The Big Gigs for Nov. 27-Dec. 3: Hippo Campus, the Arcs, Trailer Trash, MPLS, Leo Kottke, OOiOO, Tribute to the Replacements

After seven lively years of hosting the Tribute to the Replacements, the crew behind First Avenue's annual post-Thanksgiving hootenanny has worked its way through the hometown indie-rock heroes' discography to land on the swan-song album, 1989's "All Shook Down." Rock-solid, high-energy pop/rockers the Melismatics will again serve as house band behind a diverse rotating cast of singers for each song off the record, including Curtiss A, PaviElle French, Lydia Liza and Eric Mayson. There will also be mini-sets of other 'Mats songs by Fury Things, Al Church, Bruise Violet and NATO Coles & the Blue Diamond Band, plus another Mad Ripple Hootenanny songwriters tribute to Slim Dunlap. It's usually one of the most fun nights of the year at the club(s). (7:30 p.m. Fri., First Avenue and 7th Street Entry, $10-$12, benefits Twin Cities Music Community Trust.) Chris Riemenschneider

Few collisions are as fruitful as former Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton crashing the prog-rock-jazz party of the Bad Plus drummer Dave King, keyboardist Bryan Nichols and King's Happy Apple mate Erik Fratzke on guitar to create the quartet known as the Gang Font. Norton and King turn the whole concept of a "rhythm section" on its head — each is a maestro of rational disruption — and Fratzke and Nichols have the familiarity and agility to hold up their ends. Their gigs are all too rare, and highly recommended. (11 p.m. Fri., Icehouse, $8-$10.) Robson

For his 35th annual Thanksgiving-time concert, hometown guitar hero Leo Kottke has settled on Black Friday (a first) and the Fitzgerald Theater (also a first). Expect fancy fretwork, some intriguing vocals and some quirky stories that will either keep you laughing or scratching your head. Opening is Nick Forster, who plays bluegrass in Hot Rize and hosts the popular syndicated radio show "eTown." (8 p.m. Fri., Fitzgerald Theater, $44-$48.) Jon Bream

Under her Google-defying alias Lights, Toronto area singer Valerie Poxleitner has become the Canadian answer to Minnesota's Owl City, an utterly inoffensive and positive-minded maker of cheery, teen-centric electro-pop music. She's a lot bigger in Canada, where her 2014 album "Little Machines" won a Juno Award for best pop album. She's touring with the similarly youthful but non-electronic Southern California band the Mowgli's, a scruffy, rowdy, coed folk-rock group whose bubbly tune "Say It, Just Say It" you may recognize from Volkswagen commercials. Rapper K. Flay opens. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Varsity Theater, all ages, $26.) Riemenschneider

Hippo Campus hit the road for the first time back in February and pretty well rode a whirlwind all year. The college-age, suburban-bred pop/rock quartet landed on "Conan" with a few days' notice after an impressive run at Austin's South by Southwest conference in March, then landed opening dates for My Morning Jacket and Modest Mouse and festival slots at Lollapalooza, Reading and Leeds over the summer. Fans didn't forget about them back home, though. They made the buoyant title track of the band's new EP, "South," a repeat No. 1 on 89.3 the Current's "Chart Show" and bought up tickets well in advance of this true homecoming show. Openers Bad Bad Hats are another young local pop/rock band on the verge, having just topped City Pages Picked to Click poll and landed a Current hit with "Midway." Danger Ron & the Spins also perform. (6 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, sold out.) Riemenschneider

After releasing her second album for the respected Blind Pig blues label in 2005, powerhouse Minneapolis vocalist Renee Austin lost her voice following thyroid surgery. After what she calls three miracles, Austin has found her voice — it's a little less raspy, she says — and has returned to singing. She did three blues festivals this summer and a cameo at Wilebski's this fall. Now she's ready for her first headlining gig — and her first ever appearance at the Dakota. She promises three full sets. Read an interview with Austin in Sunday's Variety. (6 p.m. Sun., Dakota, $5.) Bream

Danish dark metal lord King Diamond (Kim Peterson) heavily influenced Metallica and most other thrash-metal players when he fronted Mercyful Fate in the early-'80s, and he continued to earn high praise raising hell with his namesake metal band starting in 1986. He's on tour performing the second King Diamond album in its entirety, 1987's "Abigail," which will make up the second half of his show. The first set includes other classics, including a few MF cuts. Fellow thrash vets Exodus will open with "Pleasures of the Flesh"-era vocalist Steve Souza back out front. (8 p.m. Mon., Myth, $36.50.) Riemenschneider

As he approaches his 50th year as a performer, Richard Thompson still finds new fascinations. He's figured out how to promote both of his past two albums substantially at the same show: He'll open with a solo acoustic set showcasing 2014's "Acoustic Classics," which features reworkings of "Valerie," "Shoot Out the Lights" and other faves, and then he'll close with Richard Thompson's Electric Trio and examine material from this year's "Still." Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, "Still" features unfussy arrangements that put Thompson's voice and guitar front and center. His songwriting is sharp, whether on the rocking "No Peace, No End," the romantic "Josephine" or the versatile "Guitar Heroes," on which he salutes Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Chuck Berry, Hank Marvin and others. (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, $25.) Bream

The prolific Punch Brothers dropped a new EP, "The Wireless," this month. It features five outtakes from their expansive, T Bone Burnett-produced "The Phosphorescent Blues," which was released earlier this year. "Sleek White Baby" is a sly old nod to vaudevillian jazz, "No More. Yet" is a contemplative instrumental that embraces everything from bluegrass to classical and "Clementine" is spare, pure melancholy, written by the late Elliott Smith. Maybe frontman Chris Thile will drop some hints about his plans to take over as host next year for "A Prairie Home Companion." Gabriel Kahane opens. (8 p.m. Thu., State Theatre, $35.) Bream

When it first started out more than 15 years ago, the noise-pop outfit OOiOO was regarded as a side project for Yoshimi P-We of the Boredoms (who inspired the Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"). But since then, this distinctive ensemble of four Japanese women has not only endured but flourished and matured, branching out into hypnotic, Gamelan-style percussion that mixes with the abrasive noise of the Boredoms and the garage pop that was Yoshimi's influence on that band. It is an utterly distinctive, surprisingly beguiling amalgam. Local Javanese musician Joko Sutrisno and his Sumunar Gamelan Ensemble will set the mood as openers. (8 p.m. Thu., Walker Art Center, $16-$20.) Britt Robson

The "Black Friday" name is being co-opted in a wonderful way for a celebration of African-American talent led by MPLS. Sibling bandmates Ashley Commodore and Brandon Commodore — offspring of jazz vets Ginger and Bobby Commodore — head up the eight-member troupe, which rebrands the classic '80s Minneapolis Sound with modern hip-hop flavor. Brandon's Mint Condition bandmate Stokely Williams will appear with them, and smooth R&B crooner Chris Lawrence and veteran rapper Toki Wright will also perform. (9:30 p.m. Fri., Cabooze, $10-$15.) Riemenschneider

A 22nd annual holiday tradition that didn't die when longtime Lee's owner Louie Sirian sold the place this past summer, Trailer Trash's Trashy Little X-Mas shows return for six installments at the club that fits the puristic local honky-tonk band's rowdy retro vibe like a Lone Star tallboy can fits in a Christmas stocking. The shows include the Trash men's own holiday semi-originals, such as "I've Shopped Everywhere," alongside other seasonal tunes and an avalanche of country classics. Advance tickets are always a good idea. (9 p.m. Sat., Lee's Liquor Lounge, $20. Other dates are Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Dec. 18-19 and Dec. 23.) Riemenschneider

The Thanksgiving holiday brings bountiful musicians back home for special shows, and the CD release of "Edges of My Mind" by Peg Carrothers might top the list this season. She possesses a pure, feathery voice and imaginative taste that has her covering Aerosmith's "Dream On," Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," and songs by Stephen Foster and Dave Frishberg, among others. She is also married to her perfect accompanist, contemplative pianist Bill Carrothers. Bassist Billy Peterson and Dean Magraw on guitar and mandolin round out a remarkable band of locals. (7 p.m. Sat., Studio Z, $15.) Robson

Pat Martino has an amazing story to tell and he recounts it brilliantly on his guitar every gig he plays. He was in his mid-30s prime in 1980, with more than a dozen records to his credit, when a life-threatening brain aneurysm prompted an operation that wiped out his memory — he barely recognized his parents, and no longer knew how to play his instrument. Listening to his old records, he retaught himself, and returned to the studio seven years later. Today he is in his early-70s prime, a gloriously compelling bop stylist in command of timbre, tempo and emotional narrative. He'll be with organist Pat Bianchi and drummer Carmen Intorre — a trio that knows one another by heart. (7 & 9 p.m., Dakota, $20-$32.) Robson

In the 1940s and '50s, Louis Prima and his band the Witnesses minted a twitchy hybrid of late swing jazz and early rock 'n' roll, mixed with dabs of rhythm & blues and racier Burns & Allen style comedy. They became one of the most popular acts in Vegas and a staple on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Decades later, trumpeter/bandleader Louis Prima Jr., who began performing with his dad at the age of 5, created his own Witnesses and followed his dad's template of "shout" music and jump blues. No, it's not as good as the original. But it might get dancers of all ages to cover the concrete floor in front of the Famous Dave's stage. (8:30 p.m. Sat., Famous Dave's Uptown, $15-$20.) Robson

Since Chicago folk singer/composer Michael Smith unveiled his musical version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen" nearly a decade ago, the show has gradually been acquiring the reputation of a modern Christmas classic. Smith's score melds folk, blues, jazz and Broadway influences into what one critic has called an "artful chamber folk opera." Twin Cities audiences can catch its regional premiere in a monthlong run of performances aimed at both children and "cool adults," as the composer himself puts it. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat & Tue.-Wed.; 2 p.m. Sun., Park Square Theatre, $20-$37) Terry Blain