Music Forecast 1.29–2.4: Levi Parham, Jason Eady and Adam Hood, Mallory Knox, and more
Levi Parham
It takes almost zero effort to like Levi Parham. So it’s surprising that more people don’t. Then again, the Oklahoma singer-songwriter is a recent addition to the Americana landscape. His home-recorded 2013 debut, An Okie Opera, was a rough-cut romp over grassy plains and along back roads, and it all but disappeared down a commercial country lane. Last December’s Avalon Drive smooths out the edges a bit, and a few more ears have started to turn in Parham’s direction. He deserves the attention: Parham’s voice has that timeless match of grit and tenderness, the kind of sound that puts you at ease no matter how sad the lyrics get. (And Parham, like any good Southern boy, can get pretty melancholy.) Become a believer Thursday, when Parham stops at the Riot Room. Scott Schumann, Margo May and the Blackbird Revue round out the lineup.
Thursday, January 29, the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)
Jason Eady, Adam Hood
When Jason Eady came out with his 2012 full-length, AM Country Heaven, it was as though a small, perfect pearl had washed up on contemporary country’s vast, rocky shore. Here was Eady, trying to bring radio back to reality after all the preened and polished songs that, by his estimation, had swung his genre too far from Merle Haggard’s and Waylon Jennings’ God-fearing truths. Last year’s Daylight & Dark found Eady a little less pissed off but still committed. Alabama singer-songwriter Adam Hood is also on deck this evening, and if you haven’t yet been charmed by his easy hooks and knee-weakening croons, well, you’re about to be.
Thursday, January 29, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)
Katy Guillen & the Girls, the Grisly Hand
We are big fans of pretty much anything that Katy Guillen and Lauren Krum do, so we’re especially excited to see these two leading ladies (and their respective bands) join forces for a double-headlining gig at Knuckleheads. Katy Guillen & the Girls — an all-female blues-rock trio that’s far more spice than sugar — was one of last year’s breakout local acts, and 2015 seems to be shaping up at least as well. And, of course, anytime the Grisly Hand gets involved, good times are bound to be had. Saturday night, close out the first month of the new year with two of Kansas City’s finest talents.
Saturday, January 31, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)
Mallory Knox
As a general rule, one should not read too much into band names. The story rarely justifies your interest. But the image of Mallory Knox — Juliette Lewis’ murderous title character from Oliver Stone’s 1994 Natural Born Killers — is so vivid that you wonder in spite of yourself. What dark thoughts lurk in the minds of this British rock band’s five members? What are they thinking? Judging by Mallory Knox’s sound, they may be imagining a reformed hardcore band giving earnest rock and roll a stab. Mallory Knox actually does that fairly well: On its latest, Asymmetry, the band’s music sounds not so much macabre as it does radio-friendly and arena-ready.
Tuesday, February 3, Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)
