Sufjan Stevens plays the Tabernacle on Nov. 6. Photo: Denny Renshaw

ON SALE NOW
Sufjan Stevens. 8 p.m. Nov. 6. $35; $30 advance. The Tabernacle. LN.

ON SALE AUG. 20
Joel McHale. 7 p.m. Oct. 9. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. $43-$73. LN.

Elly Jackson of La Roux will be at the Tabernacle on Nov. 5. The show is rescheduled from an earlier postponed Variety Playhouse date. Photo: Andrew Whitton

La Roux. Rescheduled from an earlier Variety Playhouse date; tickets from that postponed show will be honored. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 5. The Tabernacle. $22.50; $20 advance. TM.
Grinderman. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 18. Variety Playhouse. $40; $35 advance. TM.
Dave Koz & Friends Smooth Jazz Christmas 2010. 8 p.m. Nov. 27. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. $26-$76. TM.
Vienna Boys Choir: Christmas in Vienna. 7 p.m. Nov. 28. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. TM.
Big Mike Geier’s Kingsized Holiday Jubilee & Toy Drive featuring Kingsized Holiday Orchestra with Dames Aflame Dancers. 8:30 p.m. Dec. 11.

Continue reading Hot tickets, Aug. 17 »

It’s never a good sign when the main act doesn’t come on stage until 9:50 p.m. At least not at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

Maybe no one bothered to tell Erykah Badu before Saturday night’s show that as one fan put it “they don’t play that at Chastain.”

An hour after neo-soul (who’s sounding more rock than soul these days) singer Bilal left the stage, the only sign of Badu was a few members of her band tipping on stage to begin a smooth instrumental groove without her. Five minutes later, at 10 minutes till 10, the sold-out crowd got their first glimpse of Badu with her blonde mohawk fashioned hairdo.

For the next hour and 10 minutes, she put on show that was smoldering with funk, slick groves, and good old-school reminiscing. Just as she was about to put the show in high gear, the sound was gone. A startled Badu started checking her mic, before realizing she had been cut off for the night. It was after all 11:01 p.m. Fans started to boo as Badu took her final bow and exited …

Continue reading A tardy Erykah Badu learns the Chastain way »

Photo by Matt Alexandre

R&B singer Trey Songz brought his first headlining tour to the Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Friday night (see photo gallery and Twitter updates from the show). As he noted, the show had been sold out for months. And no wonder, to see the 25-year-old’s sex appeal ooze from the stage is quite an experience. Sure, he has some growing to do in terms of overall showmanship and production (though he can’t completely be held accountable for that). But his stage presence and vocal ability are so impressive it’s hard to believe this was the hormone-heavy youth in baggy jeans and cornrolls just a couple of years ago.

Jermaine Dupri’s new artist Dondria kicked things off. Then Atlanta’s sweetheart Monica − flawless as always − performed. Echoing her nod to Alexander McQueen-style glamour, she appeared on stage in thigh-high leather boots and military jacket and later a fitted black floor-length gown as she belted out her radio-heavy hits “Love All Over Me” and …

Continue reading Trey Songz shares his ‘Passion, Pain, Pleasure’ with Atlanta »

Trey Songz and Monica headlined an evening of R&B at the sold out Fabulous Fox Theatre Friday night. Dondria opened the show on the “Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour.”

Photographer Matt Alexandre covered the show with his camera. Check out the 17-photo online gallery: Trey Songz and Monica . Tell us what you thought of the show. How have Trey and Monica matured as artists over the past several years?

(Photo Credit: Matt Alexandre/ www.robbsphotos.com)  For other concert photography linked to Access Atlanta, please visit  Atlanta Concert Photography Galleries.

Continue reading Trey Songz & Monica Sell Out Fox Theatre On A Soul-Filled Friday Night »

Trey Songz headlines at the Fox Theatre on Friday. Photo: Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com

TODAY
Trey Songz, Monica
His fourth album is scheduled for release next month, but R&B singer Trey Songz could have made a career being the name after “featuring” on many hit singles and popular tracks. Ludacris, Drake, Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige and Yung Joc are among those who have employed Songz on a track. Drake returned the favor on “I Invented Sex,” a No. 1 R&B hit from his third album, “Ready,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The anticipation for “Passion, Pain and Pleasure” is running high, leading Billboard magazine to put him on the cover of the Aug. 6 issue with the headline: “How a label’s perseverance and some songs about sex created an R&B star.”
7:30 p.m. Aug. 13. $52.20-$87.10. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-881-2100.

Charlie Daniels and his band are part of the Sean Hannity Freedom Concert at the Gwinnett Arena on Friday. Photo: …

Continue reading Live music picks, Aug. 13-18 »

Arcade Fire, the Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist indie rock band, played an energetic concert Wednesday night in Alpharetta in support of their newly released third studio album, The Suburbs. The large crowd at Verizon Amphitheatre at Encore Park was on their feet for most of the evening, singing loudly to each song. Another popular indie band, Portland, Oregon-based Spoon, opened the show.

Fronted by the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, Arcade Fire uniquely mixes the sounds of guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, glockenspiel, keyboard, French horn, accordion, harp, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy. The band takes most of their instruments on tour, and the multi-instrumentalist band members switch instrumental duties throughout their shows. Arcade Fire have won numerous awards, including both the Meteors 2008 Best International Album award and the Juno Awards 2008 Alternative Album of the Year award for Neon …

Continue reading Arcade Fire and Spoon Bring Indie Rock To Alpharetta’s Verizon Amphitheatre »

Richard Thompson returns to Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on Oct. 15. It will be the legendary guitarist and songwriter's second time at the venue this year. Photo: Shore Fire Media

ON SALE AUG. 13
Richard Thompson Band. 8:30 p.m. Oct. 15. Variety Playhouse. $32.50; $30 advance. TM.
Metric. 8 p.m. Oct. 28. The Tabernacle. $21.50. LN.
Tech N9ne, E-40, Glasses Malone. 8:30 p.m. Oct. 28. The Loft. $20. TA.
Interpol, White Rabbits. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1. The Tabernacle. $32.50. LN.
Sufjan Stevens. 8 p.m. Nov. 6. The Tabernacle. LN.
Wolf Parade. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Variety Playhouse. $25. TM.
Brooke Fraser. 8 p.m. Nov. 15. Variety Playhouse. $17.50; $15 advance. TM.
The Weepies, Beth Amsel. 8 p.m. Nov. 17. Variety Playhouse. $22.50; $20 advance. TM.
An Evening with Garrison Keillor. 8 p.m. Nov. 17. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. $35.50-$62. TM.
Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Variety Playhouse. $25. TM.

UPCOMING SHOWS
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Aug. 10 »

Sixteen year-old, Canadian pop-R&B sensation Justin Bieber sold out the Gwinnett Arena Monday night on his “My World Tour.” Opening acts included Sean Kingston, Jessica Jarrelle and Vita Chambers. Before the show, fans were treated to a showcase called Teen Island where up-and-coming acts played onstage in the parking lots. These included Aaron Fresh, Khalil, Burnum and Bryan J.

AJC photographer Robb Cohen covered the show with his camera. Check out the 25-photo online gallery: Justin Bieber in concert . What did you think of the show? What was your favorite artist and song? Will Biebermania last much longer?

(Photo Credit: Robb D. Cohen/ www.robbsphotos.com)  For other concert photography linked to Access Atlanta, please visit  Atlanta Concert Photography Galleries.

Continue reading Pop Sensation Justin Bieber Sells Out Gwinnett Arena Monday Night »

By Bo Emerson for AJC.com

Green Day played tonight in Alpharetta to an almost sell-out crowd.

You realize how long Green Day has been around (and how many hits they’ve scored) when you ogle their audience Monday night at the Verizon-Wireless-Amphitheatre-at-Encore-Park in Alpharetta.and see hundreds of Moms and Dads in their 30s, 40s and 50s bringing their children — and even grandchildren — to see the venerable punk rock band.

Is Green Day punk? How can a punk band sell 15 million copies of its major label debut? What punk band writes an opera that gets produced on Broadway?

And if Green Day is punk, what were all these little kids doing out on a school night, shoving their fists in the air while Mom and Dad smiled on? Shouldn’t they be cheering Justin Bieber over in Gwinnett?

Maybe not.  It’s all rock and roll, very catchy, inflammatory rock and roll, that can seem like a Molotov cocktail one minute and a high school graduation ceremony the next.

The contrast between the …

Continue reading A great night with Green Day at Alpharetta concert »

Sharon Jones is a force to be reckoned with. A hurricane. An eighth wonder. A female James Brown. On Friday night, she opened for Cyndi Lauper at Chastain Park and those who got a taste of Jones for the first time will no doubt seek her out later for a main course.

Simply put, Jones is no one’s opening act. No sane artist would want to follow in her footsteps even on their best night. The funky soul phenomenon and native of Augusta has enough energy at 54 years old to help Georgia Power out during a heat wave.

Yes, she’s all that and then some.

Jones along with her Dap Kings band mesmerized the crowd as she belted out hits such as “She Ain’t a Child No More,” “Give it Back,” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” If you’ve never heard of Sharon Jones, put that on your to-do list. See a show, buy an album. Her latest release, “I Learned the Hard Way,” is sassy, brash and a treasure for old soul lovers.

Her high energy show will make you think the Godfather of Soul has …

Continue reading Lauper, Jones rock Atlanta with blues, soul »