Filed away in the "Why aren't these people headlining arenas?" department: Robert Randolph & the Family Band.

Randolph is a pedal-steel conjurer who grew up playing in the Pentecostal church and, with the technique of Speedy West and the sonic imagination of Jimi Hendrix, Adrian Belew and Eddie Hazel, has become one of the nonpareil instrumentalists of our time. With a literal family band providing the funk and the soul behind him, the group has been nominated for three Grammys and has toured internationally in support of acts like Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews and as part of Peter Frampton's Guitar Circus.

In addition to Family Band albums, Randolph has released two recordings with The Word, a supergroup including keyboardist John Medeski — the most recent being this year's "Got Soul." Good stuff. Randolph brings his Family Band Friday to the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den for a free show. If you're looking for a killer band and a new guitar hero, you know where to be.

Robert Randolph & the Family Band, 8 p.m. Friday, Mohegan Sun Wolf Den; free; 1-800-745-3000.