Twin Cities concerts of the week: Dispatch, Maroon 5, Café Tacvba

Wailin' Jennys: A favorite on "A Prairie Home Companion," this Winnipeg-launched trio of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse showcases its gorgeous, graceful harmonies on 2017's "Fifteen," interpreting songs by Paul Simon, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Warren Zevon, among others. (7:30 p.m. Fri. O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Catherine University, St. Paul, $23-$57, eTix.com.)

Dispatch: Falling somewhere between Jack Johnson and O.A.R., this Boston area trio has strummed its feel-good, reggae-tinged, happy-hippie songs and toured like madmen over the past decade to work its way up to playing the 8,000-person Armory locally and even Madison Square Garden in New York. It's also raised a lot of money for a lot of global charities along the way. The band returned from another hiatus with last year's slicked-up "America, Location, 12," but co-founder Pete Heimbold bowed out to focus on his mental health and is still not touring. Openers are Nahko & Medicine for the People and Scatter Their Own. (8 p.m. Fri., the Armory, 600 S. 5th St., Mpls., 18 & older, $17.50-$37, ticketmaster.com.)

Laura Rain: With her gritty Detroit R&B band the Caesars, this funky princess with a girlish voice and adult force takes to the tent at Shaws, the classic northeast Minneapolis dive bar. (6:30 p.m. Fri. Shaws, $10)

Liz Phair: St. Paul's Turf Club was one of seven lucky venues this summer in which '90s alt-rock heroine Phair performed the entirety of her landmark 1993 "Exile in Guyville" album, which liberated women to frankly discuss sexuality, unapologetically use locker-room language and unhesitatingly tell guys to buzz off. That night was essentially a duo show. Now Phair returns with a full band, with promises to go beyond "Guyville" and explore material from some of her other five albums, as well. (9 p. m. Sat. First Avenue, Mpls., sold out)

Nancy Harms: For something completely different, the Minnesota-bred, New York-based jazz singer is offering an evening of original material, previewing her forthcoming album "She." Such songs as the Adele-evoking "I Won't Give In" are more contemporary pop without sounding dated. (7:30 p.m. Sat. Crooners, $20-$25)

Ethan Iverson and Mark Turner: After 17 years with the hard-touring jazz trio Bad Plus, Menomonie, Wis.-reared pianist Iverson is spreading his wings with various endeavors. One project is the duo with acclaimed saxophonist Turner, "Temporary Kings," an absorbing and sometimes ethereal album. Expect them to play "Unclaimed Freight," which was inspired by a sign on a giant warehouse Iverson spotted on a drive through northern Minnesota. (6:30 p.m. Sun. & 7:30 p.m. Mon. Crooners, Fridley, $25-$30, ticketfly.com)

Chazz Reed benefit: Reed, who has worked with Bluprint Band and the R Factor, suffered a stroke, and the Twin Cities music community is rallying in a benefit for him. Among the performers are Maurice Jacox, Debbie Duncan, Kimberly Michaels, Wain McFarlane, Kathleen Johnson and J.D. Steele. (4 p.m. Sun. Minnesota Music Cafe, $20)

Counting Crows: One of the great if inconsistent alt-rock bands to emerge in the 1990s, this Bay Area ensemble is as good as oft-indulgent frontman Adam Duritz's mood as he visits "Rain King," "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here." With Live, the '90s rockers remembered for "Lightning Crashes." (7:15 p.m. Sun. Mystic Lake amphitheater, $45.)

Beth Hart: This year, she released another barn burner collaboration with Joe Bonamassa, "Black Coffee," their third project together. But the powerhouse blues-rock singer is working solo on this tour. (8 p.m. Mon. Pantages, $42.50-$52.50)

Café Tacvba: Not seen this far north in many years, Mexico's biggest rock band of the past two decades never found the U.S. success to match its status south of the border, but it remains a cult-loved group stateside and a favorite at festivals thanks to its artful, sometimes zany live shows. It's also still making playful and inventive albums, with last year's "Jei Beibi" sounding like a hybrid of Beck and Muse. (8 p.m. Mon., First Avenue, $30-$35, first-avenue.com.)

Johnny Marr: The influential guitarist from the '80s British alterna-mope group the Smiths has proved himself a respectable and — distinguishing him from ex-bandmate Morrissey — personally likable frontman over the past five years with three solid, classic-sounding solo albums, including the fine new one "Call the Comet." (8 p.m. Mon., Varsity Theater, $35.)

Maroon 5: Adam Levine's visibility on NBC's "The Voice" has certainly buoyed Maroon 5's career but so has a string of radio hits, the latest being "Girls Like You" featuring Cardi B and a video showcasing such women as Gal Gadot, Ellen DeGeneres and Minneapolis legislator Ilhan Omar. Maroon 5 brings such pop confections as "Sugar," "She Will be Loved" and "Moves Like Jagger" back to St. Paul. Opening is Iowa-bred singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, who scored with her own "Issues" and has penned hits for Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. (7:30 p.m. Tue. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $49.50 and up)

John Oates: After hitting the arena circuit earlier this year (including Xcel Energy Center) with longtime partner Daryl Hall, the mustachioed guitarist is touring smaller venues behind his new solo album, "Arkansas," an appealingly casual but high quality exploration of folk, blues and ragtime featuring such ace pickers as mandolinist Sam Bush and Minnesota-launched pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl (who is part of the touring band, as well). (7 p.m. Tue.-Wed. Dakota, $45-$55.)

Gordon Lightfoot: At 79, the Canadian troubadour has given up on songwriting but not touring. He has enough classics, including "Sundown," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" — plus stories behind his songs — to enthrall for an entire evening. (7:30 p.m. Tue. State Theatre, $53.50-$63.50)

J. Cole: Just a year after he first proved a compelling arena headliner at Xcel Center, the earnest and personal North Carolina rapper returns with another highly visual tour and an album that's breaking streaming records, "KOD." This time out, Cole also has a hot opening act known from Camila Cabello's "Havana" and his own hit "Pick Up the Phone." Will Smith's kid Jaden Smith also opens. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Target Center, $39.50-$99.50, ticketmaster.com)

Kendra Shank: The New York jazz vocalist found some simpatico players last time in the Twin Cities so she'll team again with pianist Phil Aaron and bassist Graydon Peterson. The musical conversation between the imaginative singer and her Minnesota musicians should be a spontaneous treat. (7:30 p.m. Wed. Crooners, $15-$20)

Giorgio Moroder: He's a behind-the-scenes giant, known as the father of disco for his pioneering work with Donna Summer, an Oscar-winning soundtrack composer ("Midnight Express") and songwriter (for "Flashdance ... What a Feeling" and for "Take My Breath Away"), and a force in electronica (he won his fourth Grammy, for producing Daft Punk). For the last five years, Moroder has done DJ duty, which is what the 78-year-old legend will do in Minneapolis. With DJ Jake Rudh and others. (9 p.m. Thu. First Avenue, $30-$35.)

Deep Purple & Judas Priest: After going nine years between local gigs and then earning a rave reception at the Armory in April, Priest returns on a co-headlining tour with another heavy British classic-rock band also scarce of late. Both groups are touring without their genre-defying original guitarists, but their singers can still wail. Having the old rockers together at the cool new amphitheater near the Mississippi should give new meaning to "Smoke on the Water." (7 p.m. Thu., Treasure Island Casino Amphitheater, 5734 Sturgeon Lake Rd, Welch, $42-$90, ticketmaster.com.)

Kari Arnett: After settling in Minneapolis four years ago, this Madison, Wis., area singer/songwriter is demanding to be heard with her first full-length album, "When the Dust Settles." Opening song "Dark Water" kicks it off with an ominous tone à la Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," and from there the earthy, hickory-voiced Arnett weaves between light, Emmylou-style folk-twang ditties and dark, stormy rockers. Mary Bue and Becky Kapell open her release party. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, $15-$17.)

Leon Bridges: The Texas R&B crooner who shot to fame in 2015 with his smooth debut "Coming Home" returns for a two-night stand behind his steamier, more modern-flavored follow-up, "Good Thing." Read our interview with him in Sunday's Variety or at startribune.com. (8 p.m. Thu. & next Fri., $62-$82, Palace Theatre.)