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

1. Beyoncé: Of course, it will be a spectacle. What else would you expect? It's Beyoncé. As she has arrived in North America after a triumphant run in Europe, Queen Bey is throwing down lots of material from last year's extraordinary dance-music celebration, "Renaissance," as well as nuggets from her earlier solo albums, choice Destiny's Child tunes and a few covers. Props for her choosing the Gophers football stadium, where she performed in 2016, instead of the bigger but acoustically inferior U.S. Bank Stadium, where she performed with Jay-Z in 2018. There is no opening act. (8 p.m. Huntington Bank Stadium, 2009 University Ave SE, Mpls., $50-$1,900, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Wild Nights at the Minnesota Zoo presents three stages of blues, jazz and soul, featuring powerhouse vocalist Joyann Parker, blues harmonica blower Hurricane Harold with Erin McCawley, Paul Renz Trio and the dueling pianos of Aces & 88s (6-10 p.m. Minnesota Zoo, $35-$40); Minnesota jam-band heroes the Big Wu are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year and making an annual gig out of the Under the Canopy series, complete with a post-curfew indoor set afterward by White Iron bandleader Matt Pudas (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $20-$40).

2. Carrie Underwood: We can't get too much of the country queen. She's returning to the greater metro area for the second time in nine months. Her Denim & Diamonds Tour, which rocked Target Center in October, ended this spring. Then she resumed her Las Vegas residency, but this summer Underwood is doing some isolated gigs, including some bucket-list ones with Guns N' Roses. Last month, the don't-mess-with-me Nashville superstar dropped a new single, the kiss-off "Out of That Truck," in which she wishes her ex good luck getting her smells and memories out of his Chevy Silverado. Caroline Jones opens. (7 p.m. Treasure Island Amphitheater, 5734 Sturgeon Lake Rd, Welch, Minn., $59 and up, ticketmaster.com)

3. International Cello Institute: If you love the rich and emotive sound of a cello, then this concert series is for you. Young cellists from all over gather in Northfield each summer for this event, and they always bring a few of the esteemed clinicians to Minneapolis for recitals. On Friday, Colombia's Santiago Canon-Valencia — a silver medalist in Russia's Tchaikovsky Competition — will perform music by Maurice Ravel, Alberto Ginastera and others. On July 28, the series closes with Iceland's Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir performing three J.S. Bach Cello Suites. (7:30 p.m. and July 28 Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church Art Gallery, 511 Groveland Ave., Mpls., $15-$30, internationalcelloinstitute.com.)

Also: Innovative guitarist Stanley Jordan of the two-hand tapping technique returns (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$35); alt-rock vet Louise Post of the "Seether"-hitmaking '90s band Veruca Salt is earning good reviews touring for her first solo album, "Sleepwalker" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $20-$25); BZ Organ Trio welcomes guest vocalist Julius Collins, the venerable Twin Cities soul man (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30); it's a tribute to the '70s pop/country crossover queens Olivia Newton-John and Anne Murray courtesy of Twin Cities vocalists Jana Anderson, Lisa Keith and Tara Brueske (8 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $35-$45); Minneapolis Latino music mainstays Malamanya play their annual Under the Canopy dance party with Salsa Brava (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $15-$22)

4. Yungblud: After topping the U.K. pop charts back home last year, the angsty, pop/punk-flavored rap-rocker is making his second go-around through America this year promoting his self-titled third album. The Machine Gun Kelly cohort — they collaborated on the 2019 hit "I Think I'm Okay" — now has Avril Lavigne and Willow guesting on his new singles "I'm a Mess" and "Memories," respectively. His prior appearances in town at the Fillmore and Electric Fetus reportedly offered good, semi-clean, teen-centric fun. Los Angeles quartet the Regrettes make for excellent openers, too. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6^th St., Mpls., all ages, $37-$57, ticketmaster.com)

5. Laila Biali: While her "Out of Dust" in 2020 was a highly personal collection about loss, the veteran Vancouver jazz thrush tackles the Great American Songbook on this year's "Your Requests." The Juno winner gets boosts from all-stars such as vocalist Kurt Elling on an intimately idiosyncratic "My Funny Valentine" and clarinetist Anat Cohen on a Brazilian-tinged "But Not for Me," but the singer-pianist has a way of making the familiar sound fresh. Props to Biali for her arrangements, which afford instrumental passages that elevate these standards, especially the scat-spiked "Pennies from Heaven" and the soprano sax-raked "Autumn Leaves." (8:30 p.m. Crooners, 6161 Hwy 65, Fridley, $30-$40, croonersloungemn.com)

6. The Summer Singers: What started 27 years ago as a way for singers from the Bach Society of Minnesota to keep their chops up in summer has become an annual all-star choir full of singers from some of the best ensembles in town. They have a new artistic director in longtime Cantus member Adam Reinwald, and he'll lead a program full of music inspired by the sky and spanning the centuries. (7 p.m. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1200 Marquette Ave. S., Mpls.; 4 p.m. Sun., 2 and 7 p.m. July 29, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, 1669 Arcade St., St. Paul; 4 p.m. July 30, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 4801 France Ave. S., Mpls., free, summersingers.org)

Also: The 10th annual Midtown Blues Fest presents two out-of-town blues headliners in Walter Trout and Corey Stevens along with local faves Mick Sterling & the Stud Brothers, the Jellybean Johnson Experience and Kendra Glenn & Lisa Wenger (noon-10 p.m. Dual Citizen Brewery, free); almost a quarter-century since forming at St. Paul Central High, pioneering live hip-hop band Heiruspecs just put out its first album in eight years and arguably best ever, "Pretty Random but What Happened to Heiruspecs?" which they're celebrating with a vinyl release bash featuring openers MaLLy and Ms. Lakesha (9 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$20); old-school-leaning Minnesota alt-twanger Molly Brandt has a release party for her new album, "Surrender to the Night" (8:30 p.m. Turf Club, $15-$20); once one of the finest and most versatile vocalists in the Twin Cities, Bruce Henry visits from Chicago to celebrate his 50 years in music, backed by an all-star Minnesota band (7 p.m. Dakota, $30-$35); the so-called Palmer's Summerslam features local tribute bands Jailbreak, Heartless, RudeGirl and more (4 p.m., Palmer's Bar patio, $20).

7. Dusty Daze: One of Minneapolis' best-loved historic dive bars now hosts one of the most popular block parties in town. The eclecticism in this year's indoor/outdoor lineup is oozing like one of the bar's trademark Hot Dago sandwiches, with elegant sibling twangers the Cactus Blossoms; hard-blasting punks Scrunchies, Christy Costello and Bermuda Squares; veteran rap guru Carnage the Executioner; vintage rock revivalists King Kustom & the Cruisers; rootsier song pickers and plunkers Doug Otto, the Beavers, Ben Cook-Feltz and Lonesome Dan Kase, and more. (1-10 p.m. Dusty's Bar, 1319 Marshall St. NE, Mpls., $10, dustysbaranddagos.com)

Also: Swedish indie-folk sister act First Aid Kit returns with an acclaimed new album, "Palomino," and a similarly raved-about opening act, the Weather Station (8 p.m. Palace Theater, $45-$75); on a break from Stevie Nicks' tour, funky keyboardist Ricky Peterson joins his singing sister Patty Peterson as well as David Sanborn sidemen Nick Moroch on guitar and Gene Lake on drums for an evening that can go in many wonderful directions (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$40); New Orleans groovers the Iguanas are back in town for another outdoor jam with pal Paul Cebar (7 p.m., Hook & Ladder, $20-$35).

8. Killer Mike: He was supposed to be here this year — and last year, and the year before that — with his incomparably electric duo Run the Jewels as the openers on Rage Against the Machine's unraveled tour. Instead, the booming-voiced Atlanta rap giant and social commentator/activist is sneaking into town on his own for a more personal and likely emotional go-around promoting his first solo album in 11 years, "Michael." The record explores his upbringing, spirituality and hard-fought pride with tinges of classic boom-bap and gospel music, the latter of which he's generating on tour with help from a choir called the Midnight Revival. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1^st Av. N., Mpls., $35, axs.com)

9. Lucinda Williams: Even though her 2020 stroke has prevented her from playing guitar, she comes out rocking like a bar band on this year's "Stories from a Rock 'n' Roll Heart." She gets assists from Tommy Stinson ("Hum's Liquor" is about his brother Bob Stinson), Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen, no less, on background vocals but relies heavily on her longtime guitarists Stuart Mathis and Doug Pettibone. These are a survivor's songs, which pair perfectly with her recent memoir, "Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You." (7 p.m., also Tue.-Wed and July 28-29, the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., sold out, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Americana singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews returns, touting her fifth Fat Possum album, last year's introspective "Loose Future" (8 p.m. Turf Club, $20)

10. Gogol Bordello: Eugene Hütz and his New York-based band of immigrants have long been fiery and fun purveyors of Ukrainian culture and Eastern European freedoms. So you can imagine how red-hot they are these days following Russia's invasion of Hutz's homeland. They recently released the charity single "United Strike Back," featuring members of Green Day, Fugazi and Dead Kennedys. They are also the subjects of a new Liev Schreiber-produced documentary, "Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story." It's a big moment in an already grandiose band's history. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $35, axs.com)

Also: Guitarist Dave Mason did stints in Traffic and Fleetwood Mac but maybe best known for his solo hit "We Just Disagree" and for writing "Feelin' Alright"; he shares a bill with Southern rockers Outlaws of "There Goes Another Love Song" fame (8 p.m. Pantages Theater, $48-$143); topical Arizona folk-punk band AJJ is promoting its new album, "Disposable Everything," with locally loved Chicago rapper Open Mike Eagle (7 p.m. Varsity Theater, $23-$100).

Twin Cities indie-rock band Dad Bod has been riding high on 89.3 the Current's Chart Show with its Mazzy Star-flavored single "Milkdrinker," and now it's headlining a four-band lineup (8:30 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $15); groovy '90s alt-rock band Incubus of "Drive" fame is touring amphitheaters again this summer with notable opener Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael (7 p.m. the Ledge Amphitheater, Waite Park, $60-$130).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.