Ladysmith Black Mambazo: The legendary South African vocal group that was introduced to the world on Paul Simon’s landmark “Graceland” in 1986 picked up its fifth Grammy last year, in world music, for “Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration.” Now under the direction of founder Joseph Shabalala’s son Tommy, LBM returns for its most intimate Twin Cities performance. Mar 25 7 & 9:30 p.m. More info here —Star Tribune
Donna Grantis: The former 3rdEyeGirl guitarist celebrates the release of her instrumental album “Diamonds & Dynamite,” a riveting journey on the jazz-fusion highway with elements of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and Prince throughout the ride. Grantis’ group of mostly Minnesotans showed great chemistry last week at Paisley Park, but this time they will be in a more suitably intimate setting. Mar 28 7 & 9 p.m. More info here —Star Tribune
Daymé Arocena
A supple vocal stylist, Arocena has absorbed the hip-swiveling energy of the rumba and salsa, the silken sandpaper of rhythm & blues, and the mystical religious passion of the Santeria faith. All are embedded in the Afro-Cuban musical tradition, and the immediacy of her connections, at age 26, is a heartwarming harbinger of her future greatness. Mar 22 7 + 9 p.m. More info here.—Britt Robson, City Pages
Molly Tuttle
Tuttle is slightly superior as a finger-picking guitarist than she is as a singer, yet oh what a clear, pure voice she possesses. To hear her dart through the chord progressions of a standard like “Gentle on my Mind” at a blitzkrieg pace while replenishing the lyrics with her vocal well-water, a shy smile beneath her bangs, ranks among the most pleasant ambushes in music today. Her first full-length doesn’t come out until April 5 but she’s already the only woman ever to win the International Bluegrass Music Award’s Instrumentalist of the Year. Go. Mar 24 7 p.m. More info here.—Britt Robson, City Pages