The Big Gigs: top 10 concert to see in the Twin Cities this week

1. Genesis Owusu: This delightfully hard-to-define Ghananian-Aussie soul-rocker arrives fresh off opening Paramore's tour and earning seven nominations in the ARIA Awards (Australia's Grammys). He explores even more uncharted crossover territory between punk, hip-hop and electronic music while singing about the shared troubles of downtrodden people on his second LP, "Struggler." The album's wild sounds reflect a similarly manic stage presence. He's touring with Chicago-via-Nigeria experimentalist Godly the Ruler. (8 p.m. Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $22-$37, axs.com)

2. Damien Escobar: The youngest student accepted at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music at age 10, the violinist rose to fame on "America's Got Talent" teaming with his brother Tourie in the formerly busking New York duo Nuttin' But Stringz. They performed at President Obama's first inauguration, won an Emmy but disbanded. After a brief retirement during which he became a real estate broker, Escobar reemerged as a solo artist who mixes jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop and pop. Something of a Renaissance man, he has toured with Oprah Winfrey and written a children's book, "The Sound of Strings." (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$65, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Bluesy, rootsy Kansas City singer/pianist Kelley Hunt joins broadcaster-turned-author Pat Miles for Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women (7:30 p.m. Crooners $30-$40) and then heads to Duluth for her own gig (8 p.m. Fri. West Theatre, $28-$33); Minneapolis drummer/singer Stan Kipper leads the New Primitives and their organic grooves back to Northeast Minneapolis (7 p.m. Shaw's, free); in lieu of his favorite local hangout Lee's Liquor Lounge, old-school Texas country music traditionalist Dale Watson returns to the Hook & Ladder Theater, this time playing a solo set with Eleven Hundred Springs singer Matt Hillyer as opener (7:30 p.m., $25-$35); the second week of shows at Minneapolis' new East Lake Street venue Cloudland Theater begins with Count Spookula and My Kid Banana (7 p.m., $12); breezy, bouncy Canadian folk-rocker Bahamas is on a daunting 29-city tour in 32 days behind his new album, "Bootcut" (8 p.m. First Avenue, $28).

3. Brian Setzer: After living in the Twin Cities for two decades, the rockabilly-loving guitarist will finally play a high-profile gig here with a trio that isn't Stray Cats. With the release of his second made-in-Minneapolis album in three years, Setzer has enlisted Aussie bassist Chris D'Rozario and Mexican drummer Juan Laurios for his Rockabilly Riot Tour. Expect lots of material from this year's "The Devil Always Collects" and 2021's "Gotta Have the Rumble" as well as some Stray Cats classics and a solo set as Setzer wraps up a fall tour in Minneapolis. Yates McKendree opens. (8 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $54.50-$90, ticketmaster.com)

4. Rogue Valley: After releasing four seasonal albums in one year in 2010-2011 — even more impressive: Each one was actually quite excellent — this folky, lush, mystical, bright-eyed Twin Cities rock band led by Oregonian transplant Chris Koza scaled back and eventually went on hiatus in the late-2010s, with some of the members joining Lissie's backing band. They started recording again even before the pandemic, though. The resulting 20-song double LP, "Shell Game," shows all the time, care, emotion and general gratitude of togetherness that went into its creation. Really lovely and poetic stuff. Pal Molly Maher opens their release party. (8 p.m. Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., $19-$24, icehousempls.com)

5. Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin: Grammy-winning singer-songwriters in their mid-60s, these two have been friends for more than half their lives. In concert, they play off one another musically and conversationally. Carpenter has described the pair as "the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of folk music" whereas Colvin prefers to liken them to the Smothers Brothers. In any case, they'll tickle your funny bone and nourish your mind with "Stones in the Road," "Sunny Came Home" and other gems. (8 p.m. Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $60-$115, ticketmaster.com)

Also: The Zombies — yes, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season" that landed them in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — are touring behind a new album, "Different Game," which fans are touting as a sonic sequel to 1968's "Odessey and Oracle" (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $39.50 and up); married Twin Cities singer/songwriters Ellen "Mother Banjo" Stanley and Ben Cook-Feltz will lead the 14th annual "Big Fat Love: Birthday Tribute to John Prine" with the likes of Becky Schlegel, Leslie Vincent and Jon Rodine (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $15-$20); British art-rockers Everything Everything used AI to help with lyrics and song titles on their sixth album, 2022's "Raw Data" (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $42 and up); well-traveled blue-eyed soul man Martin Sexton, who featured John Mayer on his latest EP "2020 Vision," returns (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$65); veteran Minneapolis jazz trumpeter Ahmed Abdulkarim leads the Creators (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30); celebrated British guitar star Adrian Legg, who is as adept at finger-style guitar as he is at storytelling, returns (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $23-$28); Jessie Murph, 19, has been making waves with "Heartbroken," her single with Diplo and Polo G (7 p.m. First Avenue, $27-$30); hyperpop singer Underscores is on tour supporting her second album, "Wallsocket" (9 p.m. Turf Club $18-$20).

6. Luke Bryan: The country superstar has dropped three new tunes from his forthcoming eighth album, including "Country On," his 30^th No. 1 single. Bryan keeps busy: judging on "American Idol," co-hosting the CMA Awards, performing a Vegas residency and kicking up dirt on his recent Farm Tour. On his current Country On Tour, expect songs about drinkin', huntin', fishin' and knockin' boots in what will be Bryan's return to a Twin Cities arena after multiple stadium gigs in Minneapolis. With Chayce Beckham, Conner Smith and Hailey Whitters. (7 p.m. Sat., Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $34 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Winners for the Grammys' best children's album, Twin Cities folk duo the Okee Dokee Brothers play two hometown shows in one day to kick off their tour with Mexican strummer Sonia De Los Santos, with whom they collaborated on the new multilingual album "Songs on Common Ground" (11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$30); Phillip Phillips, the 2011 "American Idol" champ remembered for his rendition of "Home," is touring behind his fourth studio album, "Drift Back" (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $25 and up); country star Chris Janson, known for the hits "Buy Me a Boat" and "Good Vibes," docks near Red Wing (8 p.m. Treasure Island Casino, $49-$69); Tommy Shaw and James Young are keeping Styx alive with "The Grand Illusion" and "Too Much Time on My Hands" (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino, $49-$149); former Cities 97 radio personality Keri Noble is back to her original gig, as a piano-playing singer/songwriter (8:30 p.m. Crooners, $35-$45); the Muatas and Magenta Vice try out the new Cloudland Theater (8 p.m., $15).

7. Ben Harper: Critically acclaimed and cult-loved ever since the release of his 1994 debut "Welcome to the Cruel World," the bluesy California singer/songwriter and slide-guitar master turned in a stripped-down, largely acoustic batch of songs for his latest album, "Wide Open Light." The lyrics are similarly direct and simpler in tone, with an overriding message that love is all you need. After summer gigs with the Chicks, the 53-year-old Grammy winner wraps up a headlining tour with his sturdy band the Innocent Criminals here. (7 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino Showroom, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd. NW, Prior Lake, $39-$65, ticketmaster.com)

8. The Sphinx Virtuosi: For 26 years, the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization has been mentoring talented young Black and Latinx musicians, the most delicious fruit of its efforts being this outstanding string orchestra. It's just released its first album on classical music's most prestigious label, Deutsche Grammophon, a collection of works by contemporary Black composers called "Songs for Our Times." Black and Latinx composers are the focus of this concert, their music interspersed with the poetry of Julia Alvarez and Langston Hughes. (3 p.m. Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $13-$31, students and children free, schubert.org)

"Suspiria" movie scorer Claudio Simonetti and his group Goblin are on tour performing the score to Dominic Argento's "Demons" (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $35-$119); Los Angeles punk heroes Bad Religion are marking the 30th anniversary of the "Recipe to Hate" album and seemingly loving playing live again on their current tour (8 p.m. Uptown Theater, $36-$60); Warped Tour-buoyed Boston rock band Boys Like Girls is back in action with its first album in 11 years (6 p.m. the Fillmore, $40); Adi Yeshaya, the Twin Cities maestro who has worked with Whitney Houston, Prince and NBC's "The Voice," leads his big band featuring the ever-versatile vocalist Jennifer Grimm (7 p.m. Dakota, $25-$30).

9. Thibaudet, Batiashvili and Capuçon: The Schubert Club International Artist Series generally emphasizes the singular in "artist," presenting recitals by one star soloist. But the season will open with a triumvirate of classical star power in pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Gautier Capuçon. The three good friends will explore repertoire written for the combination of their three instruments, presenting piano trios by Joseph Haydn, Maurice Ravel and Felix Mendelssohn. (7:30 p.m. Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $36-$75, students and children free, schubert.org)

Also: Aussie guitar master Tommy Emmanuel is back with his 27th studio album, "Accomplice Two" (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $49.50); lyrically hard-edged, musically hooky Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates of "2 Phones" fame is touring behind his third album, "Khaza," with opener BigXThaPlug (8:30 p.m. the Armory, $57); East Coast super-pickers Hawktail team up with Vasen, the veteran Swedish folk group that has appeared in Minneapolis many times (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $24-$29).

10. Mudhoney: Being the most overlooked band in the early '90s Seattle grunge craze may have been something of a saving grace for the quartet of "Touch Me I'm Sick" notoriety. Still touring with three of its four original members and still blasting through live shows and albums with force, the group recently offered "Plastic Eternity" on Sub Pop Records, entertainingly showing off the '60s garage-rock influences. Its 2019 gig at the Fine Line was one of that year's local concert highlights. L.A. psyche-rock band Hooveriii opens. (8 p.m. Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul, $30, axs.com).

Also: Prolific saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, the son of jazz colossus John and pianist/harpist Alice, is joined by drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. and keyboardist Luis Perdomo (7 p.m., also Oct. 19, the Dakota, $40-$50).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.