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• Grieves

Grieves @ Urban Lounge 2/13
Hip-hop is just as exciting as it has ever been—and for it to maintain that creativity for such a prolonged period of time is something else. Artists regardless of genre take inspiration from what went before; Seattle rapper/singer Benjamin Laub—a.k.a. Grieves—understands this better than most. His impressive mix of musical styles and underground sensibilities explores familiar territory while expanding on what can be. "To me, hip-hop as an art form has no boundaries. I was always drawn to that. Musically, it felt like a collage of all the music I grew up on." Grieves told Thrashermagazine.com. "I was always into music, but had a problem sticking with one style. Hip-hop allowed me to put it all in one place and tell my story the way I wanna tell it. Shit saved my life." Grieves isn't just about those origins, though. Since he dropped Irreversible back in 2007, he has continued to innovate his signature sound over several other studio LPs, extended plays and compilations. His growth and maturity are a proper amalgamation of his emotionally raw songwriting. His collaboration with Prof, "Gone Fishin," goes impossibly hard and needs to be at least three minutes longer. Horror Show, The Street Sweepers and The Messenger open. Catch these artists on the third annual Out Cold tour at the Urban Lounge on Thursday, Feb. 13. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $22 and can be found at 24tix.com. (Mark Dago)

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• Arrival From Sweden

Arrival From Sweden @ Eccles Theater, 2/15
With an acronymic name based on its four members (Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anna-Frid), ABBA was one of the most successful groups in pop history. Winners of the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest (for their single "Waterloo"), ABBA scored more than a dozen Top 40 singles in the U.S.; in the U.K. and their native Sweden, the group was even more successful. ABBA songs like "Dancing Queen," "SOS," "Fernando" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" remain popular the world over. Though the group's initial run ended in 1982, their music and legacy endure. There's a popular ABBA museum in Stockholm; the group has been the subject of numerous documentaries; ABBA's music was adapted into the successful Broadway and West End musical, Mamma Mia!, later a hit motion picture. So it should come as no surprise that an ABBA tribute group—from Sweden, no less—would be a popular touring enterprise. Founded in 1995 by Gothenburg's Vicky Zetterberg-Norbäck and Rutger Gunnarsson, Arrival From Sweden features 10 or more musicians playing live (in other words, no backing tapes), delivering the sounds and sights of ABBA for modern-day audiences. Arrival From Sweden comes to the Delta Performance Hall at Eccles Theater at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tickets are $35 and up, available at saltlakecountyarts.org. (Bill Kopp)

• Yvan Nguyen
• Sultan and Shepard

Sultan and Shepard @ The Complex 2/15
One fateful night, Ossama Al Sarraf (Sultan) and Ned Shepard met at a dance club in Montreal in the early aughts and forever changed their lives. Shepard gave Al Sarraf a mixtape that night, and the next morning, Al Sarraf called Shepard expressing interest in producing music together. Their combined interest and talent have produced angelic, emotional music, such as their well-known album Forever, Now. Known for their deep and progressive house music, with layers of emotions, they've found success (such as their Grammy-nominated remix of Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven"). Shepard describes their sound as "Melodic, uplifting and sad" according to their Forbes interview in 2023. Take, for example, the song "Making Time," featuring singer Julia Church, which contains the lyrics, "You're always making time for everybody else but me, / But when you're fading I'm the only one you need." It's a bit of a call-out to the type of people who only reach out when they need something from you. The song "Elenore," featuring singer Andrew Belle, is even more tragic, with the lyrics, "To hear that you love me when you're far away, / Is like hearing from Heaven and never to go..." So maybe if you are in the middle of some heartache after a rough Valentine's Day, Sultan and Shepard can offer some validation. They perform at The Complex on Saturday, Feb. 15. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $30 at thecomplexslc.com. (Arica Roberts)

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• David Gray

David Gray @ Eccles 2/17
Granted, there are those who tend to consider David Gray to be simply a one-hit wonder, given the fact that his song "Babylon" brought him instant international stardom, and that both it and his debut album White Ladder, on which it appeared, overshadowed every effort that would follow. In reality, it was the first of three successful LPs released over six years in the U.K., and was eventually cited as Britain's fifth best-selling album of the entire decade. As recently as 2019, it was ranked as that country's tenth most successful album of the entire 21st century. As a result, his country honored him with a wealth of heady honors, like four Brit Award nominations, including two for Best British Male. Nevertheless, his success wasn't limited to the U.K.; in the U.S., Gray's first five albums all reached the Top 20. Those kudos clearly disprove the notion that he has to rest on the laurels of his initial endeavor. Likewise, he also belies the idea that he's the retiring folkie type he was first made out to be. He rocks in concert, feverishly moving his head in time with the music. He made light of his peculiar posture in the video for the song "Be Mine," which pictures his head rolling off his body and tossed around at random. Any exaggeration aside, Gray is best considered an artist who possesses multiple musical hues. David Gray brings his Past & Present tour to the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater at Delta Performance Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17. Tickets cost $40 - $199 at saltlakecountyarts.org. (Lee Zimmerman)

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• Anime Girlfriend

Anime Girlfriend, UNSEEN, Ivy Avenue @ Kilby Court 2/18
The emo genre holds a special place in many people's hearts. Its sincerity and emotionality help you feel less alone, and honestly, there have been some great emo bands who have contributed to music history and will be remembered for a long time. SLC emo band Anime Girlfriend found that this genre resonated most with them as they were figuring out their sound. "I think, at least for me, there's a sense of vulnerability to emo [as a genre]. It's in the name, emo. But it's the type of music where you can still rock out, but also cry a little," vocalist/guitarist Ada Carter told City Weekly last June. "I know for me, rock music and anything that's not your typical pop is, like, that was the space that I found to be myself when I was a teenager," lead guitarist Rosie Moore added. "It feels totally full-circle to be playing this kind of music. And we hope that we can provide a space for people to be themselves in our music." Their latest single, "Pretty Boy," has delightful emo/rock vibes that will have you bobbing your head and tapping your foot right off the bat. You don't want to miss this one live. Come hang out on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. UNSEEN and Ivy Avenue open. Tickets for the all-ages show are $10 and can be found at 24tix.com. (Emilee Atkinson)