Welcome to “Seven in Seven,” where each Friday we take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out in the coming days.
Here are seven of the best for the week beginning April 30:
Tower of Power – April 30 at The Keswick Theatre
Next year will mark five decades since Tower of Power have been delivering their unique brand of soul music to their fans and “souled out” crowds as they tour the world each year. Over their 50 years of existence, the band have released 18 studio albums, seven live albums, six compilations and three DVDs, recording with artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Elton John, Phish, Santana, Heart and many others, forever infusing the radio airwaves with the band’s musical DNA. Songs like “Souled Out” and “Soul with a Capital “S'” are just a few of the hits audiences haven’t been able to get enough of over the years.
Mono – May 2 at Johnny Brenda’s
The Tokyo, Japan based 4-piece instrumental rock band Mono was originally formed in 1999, and captured listeners with a unique approach of blending orchestral arrangements and shoegaze guitar noise music. After releasing 10 successful albums – including a live album with New York orchestra – the band received the highly regarded award the Marshall Hawkins Award for “Best Musical Score – Featurette” from the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema for their collaborative short film “Where We Begin” in 2015. Last year Mono released Requiem For Hell with renowned producer and engineer Steve Albini.
Old 97’s – May 2 at Union Transfer
Since the Old 97’s roared out of Dallas more than 20 years ago, they have blazed a trail through alt-country and power-pop, led by the piercingly observant lyrics of lead singer Rhett Miller. Earlier this year, they released Graveyard Whistling, album number 11, which was recorded in the same Tornillo, Texas studio as their major label debut back in 1996, Too Far to Care. The band also still contains its original four members – Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist Murry Hammond, and drummer Philip Peeples.
The Black Lips – May 3 at Union Transfer
Just two days after their Philly gig, Atlanta flower punk pioneers Black Lips will release their first album in three years, Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? Produced by Sean Lennon at his studio compound in upstate New York throughout 2016, the album is the group’s most musically evolved to date, while still staying true to their original blistering take on fuzzy, dirty rock and roll. During the recording the band isolated themselves from the outside world, infusing the album with a focused liveliness similar to the spirit that brought them together in the first place.
Draco Rosa – May 3 at The Foundry
Born in Long Island, NY, Draco Cornelius Rosa was raised surrounded by an eclectic melange of musical tastes, from his mother’s affinity to the rock of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Who and the funk-ridden R&B of the seventies, to his father’s propensity toward salsa. At a young age, his family moved him to Puerto Rico, where he became a member of the increasingly popular band Menudo. That could be a death knell for many artist’s seeking to carve out an adult path in music, but Rosa has made it happen, due in no small part to his helping former bandmate in Menudo Ricky Martin by composing the his “La Vida Loca,” “She Bangs” and “Shake Your Bon-Bon.”
Mastodon – May 6 at The Electric Factory
One of the most celebrated metal bands in recent memory is Mastodon, and at the end of March, they released their eagerly anticipated seventh album, Emperor of Sand to rave reviews. The tour in support of the record is quite the spectacle, with the band enlisting some of their heaviest counterparts to support them. The Electric Factory date will showcase Opeth, Gojira, the Devin Townshend Project and Eagles of Death Metal. Not surprisingly, the gig is sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market and more than worth seeking out.
Ryan Adams – May 5 at the Tower Theater
The 12 tracks that make up Ryan Adams’ latest effort, Prisoner, came to the singer/songwriter over a prolific period stretching back as far as the week his 2014 self-titled album entered the U.S. album chart at a career high of number four. During that run, Adams toured the world, recorded and released both his Live at Carnegie Hall collection and full-album cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989, and saw the aforementioned Ryan Adams garner two Grammy nominations. It’s almost as if the rest of the world is finally catching up to what so many of us have known for so long, how impressive and captivating his music can be.