Thursday, Sept. 29
1. Amyl & the Sniffers: After clips of their packed, rowdy show at the Fine Line in May were widely shared on social media, the buzz is strong enough for this Australian punk throwback band's quick return to town to take on the Mainroom. Frontwoman Amy Taylor is part Wendy O. Williams and Bon Scott, while the group's newest album, "Comfort to Me," cleans up and metallicizes their Stooges-meets-Motorhead sound just enough to not be too much. British rap/rock duo Bob Vylan opens. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)
Also: An EDM/trance music supergroup of sorts featuring three stars of Berlin's electronic music scene, Moderat is playing one of its first U.S. shows here in support of its album, "MORE D4TA" (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, $35-$50); Detroit pianist BLKBOK (pronounced Black-Bach) mashes up hits by Cardi B, Lizzo and others with classical stylings (7 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$35); Minneapolis songbird Connie Evingson salutes the awesomeness of autumn with tunes about fall, accompanied by pianist Andrew Walesch (7 p.m. Crooners, $20-$30); St. Paul finger-picking guitar wiz Pat Donohue returns with the Prairie All-Stars (7:30 p.m. Belvedere tent at Crooners, $20-$30).
Friday, Sept. 30
2. Jack Harlow: The curly-haired Rolling Stone cover boy is on the verge of being the hottest rapper in the game. Playing straight man on Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby" landed Harlow at No. 1 for the first time. He reached those heights again this year with his own "First Class," boosted by a sample of Fergie's "Glamorous." On his sophomore album, "Come Home the Kids Miss You," Harlow gets plenty of help from famous friends including Lil' Wayne, Justin Timberlake and Drake, whose nonchalant flow is the inspiration for Harlow's style. The quality of his content has been questioned ("cold like the Minnesota Vikings at home"), but he's become a bona fide star, set to appear in a remake of the film "White Men Can't Jump." With City Girls. (7:45 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $72 and up, ticketmaster.com)
Also: Folky shaman turned elegant rock balladeer Father John Misty settles in for a two-night stand behind his ornately orchestrated album "Chloe and the Next 20th Century" with opener Suki Waterhouse (8 p.m., also Sat., Palace Theatre, $45-$75); Korean rapper/singer DPR Live lands in Minneapolis (8 p.m. Fillmore, $85 and up); Sweden's ultra-intense death-metal band Meshuggah is touring with its first album in six years, "Immutable," with openers Torche and Converge (7 p.m. Myth in Maplewood, $42); California's vintage swing revivalist band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is nearing its 30th year and still popular on the road (7:30 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $40); Australia's cult-loved electronic rock duo the Avalanches went 15 years before releasing their second album but now have a third to promote, "We Will Always Love You" (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $25).
Saturday, Oct. 1
3. Rodney Crowell: One of Texas' most poetic and penetrating songwriters has been diagnosed with dysautonomia, a nerve disease that sometimes slows him down. It didn't stop him from delivering last year's aptly titled "Triage," a low-key, reflective album about mortality, sin and redemption. Highlights include the dark, Dylanesque "Something Has to Change," the blues shuffle "I'm All About Love" (in which he mentions Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Greta Thunberg, Jessica Biel and the devil all in one stanza), and the graceful "Hymn #43," cowritten with John Leventhal, husband of Crowell's ex, Rosanne Cash, who sings backup. Crowell is trying to heal the world — and himself. (8 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, $29-$44, hopkinsartscenter.com)
Also: The West Bank Block Party on the plaza outside the Cedar will feature an eclectic group of globally influenced local acts including Fanaka Nation, Deeq Abdi, the Hoka-Hey Singers, Jada Brown and a DJ-ing Lady Midnight (2-6 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, free); Israel-based Ethiopian singer Gili Yalo, who's gaining a buzz in international circles with his funky, jazzy sounds, performs later at the Cedar Cultural Center with local show band Fanaka Nation (8 p.m., $20-$25); Lydia Liza, Bethany Larson and Cassandra Cole make a promising triple bill of gifted, young, local singer/songwriters (10 p.m. 331 Club, free); one of California's first and best skater-punk bands Agent Orange play their COVID-rescheduled date with the Toxenes and Silent Treatment (7 p.m. Hook & Ladder outside, $20); New Orleans Americana crew the Deslondes features former members of Hurray for the Riff Raff (9 p.m. Turf Club, $15-$18).
Sunday, Oct. 2
4. Ringo Starr: The 82-year-old Beatles drummer will spread his message of peace and love with a little help from his friends Edgar Winter, Toto's Steve Lukather, Men at Work's Colin Hay, Average White Band's Hamish Stuart and others. This is the 15th incarnation of His All-Starr Band, a live classic-rock jukebox that will play "Free Ride," "Rosanna" and such Beatles classics as "Yellow Submarine" and "Octopus' Garden." Never one to sit still, Ringo this month dropped "EP3," his third EP in 18 months, this one featuring the Linda Perry-penned "Everyone and Everything," about kindness and tolerance. (8 p.m. Mystic Lake Casino, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd. NW, Prior Lake, $89-$249, ticketmaster.com)
5. Zach Bryan: Just over a year since leaving the U.S. Navy due to pursue a booming music career, this Oklahoma country singer has turned into one of music industry's best success stories of the year. His largely acoustic 34-track debut album, "American Heartbreak," went to No. 5 on the Billboard charts riding the backs of songs he posted online from a naval base. His slicker nine-song follow-up, "Summertime Blues," shows more of an Isbell/Sturgill country-rock bent and is adding to the demand on his largely sold-out coming-out tour. (7 p.m. Surly Brewing Festival Field, 520 Malcolm Av. SE, Mpls., sold-out)
6. "The Phantom of the Opera": Broadway's longest-running musical has announced plans to close, but you can enjoy a much earlier adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel about spooky goings-on at a Paris theater. Organist, composer and master improviser Aaron David Miller will commandeer the keys of Northrop's room-filling pipe organ, providing the soundtrack for the 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney, "the man of a thousand faces." This scary launch for a Northrop silent film series also will be livestreamed and available on-demand through Oct. 9. (3 p.m. Northrop, 84 Church St. S.E., Mpls.; $10-$21, Northrop.umn.edu.)
7. Pet Shop Boys & New Order: They could've called this one the Monsters of Synth-Pop Tour. Both influential, innovative British bands that crossed over to MTV and American radio in the '80s — most noticeably with "West End Girls" and "Bizarre Love Triangle," respectively — neither has toured a whole lot in recent decades but has stayed relatively active in the studio. Thus, their COVID-delayed Unity Tour is a little more special than just another Gen X nostalgia kick. And a little more expensive. EDM legend Paul Oakenfold is also in tow to DJ. (6:30 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $112-$172, ticketmaster.com)
Also: New York rap vet Pusha T is back on the road touting his well-received new album, "It's Almost Dry," made with longtime cohorts Pharrell Williams and Kanye West (7 p.m. the Fillmore, $40); celebrating the 45th anniversary of their first live album, the always vibrant funk-rockers Little Feat will recreate the unbeatable setlist of "Waiting for Columbus" (7 p.m. Fitzgerald Theatre, $49.50); Chicago drummer/composer Makaya McCraven, who blends jazz with hip-hop rhythms, is touring behind the tuneful and often groovy "In These Times," which dropped last week (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$35); Siama's Congo Roots will blend African guitar work and storytelling for the Music in the Chapel series (3 p.m. Lakewood Cemetery, $20-$30).
Monday, Oct. 3
Twin Cities jazz bassist Chris Bates' Low End Theories continues with a performance by his group and ThoughtCast (8 p.m. Icehouse, $12-$15).
Tuesday, Oct. 4
8. Nick Mason: Despite its exclusively Floydian repertoire, it's not fair to call Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets a bona fide Pink Floyd tribute band. After all, he was Floyd's drummer — and the only band member to participate in all its studio albums. Named after Floyd's second album, Saucerful of Secrets emphasizes the experimental, often psychedelic sounds before the band ascended to classic-rock immortality with prog-rock grandeur. In any case, Mason's current group definitely passes the acid trip, though it's far from the high-tech production that Roger Waters brought to Target Center this summer. (8 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $69-$139, ticketmaster.com)
9. Steve Lacy: It wasn't the collaborations with Vampire Weekend and Kendrick Lamar that made this Los Angeles area singer/songwriter one of 2022's hottest newcomers. It was more TikTok and other viral channels ripe for his aloofly dramatic bedroom-rock singles "Dark Red," "Bad Habit" and "Mercury." The latter two are featured on his summer LP, "Gemini Rights," allegedly inspired by a bad split with an ex-boyfriend and thus loaded with highly emo, hazy guitar pop and electro-R&B. His local debut gig was bumped from the Varsity and could be one of Myth's last concerts, if demolition proposals aren't squashed. (8 p.m. Myth, 3090 Southlawn Dr., Maplewood, $60-$200, all ages, ticketmaster.com)
Also: Zambia's psychedelic and funky 1970s rock act W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc) has been rediscovered via record collectors in a story similar to "Sugarman" Rodriguez (9 p.m. Turf Club, $25); jazz- and classical-mingling Icelandic singer/cellist Laufey is touring U.S. clubs ahead of her dates with the Iceland Symphony in Reykjavík later this month (7 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $20); innovative rock/funk Los Angeles singer and violinist Sudan Archives returns promoting her second album, "Natural Brown Prom Queen" (8 p.m. Fine Line, $20-$40); ex-Texan twangers Trevor McSpadden and Mary Cutrufello play their weekly gig at the White Squirrel Bar (6 p.m., free).
Wednesday, Oct. 5
10. Diana Krall: The celebrated jazz singer-pianist recorded her last album with longtime producer Tommy LiPuma before he died in 2017 but "The Dream of You" wasn't released until 2020. It's an understated, sophisticated collection, focusing on the Great American Songbook plus the title track, a romantic, accordion-tinged slow dance, gleaned from Bob Dylan's 2009 "Together Through Life" CD. With Krall, it's all hushed vocals, framed mostly by piano or guitar. Stuart Duncan's fiddle enlivens "Just You, Just Me," but this is an intimate, restrained affair. (8 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $53.50-$103.50, ticketmaster.com)
Also: Joji has vaulted from YouTube to the Top 10 on the pop charts with the formal piano ballad "Glimpse of Us" (7:30 p.m. the Armory, $42.50 and up); Austin, Texas' 13th Floor Elevators-inspired psychedelic rockers the Black Angels are back out with another wild, fuzzed-out new record, "Wilderness of Mirrors" (8 p.m. First Ave, $25).
Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.
