Music Forecast 12.18-12.24: The Black Keys, John McCutcheon, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and more

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The Black Keys, St. Vincent
It’s odd to think of the Black Keys playing the Sprint Center, where, in the last year, Miley Cyrus wagged her tongue, Eric Church channeled a fire-breathing demon and Paul McCartney reminded us of his greatness. But the musicians making up the Grammy Award–winning duo — guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — have earned their stadium shows. The Akron, Ohio, duo’s latest album, Turn Blue, is as epically rocking as any previous Keys release. Yet the band has added elements — gothic riffs and psychedelic-charged solos — to its formula, new wrinkles that show the Keys are still evolving. St. Vincent, the patron saint of weird pop, opens.

Sunday, December 21, Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

Trans-Siberian Orchestra
If you’re one of those Christmas-cheer maniacs who has been running around in a reindeer sweater and sipping eggnog since Halloween, you probably already have tickets to one of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s two performances Tuesday. The New York group performs The Christmas Attic, its original rock opera, which promises more holiday warm fuzzies than you could fit into a holiday stocking. Plus, expect arena-rock jams that even your burned-out uncle can get down with. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a must for those who don’t do Christmas in a small way.

Tuesday, December 23, Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

Ida McBeth
Ida McBeth has a voice that glides effortlessly through decades of jazz music, and she does it so warmly, so joyfully, that you might forget that she is in her 60s. There are plenty of locals who fondly recall the era in Kansas City jazz when McBeth reigned supreme and regularly filled Jardine’s. Saturday, McBeth uses her formidable talent to breathe life into a few holiday favorites. Seeing her in a setting as intimate as Knuckleheads’ Gospel Lounge should jog a few more memories and create some fresh ones.

Saturday, December 20, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)

John McCutcheon
Prolific folk singer-songwriter John McCutcheon created a different kind of Christmas music in 1984 when he wrote “Christmas in the Trenches” for his Winter Solstice album. The song recounts World War I’s Christmas Truce of 1914, and it is far more somber and eloquent than any rendition of “Jingle Bells” sung by disposable pop stars. Saturday at the National World War I Museum, McCutcheon performs that song and others at the Christmas in the Trenches Centenary Concert.

Friday, December 19, National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial (100 West 26th Street, theworldwar.org)

The Murder Ballad Ball
If you like your folk music with a side of death, the annual Murder Ballad Ball should satisfy your bloodlust. Now in its sixth year, the ball features a lineup of local stars — fiddler Betse Ellis, John Velghe & the Prodigal Sons, Rural Grit All-Stars, the Silver Maggies, Mikal Shapiro, the Blackbird Revue, and others — who perform classic murder ballads with all the menace and gloom that they can muster. If you’re over Christmas carols, consider this show your respite. Bonus: discounted tickets at the door for those who dress fancy.

Friday, December 19, the Dubliner (170 East 14st Street, 816-268-4700)