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

1. Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute: Each August, talented string players from high schools, colleges and grad schools around the country meet on the shores of northern Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion for 10 days of playing chamber music in the forest and string orchestra music inside log cabins. The musicians then head down to the Twin Cities for a concert, this year featuring chamber music by such composers as Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Dmitri Shostakovich, Caroline Shaw and Minnesota’s Steve Heitzeg, and works for string orchestra by Benjamin Britten and Edward Elgar. (7 p.m. Augustana Lutheran Church, 1400 S. Robert St., West St. Paul, free, chambermusicmn.org)

Also: A decade after becoming a teen-pop hitmaker with “Shower,” Becky G is kicking off the Minnesota State Fair grandstand lineup with more of a global, Spanish-speaking following to her name via songs such as “Mamii” and “Por el Contrario” (7 p.m., $44-$81); John Prine’s son Tommy Prine is playing two sets per day for two days at the fair (1 & 2:30 p.m. Leinie’s Lodge Bandshell, free with fair); veteran Nashville singer/songwriter Dave Barnes is touting his 12th album, “Featherbrained Wealth Motel” (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$35); they’ll need more room for dancing than lawn chairs in this week’s Lowertown Sound series installment with two of the Twin Cities’ biggest players in the Latino dance scene, Salsa del Soul and Tropical Zone Orchestra (6p.m. St. Paul’s Mears Park, free); brilliant and often brooding country singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson, who hasn’t been prolific of late, dropped a new single, “21 Guns,” saluting a fallen soldier (7 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino, $59-$99); local rockers Kiss the Tiger hit the free Summer of Sound series with Current DJs on the Surly Brewing patio (6 p.m., free); another great free option, jazzy guitar ensemble the Red Hot Django Peppers play the Hook & Ladder’s Open Door Series (7-10 p.m.); woodsy Northern California folk-rocker Brett Dennen is out previewing his first album in three years, “If It Takes Forever” (8 p.m. Fine Line, $30).

For more info on live music at the State Fair, see our picks among the Minnesota acts performing each day and a daily highlights roundup.

2. Chance the Rapper: Chicago’s feel-good, positive-vibed hip-hop hitmaker has been slow to return to the road after filling arenas on his 2019 tour behind his last album, “The Big Day.” In the interim, he served as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice” and put on his Black Star Line Festival in Ghana. He’s been trickling out songs from his next LP, “Star Line,” including the familial ode “Together.” His longtime fan base in the Twin Cities is getting one of his only performances of 2024 as he prepares to for a full comeback next year. Read the Star Tribune interview with Chance ahead of the show.(7 p.m. Minnesota State Fair grandstand, $48-$148, etix.com)

3. The Arianna String Quartet: This celebrated foursome formed 32 years ago, quickly gaining international attention by winning the highly regarded Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Today, they’re among the most popular bands in St. Louis, where they’re on the music faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and host both a regular concert series and a weekly show on the local classical public radio station. For the marquee concert of Northfield’s Bridge Chamber Music Festival, they’ll perform quartets by Joseph Haydn, Bohuslav Martinůu and Beethoven. (7:30 p.m. Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, St. Olaf and Campus drives, Northfield, free, bridgechambermusicfestival.com)

4. Ruthie Foster: The love affair between the genre-defying Texas singer/songwriter and the Twin Cities is so strong that she’s appearing here for two nights as she drops the new album, “Mileage.” It’s her first effort on Sun Records, the legendary label that was the early home of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. Fittingly, Foster has offered a preview single, “That’s All Right,” the Arthur Crudup tune that Elvis turned into one of his first hits in 1954. Seventy years later, Foster’s treatment finds a swampy blues groove with gospel harmonies. That’s right in the zone for Foster, whose sound has been equal parts gospel, blues, soul and folk, with a dash of country. (7 p.m. Fri.-Sat. the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$50, dakotacooks.com)

Also: The boogie blues of Lamont Cranston, Minnesota’s most enduring blues institution, is always in season (8 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $35-$45).

6. Lindsey Stirling: It’s been 14 years since this flashy violinist catapulted to stardom on “America’s Got Talent.” She’s crafty as an artist and marketer, creating splashy and often exotic videos showcasing her showy violin. In 2020, she surpassed 3 billion views on her YouTube channel. While Stirling has collaborated with a wide range of pop and rock stars (including John Legend, Evanescence and Pentatonix), her own recordings fall somewhere between dance/electronica and classical. Last summer, she offered her version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” with some Middle Eastern-sounding violin, and this summer she delivered “Duality,” which includes “Survive” interpolating the Gloria Gaynor disco classic “I Will Survive.” Indeed, Stirling has. (7 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $70 and up, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Minneapolis power trio Scrunchies, led by ex-Kitten Forever howler Laura Larson, celebrates the release of their new Steve Albini-produced record for Learning Curve Records, “Colossal,” with In Lieu and Mary Jam (8:30 p.m. Turf Club, $15); an all-star cast of Twin Cities music veterans team up for the second annual “We Got You Covered” cover-song marathon to raise money for Foothold Twin Cities, including the Belfast Cowboys, Davina Sowers, the de’Lindas, Cindy Lawson and more (7 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$30); the “Jerry-apolis” tribute to Jerry Garcia will feature Javier Trejo, Martin Dosh, JT Bates and other local workhorses (9 p.m. Icehouse, $18-$23); Austin, Texas, scene fixture Bob Schneider is back in town touting a “song club” series and lots more with Fathom Lane opening (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $30); the Dan Israel & Friends Folk Fest returns to Israel’s St. Louis Park neighborhood with Sarah Morris, Katy Vernon and Mikkel Beckman (6-9 p.m. Veteran’s Memorial Amphitheater, free); Bree Turner, usually seen with Boogie Wonderland and Jamecia Bennett, knows it’s time for a Tina Turner tribute (7 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40); Sarah Reich, known for her work with Postmodern Jukebox, shows the Twin Cities how tap dance is done, accompanied by a group of funky and jazz Minnesota musicians (8 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40).

7. Blake Shelton: He retired from NBC’s “The Voice” after a fruitful, career-boosting run, but he’s still active in country music and elsewhere. He showed up in July to duet with Gwen Stefani, his wife, on the new “Purple Irises” at the Minnesota Yacht Club fest in St. Paul. In concert, the quick-witted Oklahoman invariably wins over crowds with his personality and parade of hits, including “Honey Bee,” “God’s Country” and “Drink on It.” Emily Ann Roberts opens. (7 p.m. State Fair grandstand, $77-$207, etix.com)

8. Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper: Look for a new array of ghoulish outfits, beheadings and other horror-show stage theatrics — oh yeah, and some butt-kicking music, too — when the two kindred shock-rock co-headliners bring their Freaks on Parade Tour to town. Zombie went over big again returning to the road last year playing hard-rocking hits like White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human.” Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Cooper has gone over explosively in the Twin Cities going back to the infamous tear-gassed concert on the same site in 1978, when he was riding high with hits like “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen” and “Welcome to My Nightmare.” A pair of still-mighty, industrial-flavored ‘90s bands are adding to the night’s fire power as openers, Ministry and Filter. (6 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $40-$165, ticketmaster.com)

Also: Nigerian-rooted, hip-hop- and rock-infused Twin Cities Afrobeat bandleader Obi Original takes on the Dakota (7 p.m., $20-$25); the penultimate installment of this year’s Alley Series off Loring Park features Brit-rocky local faves Two Harbors with Ashley Ackerson’s Mood Swings and Brass Elephant (4-7 p.m., HiFi Hair & Records, donations requested).

Also: Happy Together is a touring 1960s and ‘70s jukebox starring the Turtles (well, Marc Volman with Ron Dante of the Archies), the Cowsills, Badfinger, the Vogues, the Association and Jay & the Americans (7 p.m. State Grandstand, $33-$66).

10. Ludacris and T-Pain: In what’s turned into one of the State Fair’s hottest-selling grandstand concerts, the Atlanta rapper of “Move Bitch” and “What’s Your Fantasy” fame — who later became an actor in the “Fast & Furious” franchise and more — is pairing up with the AutoTune-loving Florida R&B star known from such libidinous classics as “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” and “Booty Wurk (One Cheek at a Time).” Luda was fun but a bit disjointed opening for Janet Jackson here last year, so he will hopefully get more serious in this headlining slot. The more fun T-Pain has, the better. (7 p.m. Minnesota State Fair grandstand, $44-$88, etix.com)