Trampled by Turtles with S.G. Goodman and Sophie Hiroko @ Bayfront Festival Park—Earlier this month two heavyweights of Duluth music, Trampled by Turtles and Low's Alan Sparhawk, joined forces for a collab album that Pitchfork praised as "a raw snapshot of perfectly articulated hurt, and the first steps of navigating it for the rest of one’s life... one of the most compelling records of Sparhawk’s career." Though there'll be no Sparhawk, this annual Bayfront gig will surely tempt Turtle-heads from around the state to come to Duluth for fireworks and stay for our state's premier bluegrass band plucking away at its most scenic stage. Unwilling or unable to make the trek up I-35W? You can catch TbT this fall at Farm Aid’s Huntington Bank Stadium stop or this December when they hit the Fitz with Sparhawk.—Jay Boller

Taste of Minnesota @ Downtown Minneapolis—Through the '80s and '90s, this food ‘n’ tunes bash was held outside the State Capitol. It relocated to St. Paul’s Harriet Island in 2003, and, finally, lasted for a couple of years out in Waconia before shutting down in 2015. In 2023, the relaunched Taste of Minnesota, a free two-day festival along Nicollet Mall, was framed by city leaders as a Minneapolis-is-back victory lap. Now, following some logistical hiccups in year one but strong attendance across both installments, organizers are already calling it “beloved.” We’ll see about that, but this year’s lineup is the strongest since Taste’s recent resurrection. On Saturday, we've got eternal rock 'n' roller Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and power-pop pioneers Cheap Trick headlining, with Bluewater Kings Band, Rhythm Street Movement, and A Steele Family Affair adding support. Come Sunday, State Farm pitchman Ludacris will bring a career's worth of rap bangers after a set from local hip-hop star Nur-D, with David Yang, Frankie Torres, and Good for Gary rounding out that bill. There’ll be Fancy Ray. There’ll be Andrew Zimmern. There’ll be a small army of food trucks. Crucially, there’ll be no cost involved, though you gotta RSVP for tix.—Jay Boller

Obi Original and The Black Atlantics with Kwey and DJ Goldilocks @ Turf Club—There’s no greater local champion of Nigerian highlife than Obi Obikwelu, and if you don’t know what that means, well, that’s why he’s gotta champion it. A style less indebted to American funk than Fela Kuti’s more familiar (to Americans) Afrobeat, highlife combines West African polyrhythms with a brisk guitar style, and Obi Original both recreates and expands on highlife with his band the Black Atlantics (named for Paul Gilroy’s pioneering book on African diaspora). He’s got a full-length due later this year, but for a taste of his music, try “Battle Ready,” a collab with Black Market Brass—the propulsive, horn-driven Afrobeat group encourages his funky side, and this single captures his vocals at their rawest. The evening is billed as “a highlife dance party,” with McShellen and DJ Goldyrocks of Black Market Brass spinning vinyl.—Keith Harris