Music Forecast 8.14-8.20: Those Darlins, Imelda May, Katy Perry, and more
Those Darlins
Those Darlins’ lead singer-songwriters and guitarists Jessi Zazu and Nikki Kvarnes probably chose their band name with more than a touch of irony. Since the Nashville band’s 2009 self-titled debut, Zazu and Kvarnes have made it clear that they are anything but well-behaved Southern girls. But the October release of Blur the Line reined in the group’s trademark temerity while retaining the tetchy punk energy and worn-in twang. Songs like “Oh God” and “In the Wilderness” are pressed and tight, and, for the first time, Those Darlins feel as if they’ve received a proper scrub-down. We bet they can still pitch a raucous show, though.
Friday, August 15, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)
Imelda May
There’s a wild woman living inside of me, Imelda May sings on her latest album, Tribal. She’s not kidding. The Dublin-born rockabilly vixen has been stirring up foot-stomping trouble since her 2003 debut, No Turning Back. And if audiences aren’t already primed to receive May’s retro throwback hits “Johnny Got a Boom Boom” and “Mayhem,” well, one fierce look from the frontwoman — usually outfitted in 1940s-era asset-illuminating dresses with perfectly coiled black-and-white bangs — will be all it takes to become a believer.
Sunday, August 17, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is the most followed person on Twitter (right ahead of Justin Bieber and President Obama). Logic follows that someone with such an elevated position in society would dominate in her chosen field, which, luckily for Perry, just happens to be international pop superstardom. Perry counts 17 Top 40 hits. Not bad. The reviews from Perry’s Prismatic tour (in support of her most recent album, Prism) would have us believe that the singer takes her obligation seriously. Expect plenty of over-the-top props to complete the spectacle (and, if you look hard enough, probably signs that Perry is a member of the Illuminati, too) Tuesday night at the Sprint Center.
Tuesday, August 19, Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)
Nickel Creek, Sarah Jarosz
Nickel Creek shattered hearts of Americana fans across the country in 2007 when it announced an “indefinite hiatus.” The band had risen to the same commercial fame as the craftsmen behind O Brother, Where Art Thou? only to hit the brakes. Reigning Americana queen Alison Krauss had even produced the band’s seminal 2000 self-titled album and its 2002 follow-up, This Side. It came as an immense relief then, in April, when Nickel Creek reunited for its 25th anniversary with a surprise new album, A Dotted Line — a brief but highly satisfying return to its roots. Bonus: Young mandolin prodigy Sarah Jarosz opens the show.
Tuesday, August 19, Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)
Christian Lee Hutson
Nashville is never short on young singer-songwriter types dipping their toes in the ever-promising waters of the blues, but there’s something more to 24-year-old Christian Lee Hutson’s sparse, tentative songs. Hutson’s second album, Yeah Okay, I Know, is being released one song at a time, one month at a time, over the course of 2014. The songs released so far are full of lush, lonesome melodies, flooded by Hutson’s billowy country singing. For someone so young, Hutson writes songs caked with the regret of bad decisions and worse consequences; whether he’s lived that way or not, he keeps you listening.
Wednesday, August 20, Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club (3402 Main, 816-753-1909)
