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 Sept. 3:
Andrew Duhon – Sept. 4 at World Cafe Live – Upstairs
New Orleans singer/songwriter Andrew Duhon is a teller of stories that come weighted and soulful. His last album, The Moorings, was nominated for a Grammy in 2014 for Best Engineered Album. But outside the studio, he has a troubadour element about him, being an usher of modern day folklore. His latest group, The Andrew Duhon Trio brings a new musicality to the tunes with upright bassist, Myles Weeks and drummer Maxwell Zemanovic. The Trio has been breathing a new musicality and direction into already engaging Duhon’s songwriting traditions.
The National – Sept. 5 at Union Transfer
Ever since becoming indie-darlings with their album Boxer a decade ago, The National have been one of the most reliable bands in music. Their latest release, Sleep Well Beast, comes out just three days after the Union Transfer show, and given the overwhelmingly positive reception to the singles which have come from it so far, expect there to be a couple more tracks from the set popping up, along with their tried and true classics from the rest of the catalog.
Tom Jones – Sept. 6 Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Tom Jones has been there and seen it all. The legendary singer has been enthusiastically performing for decades and shows no signs of slowing down, even at 77 years of age. His latest album, Long Lost Suitcase, came out in 2015 and was the final part of a trilogy he began five years prior. Oh, and he also somehow found the time to pen an autobiography which also came out in 2015. Jones obviously has no plans to ease up one bit.
Queens of the Stone Age – Sept. 7 at Festival Pier
Hundreds of epic shows, unexplained injuries, one yearlong detour with Iggy Pop and multiple Grammy nominations later, Queens of the Stone Age reemerged last month from the Southern California desert newly with Villains, their seventh album. It may be cliched, but like a fine wine, the band just keeps getting better and better with each passing album. And as a bonus on this particular tour, they’ve got the explosive UK duo Royal Blood opening up for them.
Danzig – Sept. 8 at The Electric Factory
Forget Ozzy Osbourne, Glenn Danzig is the true “Prince of Darkness.” Co-founding member of the influential horror-punk outfit Misfits, he’s known as much for his velvety smooth yowl as he is for a menacing and creepy demeanor. Last year he shocked the industry by performing with the Misfits for the first time in 33 years at Riot Fest Denver and Chicago, and earlier this year he released his latest solo effort, Black Laden Crown. This year is also the 25th anniversary of his landmark album How the Gods Kill, and he’ll be focusing on some of those songs too, ones not played in years.
Haverford Music Festival – Sept. 9 at Haverford Music Festival Grounds
Now in its seventh year of existence, the Haverford Music Festival keeps getting better and better and might be the best in the ‘burbs. This year, they’ve got Matthew Sweet, who had a slew of alternative rock hits in the 90s, headlining the day. It’s four stages of mostly regional talent like The Weeklings, Nadjah Nicole – who was a finalist on The Voice in 2015 – and Jesse Gimbel. Things kick off just before noon and there’s more than 30 artists performing, so head over to haverfordmusicfestival.org for all the details.
Billy Joel – Sept. 9 at Citizens Bank Park
Piano man Billy Joel returns to the ballpark for what promises to be a night of songs you know by heart like “Big Shot,” “My Life” and “Uptown Girl.” He’s been busy doing a residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a gig he’s been doing – and consecutively selling out – about once a month since 2014, but he still seems to find the time to grace a few other cities with his music each year too. Don’t be surprised if a special guest or two shows up at Citizens Bank either; recent pop-ins have included Axl Rose and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, but even if it’s just Joel, it’ll still be a night to remember.
