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

1. Humbird: After a string of warm-up gigs and spate of national press, old-school-folky, new-era-idealistic Twin Cities songwriter Siri Undlin and her band return home for two release parties behind her third Humbird record and first for the Nettwerk label, “Right On.” The timing seems perfect, because the album carries poetic themes of growth and spiritual exhaling suitable for late May weather in Minnesota. It also rocks more than Undlin’s past LPs, with such tracks as “Cornfields and Roadkill” and “Child of Violence” carrying a mid-’70s Neil Young vibe. California tunesmith Ismay opens both shows. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Sacred Heart Music Center, 201 W. 4th St., Duluth; 8 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, $20, humbirdmusic.com)

2. Minnesota Orchestra: For a few decades now, German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has been one of the most consistently exciting instrumentalists in the classical music world, a performer who draws you deeply into every piece he plays. The lone violin concerto of his countryman, Johannes Brahms, has been a recent focus, so expect Tetzlaff to take you to unexpected places when he performs it with conductor (and fellow German) David Afkham and the Minnesota Orchestra. The program also features Henri Dutilleux’s “Cinq Metaboles” and a suite from Béla Bartók’s “The Miraculous Mandarin.” (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 7 p.m. Sat. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $20-$106, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Also: Australian-turned-Texan soulful rocker Jade Bird, a longtime staple on the Current, performs a special, free beer garden gig to kick off the station’s summer happy hour series (4-6 p.m., Surly Brewing); Marilyn Maye, the wonderfully entertaining 96-year-old cabaret queen , is back for her annual May engagement (7 p.m., also 5 & 8 p.m. Fri., Crooners, $55 and up); veteran Twin Cities vocalist Pamela McNeill, known for her Fleetwood Mac tribute shows and performances with the Fabulous Armadillos, showcases her original material for a change (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$40); piano man Andrew Walesch returns for a solo all request show (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40); trumpeter Jake Baldwin, guitarist Zacc Harris and drummer Pete Hennig celebrate the release of their new album “Boundaries” (8 p.m. Icehouse, $20-$30).

3. Guided by Voices: Celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary and next month’s release of its 41st album, “Strut of Kings,” Ohio’s maniacally prolific indie-rock guru Robert Pollard doesn’t seem to be losing any steam. He even picked up new momentum over the past half-decade as Nashville scion Bobby Bare Jr. settled in alongside longtime player Doug Gillard in the dueling-guitarists role, resulting in some delightfully crunchy and catchy albums of late. The popping new single, “Cavemen Running Naked,” suggests they’re still on a role. Here’s hoping that’s one of the 60 or so songs included in the set list. Saddle Creek Records newcomers Disq open. (8:30 p.m. Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls.,$35, axs.com)

4. Davina & the Vagabonds: The popular Minneapolis piano pounder with New Orleans flavor has a wildly eclectic new album to celebrate, “Shoot for the Moon.” There are covers of Los Lobos’ “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” and John Prine’s twanged-up “Please Don’t Bury Me” and such classics as “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “A Sunday Kind of Love.” And there are plenty of appealing originals, the best of which are “Find My Love,” which suggests Amy Winehouse lost in an old world radio drama, “Mighty Scar,” an organ-fueled country lament about struggling with sobriety, and “Life Lessons,” a piano ballad about her father figures. (7 p.m. Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $40 and up, ordway.org)

5. Raised by Soul: Their mothers were distinguished soul singers. Each one of these next gen soul sirens has earned her own credits but they are saluting their mothers. The lineup features Namphuyo Aisha (the daughter of Betty Wright), Issa Pointer (daughter of Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters and Dennis Edwards of the Temptations), Wanda McCrae (Gwen McCrae) and the Twin Cities’ own Jamecia Bennett (Ann Nesby of Sounds of Blackness). This sisterhood of soul is a perfect way to kick off Black Music Month in June. (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $45-$55, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Party with two of the best live bands the Twin Cities has ever produced — the enduringly nervy, new wave-y Suburbs and one of the best rock groups of this century, Kiss the Tiger (8:30 p.m. First Avenue, $38 and up); the Droppers, a new Twin Cities all-star group featuring vets Tommy Barbarella, Jim Anton and Noah Levy as well as rising guitarist Isaac Levy of Yam Haus, throw down (8 p.m., also Sat., Berlin, $15); fresh off releasing their second album in two years after a 28-year lull, local indie-rock vets Run Westy Run try out Uptown’s new rock club with the Heavy Sixers (8 p.m. Green Room, $25); Barbaro fiddler Rachel Calvert steps out with two other harmonious friends in the rootsy new group Said in Stone (9 p.m. Aster Cafe, $15); there’s a wild and diverse mix of genre-bending punk on the Palmer’s Bar patio with Mary Jam, Surly Grrly, Ice Climber, Butter Boys and more (7-10 p.m., $10-$15).

6. When Doves Choir: Dig if you will a picture of you and I and 1,498 other Prince fans singing his best-known songs together in the room where he first performed and recorded some of them. It’s hard to know who to bill as the star of this special kickoff to a month of Princely celebrations at First Ave: The Toronto-based duo organizing the big singalong, Choir! Choir! Choir!, who’ve produced similar events internationally; the roomful of fans who will become performers under their guidance; the storied venue, or the late great Minnesota music icon himself. Baby, you’re all stars in this case. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25, axs.com)

7. Frank Turner: Capping off a busy spring that saw him working a shift at the Electric Fetus on Record Store Day (no kidding!) and breaking a new Guinness record by playing 15 gigs in as many cities in a 24-hour span, the anthemic British folk-punk singer saw all his hard work of the past two decades pay off with his first No. 1 U.K. record, 2022′s “FTHC.” He followed that success with one of his most accessible and cohesive records to date, “Undefeated,” featuring themes of punk’s continued vitality and his own resilience at age 42. He’s touring again with his band the Sleeping Souls and has Amigo the Devil and Micah Schnabel opening. (6:30 p.m. Uptown Theater, 2900 Hennepin Av., Mpls., $50-$82, all ages, ticketmaster.com)

8. Cantus: Perhaps, within this outstanding Twin Cities-based octet of lower voices, there’s always been a boy band waiting to burst forth. For its popular annual “Covers” concerts, Cantus will unleash its inner ‘NSync and Backstreet Boys while celebrating the pop music of 1999. Expect their trademark harmonies and fine soloing to do ample justice to the songs of Cher, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and TLC, among others. It also will be streamable from June 7-16. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. June 7 and 8, 3 p.m. June 9, Luminary Arts Center, 700 1st St. N., Mpls., $5-$36, cantussings.org)

Also: Country singer Riley Green is enjoying some renewed momentum on the impetus of his Luke Combs collab, “Different ‘Round Here” (7:30 p.m. the Armory, $38 and up); the 18th anniversary party for Surly Brewing will feature local garage-rock boogie kings Eleganza, Alan Sparhawk’s new funk group Derecho Sound System and fiery rockers Annie & the Bang Bang (music starts 3 p.m., free); well-traveled folk fusion guitarist/singer Shawn Phillips, who was a mainstay on KQRS in the 1970s before becoming an EMT, returns for a two-night (7 p.m., also Sun., the Dakota, $40-45); History Theatre will present a re-staging of Buddy Holly’s fateful 1959 Winter Dance Party with “Peggy Sue,” “Oh Boy” and other Holly favorites (7:30 p.m. History Theatre, $30-$40); the second annual Tribute Summerslam inside and outside Palmer’s Bar patio features Revo, Rude Girl, the McEnRamones, Kraftjerk and more (3:30 p.m.-midnight, $10-$20).

9. John Moreland: The veteran Oklahoma singer/songwriter scales back from the folk-tronica of his last couple albums by handling all the instrumentation himself on this year’s “Visitor,” his 10th studio album. Moreland gets introspective and raises big questions. “Why do I keep feeling like a soldier in a holy war that I never signed up for?” he asks in “Gentle Violence.” “Silver Sliver” questions how a musician can make a living in the era of streaming. He gets political without naming names in “One Man Holds the World Hostage.” He sounds weary on the stand-out “Blue Dream Carolina,” but he implores that dream to remind him why he pursues his sometimes painful life. (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $30, axs.com)

Also: Tonia Hughes Kendrick, Billy Steele and Sara Renner, who have been singing gospel music together in the Twin Cities for more than two decades, salute the gospel sounds of Edwin, Tramaine and Walter Hawkins (4:30 p.m. Crooners, $35-$45); late-’90s Californian alt-metal band Alien Ant Farm, best-known for its cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” is out touring again with a new album (8 p.m. Turf Club, $28); local drum/keyboard experimentalist Dosh kicks off another Sunday night residency with some of his well-known friends at North Loop’s intimate new music hub (7 p.m. Berlin, $15).

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, the son of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, teams with trombonist Robin Eubanks for an evening of jazz (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$45); Rich Hinman vs. Adam Levy is a New York-based instrumental project featuring “the other Adam Levy,” formerly of Norah Jones’ band, with ex-Twin Citian Chris Morrissey on bass (8 p.m. Icehouse, $20-$30).

10. Camera Obscura: Following fellow cult-loved Scottish twee-pop band Belle and Sebastian to town by just a few weeks, bittersweet serenader Tracyanne Campbell and her playfully dramatic crew have finally regrouped following the 2015 death of keyboardist Carey Lander and issued their first album in 10 years via Merge Records. “Look to the East, Look to the West” echoes the Smiths-gone-twangy sounds of their breakout hit “Hey Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” and other mid-’00s gems with an added maturity and great-to-be-alive sensibility. (8 p.m. Fine Line, $30, axs.com)

Also: Stella Cole, a TikTok favorite who has sung with Postmodern Jukebox and plans to drop her debut this year, jazzes up Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” and Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$35).

Versatile guitar hero Bill Frisell, a frequent Twin Cities visitor, brings his jazz trio featuring bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$40); Cleveland’s joyously blasting indie-rock mainstays Cloud Nothings are back out with a new album produced by Kurt Vile/War on Drugs collaborator Jeff Zeigler, titled “Final Summer” (8:30 p.m. Turf Club, $26); the Australian Pink Floyd Show is playing an overview of fan faves on tour this summer with its usual hi-fi array of lights and floating inflatables (7:30 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, $40-$100); Chicago singer/picker Nathan Graham blends his South Side blues with Southern Americana influences and has Turn Turn Turn for openers (7 p.m. Icehouse, $25).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.