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

1. Minnesota Orchestra: Instrumentalists who interpret the music of others rarely receive a MacArthur “genius” grant, but Leila Josefowicz is such an intrepid advocate for new music as to be one of its consummate conduits. She’ll solo on English composer Thomas Adès’ 2005 violin concerto, “Concentric Paths.” But equally intriguing is his 2020 work, “The Exterminating Angel” Symphony, built from the score of his opera based upon Luis Buñuel’s landmark surrealist film. Thomas Søndergård will also conduct two marvelous orchestral showcases by Maurice Ravel. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $25-$106, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Also: On his farewell tour, Tom Paxton, one of the last touring giants of ‘60s folk music who is remembered for “The Last Thing on my Mind,” teams with the Don Juans, namely Nashville folkies Don Henry and Minnesota-reared Jon Vezner, showcasing material from their 2019 collaboration (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $35-$40); it’ll sound like an early-2000s metal fest again when Godsmack and Chevelle headline the 93X Family Reunion with Wage War and more (5:50 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, $36 & up); roof-rattling singer Lisa Kekaula and her cult-loved California soul-punk band the Bellrays are back in action for a Social Distortion tour and playing a one-off Minneapolis gig with Monica LaPlante opening (6:30 p.m. Palmer’s Bar, $25); pioneering D.C. electronic duo Thievery Corporation returns to First Avenue (8 p.m., $40); one of rock’s original emo heroes Chris Carraba and his Florida emo band Dashboard Confessional are touring with kindred rockers Boys Like Girls (6:30 p.m. Uptown Theatre, $74); trumpeter Geoff Senn and percussionist Mac Santiago lead the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra, celebrating its 10th anniversary (8 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35).

2. St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: The specter of a strike or lockout no longer looms over the SPCO season, as musicians and management have agreed to a new three-year contract. So celebrate with Antonio Vivaldi’s popular collection of four violin concertos, “The Four Seasons,” SPCO violinist Kyu-Young Kim soloing. The all-baroque, all-strings program also includes a C.P.E. Bach Sinfonia and Francesco Geminiani’s “La Follia” Variations. (11 a.m. Fri., 7 p.m. Sat. Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 3 p.m. Sun. St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi, $16-$68, students and children free, thespco.org)

3. Morris Day & the Time: It’s a Princely triple header. Not only will the dandy Day reprise “The Bird” and “Jungle Love,” but Sheila E is on board for “A Love Bizarre” and “Glamorous Life” as well as the NPG featuring Tony M and others for a ‘90s taste of Purple. It’s all a benefit for the Nick Nurse Foundation, headed by the NBA coach of the Philadelphia 76ers who is a Prince fam from Iowa, and the Purple Playground, a Twin Cities nonprofit that runs the Academy of Prince promoting his legacy through music education. (6 p.m. Paisley Park, 7801 Audubon Rd., Chanhassen, $150-$300, paisleypark.com)

Also: Working with uberproducer Rick Rubin on this year’s “Mood Swings,” South Carolina psychedelic blues man Marcus King gets introspective, dark and moody, with shades of Al Green and Gregg Allman; Beyoncé-cosigned Brittney Spencer opens (8 p.m. Fillmore, $64 and up); after East Coast and West Coast jaunts, Minnesota/Wisconsin orchestral rock troupe Cloud Cult returns home for a two-night stand behind its new album, “Alchemy Creek,” with David Huckfelt opening (7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Palace Theatre, $45-$75, sold out Sat.); formed by six Iranian virtuosos based in Houston, Dorian offers a groundbreaking blend of traditional Persian instruments, including the enchanting Taar and rhythmic Tonbak, with Western counterparts like piano, flute, and violin (7:30 p.m., Hamline University’s Sundin Hall, $15-$40); Twin Cities tribute king Mick Sterling explores the rock ‘n’ soul that made him locally famous with the Stud Brothers (7 p.m. Fri. & 8 p.m. Sat. Crooners, $30-$40); Dosh opens also a rare-of-late set by jazzed-up all-star rock unit Alpha Consumer, with Jeremy Ylvisaker, JT Bates and Mike Lewis (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$30).

4. Do Re #MeToo: There’s something so indescribably rock ‘n’ roll in nature about this fourth almost-annual all-star musical send-up, which features an all-star class of women from the Twin Cities music scene turning some of rock’s most sexist songs on end for the sake of reproductive rights. Questionable classics by everyone from the Beatles, the Police and Maroon 5 to the obvious Ted Nugent have been skewered by the cast, which this year finds newcomers such as Karen Grotberg of the Jayhawks and Nadirah McGill of Gully Boys joining repeat players such as Kiss the Tiger’s Meghan Kreidler, Janey Winterbauer, Katy Vernon, Annie Mack, Lucy Michelle and Aby Wolf, who aptly described the song list last year as “grossness turned up to 11.” The house band, the Maneaters, also features members of the Flamin’ Ohs and Turn Turn Turn. Comedian Lizz Winstead created the event to benefit her nonprofit Abortion Access Front. (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $50 donation, theparkwaytheater.com)

Also: For the final gig of the season at Surly Festival Field, Brooklyn-based Lake Street Dive touts this summer’s feel-good pop/soul “Good Together,” its first album of original material without Minneapolis-reared cofounder Mike “McDuck” Olson (7 p.m., $55 and up); the beloved-in-Minnesota Texas singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster makes good on an Aug. 24 cancellation supporting her new Sun Records release “Mileage” (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$50); after the cancellation of the NBNL bash last month, North Loop will hope for better results with the Borough Block Party featuring the soul-powered Mae Simpson Band and fun tribute groups Viva Knievel, Private Oates and more (noon-10 p.m., 700 block of Washington Av. N., Mpls., free); Seattle’s roller-coaster-y rockers Sunny Day Real Estate are back out on tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album “Diary” (8 p.m. the Fillmore, $56); after some high-profile festival gigs earlier this year, Georgia’s electronic music star Porter Robinson is playing headlining dates with a full band (8 p.m. the Armory, $50); Extreme Records’ 30th anniversary concert series continues with Michigan punk vets the Spits, the Urinals and more (7 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $30); Minneapolis indie-rap mainstay Sean Anonymous is celebrating the fifth anniversary of his gripping, personal LP “Anti/Social” with a vinyl re-release party and openers Greg Grease and North Dakota’s Dakotah Faye (9 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$20).

5. Jimmy Webb: He’s a world-class songwriter (“Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Worst That Could Happen,” “Galveston,” “Highwayman”) with a shelf full of Grammys and a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Webb is a superb pianist and arranger with, as they say, a songwriter’s singing voice. And he is a storyteller extraordinaire who might answer the question why someone left the cake out in the rain. With Pete Mancini. (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $49-$69, theparkwaytheater.com)

6. Rainbow Kitten Surprise: The positive, feel-good messaging and similarly bright, candy-coated psychedelic stage show offered up by these cult-loved Nashville-based hippie soul-popsters have taken on deeper meaning since the last time they came to town. Frontwoman Ela Melo openly struggled through mental-health issues and then transitioned into a woman following the release of their last album, a personal-triumph story that played into the hopeful and love-filled tones of the new record, “Love Hate Music Box.” (7:30 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $63, ticketmaster.com)

Also: For “Tori,” her first album in nearly five years, pop/soul siren Tori Kelly aims for a ‘90s vibe inspired by Destiny’s Child and Timbaland (7:30 p.m. First Avenue, $37 and up); the Twin Cities’ own Orkestar Bez Ime brings Balkan sounds to Fridley (7 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30).

7. Jeff Lynne’s ELO: After a 38-year absence from Twin Cities stages, ELO brought its majestic magic to St. Paul in 2019 and sounded as pristinely sumptuous — and ambitious — as back in the day. Such ‘70s classics as “Evil Woman,” “Do Ya” and “Turn to Stone” tantalized the fans as Lynne, a one-man band in the studio, was joined by a dozen other musicians. At 76, the former Traveling Wilbury has announced the Over And Out Tour will be his final North American trek with ELO. (8 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $49 and up, ticketmaster.com)

8. Cowboy Junkies: With last year’s “Such Ferocious Beauty,” the Toronto quartet featuring three Timmins siblings may have reached a pinnacle of their riveting sadness. Michael Timmins’ songs deal with the deaths of their parents, their mother in 2018 and their father three years later of dementia. “I woke up this morning, didn’t know who I was,” Margo Timmins sings on the opening “What I Lost.” “I looked at the room, I didn’t know where I was.” There’s a hushed beauty to the Cowboy Junkies’ downbeat songs; there always has been since their remarkable 1988 breakthrough “The Trinity Session.” (7 p.m. Mon. and Tue. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $75-$85, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Elliott Blaufuss, the ex-Minnesotan who has been living in Nashville, returns promoting his first full-length “The Sea Between Us” (7 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$30).

9. The Family Stone: Saxophonist Jerry Martini of Sly & the Family Stone has put together a band with some Rock & Roll Hall of Fame DNA, namely vocalist Phunne Stone, daughter of Sly Stone and Cynthia Robinson. Other R&B and rock veterans including Blaise Sison, Swang Stone and Nate Wingfield round out the lineup to deliver one of the most irresistible and essential catalogs of the late ‘60s/early ‘70s including “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Hot Fun in the Summer Time.” Who knows if they’ll be joined by the monumental Sly bassist Larry Graham, who still apparently calls Chanhassen home. The concert is being billed as the Build Forward Bash by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity; it doubles as a 100th birthday celebration for former President Jimmy Carter, a major Habitat supporter. St. Paul & the Minneapolis Funk All-Stars, a local Princely ensemble, will get the party started. Hosting the event will be Jonathan Scott of HGTV’s “Property Brothers.” (7 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $15, tchabitat.org/buildforwardbash)

10. PJ Harvey: Thirty-two years after recording her landmark 1992 album “Rid of Me” at Cannon Falls’ Pachyderm Studio with late Steve Albini, Polly Jean Harvey is making her overdue return to Minnesota on her first U.S. tour in seven years. The British alt-rock dramatist has been splitting the shows up into two halves, the first being a quieter and devout set dedicated to last year’s elaborately folky record “I Inside the Old Dying Year.” Then she returns to play a lot of her classics with longtime collaborator John Parish and the rest of her band. So no opener for this one. (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $70-$125, axs.com)

Also: Fresh off filming a well-received “Tiny Desk Concert” for NPR, Southern rap hitmaker Juvenile has gone on tour with a live band celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of Cash Money Records’ biggest moneymakers, “400 Degreez” (8 p.m. First Ave, $60); Carleton College pipa virtuoso Gao Hong, an inveterate collaborator, teams for the first time with a flamenco guitarist, Argentinian born Ignacio Monteverde, to showcase material from their album “Alondra” that was recorded at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$30); after scoring a viral hit and a Mercury Prize shortlist slot last year with their snide rocker “Trench Coat Museum,” punky U.K. band Yard Act is back playing the States (8 p.m. Fine Line, $25); hazy rockers Lazy Scorsese kick off a Wednesday residency with Poolboy that runs through October at Mortimer’s (8:30 p.m., $10); Twin Cities funky reggae unit Ipso Facto reunites for some old jams as well as new ones written by Wain McFarlane and the late Dakota chef Remy Pettus (7 p.m. the Dakota, $20-$35).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.