Want to see live music? Try this week.

Each week for nearly a decade now I’ve sifted through local venue calendars for our concert recommendations column. Obviously some weeks aren’t as busy as others. This coming week the number of shows between September 28 and October 4 is absolutely ridiculous - way too much to fit into a hot concerts column. 

Tuesday's variety is astounding. You have the loopy violin indie-folk shenanigans of Dr. Strings himself, Andrew Bird at Neighborhood, the metal supergroup Down at Tremont, long running revered indie powerhouse Cursive at The Milestone (a band that would normally play a bigger venue on a lesser week), soul singer Allen Stone who opened the Roots’ private DNC event earlier this month at Visulite, and former Headcoatee and (in my mind) underground UK legend Holly Golightly playing a free set during Snug Harbor’s Country Tuesday. And that’s only Tuesday!

The rest of the week reflects that same rich variety usually blessed on bigger cities like New York or Atlanta. Friday I’ll be taking my toddlers to see the Fresh Beat Band, but I could take in Matthews Mayfield and Perryman Jones at Evening Muse or the Afrobeat adventures of Daptone Records’ (home to Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings) Antibalas at Visulite, or the early `00s hit makers the Ataris at The Milestone. 

Saturday it’s three female singer-songwriters Garrison Starr (who I discovered opening for Steve Earle years ago), Maia Sharp, and Adrianne Gonzalez at Evening Muse, songwriter Steve Forbert at Stage Door Theater, music legend Leon Russell at Neighborhood, and NC’s 9^th Wonder deejaying classic hip-hop at Republic. Other highlights include the Powerman 5000 anniversary at Tremont Wednesday followed by the double header of Accept and Kreator Thursday, which goes up against Georgia rapper Bubba Sparxx at Amos’, indie group White Rabbits at Visulite, indie group the Rocketboys at the Muse, and soul singer Curtis Salgado at Double Door. Taking it all in could be dizzying. 

Those concerts just scratch the surface. But the point is if you’re going to go see live music, go this week.