday, April 8
Santana: Last year, guitar god Carlos Santana dropped another album with a parade of guests, including Chris Stapleton, Chick Corea and, of course, Rob Thomas. While not as satisfying as 1999's landmark "Supernatural," "Blessings and Miracles" is a diverse, sincere collection, punctuated with plenty of expressive and often soaring Santana guitar work. Recent set lists indicate he might play a couple of tunes from that project along with such requisite classics as "Soul Sacrifice" and "Smooth." (8 p.m. Fri. Treasure Island Casino, Welch, Minn., $89-$159, ticketmaster.com)
Hurray for the Riff Raff: New Orleans-based, New York-raised, Puerto Rico-rooted poet-rocker Alynda Segarra has turned into one of the truest and best Americana singer/songwriters around, with a diversely rootsy sound and downtrodden vantage points. Their newest album with Justin Vernon cohort Brad Cook for producer, "Life on Earth," takes on more of a global view with dramatic and often thrilling results. L.A.'s Anjimile opens. (9 p.m., Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $20-$35, etix.com)
The Flaming Lips: After putting their inflatable-bubble stage props to great use during the pandemic — concertgoers got their own bubbles for protection — Wayne Coyne and his Oklahoman psychedelic circus are back to playing conventional shows. You know, conventional for them, with songs from 2019's "American Head" album blended with the classics. They have must-see Texas openers the Heartless Bastards in tow, whose frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom penned some of the most beautifully hopeful hippie-rock during the pandemic. (8 p.m., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $45 and up, etix.com)
Also: D.C. electronic-dance music duo Thievery Corporation (8 p.m., the Fillmore, $37); veteran blues guitarist and "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" hitmaker Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio (7 p.m. Medina, $33-$43); the 25th annual Marvin Gaye tribute with Maurice Jacox, Erica West and other Twin Cities R&B stars; (9:30 p.m., also Sat. Bunkers, $17.50-$25) Claudia Schmidt joins Larry Long's American Roots Revue (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota, $20-$40); local garage-rock bands Fret Rattles, New Rocket Union and the Mighty Mofos (7 p.m., Hook & Ladder, $12); powerhouse Twin Cities vocalist Joyann Parker (8 p.m. Crooners, $20 and up)
Saturday, April 9
Slipknot: They may not be Machine Gun Kelly's cup of tea, but Iowa's masked thrash-metal vets are the visceral release many fans need in 2022. Corey Taylor and crew returned to the road with their traveling Knotfest last year, putting up strong ticket sales and reportedly quite a wild show. Surprisingly, this will be their first Minnesota in 13 years. In the Moment and Jinjer open. (6:30 p.m., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $45-$198, ticketmaster.com)
Kid Rock: On this year's "Bad Reputation," his first full-length in five years, the Detroit rapper/rocker wears his colors on his sleeve. He bashes Biden ("We the People"), celebrates freedom ("Don't Tell Me How to Live"), boasts about liking it rough ("My Kind of Country"), and calls out the phoniness of Music City ("The Nashville I Know"). On the other hand, he almost gets sentimental about becoming a grandpa on the twangy, Seger-aspiring ballad "Rockin.'" or the "Drift Away"-evoking ode to rock 'n' roll, "Still Somethin.'" The new material makes one yearn for "All Summer Long" and "Picture." With fellow Detroiters Grand Funk Railroad. (7:30 p.m. Sat. Xcel Energy Center, W. 7th St. & Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $45.50 and up, ticketmaster.com)
Also: New Orleans rockers the Revivalists of "Wish I Knew You" and "All My Friends" fame (7 p.m. Fillmore, $35 and up); ska-pop heroes the English Beat (8 p.m., Parkway, $45 and up); JoJo, the pop-soul singer who finished second last year on "The Masked Singer" (8 p.m. First Avenue, $25-$27); the jazzy LP Music featuring Minneapolis Sound all-stars Eric Leeds, Paul Peterson and Stokley Williams (8 p.m. Paisley Park, $45 and up); founding piano man Terry Adams keeps the classic bar band NRBQ alive and entertaining (8 p.m. Turf Club, $35); colorful Moore By Four mainstay Dennis Spears celebrates his birthday (8 p.m. Crooners, $20).
Sunday, April 10
The Sphinx Virtuosi: The Detroit-based Sphinx Foundation has been spending most of this century providing encouragement to Black and Latinx classical musicians, including by assembling a chamber orchestra of outstanding young players. The group's "Tracing Visions" concert will feature works by a pair of very exciting Black composers, Jessie Montgomery and recent SPCO guest Xavier Foley. They'll be joined by local choir Border CrosSing. (3 p.m. Sunday, Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $13-$31, Ordway.org)
Arooj Aftab: Fresh from garnering a Grammy for best global music performance, the Pakistan-raised, Brooklyn-based singer arrives with her mesmerizingly minimalist sounds, which she described as "everything that broke me and put me back together." An electronica composer with a Berklee College of Music degree, Aftab sings mostly in Urdu, blending heritage and contemporary sounds. Aftab's hauntingly delicate material has attracted her to the 10th annual Liquid Music season. (7 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. $25-$50)
Also: Cult-loved New York punk band Jawbreaker has reunited for a 25th anniversary tour and tapped local pals Dillinger Four to open along with the Smoking Popes (6 p.m. the Fillmore, $54); Glasgow rockers Del Amitri are touring behind last year's "Fatal Mistakes," their first studio effort in nearly 20 years (7:30 p.m. the Fitzgerald, $49.50 and up); irrepressible alt-rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre and Mercury Rev (8 p.m. First Avenue, $25-$30); blues guitar star Tommy Castro (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$45)
Monday, April 11
DakhaBrakha: This Ukrainian quartet has been most succinctly described as a folk-punk circus, though the colorful DakhaBrahka (it means give and take in Old Slavonic) prefers "ethno chaos." Playing instruments from cultures as far flung as Australia and India, the band mixes traditional music from Eastern Europe and other global sounds with Western rock and pop. More playful and energetic than its predecessors, their sixth and latest album, 2020's "Alambari" is an appetizing ethnic stew that will compel you to support their home country under siege. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $45-$60; $20 for livestream, dakotacooks.com)
Adia Victoria: This compelling South Carolina-reared, Nashville-based singer-songwriter explores the identity of Black Southern women on 2021's "A Southern Gothic," a haunting, minimalist masterwork of dark Gothic blues. Produced by T Bone Burnett, Victoria's third album features guests Margo Price and Jason Isbell and the standout single, "Magnolia Blues." (8 p.m. Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, $18-$20, first-avenue.com)
Also: Dessa performs for the Songs & Stories series (7:30 p.m., Woman's Club Minneapolis, $28-$48); much-streamed Canadian pop singer Tate McRae is promoting her first studio album, "I Used to Think I Could Fly," due next month (7 p.m. First Avenue, $25-$30)
Tuesday, April 12
Veteran jazz guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$45)
Wednesday, April 13
Craig Taborn Trio: Jazz has been called "the sound of surprise," but all too often musicians play themselves into a rut. Not Taborn. The Golden Valley-raised keyboardist is a seeker who enchants listeners while challenging them to hear more deeply, blending electronics with piano. After a knockout show two weeks ago at Tennessee's Big Ears Festival, he comes home for a one-nighter with drummer Dan Weiss and bassist Chris Lightcap. (7 & 9 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $25-$40, dakotacooks.com)
Also: Jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, who just won a Grammy for best contemporary instrumental album, brings his quartet (7:30 p.m. Parkway, $25-$35); Texas songwriting hero Hayes Carll is out touting a new album, "What It Is" (8 p.m., Turf Club, $25); instrumental Scottish rock groovers Mogwai (8:30 p.m., First Ave, $22)