WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7
The Ragbirds Michigan's The Ragbirds make their musical nest out of the brightest of bits: There's some Gypsy here, and Middle-Eastern drone, a dash of raga, a little Latin lilt and even a Celtic fiddle turn from time to time. In addition to traditional instrumentation, the band also carts along any number of traditional folk instruments from around the globe, helping add a little geographic gravity to what, to the band's credit, never comes off as goofy grab-bag global fusion. Double Door Inn (Timothy C. Davis)
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
JJ Grey & Mofro Perhaps more in line with a band like Widespread Panic than anyone else in the jam genre, Grey and his Mofros trade in that kind of husky-voiced, down-home swamp rock that made '70s shooting stars like The Outlaws and Black Oak Arkansas Southern rock standbys. Grey himself is a moaner with a style akin to the Midnight Rider himself, Gregg Allman. His voice is far from the star of the show, but it's shot through with sincerity, a lived-in larynx that pulls you in without ever letting you get too close. Visulite Theatre (Davis)
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
Lizz Wright In the old days, pre-Auto-tune era, a singer like Lizz Wright wouldn't have to be categorized as a jazz-slash-gospel-R&B singer. She'd just be called a singer, same as Aretha or Patti LaBelle or Nina Simone. Already a force on the jazz charts only seven years removed from her debut offering (Salt), Wright's latest, The Orchard, is a suitably lush, fecund soundscape dominated by Wright's own compositions and a few well-placed covers (Ike and Tina, Patsy Cline). There's nothing strange about the fruit on these trees: Wright's evocative take on growing up in Georgia might not be idyllic, but it's elegiac all the same, which isn't an easy feat. Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby (Davis)
Radio Moscow Imagine surfing radio stations in 1971, there's Hendrix, MC5, Cream, Doors, Radio Moscow. Say what? These psychedelia-crazed acid rockers drape their Brit blues and hard rock influences all over the guitars, no apologies. The slow, hard-strummed strings expand with wah wah pedals, fuzzbox and other vintage hardware and amps of the era while rolling drums and thick bass completes the vibe. No worries if you don't dig this classic genre, but if you do, time travel to the late '60s is in the offing. Hallucinogens optional. With Naam and Husky. Tremont Music Hall (Samir Shukla)
Hellblinki At any moment expect Vincent Price to appear in a fog of organs and late night carnival music. Hellblinki are circus musicians, street-side revivalists, tin shack blues band, old-time horror movie sound track, sirens wailing on stormy seas and swing and antique jazz all rolled up into one. And then some. Bizarrely intriguing, in a Tom Waits, Louis Armstrong sphere, with a barrel full of sounds and sights that are all over the musical map. With the Wiggle Wagons. Snug Harbor (Shukla)
Yarn Blake Christiana, front man and songwriter for Brooklyn-based alt.Country band Yarn, croons and yodels as if born and bred in Dixie. The N.Y. native has evolved into such authenticity over the past few years and recordings, that he might as well have been birthed on a bar table in a rickety Southern honky-tonk. Yarn's upcoming new recording, Come On In, is salty Americana stacked with deft songcraft and twangy playing that'll keep diehard honky-tonkers soaked while reeling in casual observers. Also on the bill are the Trainwreks. Double Door Inn (Shukla)
The Farewell Drifters Retaking Nashville from the clutches of pop country, the bluegrass and acoustic roots quintet the Farewell Drifters write lilting numbers like "Please Dream of Me Tonight," and of sunny days in the South, sitting on a riverbank, tossing rocks in the water, in sweetly melodic tracks like "The River Song." Adept at originals as well as playing ripping versions of faves like the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," the band's new disc Yellow Tag Mondays is slated for release in early June. With the Honeycutters. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
SUNDAY, APRIL 11
Last November The power pop/semi-rock trio debuted their first CD All the Gory Details in 2006. Since then, the band has been featured on MTV and The Real World performing their hopeless romantic inspiration lyrics across the United States. The band is making its way to Charlotte to perform songs from their latest CD, Over the Top or Under the Weather. With Jonas Sees In Color and Midnight Epiphany. Tremont Music Hall (Nicole Pietrantonio)
TUESDAY, APRIL 13
Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm The duo brings its own style to the down 'n' dirty Mississippi blues genre. Drummer Cedric is the grandson of R.L. Burnside and has been performing since age 13. Malcolm comes from the newer generation of bluesmen. Combined the duo have the grit to suck listeners in quickly. The Evening Muse (Jeff Hahne)