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

1. Low Cut Connie: “One foot still in the gutter,” piano man Adam Weiner said of his locally beloved Philadelphia boogie-rock band’s latest pair of projects, the live album “Connie Live” and the film-fest-circulated documentary “Art Dealers.” Each is based on LCC’s roots in small dive bars and how they’ve carried that seedy energy to grander venues; that helps explain why the band long ago found a home away from home at First Ave. Helping its local profile: all the love the Current has given the group’s singles over the years, including “Boozophilia,” “Private Lives” and 2023’s ultra-soulful “Are You Gonna Run?” Swiss-rooted band Sweat and Minnesota-to-Nashville rocker Fimone open. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25-$30, axs.com)

2. Tinashe: The child actress-turned-R&B-diva is back. With this year’s TikTok-fueled sensual slow jam “Nasty,” she has scored her first big hit in 10 years. After splitting from RCA Records and then self-releasing projects, the Pasadena-based artist bounced back this year with appearances at Coachella and NPR Tiny Desk concerts before dropping the LP “Quantum Baby.” “Getting No Sleep” shows attitude, “When I Get You Alone” seduces and “Nasty” asks for someone to “match my freak.” No wonder she’s calling this her Match My Freak World Tour. Raveena opens. (8 p.m. Fillmore Minneapolis, 525 N. 5th St., Mpls., ages 15 and up, $57 and up, ticketmaster.com)

3. Minnesota Orchestra: Music director Thomas Søndergård and the orchestra will be joined on Thursday and Friday by a California-bred violinist who’s creating quite a buzz, 28-year-old Randall Goosby. He’ll be the soloist for one of the great works for his instrument, the feast of passion and delight that is Felix Mendelssohn’s E-minor Concerto. It will be bookended by Unsuk Chin’s “Frontispiece” and Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestration of Johannes Brahms’ G-minor Quartet for Piano and Strings. Saturday’s “Symphony in 60″ concert omits the Mendelssohn. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 7 p.m. Sat., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $15-$111, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Also: One of the Twin Cities’ best soft-voiced, bright-eyed indie-folk songwriters à la Sufjan Stevens or Elliott Smith, Chris Koza is stepping outside his band Rogue Valley with another lovely and poetic solo album, “Last Car in the Parking Lot,” which he’s celebrating in appropriate listening-room setting with pal Lucy Michelle (7 p.m. the Dakota, $20-$25); with their campfire-y singalong hit “Furr” still humming in our brains 16 years later, Oregonian folk-rock band Blitzen Trapper return to tout a Buddhism-inspired new album, “00’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions” (8 p.m. Turf Club, $30-$35); Ohio country-rocker Lydia Loveless from the Bloodshot Records label is playing two nights as a solo act at Minneapolis’ small new punk-rock hub (7 p.m., Sat. also, Cloudland Theater, $28); New Yorker Pat Bianchi, who teaches organ at Berklee College of Music, brings his organ trio, featuring, guitarist Paul Bollenback and drummer Byron Landham both of whom played with the late organ ace Joey DeFrancesco (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $38-$48).

4. Golden Smog: An event that happens nowadays about as often as national elections — and can sometimes be as unpredictable — the Smog will rise again in the Mainroom with all of its Minnesota contingent in tow. Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, former Soul Asylum guitarist/co-vocalist Dan Murphy and Run Westy Run’s Kraig Johnson keep coming back to this all-star side project for the best of reasons: to have fun. They won’t have their Chicago cohort Jeff Tweedy of Wilco with them this time, but they are breaking in a new drummer for the show: former Black Crowe Steve Gorman, who moved to town last year to take over the KQRS-FM morning show. Expect songs off the band’s three LPs and two EPs, and who-knows-what-else. Opening twang-boogie unit Eleganza will help set the rowdy tone. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $45, axs.com)

Also: Emmet Cohen Trio, featuring the Harlem pianist who has live-streamed more than 124 editions of “Live from Emmet’s Place,” was named the top rising group in this year’s DownBeat critics poll (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$40); Mexican grupero star Ana Bárbara, a Latin Grammy winner now based in Los Angeles, is commemorating her 30th year in the music biz (8 p.m. Orpheum Theatre, $75 and up); acclaimed Twin Cities guitarist Zacc Harris celebrates his group’s third album, “Chasing Shadows,” on his artist-run Shifting Paradigm Records (8 p.m. Berlin, $25); Nigerian Afropop star Oxlade, whose 2022 ditty “Ki Lo Sa” was a big streaming hit globally, is on a U.S. tour touting his new record “Oxlade From Africa” (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $35-$40); Chicago piano groover Neal Francis just dropped a great new single, “Back It Up,” ahead of his short Midwest jaunt (8:30 p.m. Fine Line, $28); feel-good local mainstays Mango Jam are celebrating their 35th anniversary as a band (7:30 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $15-$20).

5. Chief Keef: One of the Midwest’s biggest hip-hop stars of the 21st century, the Chicago rapper blew up and made drill-rap a hot commodity at age 17 with his breakout hit “Love Sosa” and the subsequent album “Finally Rich.” Rolling Stone recently put the latter at No. 32 on its list of the 200 best hip-hop albums. A decade in, the South Sider remains an influencer and a popular draw. After postponing over the summer, he’s back out touting his fifth record, “Almighty So 2,” a self-produced collection featuring the likes of Sexxy Red and Quavo for guests. Lil Gnar and the Glo Boyz open. (8 p.m. the Armory, 600 S. 5th St., Mpls., $56-$66, ticketmaster.com)

6. Judy Carmichael: The vivacious piano woman from Sag Harbor, N.Y., wears many hats: author, podcaster, radio host, recording artist and prodigious purveyor of stride piano. Her “Jazz Inspired” interview program has been on the air for 24 years, currently syndicated and heard on SiriusXM and on KBEM-FM on Mondays. Her guests have been a who’s who of the arts, including Tony Bennett, Robert Redford, Julie Andrews, Chevy Chase, Renee Fleming and Frank Gehry. Carmichael also has featured such Minnesota-rooted musicians as Connie Evingson, Maria Schneider and Mary Louise Knutson. On tour with bassist Neal Miner and guitarist Andy Brown, the well-traveled Carmichael will bring a mix of stride and swing to the Twin Cities before she entertains again on the Queen Mary 2. (7:30 p.m. the O’Shaughnessy, St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, $5-$33, etix.com)

7. Swamp Dogg: In 2018, Minneapolis musician Ryan Olson of Poliça fame produced some tracks for Swamp Dogg, the quirky, often satirical cult figure who has operated on the fringes of R&B and country soul since the 1970s. Two years later, Olson produced Dogg’s country-flavored LP “Sorry You Couldn’t Make It” featuring John Prine, Jenny Lewis and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Now Olson and Isaac Gale have made a film called “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted,” which will be screened as part of the Sound Unseen Festival. The 82-year-old musician will perform afterward, perhaps doing something from his new bluegrass album, “Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St,” on the Prine-launched Oh Boy Records. (9:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, $30-$35, theparkwaytheater.com)

8. Oratorio Society of Minnesota: How humanity is confronting climate change is the focus of composer Geoffrey Hudson’s very involving and often quite beautiful “eco-oratorio,” “A Passion for the Planet.” Drawing from texts poetic, scientific and sacred, the hour-long 2019 work traces an arc from gratitude to fear to hope. For its Twin Cities premiere, Matthew Mehaffey will conduct two choirs, two vocal soloists (soprano Jennifer Olson and baritone Bradley Greenwald) and a 12-piece instrumental ensemble. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 W. Roselawn Av., Roseville; 3 p.m. Sun., Westwood Lutheran Church, 9001 S. Cedar Lake Road, St. Louis Park, $10-$35, oratorio.org)

Also: Offering a nice contrast to his band the Hold Steady’s full-tilt blowout gigs, Craig Finn is coming home to Minnesota on a “songs and stories” acoustic tour showcasing tracks from his solo LPs, new tunes and a THS classic or two, with opener Katy Kirby (8 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $30-$40); Mannheim Steamroller is proudly marking its 50th anniversary of its Christmas celebrations even if they’re a little early this year (8 p.m. Sat. & Sun. Mystic Lake Casino Showroom, $39-$99); emotive New York soul-pop vocalist Emily King, who addressed a breakup on last year’s Grammy-nominated “Special Occasion,” settles in for two nights (7 p.m. Sat. & Sun. the Dakota, $40-$45); bubbly San Francisco dance-pop veteran Tycho is back in town with a new album in tow, “Infinite Health” (8 p.m. First Ave, $45); Twin Cities acoustic guitar wiz Billy McLaughlin is joined by mandolinist/fiddler Nathan Wilson (6:30 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $35-$45); Van Morrison-inspired big band the Belfast Cowboys are playing another pre-holiday fundraiser for their hands-on, homegrown charity for residents in need, Foothold Twin Cities (7 p.m., Hook & Ladder, $25); Sound Unseen has come up with an enticing lineup of music movies in its 25th year including “1-800-On-Her-Own,” about Ani DiFranco (11 a.m. Parkway Theater, $15-$20), “7 Nights in the Entry,” about Twin/Tone Records (2 p.m. Parkway Theater, $15-$20), “Garland Jeffreys: King of In Between,” with director Claire Jeffreys Q&A (1:30 p.m. Bryant Lake Bowl) and “Linda Perry: Let It Die Here,” with a Q&A and live performance by Perry (5:15 p.m. Parkway, $35-$40).

9. Amythyst Kiah: With her sophomore solo album “Still + Bright” produced by Butch Walker released this fall, this Tennessee singer/songwriter branches beyond her Americana sounds to embrace some electrifying guitar music, part grungey, part indie rock. She’s still plumbing deeply emotional territory, informed in part by the suicide of her mother two decades ago, but she’s also interested in nature and the cosmos. Kiah’s voice resonates with warmth, power and passion, aided by collaborators Billy Strings, Avi Kaplan, SG Goodman, Mickey Raphael and Walker. Minnesota vocalists Annie Mack and Mary Cutrufello open. (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $25-$45, theparkwaytheater.com)

Also: Crooners regular Patty Peterson, a longtime Twin Cities favorite, helps the Fridley nightspot celebrate its 10th anniversary (6:30 p.m., $30-$40); Texas punkabilly king the Rev. Horton Heat is back (7:30 p.m. Fine Line, $25); jazz bassist Adam Linz’s Sunday residency series at Berlin nightclub continues with a tribute to Charles Mingus (7 p.m., free); as part of Sound Unseen, there will be a screening of “50 Years In 60 Minutes; Films From The Bob Dylan Archives,” with a live performance first by Courtney Yasmineh (11:30 a.m. Parkway Theater, $20-$25).

10. King Pari: After moving to Los Angeles to make it big in the music biz, Twin Cities expats Cameron Kinghorn (ex-Nooky Jones, Black Market Brass) and Joe Paris Christensen (PHO) found different results on their hazy electro-funk duo’s full-length debut, “There It Goes.” Whimsical and whirring songs like “West Coast Country” and “Bag. Full. Of. Cash.” muse on being young and broke but having fun and finding inspiration out west, all over a cool combo of early-Prince synth-pop sounds and Tame Impala-style sunbaked grooves. The album actually is now gaining them some fame, coming out on Peanut Butter Wolf’s label Stones Throw and landing them European dates opening for Ginger Root. Old pal Lady Midnight opens their release party here. (8 p.m. Green Room, 2923 Girard Av. S., Mpls., $17-$22, greenroommn.com)

Texas/California singer/songwriter Jess Williamson, who is half of the duo Plains with Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, is touting her fifth album, last year’s acclaimed “Time Ain’t Accidental” (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$40); Los Angeles emo rockers Say Anything are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their best-loved album, “... Is a Real Boy,” with the Social Animals (7:30 p.m. the Fillmore, $50).

Kevin Cronin and REO Speedwagon are hitting the brakes on Jan. 1 after playing “Keep on Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” for more than 45 years (7 p.m. Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, $40-$170); Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo returns to Fridley showcasing his new album, “I Love Samba” (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40); Twin Cities indie fave Haley is back at the Dakota with fun surf-rockers the Black Widows opening (7 p.m., $20-$25); Thomas Abbas and L.A. Buckner team up as a new duo dubbed White Boy Summer (7 p.m. Berlin, free).

Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.