The Big Gigs: 10 best concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

1. Blue Ox Music Festival: In its 10th almost-annual installment, this cozy and beloved Americana/string band/ roots music campout near Eau Claire ― 90 minutes from the Twin Cities — landed two booking coups: Probably the hottest name in alt-twang right now, bluegrassy West Virginian singer/songwriter Sierra Ferrell, is playing her only Midwest festival date on Saturday; and South Carolina-rooted rock vets Band of Horses deliver their first regional set in eight years on Friday. Other performers across three stages through the weekend include Molly Tuttle, the Devil Makes Three, the Sam Bush and Del McCoury bands, Leftover Salmon, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, the High Hawks and homegrown hosts Pert Near Sandstone. (3 p.m. Thu.-Sat., the Pines Music Park, 5024 Crescent Av., Eau Claire, Wis., $254/three-day, blueoxmusicfestival.com)

2. The Jasper String Quartet: Recipients of multiple awards and frequently found on critics’ year-end Top 10, this quartet also runs the St. Paul Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Festival, which it will close with two free concerts at MetroNOME Brewery’s splendid downstairs music room. The brewery’s co-owner, conductor and pianist William Eddins, will join them for a Johannes Brahms piano quintet and a work by Gabriella Smith on Thursday. Then the Havana String Quartet performs pieces from Cuba and the Jaspers respond with a Dvořák quartet on Saturday. (7 p.m. Thu., 1:30 p.m. Sat. MetroNOME Brewery, 385 Broadway, St. Paul, free, thespcm.org/events)

Also: The Hook & Ladder is hosting a rowdy, rock- and punk-heavy Pride party in its Under the Canopy series with Venus DeMars & All the Pretty Horses, Big Salt, Spit Takes and more (7 p.m., $15-$20); the Scarlet Goodbye with ex-Soul Asylum co-leader Dan Murphy and songwriter Jeff Arundel will be previewing new tunes at this week’s Lowertown Sounds show with the Cole Allen Band (6-9:30 p.m. Mears Park, free); rootsy Nashville fixture Brent Cobb, cousin and collaborator to Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile producer Dave Cobb, earned acclaim for last year’s album “Southern Star” (8 p.m. Fine Line, $25).

3. Michael Cleveland: Last seen at the Dakota in Bela Fleck’s band, Cleveland is a fiddler supreme. Even though he was born blind and lost hearing in one ear due to a childhood infection, he took up the violin at age 4 and became a decorated master. He is a 10-time winner of fiddler of the year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards. In 2020, he earned his first Grammy, for best bluegrass album, and two years ago he was recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Indiana native’s credits include working with Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Marty Stuart and fronting his own group, the Flamekeeper. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$55, dakotacooks.com)

4. Breakaway Festival: Finally a concert at Allianz Field in St. Paul. Oops. It’s not at the Loons soccer stadium, it’s in the parking lot. It’s an EDM festival with three stages, including one for silent disco, and other bells and whistles that can enhance these trippy sounds in the daylight and after summer sunset. The lineup includes heavyweights Illenium, Kaskade and Slander as well as Knock 2, Isoxo and others. Food trucks, booze and portable toilets will be available. (4 to 11 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Allianz Field, 400 Snelling Av., St. Paul, $70 and up, breakawayfestival.com/minnesota)

Also: After making tribute albums to Chet Baker and Lucinda Williams, soulful Philly singer/songwriter Amos Lee will preview his August release of original material, “Transmissions” (7:30 p.m. State Theatre, $69.50-$89.50); trap R&B singer Bryson Tiller is promoting his self-titled fourth album, which features an alluring duet with Victoria Monet “Persuasion” (8 p.m. the Armory, $59 and up); Dark Star Orchestra provides a live Dead fix by resurrecting a Grateful Dead set from an old concert music, (6:30 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, Waite Park, $25-$187); powerhouse Twin Cities vocalist/actor Thomasina Petrus visits Billie Holiday’s repertoire and other jazz standards with pianist Thom West (7 p.m. Crooners, $35-$45); Portland’s veteran alt-rockers the Dandy Warhols are touring behind their 12th album, “Rockmaker,” which features guests Debbie Harry, Slash and Frank Black (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $51 and up); Wild Nights at the Minnesota Zoo presents local favorites Chastity Brown and Church of Cash (8 p.m. Minnesota Zoo, $30-$40).

5. Adrianne Lenker: As the increasingly vital and widely heralded folk-rock band Big Thief continues to expand its sound and experiment with styles from album to album, the group’s Minnesota-rooted singer seems intent on making her solo efforts as intimate and unadorned as possible. Her mostly acoustic new album, “Bright Future,” was cut straight to tape and sounds so raw and loose it feels like witnessing a rehearsal, albeit a very warm and inspired rehearsal with Lenker’s literally wondrous and healing lyrics front and center. The record contrasts the ornate setting for her nearly sold-out two-night homecoming stand with Texas opener Staci Foster. (8 p.m. Sat. & Sun., State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $35-$60, ticketmaster.com)

6. Ben Platt: The Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning “Dear Evan Hansen” star has much to celebrate: his engagement to fellow Broadway actor Noah Galvin, his new album “Honeymind” and his new tour, which arrives in Minneapolis on Pride Weekend. The timing is perfect because “Honeymind” is an open-hearted collection about queer love. Working with such Nashville pros as producer Dave Cobb and songwriters Brandy Clark and Natalie Hemby, Platt mines a vintage folk sound as he reflects on living through various romances and learning to love his authentic self. Clark, a terrific Grammy- and Tony-winning singer/songwriter, opens. (8 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $39 to $139.50, ticketmaster.com)

7. Little Feat: For a band that’s been around for more than 50 years (granted with a few personnel changes), these funksters have come up with a new wrinkle. They turned over their new album, “Sam’s Place,” to percussionist Sam Clayton to handle all the lead vocals, with Bonnie Raitt joining him on the slow burnin’ “Long Distance Call.” He brings a gritty passion surrounded by funky piano, slide guitars, moaning harmonica and galloping rhythms. In concert, it appears that Little Feat is still cranking out the old favorites including “Dixie Chicken,” “Willin’” and “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.” Duane Betts, son of Dicky of Allman Brothers fame, opens with his group Palmetto Motel. (7:30 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, $52.50 and up, axs.com)

8. The Klituation: What started as an all-female showcase for Twin Cities turntablists and rappers led by DJ Keezy has become some of First Ave’s best-loved dance parties of the past seven years. For Pride this weekend, it’s celebrating gender-fluid performers, too. Jax of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame is coming to town for it, joining regular players Maria Isa, Sophia Eris and Xina and a rowdy cast that also includes Jasime Spice, Essjay, DJ McShellen, Bigg Kiaa and more. Local jewelry and fashion artisans will be spotlighted, too. (9 p.m., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $20-$25, first-avenue.com)

Also: Brandee Younger, the Grammy-nominated harpist whose music draws from styles ranging from classical to funk, headlines the third annual Sounds of Summer concert sponsored by MacPhail Center for Music; also performing will be Known and several MacPhail students and faculty (4 to 8 p.m. Water Works at Mill Ruins Park, free); fresh from playing with the NPG and Morris Day at Celebration 2024 on Saturday, saxophonist/flutist Kenni Holmen steps up front, telling stories of his career with Prince, Chaka Khan and others and playing with an all-star Twin Cities group (7 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); Baltimore synth rockers Future Islands just dropped their seventh album, “People Who Aren’t There Anymore” (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, $35 and up); Stanley Jordan, the two-hand tapping guitar wiz, returns (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$40); Vets Fest 2024 features bands fronted by Pat McLaughlin and Tim Sigler on Saturday and PK Mayo and Annika Chambers on Sunday (1 p.m. Gasthaus Bavarian Restaurant, Stillwater, free); A Queer Ritual! Pride Party inside and outside Palmer’s Bar will feature experimental noisemakers Burning, T.A.N.G., Genital Shame, Eudaemon and more (5 p.m., $10-$15).

9. The Church and Afghan Whigs: While strange bedfellows on a musical level, these two mainstay bands of Gen-X alternative culture should make for good tourmates on a personal level. Their frontmen have become pals and collaborators in recent years. Steve Kilbey is all that’s left of the original Church, of “Under the Milky Way” fame, but he maintained the Aussie band’s old ethereal magic on the 2022 album “Hypnogogue.” Greg Dulli and his Cincinnati-reared Whigs roared back to life with a 2011 reunion outing and have put out three dark and stormy albums since then. British rocker Ed Harcourt opens. (7:15 p.m. First Avenue, $35, axs.com)

10. Steven Isserlis: Among a handful of the world’s greatest cellists, this Englishman is a passionate performer and innovative programmer known not only for soloing with the world’s great orchestras, but for recitals that draw audiences deeply into a composer’s most intimate musical reflections. He’ll do so with Canadian pianist Connie Shih when they open Winona’s Minnesota Beethoven Festival, playing two cello sonatas by Beethoven (naturally), another by Gabriel Fauré, a movement from one by Camille Saint-Saëns, and a new work by his countryman Thomas Adès. (3 p.m. Page Theatre, St. Mary’s University, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona, $25, mnbeethovenfestival.org)

Also: Boston rocker Tracy Bonham, best-known for the angsty 1996 hit “Mother Mother,” is fresh off staging a new ballet and continues to blend classical and rock (8 p.m. Icehouse, $18-$28); Adi Yeshaya Jazz Orchestra, led the Twin pianist/arranger extraordinaire, will feature vocalist Jennifer Grimm (6 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); now in its 62 year with a changing lineup, Minnesota Boychoir offers selections from its sacred and secular choral repertoire (4 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $25-$35); Molly Brandt, Katy Tessman and Emily Haavik team up for a cool trifecta of alt-twangy songwriters (7:30 p.m. Turf Club, $12-$15); loopy instrumentalist Dosh’s June residency series culminates with guests Goulden Balls (7 p.m. Berlin, $15).

T. Mychael Rambo, the distinguished St. Paul singer/actor with the distinctive deep voice, offers a selection of songs he’s dubbed “Summer Breeze” (7 p.m. the Dakota $20-$30); jazz-rock fusion guitarist Mike Salow takes over the Monday residency series at Icehouse for July starting with guests Room 3 Jazz (8 p.m., $18-$24).

Since the war in Ukraine, this vital Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha has become increasingly popular in the United States and regular visitors to Minneapolis, offering an enthralling blend of cello, accordion, percussion, electric piano and didgeridoo, with otherworldly vocals and polyphonic harmonies (7 p.m., also Wed., the Dakota, $70-$85).

Vocalist Arne Fogel and pianist Dan Chouinard team up for Star-Spangled Sing-Along with great American tunes (5:30 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40); traditional country revivalist Cole Diamond is throwing a birthday bash (8 p.m. Turf Club, $10-$15); dark and rootsy Americana pickers the Matt Arthur Contraption continue their Fourth Monday residency gig (8 p.m. Palmer’s Bar, free).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.