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

1. Savion Glover: The Tony-winning tap dance savant has collaborated with musicians, including Bobby McFerrin live and Prince, Talib Kweli and Abbey Lincoln in the studio. Now he’ll bring his own band, Project 9, featuring his drum kit as lead instrument. Yes, he’s a drummer. In fact, he studied drums before diving into tap dance. Don’t fret, Glover will also provide some fascinating rhythms with his tap-happy feet. He’s composed the music but some of the performance — only the second gig for the vocal-and-instrumental ensemble — will be improvised. (7 p.m. Thu. & Fri. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls. $50-$70, dakotacooks.com)

2. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie: Seven years since his Drake-co-signed coming out on Atlantic Records with his first single “Drowning,” Bronx native Julius Dubose hasn’t become a mainstream star, but he has carved out his own unique, largely viral niche between emo-rap and trap hip-hop circles. The 28-year-old rapper and singer is touring behind his fourth album, “Better Off Alone,” featuring guests such as Young Thug, Future and Mariah the Scientist — but the album title hints at a more solitary and personal vibe that’s carrying over to his shows. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., all ages, $46, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Louisiana’s seedy and druggy hip-hop duo $uicideboy$ are cashing in on cultish viral fame with an arena-headlining tour featuring gifted Florida rapper Denzel Curry among several opening acts (6:30 p.m. Target Center, $50-$300); Arizona’s bedroom-pop strummer Alec Benjamin of “Let Me Down Slowly” is out promoting his new album, “12 Notes” (6:30 p.m. the Fillmore, all ages, $59); soulful power couple the Muatas play the free Open Door Series at the Hook & Ladder’s Mission Room (7 p.m.); St. Paul keyboardist/vocalist Daniel Williams leads Quarteto Carioca in the sounds of Brazil (6:30 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $25-$35); Nunnabove, the soulful sibling quartet from Woodbury, will headline a benefit for COMPAS, presented by PRN Alumni Foundation of Prince associates (6 pm. Green Room, $25-$95).

3. Cody Johnson: Having self-released six albums on his CoJo label, the country twanger became so big in his native Texas that he landed a deal with Warner Music Nashville in 2019. The George Strait-influenced traditionalist’s national career soon took off, with 2021′s “‘til You Can’t” grabbing awards for best song at the Grammys and CMAs. Now he’s headlining his first arena tour. Opening are veteran Sammy Kershaw and newcomer Drew Parker, who co-wrote “Homemade” for Jake Owen and “Forever After All” for Luke Combs. (7:30 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $50 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Also: It’s the last go-round for Frankie Valli, 90, the “Jersey Boy” who may be lip-syncing on “Walk Like a Man,” “Sherry” and other Four Seasons classics (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Showroom, $49-$159); an influential late-‘70s indie-rock band from New York whose members went on to play with R.E.M., Steve Earle and Big Star tribute shows, the dB’s are on tour with all four original members playing their first shows in over a decade tied to a reissue of their debut LP (8 p.m. Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $30); the “One of Us” hitmaker and one-time Dead touring vocalist Joan Osborne is on the road supporting her 11th studio record, the pensive “Nobody Owns You,” which features the tune “Great American Cities” that mentions St. Paul; singer/songwriter Joshua Radin opens (8 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts, $57-$67); last seen opening for Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and playing guitar in their band at Mystic Lake Amphitheater, locally beloved Tulsa retro rocker JD McPherson returns to sing about his “North Side Gal” (8 p.m. First Avenue, $30-$35); a tradition that dates back a decade before John Prine’s death, the “Big Fat Love” half-birthday tribute to Prine returns with Mother Banjo and other local pickers (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $15-$25); Minnesota’s fusion-loving Galactic Cowboy Orchestra marks its 15th anniversary with the release of its sixth record, “Lost in the Numbers” (8 p.m. Crooners, $28-$38).

4. MJ Lenderman: After serving as a sideman to Waxahatchee and guitarist in the buzz band Wednesday, this North Carolina alt-twanger has been bumped up to It Boy status with the release of his second solo album, “Manning Fireworks,” one of the year’s best-reviewed rock records. Story-driven songs like “Joker Lips” and “She’s Leaving You” show an uncanny blend of humor and despair sung in the 25-year-old’s distinctive, nasally drawl. He’s already proven to be a fiery guitarist, too. After a big coming-out at Americana fest in Nashville last month, Lenderman and his band the Wind are blazing through a month and a half of mostly sold-out club dates across the country. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Ave. N., Mpls., $20-$25, first-avenue.com)

5. Christian McBride & Ursa Major: Last year, the ever-adventurous jazz bass giant came to the Dakota with his New Jawn, a group of veteran jazz men. This time, the eight-time Grammy winner returns for a four-show engagement with a new ensemble, Ursa Major, featuring fresh faces some of whom are still touting their college credits. Pianist Mike King, an Oberlin Conservatory grad, tours with Dee Dee Bridgewater. Guitarist Ely Perlman is a third-year student at Berklee College of Music. Saxophonist Nicole Glover performs with Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and drummer Savannah Harris has played with Cecile McLorin Salvant. (6:30 & 9 p.m. Sat. & Sun. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$40, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Ohio electro-rock duo Twenty-One Pilots of “Heathens” and “Stressed Out” hitmaking fame are on another high-production arena tour supporting their latest album, “Clancy” (7:45 p.m. Target Center, $95-$485); hopeful and bright pop-rocker Matthew Caws and his band Nada Surf are earning high marks again with their latest album, “Moon Mirror” (8:30 p.m. Fine Line, $30); Kennedy Honors songbird Amy Grant released two singles in 2023, “Trees We’ll Never See” and “What You Heard,” and then this fall dropped a new holiday album with hubby Vince Gill, “When I Think of Christmas” (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino, $49 and up); country rabble-rouser Cody Jinks celebrates his new-found sobriety on this year’s “Change the Game,” with Cadillac Three and Calder Allen (7 p.m. the Armory, $30 and up); North Carolina indie-folk favorite MC Taylor, who earned local fans early on at Bon Iver’s Eaux Claires fests, is playing a solo set as Hiss Golden Messenger promoting the new record “Jump for Joy” (8 p.m. Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $30); with heyday members Tommy Shaw, James Young and Chuck Panozzo still on board, Styx reprises “Babe” and “Renegade” from its classic-rock songbook (7:30 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, $55-$155); Vancouver pop rock quartet Marianas Trench is promoting its sixth album, “Haven,” with Cassadee Pope opening (7:30 p.m. Fillmore, $45 and up); accompanied by pianist Rick Carlson, local singers Maud Hixson and Erin Schwab reprise the Guthrie show “Coward’s Women,” focusing on Noel Coward’s catalog (6:30 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $30-$40).

6. The Pacifica Quartet: Lest you think that world-class classical music first came to Minnesota with the Minnesota Orchestra’s 1903 founding, you should know that there were already two organizations bringing top virtuosi to the state for recitals at that point: St. Paul-based Schubert Club and Duluth’s Matinee Musicale, which launches its 125th season Sunday with a recital by this two-time Grammy-winning string quartet. The Indiana-based foursome will perform quartets by Samuel Barber, Dmitri Shostakovich and Antonin Dvorak (the Iowa-penned “American” Quartet). (3 p.m. Pilgrim Congregational Church, 2310 E. 4th St., Duluth. $25-$35, students free, matineemusicale.org)

7. Jeremy Denk: How fortunate Twin Cities audiences were to have this brilliant pianist as a St. Paul Chamber Orchestra artistic partner for so many seasons, a tenure that concluded with a renowned recording of Mozart piano concertos. To open the Schubert Club’s International Artist Series season, he’ll perform two solo recitals, with half of each devoted to works by nine women composers, and the other half featuring theme and variations pieces by Robert Schumann and his mentee, Johannes Brahms. (3 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Tue. Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul. $36-$75, students and children free, schubert.org)

Also: One of the biggest rock bands in Norway for the past decade, Kaizers Orchestra is on their first-ever full-scale U.S. tour and hoping Minnesota’s Scandinavian populace turns out to see their theatrical live show (8 p.m. Fine Line, $30); Bloomington-reared pop-star rapper Mod Sun, who garnered headlines in recent years for dating Avril Lavigne, is still married to the stage (6 p.m. First Avenue, all ages, $28); the Twin Cities all-star ensemble known as Lush Country revisits old-school Nashville sounds with vocalists Prudence Johnson, Gary Rue and Dan Chouinard (5 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $25-$35).

8. Sabrina Carpenter: An aspiring pop singer even when she was starring in the hit Disney TV series “Girl Meets World” in her mid-teens, Carpenter has seen her music career shoot up this year with the kind of jolt she sings about in her megahit “Espresso.” That song and her other synth-poppy, sexually tinged No. 1 hit, “Please Please Please,” have led to her Short n’ Sweet Tour being one of the year’s hottest concert tickets; our date has been completely sold out on Ticketmaster. The 25-year-old show woman is reportedly living up to the attention with a bejeweled and witty tour production that suggests she was ready for her closeup. Afropop-tinged New York singer Amaarae opens. (7 p.m. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls. Resale ticket sites only, targetcenter.com)

9. Mdou Moctar: The cultish buzz for this Nigerian star of the blooming desert-blues genre has given way to a more mainstream rock-star status, including prominence among guitar nerds who are ranking him as one of the most exciting new six-string slingers. Moctar made good on that buzz with his new album, “Funeral for Justice,” which shows off the exuberant and hypnotic groove power he and his band developed while touring in recent years. It also shows off his political stances, as he calls attention to the plight of Tuareg people and other West Africans suffering from violence and unrest. Chicago rockers FACS open. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25, first-avenue.com)

Also: Brazilian vocalist Céu, the Starbucks-endorsed three-time Latin Grammy winner, is back in the States promoting her new album “Novela” (7 p.m. the Dakota, $40-$50); funk-pop duo Chromeo is playing indoor venues after lots of festival dates this summer touting its latest, “Adult Contemporary” (7 p.m. Palace Theatre, $48-$75); veteran Minnesota bassist Liz Draper’s free-form residency at Berlin nightclub continues with singer Aida Shahghasemi and violinist Sara Pajunen (7 p.m., free).

Appearing with his group Lost Dog Street Band, Kentucky twanger Benjamin Tod is supporting his 2024 EP, “Mary Could You,” featuring a George-and-Tammy worthy piano duet with Sierra Ferrell, “One Last Time” (8 p.m. First Avenue, $25-$30).

10. T Bone Burnett: Best known as a producer of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello and “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” the behind-the-scenes force has released his first solo album in 11 years and undertaken his first tour in nearly two decades. “The Other Side” is a thoughtful, spiritual project with an acoustic band featuring the otherworldly harmonies of Lucius. In concert, Burnett will be joined by, among others, longtime partner in song David Mansfield, who played with Burnett in the Alpha Band and in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue. (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. $45-$85, theparkwaytheater.com)

Also: Bouncing back from a concussion and a skull fracture sustained while hiking in a Tennessee state park 13 months ago, stellar singer/songwriter John Hiatt, known for “Memphis in the Meantime” and “Have a Little Faith in Me,” settles in for a three-night stand (7 p.m. Wed., Oct. 17 and 19 the Dakota, $100-$160); when he’s not running the mainstay indie label Merge Records, Mac McCaughan still steps out and puts riling, high-energy shows with his Chapel Hill-based pop-punk band Superchunk, whose two most recent albums have been among their best (8 p.m. First Ave, $28); Illinois’ retro, jazzy countryman Pokey LaFarge is earning lots of praise for his joyful new album, “Rhumba Country” (8 p.m. Fine Line, $30); local outlaw-country enthusiast Cole Diamond’s monthly Whiskey Wednesdays gig continues at Palmer’s Bar (8 p.m., free).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.