And his unexpected collaboration this year with veteran Jamaican star Shaggy on the oddly titled album “44/876” (it’s the respective phone codes for their native countries) is surprisingly fun - and devoid of Sting’s usual seriousness. Sting and Shaggy: Since his days with the Police, Sting has shown his affinity for reggae. He changed up his sound quite dramatically for his fifth record, “Can’t Wake Up,” which trades his rootsy flavor for more of a Beatles/Dr. Shakey Graves: With elements of Texas blues, ’60s garage-rock and borderland sounds mixed into his eclectic sound, the artist doubly known as Alejandro Rose-Garcia is uniquely reflective of the Austin, Texas, scene that birthed him. Lucero: Well-remembered locally from their opening set at the Replacements’ big Midway Stadium gig in 2014, raspy howler Ben Nichols and his groovy Memphis country-rock band are back with a rawer, back-to-the-barroom-basics album, “Among the Ghosts.” Denver tunesmith Brent Cowles opens. They return to the Palace fresh off a three-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheater after also putting on their own festival. Greensky Bluegrass: Trampled by Turtles’ longtime, kindred string-band cohorts from Kalamazoo, Mich., are enjoying their own flourishing career. O’Gara’s will return in a smaller format on the same site in a new housing development.

Leighton on Friday and the rock-solid Martin Zellar & the Hardaways on Saturday. Paul watering hole: the once-ubiquitous Twin Cities rocker G.B.

Who better to close it out than two old regulars in this venerable St. O’Gara’s swan song: The wrecking ball is coming to the bar that Charles Schulz made famous (he lived upstairs), so it’s a final blowout for the backroom music club formerly known as the Garage.

DJ Bonics from Go 95.3 is touring as Wiz’s turntablist. He’s still a rock-starry rap star on stage, though, and a worthy name to try out the newly remade Armory and its booming atmosphere for hip-hop shows.

Wiz Khalifa: The Pittsburgh rapper who packed the State Fair grandstand with his late homie Mac Miller in 2013 is still rolling with the “Rolling Papers” theme, touring behind a sequel to his breakthrough 2011 album that rehashes the same weedy and/or womanizing themes even as he enters his 30s.

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