Thursday, March 9
The veteran Irish band Altan makes what seems like an annual March visit to the Twin Cities, where its guitarist Dáithí Sproule lives (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. the Dakota, $30-$40); celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Canada's alt-rock champs Crash Test Dummies return with "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Superman's Song" (7:30 p.m. Fitzgerald Theater, $45); Twin Cities' own RetroFizz salutes pop maestro Burt Bacharach with featured singer Ariel Donahue and guest vocalists Gwen Matthews, Jennifer Grimm and Adam Levy (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); country singer Easton Corbin, best remembered for the '09-'10 hits "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll with It," just delivered his first album in eight years, "Let's Do Country Right" (8 p.m. Varsity Theater, $35 and up); instrumental funk/soul band Derecho with Alan Sparhawk of Low and Al Church returns (8 p.m. Icehouse, $12-$15).
Friday, March 10
1. Kelsea Ballerini: Fresh from performing on "Saturday Night Live," the country star is bringing her Heartfirst Tour to Minneapolis. The tour was conceived to support her 2022 album "Subject to Change," but then last month she dropped a new EP all about her divorce, "Rolling Up the Welcome Mat." In fact, the two tunes she offered on "SNL" — "Blindsided" and "Penthouse" — were from the EP. The tour set lists indicate a heavy mix of "Subject to Change," a taste of the EP plus earlier favorites like "Hole in the Bottle" and "Miss Me More." Georgia Webster opens. (8 p.m. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St. Mpls., $47 and up, ticketmaster.com)
2. Muun Bato: This elegantly hazy Twin Cities rock band has been quietly making some noise among psychedelic rock lovers and record nerds since the 2021 release of its second album, "Paraphonic Vapors." After stints in First Communion Afterparty and Driftwood Pyre, singer/guitarist Joe Werner formed the band with some other scene vets including Timothy Sean Ritter (ex-Shapeshifter) and Vince Caro (Flavor Crystals). Echoing pre-"Dark Side" Pink Floyd with more modern/mod grooves, they're soon headed to the Milwaukee Psych Fest, but in the meantime are testing the sound system at Uptown's new live music hub. Young shoegazers Lumari and manic popsters Oyster World open. (8 p.m. Green Room, 2923 Girard Av. S., Mpls., $12-$20, greenroommn.com)
Also: Duluth singer/violinist/educator and onetime NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner Gaelynn Lea is performing for the Society of American Music Conference (8 p.m. Hook & Ladder Theater, $20-$25); Gaelic Storm, the California Celtic band that performed in the movie "Titanic," is back in town (7:30 p.m. Pantages Theatre, $49-$79); frontman Art Alexakis leads the revamped Everclear, 1990s alt-rock heroes behind "Santa Monica," joined by modern-rock vets Lit and Marcy Playground, which is indeed named after a Minneapolis school (7 p.m. Grand Casino Hinckley, $45-$55); after their ultra-charming collaborative album landed during lockdown, there's finally another chance to see Munson-Hicks Party Supplies live, with Twin Cities music vets John Munson and Dylan Hicks (7 p.m. the Dakota, $25-$30); should be a wild and wired punk triple bill with the Dollyrots, the Von Tramps and Surly Grrly (8 p.m. Uptown VFW, $18).
Saturday, March 11
3. Morgan Wade: Last seen in town opening Chris Stapleton's Xcel Energy Center show, this wow-generating Virginia singer/songwriter has been toeing the line between Americana rock crowds and more mainstream country since she first played First Ave opening for Lucero in 2021. She could conquer either domain. Her long-awaited local headlining gig got bumped up to the Mainroom from the Fine Line as sleeper-hit status has built up around her 2021 LP "Reckless," made with help from members of Jason Isbell's 400 Unit. Nate Frederick opens. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25, axs.com)
4. Bonnie Prince Billy/Jon Langford: These two cultishly followed, darkly humored roots/punk/Americana songwriters met up virtually during COVID-19 lockdown when Langford hosted a livestream benefit for Chicago music haven Fitzgerald's. They hit it off well enough to make it a real live show. U.K. native Langford has a trove of songs as the bandleader of the Mekons and the Waco Brothers, while Mr. Billy — aka Will Oldham — has had his tunes recorded by the likes of Johnny Cash and Marianne Faithfull. It might get weird. (6 & 9 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $40-$45, thecedar.org)
5. Ruthie Foster: The veteran Texas singer-songwriter falls under the Americana umbrella as she mixes blues, R&B, gospel and folk. On last year's "Healing Time," she tells us that love is the answer, whether it's self-love, love of one another or love of God. A strong sense of spirituality permeates the entire album, especially on the country-blues-gospel standout "I Was Called." But she also delivers a classic R&B promise with "Don't Want to Give Up on You." (8 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, $35-$45, hopkinsartscenter.com)
Also: Sherwin Linton not only has the deep voice to pull off a Johnny Cash tribute but he worked with the Man in Black and can spin a yarn as effectively as he can sing (4 p.m. Crooners, $35-$45); grungy pop/punk darlings Gully Boys have been wheeling out new songs and sounding as polished yet powerful as ever (10 p.m. Icehouse, $15-$18); versatile St. Paul piano man Dan Chouinard presents a program of Oscar-winning songs before Sunday's big event (6 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); "Drew Barrymore"-hitmaking pop rapper Bryce Vine is on tour with Black Party (8 p.m. the Fillmore, $45.50); '80s metal hitmakers Dokken are on the road with guitarist George Lynch back in tow and his band Lynch Mob opening (8 p.m. Medina Entertainment Center, $43-$58); Van Morrison-channeling mainstays the Belfast Cowboys offer a pre-St. Patty's Day fix (6:30 & 8:30 p.m., the Dakota, $15-$25).
Sunday, March 12
6. Benjamin Grosvenor: Here's a wunderkind who's grown up gracefully. After making his Twin Cities debut at 13 with a Chopin Society recital, this English pianist graduated to the Ordway Music Theater by 22. Now 30 and the most celebrated pianist his country's produced in decades, he's back at Macalester College for a recital featuring music by J.S. Bach via Ferruccio Busoni, as well as a Robert Schumann Fantasy, a Sergei Prokofiev sonata, and Maurice Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin." (3 p.m. Mairs Concert Hall, 130 Macalester St., St. Paul, $20-$40, chopinsocietymn.org)
7. Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Between Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest down in New Orleans, many of the city's finest live music acts are finding their way north to warm up winter-weary Minnesotans at the Dakota, and this one is arguably the highlight on the calendar. Now in their 45th year, the institutional second-line brass specialists just won their first Grammy for best American roots performance with their Aaron Neville collaboration, "Stompin' Ground." They always stomp out the blues with their funky party jams and soulful gospel classics. (7 p.m., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $40-$45, dakotacooks.com)
Also: Pippi Ardennia, a top-shelf but underrated jazz singer, returns from Chicago with pianist Daniel Leahy (7:30 p.m. Crooners, $30-$40); it's an all-music edition of Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women podcast with Minnesota singers Jennifer Grimm, Ann Reed, Zippy Laske, Courtney Yasmineh and the new trio, SingHers of Thomasina Petrus, Kathleen Johnson and Gwen Matthews (7:30 p.m. Woman's Club, $23-$63); psychedelic Brazilian rock pioneers Os Mutantes are touring with a new anthology (8 p.m. Turf Club, $25-$30); Vienna's Isabel Frey and Minneapolis' Sarah Larsson team up for an evening of Yiddish songs (5 p.m. Icehouse, $12-$15).
Monday, March 13
Kickin' It Irish, a Celtic celebration led by Dublin native Cormac O' Se of "Riverdance" and the O'Shea Irish Dancers, starts the St. Patrick's Day festivities early (7:30 p.m. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, $20-$64).
Tuesday, March 14
8. Ari Lennox: Last June she performed at the Afropunk festival in Minneapolis and then in September, the Washington, D.C., R&B singer dropped "Age/Sex/Location," one of the best albums of 2022. Equal parts neo-soul, hip-hop and jazz, the album is an irresistibly intimate discussion of dating, love and independence, with guest appearances by Lucky Daye, Summer Walker and Chloe Bailey. Issued on J. Cole's Dreamville label, Lennox's project owes debts to Erykah Badu, Toni Braxton, Janet Jackson and Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat, Pray, Love." Nonetheless, Lennox triumphs with her own voice and vision. (7 p.m. Fillmore Minneapolis, 525. N. 5th St., Mpls., $39.50 and up, ticketmaster.com)
9. Weyes Blood: After her elegantly haunting fifth album made many year-end best-of lists, the Pennsylvania-raised folk-twang singer/songwriter born Natalie Mering — her stage moniker is pronounced "wise blood" — has one of the hottest indie tours so far in 2023. She is now lining up summer festival dates from Coachella to Glastonbury. Her latest LP for Sub Pop, "It's Not Me, It's Everybody," sounds equal parts Linda Ronstadt and Lana Del Rey, loaded with shimmering vocals and evocative wordplay. Cameroon-born singer Lætitia Tamko aka Vagabon opens. (8 p.m. First Avenue, $20-$25, axs.com)
Wednesday, March 15
10. Sharon Isbin and Amjad Ali Khan: The preeminent classical guitarist, who grew up in St. Louis Park, teams with the master of India's sarod and his sons for "Strings for Peace." They collaborated on a 2020 album featuring ragas with the Khans often improvising while Isbin played notated music. They toured India in 2019 and now they bring their collaboration to the States, including Isbin's hometown. Read an interview with Isbin in Friday's Star Tribune. (7 p.m., also March 16, the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls, $50-$70, dakotacooks.com)
Also: Two acts on the Shifting Paradigm label will celebrate new albums — trumpeter Jake Baldwin's "Misc. Items" and 58 Belvedere's "Vista Cruiser" (8 p.m. Icehouse, $12-$15).
Classical music critic Rob Hubbard contributed to this column.
