Music Forecast 3.13–19: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Russian Circles, Halfway to Winfield, Misterwives, and more

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Since the early 1960s, the internationally renowned South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo has entertained and educated listeners all over the world. It has released more than 50 albums and collected four Grammy Awards. For longtime fans, the male ensemble’s latest album, Always With Us, holds no huge surprises: The traditional Zulu rhythms and style of singing (isicathamiya and mbube) are built into a Christian choral framework, just as Ladysmith founder Joseph Shabalala dreamed five decades ago. But the results remain heart-stopping and profound, just as the group’s Thursday show in Lawrence promises to be.

Thursday, March 13, at Liberty Hall (644 Massachusetts,
Lawrence, 785-749-1972)

The Harmed Brothers

Pay no attention to the moniker under which Ray Vietti and Alex Salcido perform. The two aren’t related, and they don’t seem particularly injured. The group — which expands and contracts with members beyond Vietti and Salcido, depending on the gig — is more about brotherly bonds and mutual suffering than anything else, and that’s a lot of what you find on the Harmed Brothers’ latest full-length, Better Days. Vietti has one of those whiskey-roughened voices that’s ideal for the banjo-and-guitar ballads you’ll get at this RecordBar gig. And you can expect a good old hometown crowd to come out; the Harmed Brothers nest in Oregon these days, but Vietti is Missouri-born and proud of it.

Thursday, March 13, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Russian Circles

It’s rather extraordinary what Russian Circles can accomplish in 37 minutes, which is the length of the Chicago trio’s latest album, Memorial. Though the band gets lumped into the metal category, what happens on Memorial feels less abrasive and more experimental than anything so genre-specific. The instrumental songs bleed seamlessly into one another, with calculated builds leading to Vesuvian explosions. Even if I kind of prefer listening to this album alone in my house with all the lights off, I’ll find it well worth feeling Russian Circles live.

Saturday, March 15, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Halfway to Winfield

I’ve never been to the Walnut Valley Festival — or the Winfield Bluegrass Festival, whatever you wanna call it — but I get the impression from most people that it’s more of a lifestyle thing than it is a music weekend. I hear about Winfield all year, is what I’m saying. So for the hundreds who have been there and dream wistfully of the warm camping weather and beckoning sounds of fiddles and banjos and old-time guitars, there’s Knuckleheads Saturday. Halfway to Winfield is a mini folk fest, featuring a pretty high-energy local lineup: Split Lip Rayfield, Truckstop Honeymoon, Whistle Pigs, Tyler Gregory, Old Sound, Loaded Goat, Konza Swamp Band, Rural Grit All Stars and the Kansas City Bear Fighters. Holy folk, man.

Saturday, March 15, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)

Mowgli’s, Misterwives

Look, I like the Mowgli’s as much as the next person — that one song “San Francisco” is really fun and everything — but I seriously can’t get past the misplaced apostrophe in the group name. At a certain point, you’d think that someone would have educated these kids on the basics of possessive nouns, and they would have fixed it. Anyway, the Mowgli’s (ugh) will be playing a free St. Patrick’s Day show at the Power & Light District’s KC Live Block. Joining the lineup is Brooklyn’s up-and-coming indie-rock darling Misterwives, which has just released an excellent debut EP and whose members paid attention in fifth-grade English class.

Monday, March 17, KC Live Block (14th Street and Grand, powerandlightdistrict.com)