Kickoman/Bakalao Stars
Charlotte’s original Latin party band, Bakalao Stars, team up
with like-minded DC-based Spanglish rock act Kickoman. Both bands trade in
reggae and ska with colorful Spanish hip-hop and bursts of rock guitar and both
create a party atmosphere with bouncy tunes and pogoing sing-alongs.
Sealion
Dallas’ Sealion is an exercise in dichotomy, tying frustrated
punk singing with bouncy feel-good indie-pop and channeling the Vaselines
backing X or the Breeders and the Pixies with deliberate bass, languid vocals
and surf guitar. It’s like they combined all your favorite old indie and
alt-rock guitar bands in one concise package.
Nicki Minaj
For the first time in ages a female rapper headlines the
amphitheater and while the hip-hop diva provides plenty of hits and glitz, what
would her set be without a little drama? Having put her VMAs-related Twitter
beef with Taylor Swift to a quick end, she and fiancé Meek Mill (also on the
bill) share the stage and stoke the flames of his recent feud with Drake.
Boz Scaggs
The seasoned crooner follows 2013’s “Memphis,” which featured
talented local musicians, with the similarly conceptual “A Fool To Care.” Again
working with producer Steve Jordan, Scaggs convened in Nashville and puts his
stamp on songs by the Band, Al Green, and the Spinners with guests Ray Parker,
Jr., Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt.
Authority Zero
Despite having its van robbed of $50,000 of equipment in San
Antonio last week the veteran punk band soldiers on through the South with nary
a beat. The group, whose sound combines the beachy ska and reggae-influenced
spirit of Sublime with the urgency and speed of Bad Religion, is borrowing
opener Counterpunch’s gear.
Machine Gun Kelly
Sick of his label Bad Boy/Interscope holding up the release of
his second album “General Admission” and continuing to play the same songs live
on four consecutive tours, the Cleveland rapper dropped a new mix-tape. “F***
it” is his first release in two years (not counting singles) and you can bet he
works his frustration out on the mic.
Flatland Tourists
Thursday 7 p.m., US National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater
Center Pkwy, Free ($5 Parking), www.usnwc.org
The Union County outfit, which boasts folky picking and soulful
singing, recently received the award for best Americana Band at the 8th
annual Carolina Music Awards in Raleigh (which were co-founded by Randy Travis
and Roberta Flack). The Waxhaw-based roots band will release its second record
in a year in September.
Kamasi Washington
With equal footing performing and studying jazz and world music
and working with hip-hop, R&B, and soul musicians like Snoop Dogg, Lauryn
Hill, and Kendrick Lamar, as well as in his own bands the Young Jazz Giants and
the Next Step, the eclectic L.A. sax player, like Robert Glasper, is conquering
new musical frontiers and new jazz fans.
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