Music Forecast February 23-29

The B’Dinas, with Empty Spaces, Deadringers, and
I Hate You Just Kidding
Blues, funk and classic rock are the primary touchstones for the predominantly female B’Dinas (four girls, one boy). But they have a tendency to throw jarring, arty curveballs into the middle of their songs, which is something I’ll usually swing at. The locals are celebrating their second release, the EP Morning Party. Joining them is I Hate You, Just Kidding, a dreamy boy-girl, folk-pop act from California.
Saturday, February 25, at Czar (1531 Grand, 816-421-0300)

Billy Beale Benefit
Last year, the The Pitch profiled Billy Beale, a midtown-haunting bluesman with a checkered past. He’s back in jail again, busted cold on a three-year-old DUI felony. Before he was hauled away, he recorded an album, Slide Dog Billy, with the local cowpunks in Them Damned Young Livers. The Livers, Crybaby Ranch, Blue Boot Heelers and others are gathering to raise money to cover the cost of the record, and maybe a little something extra for when Beale gets out of the clink. See therecordbar.com for the full bill.
Saturday, February 25, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Sonic Spectrum Tribute to Honky-Tonk Legends
Robert Moore’s monthly series continues with a looser February theme. Rather than one specific iconic artist (such as Talking Heads, whose work was celebrated in the January tribute), the local bands assembled are drawing from a general genre: honky-tonk. KC is an ideal town to stage such a show — Rex Hobart, Starhaven Rounders, Whiskey Breath, and Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company are all highly capable transmitters of the sound.
Sunday, February 26, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

Fourth of July, with the ACBs
These two bands played together in November, also at the Brick, and everybody seemed to have a good time, so I’m recommending them again. The ACBs are fresh off recording four melodic pop songs for Daytrotter; Lawrence folk-rock dudes Fourth of July are busy prepping their third LP. I’m also intrigued by the Facebook event page, which promises an appearance by the late Ernest P. Worrell.
Friday, February 24, at the Brick (1727 McGee, 816-421-1634)

Rusko
Also last November, a capacity crowd descended upon Liberty Hall to see Skrillex thud out the place with his aggro-dubstep drops. Expect a similar scene when his aesthetic forebear, the British DJ and producer Christopher Mercer, aka Rusko, graces the Lawrence stage.
Wednesday, February 29, at Liberty Hall (644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-1972)

George Strait, with Martina McBride
Which of George Strait’s staggering 58 No. 1 singles will he play at this show? Probably many of them. And probably more than a few from his most recent album, Here for a Good Time. Opener and special guest Martina McBride — a Nashville crossover diva in the mold of Faith Hill or Shania Twain — provides a lively contrast to Strait’s quiet country confidence.
Saturday, February 25, at Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

Pretty Good Dance Moves
This Brooklyn-via-Chicago electronic duo just released a full-length, Limo. It’s a soberly arranged collection of tracks divided into eight “movements,” with a big drum-machine sound, dirty synths and French whispering — kind of like a moodier Justice.
Thursday, February 23, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)