Thursday, May 2
1. Judas Priest: After belatedly making it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 — with a beautiful speech by frontman Rob Halford on being “the gay guy in the band” and ultimately one of metal’s best-fit singers — the British steelmakers are blazing through another tour, touting yet another mighty album, “Invincible Shield.” Guitarist Glenn Tipton and bassist Ian Hill are also still around from the heyday era, from which they still pull heavily in concert. As if Priest could ever take a stage without “Breaking the Law” or “Living After Midnight.” Swedish bangers Sabaton open. (7:30 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $67-$77, ticketmaster.com)
2. Robyn Hitchcock: Almost four decades since he became a poster boy for college radio and MTV’s “120 Minutes” with cult hits like “Balloon Man” and “Madonna of the Wasps,” the London punk-turned-folk-rocker also of Soft Boys acclaim has remained a road warrior and a constant delight to his fans. His banter-filled, deep-discography-digging acoustic shows are a good fit in the Twin Cities’ greatest listening room as Hitchcock moves past a family tragedy in 2023 with help from veteran comedian Eugene Mirman, who’s serving as opener. (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $35-$40, thecedar.org)
3. Minnesota Orchestra: Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein has delivered some electrifying performances on past Twin Cities visits. In recent years, he’s been on a quest to play all of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos with the Minnesota Orchestra, and he’ll be joined by its new music director, Thomas Søndergård, for the composer’s First. There also will be some of that Richard Strauss that Søndergård and the orchestra play so well together, in this case “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” Raising the curtain is a piece by Chinese composer Qigang Chen. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $45-$111, minnesotaorchestra.org)
Also: Retired but widely admired Iowa singer/songwriter Greg Brown, founder of Red House Records, promises to sing a few songs at an appearance to celebrate his new book “Ring Around the Moon: A Songbook,” a collection of writings, drawings, photographs, lyrics and sheet music, with a foreword by Seth Avett (6 p.m. Electric Fetus, free); Los Angeles’ goth/glam hard-rockers Black Veil Brides are back on tour with three openers (5:30 p.m. the Fillmore, all ages, $55); masked surf-rockers Los Straitjackets are celebrating their 30th anniversary (8 p.m. Turf Club, $25); in a return to outdoors at Crooners, Stanley Kipper and the New Primitives salute Bob Marley (8 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $25-$35).
Friday, May 3
4. Ber: After heavily charming big Mainroom audiences at First Ave’s Best New Bands and the Current’s anniversary showcases this past winter, the St. Paul-based indie-pop craftswoman from northern Minnesota is taking on her biggest hometown headlining show to date. She followed up last year’s upbeat breakout EP, “Halfway” — featuring the cheeky and ultra-catchy viral hits “Boys Who Kiss You in Their Car” and “Superspreader” — with a balladic single that’s a real heart-tugger, “Room for You,” suggesting there’s a lot more growing and exploring yet to come for one of Minnesota’s brightest young music stars. Rafaella opens. (8 p.m. Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., resale tickets only, axs.com)
5. Charlie Parr: Adding to his long list of admirers-turned-producers, Minnesota’s greatest acoustic song picker of the modern era found another fine collaborator in Tucker Martine, who worked with the Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens before producing Parr’s loosely magical new one, “Little Sun.” Piano, drums, harmonica and other lively instrumentation bring new layers to songs like “Portland Avenue” and “Bear Head Lake” without losing Parr’s rustic feel or the authenticity befitting a record whose title subtly pays homage to late Twin Cities blues legend Tony Glover. Rootsy folk duo Mama’s Broke, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, open along with Oregonian Marisa Anderson, who played on Parr’s record. (7 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25-$30, axs.com)
Also: Last seen opening for Bonnie Raitt, award-winning slide guitarist Roy Rogers will demonstrate why he’s so well regarded in the blues-rock world (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$40); Retro Fizz explores the songs of Burt Bacharach with special guests Chan Poling, Prudence Johnson, Becky Schlegel, Cindy Lawson and Arne Fogel (7 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); indie-pop strummer Bobby Kabaya’s youthful groove act Miloe tops an all-ages Radio K showcase with Heart to Gold, Christy Costello and She’s Green (7 pm. Varsity Theater, $30); an electronic dance music trio from Montreal known for wearing metallic tiger helmets, Black Tiger Sex Machine is hosting a two-night mini-fest of sorts with different openers each night and a new anime show on Night 1 (9 p.m., also Sat., the Armory, $45 or $89/two-day); burgeoning Minneapolis jazz drummer L.A. Buckner and his funky band Big Homie top KFAI’s 46th anniversary bash with Shrimp Olympics and America y los Sentimientos (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder Theater, free); Grammy-winning trumpeter Jake Baldwin blows into Berlin nightclub with his namesake quartet (8 p.m., $15); the Current’s sorely missed rock-star host Mary Lucia hosts the Hell Yeah! Rock & Roll Dance Party (8 p.m. Turf Club, $12-$15).
Saturday, May 4
6. Kenny Chesney: More than 30 years after putting out his first album, country’s king of stadium concerts is bound again for the Vikings’ colosseum, with a new album, “Born,” a fast rising, Hardy-penned single “Take Her Home” (which chronicles a romance from a barroom meeting to having a baby) and a pickup truck full of opening acts. Zac Brown Band, a stadium headliner in its own right, brings “Chicken Fried” and a barroom-meets-jam band attitude. Georgia newcomer Megan Moroney delivered one of mainstream country’s top albums of 2023 with “Lucky” and the hit “Tennessee Orange.” And Uncle Kracker returns to reprise his 2004 Chesney collab, “When the Sun Goes Down.” (6 p.m. U.S. Bank Stadium, 401 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $85-$700, ticketmaster.com)