Big Gigs for Feb. 20-26: Pitbull & Enrique Iglesias, Kacey Musgraves, Hellyeah, more

Pitbull is the Miami party machine. With hit after hit, including "Don't Stop the Party" and "I Know You Want Me," he keeps the dance floor hopping. More a rapper than a singer, he'll rely on videos in concert for vocal contributions from Ke$ha, Chris Brown and Christina Aguilera. The nattily attired James Bond of hip-hop is sharing a bill with casually dressed Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias, left, whose more diversified repertoire ranges from big ballads like "Hero" to party songs like "Tonight." Look for these two Latin superstars to collaborate on a couple of tunes, including "I Like It." J. Balvin opens. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Target Center, $19.50-$99.50) Bream

After performing together in recent months mostly as a duo, wedded bandmates Johnny Solomon and Molly Moore are back in full-band mode again with Communist Daughter. Their harmonious pop/rock quintet of "Not the Kid" notoriety spent last week in the recording studio and is stepping out for a short tour centered around Friday's fifth anniversary fundraiser for Minnesota Music Coalition, a great networking and promotional resource for musicians statewide. Fellow stylish hook-meister John Mark Nelson is also on the lineup along with "The Voice" contestant Holly Henry. (8 p.m. Fri., Varsity Theater, $10-$40.) Chris Riemenschneider

Local legend Willie Murphy is curating a show for Patrick's Cabaret's Singer/Songwriter Series co-starring some other venerable Twin Cities musicians: Lonnie Knight, of Joker's Wild, the Hoopsnakes and countless solo gigs; Becky Thompson, Minnesota's premier classic country singer, and multi-instrumentalist Mary Ray Elias, who released an album called "Gory Glory" a couple of years back. These shows focus on original material and have a storyteller-style format. It should be enlightening to hear Thompson do her own songs, instead of the honky tonk and jukebox hits she typically delivers. (8 p.m. Fri., Patrick's Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., 612-724-6273. $10.) Tom Surowicz

They don't make 'em like Joshua Radin anymore: Sensitive, sweet-voiced, handsome, with honest, intimate, mellow, cuddly tunes. His just-released sixth album, "Onward & Sideways," is his first on the Fat Possum label. Not as sad as on past records, the Cleveland-bred, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, 40, sounds like a cross between an uncreepy John Mayer and an unbeachy Jack Johnson. Opening are two of Radin's buddies from their Hotel Cafe tour days, Andrew Belle and Cary Brothers. (8 p.m. Sat., Mill City Nights, $25-$45.) Jon Bream

Welsh quintet Catfish & the Bottlemen played to about 100 people last summer at the Varsity but sold twice that many tickets in advance this time around after their full-length debut, "The Balcony," arrived last month on the Mumford-affiliated Communion imprint via Island Records. Their Delta Spirit-like lead single "Kathleen" helped hype the record, and their high-energy live show should help all the more. New-wavey San Antonio quartet Wild Party opens. (9 p.m. Sat., 7th Street Entry, sold out.) Riemenschneider

A passionate songwriter with a softly vibrant, almost jazz-crooner voice, Natalie Lovejoy was a regular player around town in the early-'00s but mostly set her music career aside to raise two daughters and open her Soapbox Salon in St. Paul. She's back in a big way with help from Andy Thompson, Jeremy Messersmith's right-hand man, who produced her new Kickstarter-funded album "Hiding in the Light." Songs range from the ethereal-poppy "Come Home" to the bare-all, Adele-like piano ballad "Fallen From Grace," with such aces as John Munson, Brian Tighe and the Laurel Strings' Josh Misner for backers. Lovejoy has plenty of reasons to celebrate its release. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Icehouse, $8-$10.) Riemenschneider

Four albums in, Hellyeah has carved out its own identity and wicked reputation instead of just being known for the bands its members used to be in — Pantera in the case of drummer Vinnie Paul, and Mudvayne for frontman Chad Gray. The quartet is about to hit arenas with Godsmack but is squeezing in a string of club gigs behind its latest record, "Blood for Blood," overloaded with Paul's thrashing Texas boogie and Gray's maniacal meltdowns. Devour the Day and Like a Storm open. (8 p.m. Sun., Mill City Nights, $25.) Riemenschneider

It's cool when there's a "celebration of life" and the man of the hour is around to join in, as is the case with "Not Done Yet: A Musical Celebration of Bruce Jackson." The versatile Jackson, who plays seven instruments but is best known for his keyboard work, has battled mesothelioma for seven long years. Recently he decided to stop brutal chemotherapy and focus on living "in the now." He will perform with his groups Ipso Facto, New Primitives and Moondogs88, plus the Dreadlock Cowboys. There will also be a jam with barroom luminaries including Willie Murphy, David Eiland, Big Bob Scoggin, Bobby Vandell, KFAI's Tony Paul and John Della Selva. (4-9 p.m. Sun., Famous Dave's Uptown, $10 suggested donation.) Surowicz

With the Allman Brothers calling it quits last fall, Warren Haynes can concentrate on his other band, Gov't Mule. He's got a special treat for the jam band's 20th anniversary tour — jazz guitar star John Scofield will be sitting in. They collaborated on a new CD, "Sco-Mule," which actually was recorded at a 1999 concert in Atlanta, then shelved because of the death of Mule bassist Allen Woody shortly after the gigs. Scofield, who mixes soul, fusion and post-bop styles, makes a compelling contrast to Haynes' bluesier style. If the concert is half as exciting as the live album, fans will be in for a big treat. (8 p.m. Thu., State Theatre, $39-$44.) Bream

Kacey Musgraves, below, has been building an impressive résumé: Grammys last year for best country album ("Same Trailer Different Park") and country song ("Merry Go Round"). CMA awards for best new artist in 2013 and song of the year in 2014 ("Follow Your Arrow"). Opening tours for Katy Perry and Willie Nelson. Writing the smash "Mama's Broken Heart" for Miranda Lambert. But the critically acclaimed, industry-loved Musgraves hasn't scored a breakthrough radio single yet, though "Arrow" sold 500,000 copies on the strength of TV and concert appearances and video exposure. Still, there is much to admire about her willingness to sing about such controversial topics as same-sex love and marijuana in a genre known for its conservative views. John & Jacob open. (8 p.m. Fri., State Theatre, $39.) Bream

Theophilus London is more of a foot-rub kind of rapper than a fist-pumper. The stylish Brooklyn native excels at chilled-out grooves with soulful electronic flavor, and he makes for a rather charming, sly R&B crooner, too. It took three years for him to finish his sophomore record for Warner Bros., "Vibes," executive produced by and featuring a guest appearance by Kanye West. Awful Records founder Father and sultry L.A. neo-soul singer Dojo Cat open. (8:30 p.m. Tue., Fine Line, $25.) Riemenschneider

Don't call it a Blowout. Doomtree's rare one-night-only stand at First Ave is more of a winding down. The Twin Cities collective has been on the road for four weeks behind its third all-crew album, "All Hands," a cohesive yet dense listen that might have taken fans this long to fully appreciate. It'll be a treat to hear how the songs have evolved after a month of gigs. Ryan Olson's new electronic band with Solid Gold frontman Zach Coulter, Taggart & Rosewood, opens along with one of the Cities' most ambitious MCs, Meta, aka Metasota. (9 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, sold out.) Riemenschneider

Given Julia Holter's career trajectory from 2011's bedroom-recorded "Tragedy" through 2013's universally lauded "Loud City Song," the avant-pop phenom's three-way collaboration with composer Alex Temple and Chicago's Spektral Quartet makes sense enough to seem foreordained. Old friends Holter and Temple both create intelligent, accessible music with more than a hint of surreality, making them perfect allies in project instigators Spektral's ongoing battle to free the string quartet from conventional expectations. In addition to Temple's 10-song "Behind the Wallpaper" and a sampler of regular Spektral selections, the program offers fans a rare opportunity to see Holter doing her own material backed by strings. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $15.) Rod Smith

After spending his salad days with the Twin Cities acoustic group Pimentos for Gus in the 1990s, Justin Roberts moved to Chicago and became a force in kids music. Not only have two of his albums been nominated for Grammys, but his trophy case is filled with seven National Parenting Publications Gold Awards and eight Parents' Choice Gold Awards. Last fall, Roberts published a picture book on Penguin, "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade," and he composed the score for a new musical, "Hansel and Gretel," which premiered in Chicago in December. (11 a.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center, $15.) Bream

The Nile Project is regional music with a wide swath, comprising performers from 11 countries along the 4,200-mile Nile River in Africa, which encompasses a wealth of Arabic and African tribal traditions. Sudan, Uganda and Egypt all have different variations on the ancient lyre, and the same can be said with other Nile countries and the spike fiddle. The Nile Project both highlights these different timbres and textures and folds them together with saxophone, oud, harp flute, thumb piano, bass guitar and complementary percussion. (7 p.m. Tue., Northrop Auditorium, $26-$42.) Britt Robson

The second annual Winter Jazz Fest at Zeitgeist's lately very jazz-friendly studio features a host of cool bands now under the Shifting Paradigm Records umbrella. You'll hear some well-established acts — Atlantis Quartet, the Graydon Peterson Quartet and the ambitious and impressive Adam Meckler Orchestra — plus old friends in new combinations: Nichols/Bates/Bates; the band Endeavors, formerly Courageous Endeavors, but now missing Brian Courage; plus the amusingly-named Lars Larson's Mancrush, a bass-less quartet with Bryan Nichols on Fender Rhodes keyboard, playing drummer Larson's material. (3-9 p.m. Sat., Studio Z, 275 E. 4th St., Suite 200, St. Paul, 651-755-1600. $15.) Surowicz

One of many New Orleans players who took to the road after Hurricane Katrina and found a welcoming outpost up the Mississippi at the Dakota, Glen David Andrews is a rowdy, gruff-voiced and often hilarious party-starting trombone player who falls somewhere between Kermit Ruffins and his popular cousin Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews. His lively mix of NOLA R&B, funk and jazz always guarantees the supper club's chairs don't get overused. (7 & 9 p.m. Sat., Dakota, $25.) Riemenschneider

What's a youth hockey benefit doing at a blues bar? Well, the Johnson Como Youth Hockey A Peewees went 39-0 last year, and are headed to Australia to compete in the Friendship Games. And Ted Wilebski's grandson Teddy is on the team. So grandpa is staging an all-day "Blues and Bar-B-Q" fundraiser, with a nice lineup of well-seasoned acts including Hurricane Harold, Jimi "Prime Time" Smith, Jimmi & the Band of Souls and Dee Miller. No hip-checking on the dance floor, please. (1-6 p.m. Sun., Wilebski's Blues Saloon, 1638 Rice St., St. Paul, 651-207-0000. $10 suggested donation.) Surowicz

René Clausen , conductor of the accomplished Concordia Choir in Moorhead since 1986, is also one of the most acclaimed and celebrated choral composers in the world. A recording of his music won three Grammy awards in 2013. The Singers honor him with "René Clausen Festival: Honoring a Choral Icon." The concert is also a testament to Clausen's legacy of having trained many of the state's leading choral conductors, including the Singers' artistic director, Matthew Culloton. (7:30 p.m. Sat., House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Av., St. Paul, $22-$25, 651-917-1948, www.singersmca.org) William Randall Beard

At 22, Benjamin Grosvenor is something of a prodigy, having been performing for more than half his life, winning competitions since the age of 10. But he is already a mature artist, performing repertoire from four centuries. His eclectic program opens with two works by Rameau and the first half concludes with a Chaconne by Bach, arranged by Busoni, and a Prelude, Chorale and Fugue by Franck. The second half features three works by Chopin and Three Pieces from "Goyescas" by Granados. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Ordway Center, $15-$65, 651-292-3268, schubert.org) Beard