Black Skies This Chapel Hill trio keeps the sludge-rock genre honest with gut-curdling tracks like “Mancipium Monument,” which rattle the stage and backbones with a low-ended rumble. The influences — Melvins, High on Fire, Sabbath — are obvious, but the young crew works hard to bring the darkness of slow, hard, heavy rock further into the century. Also on the bill are Trade, Towering Pyre, and Husky. $6-$7. The Milestone. www.themilestoneclub.com. (Samir Shukla)

Dirty Beaches After giving his music multiple chances, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that you either “get it or you don’t” when it comes to the artistic style of Alex Zhang Hungtai, otherwise known as Dirty Beaches. His music is lo-fi and intensely repetitive, his singing lacks range and is often in mumbles or off-key screams and his sparse guitar playing is amateur in the way of being out of tune, out of rhythm and off-kilter. Clearly, I’m on the “I don’t get it” side of things. With Modern Primitives and The Dirty Specials. $8. Snug Harbor. www.snugrock.com.

Carolina Rebellion There are 18 bands ready to descend on Charlotte’s Metrolina Expo this weekend and, considering it’s sold out, one would hope this isn’t the first and last event of its kind. With a lineup that includes Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Stone Sour, Seether, Black Stone Cherry and many more on three stages, we can only hope it’s the beginning of more Charlotte-based festivals in the future. Sold out. Metrolina Expo. www.carolinarebellion.com. (Jeff Hahne)

The Black Lillies Sweet Southern music at its finest, the Tennessee quintet is touring in support of the fantastic album 100 Miles of Wreckage released earlier this year. Led by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist songwriter Cruz Contreras, the country and Americana combo tells whisky-soaked tales of love and heartbreak, and all in between. Contreras’ songcraft is tops and the band is a tightly woven posse of music veterans. $7-$10. Double Door Inn. www.doubledoorinn.com. (Samir Shukla)

The Growlers The hipster-sphere brings us endless reams of disposable shite, the equivalent of yesteryear’s one-hit wonders. But like any era, there are rough gems amid the detritus, and this SoCal quintet would seem to have some staying power based on its ramshackle, ’60s-friendly blend of lo-fi pysch pop, surf, garage and stoner folk. They call it “beach goth” — us oldsters might call it “13th Floor Elevators-like.” The records can meander in out of focus, and singer Brooks Nielsen’s nasal delivery grates after a while, but maybe we should just celebrate the fact that they don’t sound like they’re from fucking Brooklyn. With Little Bull Lee and Mutant League. $8. Snug Harbor. www.snugrock.com. (John Schacht)

Buskapalooza In support of the new documentary, Busk!, which discusses how an emerging cultural center like Charlotte can encourage street art and performance, an event has been organized to celebrate busking. Featuring street performers, visual artists and musicians including Perry Fowler, Kenni Falls, Shana Blake and many more. Free. 5-11 p.m. Uptown Charlotte, starting at the intersection of Trade and Tryon. buskmovie.com. (Jeff Hahne)

Sol Driven Train Give props to this hard-touring South Carolina jam band that clocked a decade last year and a thousand shows over those years. Their sunny music is essentially a genre-hopping dance party that’s fitted with reggae, rock, long jams, tropical beats and jazzy forays. Sure, there’s not much evolving of genres here, but after all these years, the quintet has morphed into a veteran jam unit that knows the groove and lays it out on any given stage. Opening for Perpetual Groove. $15. Neighborhood Theatre. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com. (Samir Shukla)

Talib Kweli What can you say about an artist whose career is aging like a fine wine? Kweli may be more popular now than he ever was with Mos Def in Black Star or Hi-Tek in Reflection Eternal. Certainly the commercial success is nice but his flow hasn’t dipped a bit, and if anything is more honed now on Gutter Rainbows than it was when he was spraying the streets with bar after bar of incredible lyricism. $20. Amos’ Southend. www.amossouthend.com. (Mike McCray)

Tyler Imbrey and On The Run This band is proof that every ad on Craigslist isn’t just a trick to lure you into a dicey dude’s house. It was a simple ad that helped this band form in Chicago in 2007, now calling Charlotte home and fronted by Queen City native singer/songwriter Tyler Imbrey. The band is sharing their award-winning live show with everyone and working on their second album. Luz and Grayson are also on the bill. $8. Visulite Theatre. www.visulite.com. (McCray)

Del The Funky Homosapien The Oakland, Calif., MC has built his career on expanding the range of his music. From his solo days, through his stint with Hieroglyphics and collaborations with the Gorillaz, Del’s wading pool of influences all shine through into a career heading into its third decade. Bukue One, Zac Hendrix, Mr. Invisible and MC Cataclysm are also on the bill. Free for 21+ ($8 Under 21). Tremont Music Hall. www.tremontmusichall.com.