Tool: Even after an 11-year gap since "10,000 Days" with no new album in sight, Los Angeles' thundering prog-metal quartet has maintained a mystique and fanatical cult status that's still apparent 11 dates into its latest summer tour. So far, the shows have included one new song and one old rarity along with the usual awesome visual production. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Xcel Energy Center, $75-$95.)
Winstock: Little Big Town is one of the most musical acts in country music. That's apparent every time the harmony-loving coed quartet appears on TV and in concert, as they did in 2016 with Luke Bryan at U.S. Bank Stadium. They've got a powerhouse vocalist in Karen Fairchild, a slew of hits (love "Girl Crush" and "Pontoon") and a slot on tour with Keith Urban. He and LBT are headed to Winstock, the summer's first country fest, along with Brantley Gilbert, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. (Fri.-Sat., Winstock airport, Winsted, Minn. $125-$310, winstockfestival.com)
Blue Ox Music Fest: Eau Claire's third annual alt-twang/neo-bluegrass camp-out kicked off Thursday with Sam Bush and continues through the weekend with Greensky Bluegrass, Son Volt, Infamous Stringdusters, Dead Man Winter and more on Friday, and then Railroad Earth, the Drive-by Truckers, "Prairie Home" host Chris Thile's band the Punch Brothers, Willie Watson and others on Saturday, with hosts Pert Near Sandstone performing both nights. (11 a.m.-midnight Fri. & Sat., Whispering Pines Campground in Eau Claire, Wis., $110-$185, blueoxmusicfestival.com.)
Cloud Cult: Already a cinematic band by nature, the Minnesota-Wisconsin orchestral-rock troupe added a true film component to last year's album "The Seeker" by creating a touching, beautifully shot movie of the same name starring "How I Met Your Mother" actor Josh Radnor. They're performing the songs live alongside the movie for the first and perhaps only time on tour this summer. (8 p.m. Fri., Northrop auditorium, $30-$40.)
Robert Earl Keen: Lyle Lovett's old singer/songwriter pal from Texas A&M is an even bigger deal in their home state, where his live shows are rowdy good fun and his John Prine-wry songs have been covered by other Lone Star favorites like George Strait and the Dixie Chicks. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $40-$45)
Old Crow Medicine Show: The veteran Grammy-winning Americana string band is going to play its version of Bob Dylan's classic 1966 "Blonde on Blonde" album. Judging by OCMS's recent live album, "50 Years of Blonde on Blonde," the performance will be electrifying even though the musicians play mostly acoustic instruments. Fiddle, banjo, mandolin, dobro and accordion can light a fire. Don't be surprised if Old Crow encores with "Wagon Wheel," a Dylan tune for which Old Crow frontman Ketch Secor wrote the verses decades after Dylan penned the chorus in 1973. (8 p.m. Sat. Palace Theater, St. Paul, $35-$40, etix.com)
Willie Nelson: He's on the road again, playing "Whiskey River," "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain" and all the classics that have made him a beloved, pot-smoking, guitar-strumming, songwriting legend. When he turned 84 in April, he released another well-crafted album, "God's Problem Child," with several tunes (including "Old Timer" and "Still Not Dead') wonderfully reflecting on his autumnal years. Nelson's appearance will be the first in a series of nine amphitheater shows at Treasure Island Casino. He'll be joined by Charlie Daniels, 80, the fiddler behind "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," and Bruce Hornsby, a piano man for any occasion. (7 p.m. Fri. Treasure Island Casino amphitheater, Welch, Minn., sold out, ticasino.com.)
Tony Bennett: At age 90, he still interprets the Great American Songbook with a potent voice, undiminished passion and an unstoppable personality. Always a joy. (8 p.m. Fri. Mystic Lake Casino, $64-$94.)
Alejandro Escovedo: Like his fellow Texas music icon and occasional tourmate Joe Ely, the Americana music pioneer has become a regular at the Dakota, where his songs from his latest, Peter Buck co-produced album "Something to Burn" strongly resonated last year. (7 p.m. Sat., the Dakota, $40-$45.)
Semisonic: After its January shows were postponed by drummer Jacob Slichter's crash-course reintroduction to Minnesota ice, the beloved Minneapolis pop/rock trio of "Closing Time" fame has had plenty of time to prep for this special occasion, two shows commemorating the 20th anniversary of its debut album "Great Divide." In fact, the band had enough time in the interim to reportedly crack open a window on writing new music. First, though, comes this nostalgia fix. (8 p.m. Wed., Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul; and 9 p.m. next Fri., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., both sold out.)
New Kids on the Block and Paula Abdul: A whole generation of young people doesn't know that Abdul has done a lot more than be a judge on TV talents shows. The dancer/choreographer/singer also had a recording career, with six No. 1 pop hits in the late '80s and early '90s (some of which were recorded in the Twin Cities). The "Forever Your Girl" personality is on tour for the first time in years, with two hitmaking groups from her heyday, New Kids and Boyz II Men. (7:30 p.m. Wed. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $30-$200)
Robyn Hitchcock: The former Soft Boy and early-'80s college-rock hero earned the Grulke Career Act Award at this year's South by Southwest Musiuc Fest, a sign of how compelling a live act he remains and how good his latest album is, a self-titled collection out now on Yep Roc. (8 p.m. Thu., Turf Club, sold out.)
Pokey LaFarge: After winning fans everywhere from "A Prairie Home Companion" to Jack White's various going-ons, the Vaudevillian-style St. Louis jazz/blues song picker and his great group got a nice spotlight in the hit PBS special "The Epic Sessions," where their 1920s-era sound fit the vintage recording concept perfectly. (8 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, $15-$18.)
