T By Jennifer Schneider and Brianna Riplinger

hese upcoming concerts were handpicked to satisfy your musical cravings from now through winter break.

The event is still being billed as “Koerner, Ray and Glover” on many calendars, despite Dave “Snaker” Ray’s death on Thanksgiving Day. Whether that’s intentional or just a sign of laziness, the Twin Cities’ wittiest white bluesman is sure to be at First Ave in spirit as friends and family play tribute to his life and music Friday night.

At their hilarious, drunken homecoming show at First Avenue in October, Dillinger Four proved you really don’t have to take your clothes off to have a good time (Paddy vehemently refused to disrobe, breaking with tradition). Count on D4 to rip up the Urban Wildlife Club and properly prepare you for finals.

If a Friday night at the Mall of America five days before Christmas sounds even more stressful than final exams, how about an evening of experimental pop and electronica instead? Astronaut Wife hasn’t performed in over 18 months, and Polara’s latest collection of songs from “Jetpack Blues” promises to make you forget about all that shopping left to do. After all, there’s always Saturday.

Sure, you could shell out big bucks to watch a well-rehearsed orchestra capture the holiday spirit. Or you could sink into a folding chair at the Cedar and watch Dakota Dave Hull and Kari Larson capture that same magic on guitar, ukulele and mandolin. There might only be two of these acoustic masters, but the sound they create is no less grand.

With a month-long break from touring and a new album (“Rainy Day Music”) set for release early next year, The Jayhawks should be primed for another invigorating live show. For those of you curious about the new material, Gary Louris described it this summer as sounding like “everything and nothing we’ve ever done.” Hope that sheds some light on it for you.

My first exposure to the Love Cars came when I witnessed captivating lead singer James Diers’ short but brilliant set at the 400 Bar’s “Drive All Night” Bruce Springsteen tribute show a few months ago. I’ve been enamored ever since. Check out the real thing, complete with Diers’ own songs and band, at the Uptown Bar.

With Radio K play, Star Tribune coverage and more, you could almost say The Soviettes are caught in a hype machine. But the City Pages “Picked to Click” winners have proven their worth with powerful punk. And no, we don’t think any less of them because they have boyfriends in bands!

Rocking the Minnesota Music Awards and confusing the Dillinger Four crowd, this “joke” act puts on a witty, wild and raunchy show for just about any audience.