THURS 03/06
America: 7:30 p.m., $22.50-$50. Hard Rock Rocksino.
Bad Boys Jam: 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
The Can't Tells/New Age Remedy: 9 p.m., $5. Now That's Class.
Les Claypool's Duo de Twang: 8 p.m., $22-$25. The Kent Stage.
Noah Gunderson/Kris Orlowski: 8 p.m., $10. Musica.
Chris Hatton (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
Bruno Mangueira Quartet: 8 p.m., $15. Nighttown.
Carrie Ryan/Noon/Joey Beltram: 8:30 p.m., $5. Grog Shop.
Caroline Smith/Forest & the Evergreens/Morgan Mecaskey: Caroline Smith is celebrating "that time in a woman's life when her 'fat butt' becomes her 'phat ass,'" as she puts it on her first solo album, Half About Being A Woman. You may recognize her as the front-woman of Minneapolis indie folk band Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps, but she steps away from the rock band and moves to a neo-soul style on her solo effort. Check out the lead single "Magazine" that features Smith's slightly coy vocal style flowing gracefully over a fast-paced R&B beat. Columbus funk band Forest & the Evergreens open the show, along with local folk rock artist Morgan Mecaskey. 8:30 p.m., $8. Beachland Tavern. (Eric Gonzalez)
Spyder Stompers/Bob Corlett: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.
Mike Uva Duo/Marie Corbo Band/Istvan Medgyesi: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog.
FRI 03/07
Benefit for the Family of Dale Lucas featuring Necrus Obscura/Overdrive/The Sunrise Jones/Hatecore Inc./Mobil Avenue: 7:30 p.m. Phantasy Nite Club.
Bro Safari: 9 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. House of Blues.
Jonathan Butler: 7:30 p.m., $40-$80. Tangier Cabaret.
Cornmeal/Hollis Brown: Injecting roots bluegrass with an upbeat contemporary style, Cornmeal have garnered a nice reputation for delivering high-energy shows and studio outings that complement sunny days outdoors vigorously. They make traditional strains of bluegrass their own entirely. In 2010 and 2011, the band dropped the two-volume Live in Chicago, IL collection. Both albums give a terrific look at what the band does best. "This Old Town," for example, shows how Cornmeal tends to build laid-back tunes into frenzied bursts of strings (former member Allie Kral's fiddle work shines, albeit briefly, on that one). High-velocity riffing is a key component of the Cornmeal DNA. And once you feel sated by the Live in Chicago stuff, follow Cornmeal down the rabbit hole of archive.org for selections from across the gamut of their career. 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. (Eric Sandy)
Faith & Whiskey/The F'ing Awesomes: 9 p.m., $5. Grog Shop.
Amina Figarova Sextet: 8:30 p.m., $20. Nighttown.
Forever in Terror/This is a Lifetime/Below the Tide/Among the Fallen/Besides These Walls/Bring Down the Sky/Ataxia/Enticing an Era: 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Agora Ballroom.
Irish Rovers — Final US Tour: 8 p.m., $40-$50. The Kent Stage.
Madison Crawl (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
Terrain/Barenuckle Nation/George Foley & Friends: 5:30 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.
Travis Tritt/Lyndsey Highlander: Now celebrating his 25th year in the country music biz, Travis Tritt emerged at the same time that guys such as Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Alan Jackson became big stars. Unlike those other guys, he's taken a DIY approach to his career and released his new album The Calm After... on his own label. It opens with a nice bit of slide guitar and moaning before segueing into the surprisingly funky "You Never Take Me Dancing." Tritt's gruff voice still sounds great and he's assembled a terrific group of players to back him up. His gritty cover of "Stay With Me" truly kicks ass. Expect to hear a good mix of old and new tunes at tonight's show. 8 p.m., $27.50-$55. Hard Rock Rocksino. (Jeff Niesel)
Vattnet Viskar/Vaporizer/Mythrias: 9 p.m., $5. Now That's Class.
Wakey! Wakey!/Jillette Johnson: 8 p.m., $12. Musica.
The Websters: 9:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
SAT 03/08
Benefit for the Family of Dale Lucas featuring Mercury Project/Missile Command/Shadow Saints/Nemesis/Guy Wires: 8 p.m. Phantasy Nite Club.
Rachel Brown/The Potter's Field/Green Panda Press Poets: 6 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.
Buckwheat Zydeco: Zydeco is a style of music that emerged out of deep-south Louisiana bayous in the first half of the 20th century. Simply put, the genre blends Cajun heritage with upbeat rhythm and blues, with various accordion instruments driving the music. Buckwheat Zydeco is a pillar of the style. A good point of initiation may be the Best of Buckwheat Zydeco 20th Century Masters collection, which boasts a number of peak singles from the Buckwheat canon. "Ma Tit Fille" showcases some of the best features of the zydeco sound — jumping percussion, funky bass, Cajun vocals and, of course, jaunty accordion work. And don't sleep on the zydeco send-up of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti." You'll be dancing all night. Dig the kitchen's offerings while you're at the show too; Mahall's offers po'boys, gumbo, shrimp and grits, fried chicken and a crawfish boil all night long. (Fun fact: Buckwheat Zydeco jammed onstage with Jimmy Fallon during the final broadcast with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.) 9 p.m., $18. Mahall's 20 Lanes. (Sandy)
Empires/Stiletto/Take Off Charlie: 9 p.m., $5. Musica.