Music Forecast 10.23-10.29: Charlie Parr, Method Man & Redman, Courtney Barnett, and more

Charlie Parr
There aren’t many artists left who are true to the folk-singer tradition. Yes, there are plenty of folk musicians — it’s an inclusive genre with diverse talents — but few are considered in the same league as Pete Seeger, Doc Watson and Bill Monroe. Minnesota’s Charlie Parr is cut from the same cloth as those folk heroes. In January, the blues guitarist and banjoist released a widely acclaimed 12th studio album, Hollandale. What is most remarkable is that Hollandale is an instrumental album. Parr, who has always been an entertaining lyricist, writes his stories with guitar chords. The album is definitively Midwestern, full of haunting prairie notes, desolate winter choruses and expansive summer refrains.

Thursday, October 23, the Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-7676)

Ani DiFranco
It may come as a surprise to longtime Ani DiFranco fans that Allergic to Water, her next album, due out in November, is not the usual messy bundle of furious political songs. The 44-year-old singer-songwriter and activist has been carrying the torch for a host of hot-button topics since she founded her label, Righteous Babe, 24 years ago. But in early interviews, DiFranco has said her focus has shifted on Water. An early listen reveals a very chilled-out DiFranco — probably for the best, after an incident earlier this year surrounding DiFranco’s controversial choice of a former plantation as a concert venue — who is content, at least for now, to sing about her (mostly) happy home life. Song arrangements, rather than lyrics, stand at the fore of this album, with groovy, New Orleans jazz influences and warm blues guitar. If this is a new side of DiFranco, we’ll take it.

Friday, October 24, the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)

Generationals
Synthed-out pop-rock tunes aren’t new to anyone at this point. But on Generationals’ latest full-length, Alix, the New Orleans duo demonstrates a finesse rarely heard anymore on the radio. Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer have a sound that is part summer shoegaze, part 1980s rock ballad. The result is downright fun, a danceable batch of songs reminiscent of the sugar-high beats of Passion Pit but without the manic-depressive lyrical lows. Break out your dancing shoes and prepare to shake it Tuesday to RecordBar.

Tuesday, October 28, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Method Man & Redman
Any Wu-Tang Clan fan worth his salt will be heading to the Granada Tuesday to catch legendary MC Method Man with his longtime partner in crime, Redman (of Def Squad). The two haven’t released an album together since 2009’s Blackout 2, but between them, there’s a bounty of material to pull from. Reviews of the duo’s extensive North American tour indicate that the rappers are reeling back as far as two decades for the set list, which means you’ll probably never forgive yourself if you skip this show.

Tuesday, October 28, the Granada (1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-842-1390)

Courtney Barnett
If Alanis Morissette had come along about 15 years after her seminal 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, she might have sounded a lot like Courtney Barnett, who doesn’t have quite the mirror-shattering voice of her forebear. What the Australian singer-songwriter does share with Morissette is the same offbeat songwriting talent. On Barnett’s The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, the songstress conjures wry narratives of her everyday life, which happens to be a lot like our everyday lives, just told in a much wittier voice. With her hit single, “Avant Gardener,” Barnett is poised for a breakout. Catch her at the Riot Room while she’s still on the club route.

Tuesday, October 28, the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)