The Big Gigs: 10 concerts to see in Twin Cities this week

1. Pink: It is the summer of pink thanks to a movie called "Barbie" and the mononymous pop superstar Pink bringing her stadium tour to North America. Others may sing songs of pain and pleasure with soaring voices, as Pink does, but no one else mixes in high-flying acrobatics — while singing, no less. Expect the gymnastics — physically and vocally — as this extraordinary concertizer delivers "Raise Your Glass" and "Just Give Me a Reason" along with "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" from this year's "Trustfall" album. Opening is another powerhouse vocalist, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Pat Benatar, as well as rockers Grouplove of "Tongue Tied" fame and DJ Kid Cut Up. (7 p.m. Target Field, 1 Twins Way, Mpls., $50 and up, ticketmaster.com)

2. Steve Earle: On his Alone Again Tour, the great, penetrating alt-twang singer-songwriter is delivering a solo retrospective of his rich career. He might sample something from his tribute albums to Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker or his son Justin Townes Earle, offer some social commentary (such as the topical gun violence piece "The Devil's Right Hand") or take listeners down "Copperhead Road," which is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Earle wears his heart and politics on his sleeve, and we're all better for it. (7 p.m. Thu. and Fri. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $90-$120, dakotacooks.com)

3. Tamara Wilson: While the Source Song Festival abounds with scintillating singing, this is the peak of this year's concerts. Soprano Wilson is an international opera star renowned for her way with Verdi, Mozart, Strauss and Wagner, with star turns to her credit at New York's Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna Staatsoper and Italy's La Scala. She'll be joined by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and one of America's great collaborative pianists, Warren Jones, for song cycles by Juliana Hall and Evan Snyder and the work that makes this a destination concert, Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs." (7:30 p.m. Westminster Hall, Nicollet Mall and Alice Rainville Place, Mpls., $25, sourcesongfestival.org)

Also: Brazilian star Bebel Gilberto salutes her late father João Gilberto, the father of bossa nova, on her new album, "João," out Aug. 25; the tour kicks off in Minneapolis (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $49-$69); local salsa and cumbia traditionalists Salsa del Sol pair up with Ecuador Manta for what should be a fun night of dancing at the Lowertown Sounds series (6-9:30 p.m., St. Paul's Mears Park, free); from mountainous Durango, Colo., bluegrassy trio the Stillhouse Junkies made a name for themselves at the Telluride Bluegrass and other festivals and they are making headway on tour for their new album "Howl," featuring the Big Wu's Chris Castino, among many other guests (8 p.m., Hook & Ladder outside, $12-$15); Colorado metalheads Havok top off a heavy bill with Toxic Holocaust, I Am and Hammerhedd (7:30 p.m. Fine Line, $30).

4. Ed Sheeran: The King of Wedding First Dances has a big surprise for Minneapolis this week: After years of performing solo with just a guitar and a looping machine, he now has a band, which he added in 2021. The quintet plus a string section will join Sheeran at both his State Theatre concert for 2,200 and his in-the-round U.S. Bank Stadium show for 50,000. This tour's generous 27-song set is heavy on material from this year's "-" (pronounced "subtract") as well as wedding winners like "Thinking Out Loud" and "Perfect." Ben Kweller opens at the State; Khalid and Cat Burns warm up the Vikings stadium crowd. (7:30 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., sold out, and 6 p.m. Sat. U.S. Bank Stadium, Mpls. $49 and up, ticketmaster.com)

5. Lakeside Guitar Fest: The two-day event formerly known as the Lowertown Guitar Fest returns to St. Paul's Como Lake with a new name but the same coolly eclectic formula of instrumental pickers/players. This year's big name is Marc Ribot, who's famously played with Tom Waits and Elvis Costello and will perform here with his group the Jazz-Bins. He headlines Saturday afternoon's free schedule over HoneyButter, Roy Harris Jr. and Joyann Parker, followed by the ticketed "Last Waltz Tribute" and an "Americhicana" afterparty at the Turf Club. Friday's free roster includes Minnesota's acoustic blues/folk master Charlie Parr, the Mood Swings and Brothers in Mud. (6-9:30 Fri., 11:45 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat., Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 Lexington Pkwy. N., St. Paul, free, musicmission.com)

6. Bayfront Blues Festival: In its 34^th year, Duluth's three-day harborside bluesathon features a couple old-guard Chicago headliners, Elvin Bishop of "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" and Paul Butterfield Blues Band fame (Fri.) and harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite (Sat.), followed by a Louisiana fix with Dwight "BlackCat Zydeco" Carrier (Sun.). Other standouts throughout the weekend include Mississippi soul man Mr. Sipp, Chicago guitar slingers Toronzo Cannon and Ronnie Baker Brooks, the Blues Music Awards' 2019 top female vocalist Annika Chambers with Paul DesLauriers, and longtime Bayfront faves Lamont Cranston and Rev. Raven & the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys. (11:45 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat., until 8:30 p.m. Sun. Bayfront Festival Park, 350 Harbor Dr., Duluth, $65-$75/day or $169/weekend, bayfrontblues.com)

Also: Grand Country Nights has two evenings of twang favorites with Gary Allan of "Nothing On But the Radio" fame headlining on Friday and Justin Moore, the "Why We Drink" hitmaker, on Saturday (7:30 p.m. Grand Casino Hinckley, $79-$99); there's another chance to get a '90s nostalgia fix outdoors with "All Star" hitmakers Smash Mouth and "Two Princes" rockers the Spin Doctors (7:30 p.m. Canterbury Park, $40-$120); bluesy songwriter Chris Pierce gained national prominence when his song "We Can Always Come Back to This" was featured prominently on the NBC series "This Is Us" (8:30 p.m. Turf Club, $17); newly rejuvenated 2000s-era Twin Cities rockers the Alarmists hit the Star Tribune's Music & Movies series followed by a screening of "School of Rock" (7:30 p.m., Lake Harriet Bandshell, free); Lzzy Hale and her namesake metal band Halestorm are "Back From the Dead," per the title of their latest album (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino Showroom, $29-$49).

7. Pizza Lucé Block Party: Back after a four-year hiatus — and now another attempt to bring the fun back to downtown Minneapolis — this grand poobah of the local block party scene returns with a lineup as eclectic as its host's menu of pies. Minneapolis icons Morris Day & the Time make for C-O-O-L headliners over some of the city's hippest music makers of modern time, including electro-hip-hop wordsmith Dua Saleh, harmonious twangers the Cactus Blossoms and indie-rock mainstays Bad Bad Hats, plus Vial, Graveyard Club, Obi Original and Supportive Parents. (2:30-10 p.m. Pizza Lucé Downtown, 119 4th St. N., Mpls., all ages, $23-$69, eventbrite.com)

8. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats: A week out from their usual summer hometown run at Red Rocks in Denver, the buoyant soul-rock groovers are settling in for another two-night outdoor stand in the town that has loved them since 2015's jittery sobriety anthem "S.O.B." Rateliff and his horn-blown crew are still touring behind 2021's darker and more downbeat album "The Future," with such singles as "Survivor" and "Face Down in the Moment," but their live shows remain as high-energy and sweaty as ever. There's also a third option to see them in western Minnesota this week. Daptones Records-backed newcomers Thee Sacred Souls open. (7 p.m. Sat. & Sun., Surly Brewing Festival Field, sold-out Sat., $60, axs.com; 7 p.m. Tue. Bluestem Amphitheater, Moorhead, $40-$100, etix.com)

Also: Veteran jazz vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur, who won a Grammy for her 1988 collaboration with the Count Basie Orchestra, joins JazzMN Orchestra for a night of Basie music (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $45-$60); a pair of 1970s hitmaking bands team up outstate — Grand Funk Railroad (featuring the original rhythm section) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of "We're an American Band" and Jefferson Starship (featuring original member David Freiberg) lands with "We Built This City" (7 p.m. Ledge Amphitheater, $39.50-$127.50); Another cool block party of sorts in Minneapolis, Nershfest 2023 features psychedelic faves Night Moves with the Mae Simpson Band, Foxgloves and the Dead tribute China Rider (2-10 p.m. Inbound BrewCo, free); Latin Grammy winner Carin León, a leading proponent of Mexican regional music, is touring behind his third solo album "Colmillo de Leche" (8 p.m. Target Center, $45 and up); Bright Eyes' early '00s Saddle Creek labelmates the Good Life, led by Cursive's Tim Kasher, are playing shows again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their "Album of the Year" (9 p.m. Fine Line, $20); the Twin Cities own world-class bassist Billy Peterson brings together the swinging combo of saxophonist Tom Peterson, pianist Billy Carrothers and drummer Jay Epstein (8 p.m., also 4:30 p.m. Sun. Crooners, $30-$40).

Dramatic Atlanta-based rock band Manchester Orchestra broke big with its 2017 hit "The Gold" and is now on a co-headlining tour with hard-burning Arizona mainstays Jimmy Eat World, who long ago outlasted one-hit-wonder status from the 2001 classic "The Middle;" vibrant Aussie group Middle Kids opens (7 p.m. the Armory, $30-$79, all ages); the Lakeside Guitar Fest Afterparty boasts a cool international cross-section of pickers — and fiddlers! — with a Marc Ribot/John Medeski pairing, Tex-Mex great Carrie Rodriguez, Mexico's Klezmerson and more (8 p.m. Turf Club, $25); former Twin Citian folk picker Eliza Blue returns from her South Dakota farmstead to celebrate a new EP, "The Grass Widow," which is based off a longer, ambitious "folk opera" she's working on (5 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$20).

9. Sona Jobarteh: The only woman to master the kora, a West African string instrument that dates back to the 14th century, she is a remarkable performer — warm, gracious, funny, playful and superb on her 21-string kora. Moreover, the resident of London and Gambia from the griot tradition interacts with her audience, which has grown since she was featured on "60 Minutes" last fall. (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $32-$37, thecedar.org)

Also: Road warrior Tommy Castro, who in 2023 captured the Blues Music Award for entertainer of the year for a second consecutive year, brings the Painkillers (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$45).

Disney Channel alum Coco Jones, the singer/actor who appears on Peacock's "Bel-Air," scored an R&B hit this summer with the ballad "ICU," which was given a remix with Justin Timberlake (7 p.m. First Avenue, $27.50); Minneapolis drum hero Dave King's Tuesday residency at the Dakota continues with his electric quintet the Dave King Trucking Company, also featuring his Happy Apple bandmate Erik Fratzke and saxophonist Brandon Wozniak (7 p.m., $35-$40); Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd & the Monsters, a couple of regulars at the on-hiatus Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis, head to Mankato for a jammin' evening of blues-rock (7:30 p.m. Vetter Stone Amphitheater, $43-$295; also Wed. at the Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park).

10. Sam Smith: Their concert is filled with aching ballads, dance-floor delights, gender-blending outfits, writhing dancers and a message of freedom. That's what the Grammy-winning British singer projects in a show in three acts — Love, Beauty and Sex — featuring the hits "Stay with Me," "I Know I'm Not the Only One" and "Unholy," the Kim Petras collab that went to No. 1 in fall 2022. Opening is Canadian singer Jessie Reyez, who is featured on Smith's recent single "Gimme." (8 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $29.50-$320, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Acclaimed Seattle jazz-funk unit the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio returns to the Dakota (6:30 & 8:30 p.m., $20-$45).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.