- Dolorean
Dolorean
This Portland band led by singer/songwriter Al James just released a stunningly stark and beautiful break-up album with The Unfazed, Dolorean’s first release in four years. NPR’s Fresh Air has already gone gaga over James’ cutting-edge tunes like “Hard-Working Dogs” and “Country Clutter,” calling them some of the “catchiest kiss-off songs of the year.” With his long-running band providing a delicate dash of alt-country, James has created what is arguably the best set of his career to date. Dolorean plays first in a show that also includes Holy Sons and Castanets. Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $8 advance/$10 at the door
Friday March 25
Bronco CD release party
Nearly four years after the release of their stellar full-length Constant Everything, Bronco is back with another set of songs dissecting the hard-luck life and the characters trying to survive it. Songwriter Tyler Anderson and the band have undergone some lineup changes in the intervening years, but the current incarnation of Bronco is the strongest, and when City Weekly talked to the band in January, Anderson noted that the new set will be a little less country and a little more rock & roll, and said, “A lot of the songs on the new album are about true-blooded Americans with guns.” Sounds like an American classic already. Joining Bronco for the CD release party are Callow, Fauna and The Rubes. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $5
Canyons Spring Gruv: Los Lobos
Yes, Los Lobos comes to Utah pretty regularly, and has done so for much of the band’s near-40-year career. But how often does the “little band from East L.A.” play for free? Hardly ever. Musically speaking, though, no price is too high for seeing these pioneering Mexican-American rockers do their thing, whether they are playing a crowd-pleasing set of hits and covers, or an all-acoustic set of traditional Mexican tunes. Singer/songwriter David Hidalgo is a true guitar god, regularly recruited by the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and others to spice up their own music with scorching guitar parts and unparalleled harmony vocals. For this free gig celebrating spring, expect a heavy dose of songs designed to get the crowd dancing. And if you’ve never seen these guys, a free gig in the sunny outdoors seems like a fine introduction. Abraxas opens the show. On Sunday, March 27, catch John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours at the same time. Canyons Resort Village, 4000 Canyons Resort Drive, 3 p.m., free
Sunday March 27
Peelander-Z, Anamanaguchi
Akron/Family
In titling their latest album S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, Akron/Family is clearly making a play for the mainstream. Well, not really, but within the layers of experimental electronic-folk that fills the album, bits of hooks and catchy vocal harmonies occasionally peek through to let listeners know that these guys could be masterful pop songwriters (see: “So It Goes”), if they wanted to go that way. Not content to deal in traditional song structures, through, Akron/Family instead treat the world as their sonic palette, with all three members playing multiple instruments and singing through some of the most dense soundscapes you’ll encounter this year. Delicate Steve opens. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $15
Tuesday March 29
Zion I & The Grouch
Wanda Jackson
Just as he did for Loretta Lynn a few years back, Jack White’s working relationship with Wanda Jackson should introduce a new generation (or two) to the so-called “Queen of Rockabilly” simply by having his name attached as producer of her new album, The Party Ain’t Over. Rock historians don’t need White’s hipster cachet to know that Jackson is a massive figure in the history of American rock & roll; back in the ’50s when her ex-boyfriend Elvis Presley was leading a boys-heavy music industry, the sassy young Jackson burst through the testosterone with her own insistent brand of rock. The title of her White-produced album is a reference to her 1958 hit “Let’s Have a Party,” and the new songs show that the 74-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has plenty of attitude left in her. The Dusty 45s and the Utah County Swillers open the show. The State Room, 638 S. State, 8 p.m., $20 advance/$25 day of show
Coming Soon
Band of Heathens (Star Bar, Park City, March 31), Lukas Nelson (The State Room, March 31), Smoking Popes (The Urban Lounge, March 31), Weinland (Slowtrain, March 31), Wild Orchid Children (Kilby Court, March 31), Alternative Press Tour (The Complex, April 1), Wye Oak, Callers (Kilby Court, April 1), Ha Ha Tonka (The Woodshed, April 1), Dead Relatives, Max Pain & the Groovies (The Complex, April 1), Michelle Shocked (The State Room, April 1), Acid Mother’s Temple (The Urban Lounge, April 2), Miniature Tigers, Pepper Rabbit (Kilby Court, April 2), The Seedy Seeds (Bar Deluxe, April 2), Sharon Van Etten (The State Room, April 2), Ellie Goulding (Avalon Theater, April 3), Beats Antique (The Depot, April 5), Franz Nicolay (The Urban Lounge, April 5), Or, The Whale (Kilby Court, April 5), The Meatmen (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, April 6)
