Music Forecast 10.8-10.14: Lord Huron, José González, Tori Kelly, Kraftwerk, Helmet, Rhiannon Giddens, Chance the Rapper, Best Man Benefit

Lord Huron, José González
If you get déjà vu when you listen to Lord Huron’s Strange Trails, you’re not alone. Something about the lush instrumentation and delicate folk pop recalls the celestial indie groups of the late aughts (Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, etc.). That doesn’t mean Lord Huron doesn’t have anything fresh to offer; the songs on Strange Trails often present as gauzy overtures to gorgeous, reverb-drenched movements. It’s a subtle, sophisticated album. Sweden’s José González — formerly of folk-rock band Junip — co-headlines.

Thursday, October 8, Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)

Tori Kelly
Tori Kelly has a killer voice. How good? The government could spend billions to weaponize it and probably end a bunch of wars. And yet Unbreakable Smile is so disappointing. The songs are too bubblegum pop, too girl-power-positive with no substance. Kelly is at her best when she’s ruminating over the chinks in her armor — “Should’ve Been Us” is a first-rate heartbreak ballad — but that doesn’t seem to be her schtick. Maybe we’ll figure her out Thursday night.

Thursday, October 8, the Midland (1228 Main, 816-283-9921)

Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is coming back to Kansas City for the first time in 40 years. The Friday-night show at the Midland is one of only 12 North American tour dates for these German gods of electronic dance music, so don’t miss what will likely be the most epic rave since, well, Kraftwerk was last in town. These four fearless pioneers return like white knights of the future, bearing laptops for themselves and 3-D glasses for you. Watch them perform before a big, entrancing screen — we’re told the experience is something between animation and hypnosis — as they help you relive their most hallowed albums.

Friday, October 9, the Midland (1228 Main, 816-283-9921)

Helmet

Two decades after Helmet released its seminal 1994 album, Betty, the punk group is mounting a celebratory anniversary tour — kind of. The only founding member keeping the band alive is frontman Page Hamilton, who wrote Betty. If anyone can reproduce the album’s brutal, abrasive sonic steps, it’s Hamilton. Wear your oversize plaid and Vans for this ’90s throwback night.

Friday, October 9, the Granada (1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-842-1390)

Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens was a force as a core member of Grammy Award-winning roots group Carolina Chocolate Drops. As a solo artist, though, her star shines even brighter. In February, Giddens released Tomorrow Is My Turn, a breathtaking, often chilling record that puts her at the forefront of contemporary folk music. The album’s 11 songs are all covers, but they have been given such original treatment that you would hardly recognize them. Prepare your soul for some stirring.

Sunday, October 11, the Folly (300 West 12th Street, 816-474-4444)

Chance the Rapper

Chicago’s Chancelor Bennett — better known as Chance the Rapper — has ascended the ranks of hip-hop rather quickly for his 22 years. Attribute his success to his breakthrough 2013 mixtape, Acid Rap, a catchy record that revealed his deft inner monologue. Bennett’s latest project is the June-released Surf, which is credited to Bennett’s live band, Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment. With his voice and direction sprinkled throughout Surf, it might as well be credited to Bennett. Don’t miss this rising star.

Wednesday, October 14, the Midland (1228 Main, 816-283-9921)

Best Man Benefit

Steel guitarist David Williams has long been a fixture in the local roots-and-folk scene. But his productivity dropped sharply in 2014, when a neuropathic condition prevented him from performing and working. Sunday, an eclectic mix of musicians gets together to support Williams with a four-hour benefit: local blues heroine Kelley Hunt, along with singer-songwriter Tom Hall, Mike Smith and the Sax Pistols, and the Promise Makers. Blues guitarist Dan Bliss and jazz guitarist Rod Fleeman perform a set together, and Boko Maru reunites for the cause. The lineup is so good — and worth the $20 ticket, which goes to Williams — that you don’t need another reason to show up.

Sunday, October 11, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)