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

1. Sweet Honey in the Rock: The soothing harmonies of Sweet Honey always provide healing. Since 1973, this all-women a cappella group has been melding Black musical traditions from the fields and church with original tunes often about social injustice or women’s issues. Founder Bernice Johnson Reagon died last year, but two original members, Louise Robinson and Carol Maillard, are still part of this great group whose voices need to be heard especially in this anti-DEI environment. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $45-$70, dakotacooks.com, )

Also: Billy Stritch, Liza Minnelli’s longtime pianist and co-composer of the country classic “Does He Love You,” is back at Crooner’s with two of the club’s favorite vocalists, Jennifer Grimm and Maud Hixson, in a program of movie songs (7:30 p.m., $40-$50); the Tina Schlieske Sextet finds the veteran Minnesota-reared versatile vocalist doing her jazz thing (7:30 p.m. Berlin, $25-$35); local spinster DJ Tricky Miki is providing the grooves for the Ready or Not fashion runway show at First Avenue, benefitting Planned Parenthood North Central States (7 p.m., $19-$80); Curtiss A’s retro-blues and garage-rock band the Dark Click are back for their monthly gig at Minnesota Music Cafe (7-10 p.m., $10); St. Paul songwriter Martin Devaney’s Devaney & Friends series features Mad Ripple ringleader Jim Walsh (6-8 p.m. White Squirrel Bar, free).

2. ‘DRUMLine Live’: “Drumline,” the 2002 film starring Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana, was a coming-of-age story not just for the characters but for HBCU marching bands, whose battle-of-the-band halftime shows at football games are the stuff of legend. The virtuosic spectacle and showmanship celebrated in the film gets a live embodiment in this show that’s studded with a panoply of Black music and dance styles. (7:30 p.m. Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $34–$75, ordway.org)

Also: Former Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton is back with a revised lineup of his classically noisy punk trio UltraBomb, now featuring one-time Social Distortion and D.I. drummer Derek O’Brien, plus openers the Melismatics and Cindy Lawson (6:30 p.m. Turf Club, $20); jazzy saxophonist Lucia Sarmiento, who moved to Minneapolis a dozen years ago, celebrates her new album, “Escape” (7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Berlin, $15-$25); Victor Zupanc, music director at Children’s Theatre for 35 years, teams with storyteller extraordinaire Kevin Kling (6 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $35.66-$46.82); Alabama’s dudely country duo Muscadine Bloodline is on the rise after collaborating with Jelly Roll co-producer Ryan Youmans (8 p.m. First Ave, $30-$35); beloved Twin Cities trio New Standards bring their jazzy interpretations of pop hits and witty repartee back to Crooners (7:30 Fri. & Sat., $54.63-$65.80); astronautical punk vets Manplanet are reuniting for a “Re-Entry” show (8 p.m. 7th St. Entry, sold out).

3. Kevin Cronin Band: After a disagreement with the other two owners of REO Speedwagon, the group’s longtime frontman can’t use the REO moniker. He still promises the same REO repertoire of “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Keep on Loving You” as well as the same lineup that toured as REO in 2023-24. And, for the official debut of the Kevin Cronin Band, he will play 1980’s “Hi Infidelity” album in its entirety as well as other favorites. (8 p.m. Treasure Island Casino, 5734 Sturgeon Lake Rd., Welch, $69-$300, ticketmaster.com)

[See also: Bitter REO Speedwagon divorce begets Kevin Cronin Band]

4. Marko Topchii: This Ukrainian guitarist has won 55 international competitions, including some of the world’s most prestigious ones. Among them is the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, which is sponsoring his North American tour. His travels bring him to St. Paul, Duluth and St. Cloud for solo recitals. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Sundin Music Hall, 1531 Hewitt Av., St. Paul, $10-$25, mnguitar.org; 3 p.m. Sun., Pilgrim Congregational Church, 2310 E. 4th St., Duluth, $25-$35, students free, matineemusicale.org; 7:30 p.m. March 1, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1111 Cooper Av. S., St. Cloud, $5-$25, chambermusicstcloud.org)

5. Spin Doctors: In the same year Nirvana’s “Nevermind” came out, these hippy-dippy New York rockers kicked up the groovy hits “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” like a game of Hacky Sack breaking out at a funeral. Their feel-good vibes from 1991 might be welcome again in 2025, following the release of their first new album in 12 years, “Face Full of Cake.” Their appearance in this case is definitely appreciated as a benefit for the aortic disease nonprofit Rock From the Heart, whose in-house band Aortic Fire will open, joined by the Go-Go’s Gina Schock. (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $49-$89, axs.com)

6. Mason Jennings: In a quarter-century career that has taken many surprising turns, the Twin Cities-based indie-folk strummer made perhaps his most unexpected album yet last year when he released “Holy Dive.” It’s a collection of heavy-metal classics from his youth played in the stripped-down, rhythmically punchy style he’s known for, including songs by the Crüe, Judas Priest, Danzig and Dio. The newest release could make a fun sidestep or two in this solo, career-expanding, storytellers-style three-show run he’s offering hometown fans. (6:30 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 7 p.m. Sun., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$45, dakotacooks.com)

Also: Nashville-based Americana singer/songwriter Ron Pope impresses on this month’s “American Man, American Music,” especially on the strikingly simple John Prine-ish “In the Morning with the Coffee On” and the Steve Earle-like confessional epic “Klonopin Zombies” (8 p.m. Turf Club, $35 and up); Molchat Doma, those Belarusian post-punks with synth-pop inclinations living in Los Angeles, will rock First Avenue (8:30 p.m., $35 and up); the collective of young, Black musicians Poetic Roots is throwing a R&B/funk party with LaSalle and Charmaine (8 p.m. Icehouse, $18-$25).

7. ‘Fire Shut Up in My Bones’: New York’s Metropolitan Opera was around for 138 years before it presented a work by a Black composer. That was jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” adapted from New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s memoir. Now Blanchard — fresh from a Super Bowl pregame performance in his hometown of New Orleans — is bringing to St. Paul a concert version of this hard-hitting, Grammy-winning opera about a Black man overcoming childhood trauma. It features the composer, his band, the E-Collective, the Turtle Island Quartet and singers Will Liverman and Adrienne Danrich. (2 p.m. Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $15-$111, ordway.org)

8. Solas: On hiatus since 2017, arguably the greatest Celtic band in the United States is back for its 30th anniversary tour. Founder Séamus Egan, who was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Ireland at age 3, has the ensemble together again, featuring original members John Williams and Winifred Horan. The group is selling its new “Solas Live” album exclusively at its gigs, with the new single “Tell God and the Devil” featuring new vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Moira Smiley. (7:30 p.m. Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $45-$60, ticketmaster.com)

9. Pink Sweat$: Sexy but PG-13-rated Philadelphia singer David Bowden has been making a name for himself under his curious stage moniker by bringing ‘90s/’00s-styled R&B of the Next or Sisqo variety to the TikTok generation. His 2021 debut album, “Pink Planet,” gained some attention via the Kehlani collaboration “At My Worst.” He was sidetracked by illness last year touting his latest LP, “Volume 3,” so he’s calling his current outing the Welcome Home Tour. Pink attire is not officially required, but come on. (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, $33-$183, axs.com)

Also: Lisa Fischer, the wondrous vocal mesmerizer who was recently seen in the Luther Vandross' CNN special “Never Too Much,” is back with Grand Baton at the Dakota (6:30 & 8:30, $40-$60); in 1994, top-shelf singer/songwriters Patty Larkin, Lucy Kaplansky, Cliff Eberhardt and John Gorka contributed to an all-star folk album “On a Winter’s Night” (coordinated by Christine Lavin) and they are having a reunion tour (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $55-$75); Minneapolis gospel music star Darnell Davis is throwing another of his brunch concert dubbed the Experience at Icehouse (noon, $15-$30); a much-loved old tradition is back at Cabooze with the return of the daylong Battle of the Jug Bands (12:30-7 p.m., $5).

10. Justin Timberlake: Fans — and radio programmers — seem to have forgotten the former N’Syncer’s “Everything I Thought I Was” album from 2024. But he hasn’t, because material from that disc accounts for 40% of the set list for his Forget Tomorrow World Tour. Don’t worry, though, because he’s also bringing back “SexyBack,” “Cry Me a River,” “Mirrors” and other favorites. Plus, Timberlake is still an I-aim-to-dazzle song-and-dance man with a flair for state-of-the-art production. This is the make-good for a previously scheduled Halloween show postponed because he had bronchitis and laryngitis. (7:30 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $60-$1,280, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Masters of Hawaiian Music, namely slack key guitar masters George Kahumoku, Jr. and Sonny Lim along with ukulele ace Herb Ohta, Jr, will warm up the Dakota (7 p.m. $40-$45.); an “all-femme” band from Vancouver, B.C., Babe Corner is pairing up with local indie-rock fuzzmakers Creeping Charlie and Dad Bod (8 p.m. Icehouse, $18-$25).

The annual Dark Horses Revue, a birthday tribute to George Harrison, returns to the Parkway Theater with local all-star players including John Eller, Randy Casey, Noah Levy, Kent Militzer and Steve Price (7:30 p.m., $30-$35).

Louisiana music legend CJ Chenier, son of zydeco music’s greatest pioneer Clifton Chenier, was a big hit at the Minnesota State Fair bandshell two summers ago and knows how to warm up Minnesotans in winter (6:30 & 8:30 p.m., the Dakota, $30-$35); the High Kings, the celebrated Irish folk band, is touting their eighth album, 2023’s “The Road Not Taken” (7:30 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $42.50 and up); award-winning Twin Cities folk/Americana songwriter Sarah Morris plays her monthly gig the Sometimes Guys (6-8 p.m., White Squirrel Bar).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard and theater critic Rohan Preston contributed to this column.