Thursday, Nov. 16
1. Dessa: After channeling classical music again at Orchestra Hall this summer, the Twin Cities' favorite rapper/singer/author/poet/podcaster is bound to get her groove back as she returns to the site of so many wild nights by her old Doomtree crew. She's been touring with a new, New York-based band and a sly and at times exhilarating new album, "Bury the Lede," one that emphasizes her electronic and pop leanings. Lady Midnight opens supporting her own highly danceable new LP, "Pursuit & the Elusive." (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., resale tickets only, first-avenue.com)
2. Minnesota Orchestra: French pianist Bertrand Chamayou has been a classical buzz artist ever since he won the 2019 Gramophone Award for recording of the year. That was for two Camille Saint-Saëns piano concertos he recorded with the French National Orchestra. One of them was the Fifth, which he'll perform here with fellow countryman Fabien Gabel on the podium. The watery program also includes Anatol Lyadov's "The Enchanted Lake," Erich Korngold's Suite from "The Sea Hawk," and Peter Tchaikovsky's Fantasy-Overture, "The Tempest." (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 7 p.m. Sat., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $25-$106, minnesotaorchestra.org)
Also: Folk veteran Tom Rush of "No Regrets" fame wraps up his two-night stand (7 p.m. the Dakota); harmonious Texas folk duo Jackopierce is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an all-seated Turf Club show (8 p.m., $35); the Tenors, Canada's operatic pop quartet, harmonizes (8 p.m. Fitzgerald, $35 and up).
Friday, Nov. 17
3. The Eagles: Enough with tequila sunrise. It's the sunset for the Eagles, or so they promise, as their Long Goodbye Tour lands in St. Paul for two nights. Unlike their last go-round when they played "Hotel California" in its entirety, this is an Eagles greatest hits show, with a couple Joe Walsh and Don Henley solo smashes mixed in. This tour also has an opening act: Steely Dan has been advertised, though it has bowed out of all shows since Sept. 20 because frontman Donald Fagen was hospitalized with an unspecified illness. Although Fagen is out of the hospital, the Doobie Brothers will open here. (7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $144.50-$1,750, ticketmaster.com)
4. Liz Phair: One of the most celebrated indie records of the 1990s, Phair's double-LP debut "Exile in Guyville," turns 30 this year, and she's marking the occasion by playing it in full with a live band for the first time on tour. Candid and wry tracks like "Stratford-on-Guy," "Divorce Song" and "[Expletive] and Run" set the then-early-20-something Chicago rocker apart as what music critic Edna Gunderson called "a royally perturbed feminist," and there's an enduring charm and power in them. Los Angeles-based opener Blondshell, aka fuzz-rocker Sabrina Teitelbaum, put on a riveting set in the Entry in July. (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $50-$100, axs.com)
5. Don McLean: The veteran singer/songwriter is certainly a whole lot more than his 1971 classic "American Pie," the epic hit about the day the music died, reflecting on the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959. His other songs include the modest hit "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)," a salute to painter Vincent Van Gogh, that has been recorded by Josh Groban, Ellie Goulding and NOFX, and "And I Love You So," which was recorded by Elvis Presley, Helen Reddy and Glen Campbell. In McLean's first Twin Cities performance in years, he might offer his new "Ballad of George Floyd" or maybe something from his just-released "Christmas Memories: Remixed and Remastered." (7 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $145-$175, dakotacooks.com)
Also: Feel-good Twin Cities pop-rock trio Yam Haus has yet to fulfill either sides of their fun new EP, "Stupid and Famous," but they've been earning rave receptions on tour with Sawyer this fall and are celebrating with a big homecoming (8 p.m. First Ave, $20-$25); "Cruel to Be Kind"-hitmaking British pop vet Nick Lowe is back out with masked retro-rock stylists Los Straitjackets as his backers and settling in for two nights in a town that loves them both (8 p.m. Turf Club, also Sat., $35); viral Detroit rapper Veeze is out supporting his second album, "Ganger" (7 p.m. Fine Line, all ages, $25); AJ Croce sings "Time in a Bottle" and the other songs of his father, Jim Croce (8 p.m. Pantages Theatre, $48.50 and up); saxophonist Jose James leads an all-star Twin Cities band paying tribute to Grover Washington (8 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); Twin Cities duo Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs celebrate "The Beat Goes On" featuring 1971 songs from Carole King, David Bowie, Rolling Stones and others (7 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35).
Saturday, Nov. 18
6. Dierks Bentley: In 20 years, this Arizona singer has sent 18 songs to No. 1 in Nashville, from "What Was I Thinkin'" to "Beers on Me." It's been four years since he last appeared in the Twin Cities, at the Minnesota State Fair, though he was a We Fest headliner in 2021. The fun-loving, good-hearted man brings his Gravel & Gold Tour to Minneapolis for a benefit for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Tyler Braden opens. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $77.25 and up, ticketmaster.com)