Bobby McHughFinn Riggins, with The Globes, Boy Eats Drum Machine. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 9 p.m. $7. In the early 2000s, I ran around with a crew in Moscow, Idaho that would eventually morph into what is today called Finn Riggins. (Contrary to what the name implies, Finn is a trio, not a Van Morrison doppelganger who posts up in Pike Place Market). At the time, the band(s)–most notably Oracle Shack–sounded a lot like the inaugural Sasquatch! lineup did in 2002: hippie with a touch of pop. Like the festival, Finn’s ratio has flipped. These players have always had an affinity for melody and strong hooks, once served up alongside 20-minute jams. But every time they return to the studio, the melodies inch closer to the forefront, and the jams a little more restrained. The Boise band’s evolution has hit the sweet spot with their single, “Wake (Keep This Town Alive),” off last year’s Vs. the Wilderness, a tune that fuses their love of Idaho-style indie rock (they recently supported Built to Spill at the Showbox) and long-hair rockers from the ’70s. CHRIS KORNELISPete Bernhard. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9 p.m. $8. It would be easy – and not entirely wrong – to assume that The Devil Makes Three frontman Pete Bernhard’s solo efforts, including last year’s Straight Line, will sound more or less like one of his band’s records. While The Devil Makes Three deals in revivalist roots, Bernhard sans band tends to tone down the twang, coming off more like Southern California’s answer to Jack Johnson than the country singer he is when he fronts DMT. That’s not an insult: Bernhard’s pared-down, mellow songs bridge the gap between country music and the watered-down, pseudo-roots sound that’s become so infuriatingly popular in the mainstream, meaning that Bernhard may very well be the bridge-builder to lure Franti fans away from the dark side. SARA BRICKNERAngelique Kidjo. Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N., Edmonds, 425-275-9595. 7:30 p.m. $15-$35. Hailing from the West African nation of Benin, genre-bending vocalist Angelique Kidjo has spent the better part of the last twenty years away from her home continent yet still maintains her status as one of Africa’s most visible luminaries. It’s quite telling that even though Kidjo’s latest album Oÿo consists largely of cover tunes by Western artists like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Otis Redding, Kidjo manages to transport listeners back to Benin – albeit Benin as seen through a young Kidjo falling in love with Western music. A tribute to the music that inspired Kidjo early on, the new album also touches on the work of legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba, traditional Beninese music, and songs from Bollywood and Hollywood alike. Even with other people’s material, Kidjo demonstrates her usual expertise in weaving styles together into a heavily jazz-inflected sound that is unmistakably her own. SABY REYES-KULKARNI