Music Forecast 3.26–4.1: Ben Caplan, Fleetwood Mac, Liverpool, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and more

Ben Caplan & the Casual Smokers
With his cavemanlike hair and beard and his old-fashioned glasses, Ben Caplan certainly looks the part of the artist. That he is some kind of Hercules-voiced powerhouse musician is just a bonus. Caplan’s songs are part primal blues, part vaudeville and every bit soul-awakening. Heads-up: This dude is already a huge deal in Australia and Europe, and his shelfful of music awards from his native Canada isn’t just for show. Caplan’s most recent full-length, In the Time of the Great Remembering, is a gritty, potent effort from the closest thing we have to a Tom Waits heir.

Thursday, March 26, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Andrew Jackson Jihad
Sean Bonnette is as bizarre as he is brilliant. The man has spent 11 years as the principal songwriter and frontman for Arizona’s Andrew Jackson Jihad, turning out lyrics that are fantastically detailed and memorably irreverent. Last year’s Christmas Island was no exception; listen to the song “Children of God” and see if you can forget the image of eyes as red as a dog’s asshole when you see it shitting. Sunday at the Granada, enlist in the Jihad.

Sunday, March 29, the Granada (1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence,
785-842-1390)

Liverpool
There are cover bands and there are tribute bands, and then there is Liverpool. Since 1989, the four-piece has been performing Beatles’ songs as faithfully as John, Paul, George and Ringo might have, if they’d turned up at a family reunion or an office party or a club around KC. The act is so convincing, it might give you pause. Earlier in March, Liverpool was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. Saturday, at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, the group celebrates that iconic status.

Saturday, March 28, VooDoo Lounge (Harrah’s Casino, 1 Riverboat Drive, 816-889-4237)

Fleetwood Mac
Legions of die-hard fans would totally sell their newborn children on Craigslist if that meant getting tickets to Fleetwood Mac’s Saturday-night Sprint Center show. One reason: Keyboardist and singer Christine McVie has returned to the band after a 17-year absence. Another: This classic lineup, solidified first on 1975’s self-titled album, still throws off sparks — musical and otherwise — from the old days, when making Rumours was basically a wild Univision soap opera. McVie, singer Stevie Nicks, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie are all on hand for Fleetwood Mac’s “On With the Show” tour, a night that promises to be one for the books.

Saturday, March 28, Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

The Preatures
The Preatures hail from Sydney, Australia, where, we assume, everything is all sunshine, all the time. Lead singer Isabella Manfredi’s voice supports that belief. On the band’s 2014 debut, Blue Planet Eyes, she soars over a spirited collection of sugared-up, synth-heavy tracks that make you want to twirl around barefoot on some grass. The Preatures are unabashed babies of the ’80s and ’90s, and they carry their influences around like fashionably ironic fanny packs. On paper, that might make you roll your eyes, yet Blue Planet Eyes sounds so assured, and its songs are so likable, that it’s hard to find fault.

Monday, March 30, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)