This week's hot concerts

Me Talk Pretty

6:30 p.m. Friday, January 20, Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave. $13-$15. www.etix.com

This NYC outfit, who heads up a six band bill that includes Hawthorne Heights and Madina Lake, falls somewhere between the female-fronted theatrical metal of Lacuna Coil and Evanescence and catchy, pop-punk.

 
Mat Kearney

8 p.m. Friday, January 20, Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $20-$23. www.etix.com

Straddling both adult pop and Christian radio, this GMA Dove award winning Nashville-based/Oregon-raised singer-songwriter treads in “Grey’s Anatomy” scoring territory (think “Grey’s” fave Greg Laswell singing for Coldplay) with catchy beats and symphonic pop-rock arrangements.

Travis Tritt

8 p.m. Friday, January 20, Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. $34.50-$49.50. 704-372-1000.

The veteran artist behind modern country staples like “Country Club,” “Help Me Hold On,” and “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares,” hasn’t released a new album since 2007, but fans can hear his older material in a new setting on this solo acoustic tour.

Annuals

10 p.m. Friday, January 20, Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. $8. 704-333-9799.

Once poised for fame as indie rock’s next it band, the Raleigh sextet’s buzz may have subsided but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t continued to make orchestral, psychedelic indie-pop and rock. With Lonnie Walker and Hectorina.

Cement Stars/Super Ape

8 p.m. Saturday, January 21, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $7. 704-358-9200.

Charlotte-based Electric Mountain Records pairs its flagship experimental electro-funk band Super Ape with newer signing, Cement Stars, a dreamy electro indie-pop outfit that lovingly captures the musical intersection of angst and longing.

 
Hail!Hornet/ASG

7 p.m., Saturday, January 21, Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave. $12-$15. www.etix.com

Following a screening of “Slow Southern Steel,” a documentary on the history of metal in the South, coastal metal outfits ASG (who veer toward psychedelic stoner metal) and Hail!Hornet (members of Sourvein, Buzzoven, and Alabama Thunderpussy) will perform.

David Mead

8 p.m. Tuesday, January 24, Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. $8-$10. 704-376-3737.

A songwriter’s songwriter known for his sweet, soaring vocals and clever humor, Mead counts Taylor Swift and John Mayer among his fans. In fact fans donated over $20,000 to fund his latest album, “Dudes.”

Old 97’s                                                                                                                                                                                                               

8 p.m. Thursday, January 26, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $22-$25. 704-358-9200.

Fans of the alt-country combo will get a double dose of frontman Rhett Miller, who will open the show with an acoustic set (since Those Darlins dropped off the tour). Miller is likely to do a few covers from his recent live album and possibly preview material from his upcoming album.