Music Forecast: Gary Clark Jr., Justin Bieber, Jethro Tull
Gary Clark Jr.
When Blak And Blu — Gary Clark Jr.’s major-label debut — arrived, in 2012, it was like discovering a new gospel. The Austin guitarist was heralded as one of the most authentic new talents in blues; in 2013, he won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance. Clark’s answer to this success was to sequester himself in a studio and build The Story of Sonny Boy Slim — and it is quite the follow-up. Now that the world is watching him, Clark seems determined to keep his followers guessing. Slim isn’t a total departure from the blues he mined on Blak And Blu, but it’s tempered with a heaping helping of soul and ’70s-era funk. And we’re not mad about it.
Thursday, March 31
Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway
Jethro Tull
Monday at the Uptown, Ian Anderson reimagines the rock band that he formed in 1967 as an entirely different concert experience. Anderson performs Jethro Tull as a full-blown narrative celebrating the life and times of the English agriculturalist who gave the band its name. Anderson performs classic Jethro Tull songs, some with new lyrics, as well as a slew of new songs that touch on climate change, food production and population. Anderson is accompanied by a full band as well as several “surprise virtual guests” via an onstage screen. If that all sounds a bit heady, just wait.
Monday, April 4
Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway
Justin Bieber
We’ve come a long way since 2014, when a petition to deport Justin Bieber to his home country of Canada reached 100,000 signatures. This was following a couple years of the singer’s well-documented bad behavior (that DUI in Miami, the brothel visit in Rio), which really wasn’t all that surprising considering Bieber’s meteoric rise to stardom at such a young age. (He was 15 when his debut record, My World, was certified platinum.) Apparently, all it took for Bieber to earn the nation’s forgiveness was an apology — and we got it in the form of Purpose. The November-released album is chockablock of legit bangers, and Biebs manages to sing them all with just enough conviction — which is impressive, considering Purpose‘s staggering length (18 songs). Wednesday at the Sprint Center, we’ll see how many Beliebers he’s recovered.
Wednesday, April 6
Sprint Center, 1407 Grand
