Paul Weller: It's been 40 years since we first heard Weller on the Jam's hit "In the City." England's beloved Modfather carried on with the soul-inclined Style Council and, since 1990, as a solo artist. This year, the cult hero dropped his 25th studio album overall, "A Kind of Revolution," an eclectic effort featuring guests Robert Wyatt and Boy George and nods to New Orleans, disco and Bowie. A highlight is Weller's gorgeous, gospelly plea for peace, love and understanding, "The Cranes Are Back." Lucy Rose opens. (8 p.m. Fri. Pantages Theatre, Mpls., $29.50-$59.50, ticketmaster.com)
Dee Snider & Bret Michaels: Twisted Sister's loud-mouth frontman is pairing up with the George Lynch-less Dokken on Friday night and Poison's ubiquitous singer performs with Jack Russel's remade Great White lineup on Saturday for an outdoor '80s metal fest the casino has dubbed Rock, Brats & Beer. (5-10:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake, $20/day, $30/two-day.)
Zombie Pub Crawl: With the same tongue-in-flesh-eaten-cheek attitude as its zombie-attired attendees, the music lineup for ZPC '17 balances playfully chosen throwbacks and enduring hip-hop favorites. AutoTune-pioneering R&B singer/character T-Pain of "I'm in Luv (Wit a Stripper)" fame and "Semi-Charmed Life" early-'90s pop-rockers Third Eye Blind fill the former role, while Kansas City's indie-rap workhorse Tech N9ne and Jamaica-reared "Beautiful Girls" hitmaker Sean Kingston round out the latter. There's also a metal stage with Impaler and Morticia, younger rappers Jillionaire and Sammy Adams and a little EDM and local hip-hop, too. (5 p.m.-midnight Sat., multiple stages/venues around 1st Av. N. & N. 5th St., Mpls., $39-$90, ZombiePubCrawl.com)
Iron & Wine: Indie-folk hero Sam Beam proved himself to be more than just a raw acoustic strummer on his increasingly ornate I&W albums over the past decade. That give him room to scale back to a more acoustic sound again on his latest album and one of his best, "Beast Epic," offering gorgeous echoes of Nick Drake and Cat Stevens with epic, heart-tugging songwriting. (8 p.m. Sat., Palace Theatre, sold out.)
Queens of the Stone Age: Fears that Mark Ronson's production might turn Josh Homme and his beloved stoner-crunch band into disco-rockers on their new album "Villians" have been eased, but the new tunes do have a little more swinging energy to them that could make for an extra-fun live set. Homme & Co. are playing plenty of their thundering old favorites on tour, too. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Roy Wilkins Auditorium, sold out.)
A$AP Mob: Harlem-reared rap star A$AP Rocky returns with his crew members for a rare all-Mob tour. Atlanta newcomer Playboi Carti is advertised on the bill, fresh off scoring a platinum hit with his single "Magnolia." Also due are many of the other A$AP namesakes such as A$AP Twelvyy, A$AP Nast and A$AP Ant — but not A$AP Ferg. (7 p.m. Sat., Skyway Theatre, $45.)
Rich Mattson & the Northstars: The prolific former Glenrustles and Ol' Yeller frontman is on a roll with his violin-laced Iron Range area Americana rock band, returning to town to tout "Aeroplane Mode," an album full of fun tales of rural North Country life and just plain good vibes. (9 p.m. Sat., Hook & Ladder Theater, $10.)
Indeed Hullabaloo: Like a two-day summer block party held under a giant tent for fall, the eclectic all-local lineup will feature Black Market Brass, Bruise Violet, Nato Coles and more on Saturday and then Solid Gold, Dosh, Peter Lang and others Sunday. (1-10 p.m. Sat., 1-7 p.m. Sun., Indeed Brewing, 711 15 Av. NE, Mpls., free.)
Joey Alexander: Real deal or novelty? That's the question with this 14-year-old jazz piano prodigy. He's earned two Grammy nominations and dazzled at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival a couple year ago. He'll display his accomplished technique with his trio. (6 & 8 p.m. Sun. Dakota, $35-$50.)
Imagine Dragons: The Grammy-winning Vegas rockers are radio active once again with "Believer" and "Thunder" from their third album, "Evolve," which was released this summer. Those tunes should give Dan Reynolds and his bandmates more opportunities to bang their drums loudly in concert. Of course, they've got plenty of previous hits, including "Demons" and "Radioactive." Grouplove and K. Flay open. (7:30 p.m. Mon. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $39.50-$150, ticketmaster.com)
The War on Drugs: After the 2014 album "Lost in a Dream" made them indie-rock's hippest classic-rock-channeling non-hipsters, Adam Granduciel and his Philadelphia band mellowed out a bit and crafted some beautifully layered, '80s-echoing jams on their widely acclaimed follow-up album "A Deeper Understanding." It's a headphones-zone kind of album, but these guys know how to transfer their ornate recordings into a lively live show. (8 p.m. Wed., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, sold out.)
Kings of Leon: The Tennessee rockers are back on a roll after their abrupt hiatus in 2011 and lackluster 2014 album. The latest record, "Walls," landed the three Followill brothers and their cousin another radio hit with "Waste a Moment" and has had them touring arenas and festivals all year, this time with the locally beloved Los Angeles harmony-rock band Dawes for openers. (7 p.m. Wed., Xcel Energy Center, $32-$219.)
Violent Femmes: Before Milwaukee's beloved "Blister in the Sun" hitmakers do their run of six "Viva Wisconsin" shows, Gordon Gano, Brian Ritchie and newish drummer John Sparrow will warm up with a gig at First Ave. Remember the '80s. (8 p.m. Wed. First Avenue, $35.)
Craig Finn: With his locally beloved band the Hold Steady playing hard-to-get for Twin Cities fans, the Edina-reared frontman is certainly giving them plenty to chew on in the meantime via his steady string of solo albums, including this year's sonically playful and lyrically meaningful "We All Want the Same Things." He's settling in for two nights at two of his old hangouts. (8 p.m. Wed., Turf Club; and 9 p.m. Thu., Triple Rock; $25.)
Gavin DeGraw: After opening for Billy Joel at Target Field and appearing at this summer's Basilica Block Party, the New York piano man heads indoors to sing last year's hit "She Sets the City on Fire" and his earlier faves "I Don't Want To Be" and "Chariot." (8 p.m. Thu. First Avenue, $40.50.)
