Emmylou Harris returns to the Atlanta Botanical Garden Friday, July 22. Photo: Jack Spencer

TODAY
Emmylou Harris
A country music legend, an in-demand collaborator, a 12-time Grammy winner and a beloved entertainer, Harris has maintained a four-decade level of musical excellence that few can match. She’s also succeeded in transcending Nashville’s fickle machinery by appealing to a broad audience and doing things on her own terms. Her latest album, “Hard Bargain,” was issued in April and is her 21st solo release.
8 p.m. July 22. $52.50. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E. 404-876-5859.

TODAY
Perpetual Groove
The hypnotic sound of this Savannah-born, Athens-based band stretches across the jam-rock spectrum, taking in jazz, reggae, rock, country, blues and just about anything else that gets in its path. Luckily, these guys have enough ideas to sustain their sprawling auditory travels and dynamic instrumental workouts.
8:30 p.m. July 22. $25, $22.50 in advance …

Continue reading Live music picks: July 22-28 »

Foo Fighters headline Gwinnett Arena Nov. 7. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 22. Photo: Steve Gullick

ON SALE NOW
Graham Knox, Will May. 9 p.m. Aug. 4. Vinyl. $10; $6 in advance. TA.
Altered. 9 p.m. Aug. 13. Vinyl. $10; $6 in advance. TA.
Leagues. 8:30 p.m. Aug. 18. Vinyl. $10; $8 in advance. TA.
Appetite For Destruction. Guns N Roses tribute. 9 p.m. Aug. 20. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
Behind the Sun, Siamese Dream. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins tributes. 9 p.m. Aug. 27. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
Tune-Yards, Pat Jordache. 9 p.m. Oct. 4. The Basement at Graveyard Tavern. $12 in advance. TA.
Callaway Gardens’ Harvest Moon Festival. With the B-52s, John Hiatt, Mat Kearney, Gin Blossoms, Shawn Mullins, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Oct. 6-9. Callaway Gardens. Weekend pass, $69. www.callawaygardens.com, 1-800-225-5292.
Queensryche. 7 p.m. Nov 4. Masquerade. $22.50. TM.
Dir en Grey, the Birthday Massacre. 8 p.m. Dec. 7. Center Stage. $25. TM.

ON SALE JULY …

Continue reading Hot tickets: July 19 »

For a look at Britney Spears’ show Sunday night at Philips Arena, check out our gallery:  http://projects.accessatlanta.com/gallery/view/music/britney-spears-071811/

The setup was grand – a busy stage stocked with metal scaffolding, stairs, a circular video screen and hydraulics.

The set list was curious – a cover of Rihanna’s “S&M” instead of another of her own numerous hits, even if she is on the remix?

The full but not-quite-sold-out audience was super-stoked – of course their heroine can never, ever be considered anything less than perfect.

And yet Britney Spears looked bored, a Robo-Barbie slogging through dance moves that used to crackle with confidence and singing (well, not really) a string of club thumpers virtually indistinguishable from one another.

But before going any further, let’s just say that Spears deserves enormous praise for enduring an insane amount of personal and professional pressure in recent years and for soldiering through the type of tabloid …

Continue reading Britney Spears: Looks great, less filling »

A Perfect Circle – from left, James Iha, Matt McJunkins, Billy Howerdel, Josh Freese, Maynard James Keenan – comes to the Tabernacle Wednesday, July 20. Photo: Tim Cadiente

FRIDAY
Steve Earle
Earle has long occupied the crowded overlap between rock, country and folk, but many Americana upstarts sound strained next to the 56-year-old singer-songwriter’s effortlessness. He’s touring in support of his latest album, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” which shares its title with a Hank Williams song. That’s no coincidence. It’s also the title of Earle’s first novel, published this year, which tells the tale of a doctor haunted by the ghost of Williams.
8 p.m. July 15. $39.50. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-876-5859.

FRIDAY
Charlie Wilson, Chrisette Michele
Wilson, the former Gap Band vocalist, is getting to be a regular fixture on Atlanta stages. He helped ring in 2010 with a show at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center and then …

Continue reading Live music picks: July 15-20 »

Sade and John Legend perform again tonight at 7:30 at Philips Arena. Tickets are still available. For information, visit www.ticketmaster.com or the venue box office.

From the moment Sade rose from beneath the stage, clad completely in black and her hair slicked into a severe ponytail, it was apparent that style would pervade the night.

As she marched across the stage in stilettos, beaming behind her scarlet lipstick and singing “Soldier of Love” in her buttery smooth voice, Sade immediately captivated – and for two hours she never let the audience out of her seductive grip.

This is the first tour in a decade for the Nigerian-born-British-bred singer, and with nearly a month of North American shows behind her, Sade and the band that shares her name have perfected a show bathed in sensuousness.

She quickly addressed the sold-out crowd, saying, “We’ve been baptized today in the storm, and now we have you, the sunshine,” before easing into “Your Love is King.”

The song, like many …

Continue reading Sade captivates with sensuous show »

The Black Keys (Dan Auerbach, left, and Patrick Carney) are one of the headliners at the resurrected Music Midtown, coming to Piedmont Park Sept. 24. Tickets go on sale Saturday, July 16. Photo: John Peets

ON SALE NOW
Shook Foil, Calm White Noise. 9 p.m. July 28. Vinyl. $10; $6 in advance. TA.
Ben Rector, Graham Colton. 8 p.m. Sept. 22. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.

ON SALE JULY 15
Lindsay Rakers Band. 8pm. Aug. 8. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $10 adv. TA.
Harlem Boobtrotters Susan G Komen Fundraiser featuring Byron Adams and Wesley Cook.7 p.m. Aug. 18. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $10 in advance. TA.
Timothy Bloom. 8 p.m. Aug. 22. The Loft. $15. TA.
Patrick Stump. 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22. Vinyl. $23. $20 in advance. TA.
Nappy Roots. CD release show. 8 p.m. Sept. 5. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $10 in advance. TA.
Girls. 8 p.m. Sept. 14. Variety Playhouse. $17.50; $15 in advance. TM.
The Head and the Heart, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, the Devil Whale, 8 p.m. Sept. 21.

Continue reading Hot tickets: July 12 »

Music fans can revel in the return of Music Midtown this fall at Piedmont Park, but those who enjoyed the Green Concert might be disappointed.

A statement from Piedmont Park Conservancy said that the park fundraiser, which in past years has boasted concerts by Dave Matthews Band, Paul McCartney and the Eagles, will not take place this year.

“We remain 100 percent committed to pursuing fundraising options that maintain Piedmont Park and protect the $42 million investments recently made toward its expansion,” said conservancy president and CEO Yvette Bowden in the statement.

No one at Piedmont Park would comment beyond the statement, so it isn’t clear if the conservancy was already planning to skip a year – as it did in 2008 – before Music Midtown began to formulate.

Music Midtown, featuring Coldplay and The Black Keys, will take place at Piedmont Park Sept. 24. Tickets are on sale Saturday for $55, with $1 from each ticket benefiting Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s “Centers of …

Continue reading No Green Concert at Piedmont Park this year »

Vince Neil and Motley Crue shown performing Sunday night at Aaron’s Amphitheatre on the Glam-A-Geddon Tour. Mötley Crüe is an American hard rock/ glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold more than 80 million album copies worldwide, including 25 million in the U.S.

Poison was formed in Mechanicsburg, PA in 1983, and consisted of lead vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. Bret Michaels and Rikki Rockett first joined forces to form a band called the Spectres in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and then teamed up with Matt Smith and Bobby Doll to form Paris. After playing mostly rock cover songs in Mechanicsburg-area bars they moved to Los Angeles on March 6, 1984, and changed the name of the band from Paris to Poison. The band auditioned for a …

Continue reading Motley Crue, Poison And The New York Dolls Rock Aaron’s On Sunday Night »

The Indigo Girls bring their harmonious folk to the Atlanta Botanical Garden this weekend. Staff photo.

FRIDAY
Animal Collective
Everything Animal Collective does seems chaotic: the playful cacophony of voices, odd bits of nonmusical sounds, cascading guitars and pianos and rhythms that veer from marching to tribal abandon. They’ve been getting more and more accessible with each release, but it’s still weird as all get out. Strap on your seat belt, but it’s a breathtaking ride.
8 p.m. July 8. $30. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. 404-733-5010, www.vzwamp.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Indigo Girls
Emily Saliers and Amy Ray have spent more than a decade entertaining us — and making us think — with heart-touching songs and gorgeous harmonies. They began performing together as students at Decatur’s Shamrock High School (now a middle school). After many years on a major label, earning a Grammy and selling millions of albums, the duo is releasing …

Continue reading Live music picks: July 8-14 »

Taylor Swift has postponed her weekend shows at Philips Arena due to illness. The July 9-10 dates have been rescheduled for Oct. 1-2.

The young country superstar is suffering from bronchitis and was advised by her doctor not to perform this week.

Last weekend, Swift was forced to cancel shows for the first time in her career. She’s also nixed a July 8 show in Charlotte.

Tickets for the July 9 show will be valid for Oct. 1 and July 10 tickets for Oct. 2. No other action is required other than presenting the original ticket on the new date.

In a statement, the singer said, “It breaks my heart to miss out on this weekend’s shows with my friends in Charlotte and Atlanta. I would never cancel if I thought I was physically able to perform these shows. I am so sorry to the fans, but I look forward to seeing you when we come back through your towns, which we will do.”

Continue reading Taylor Swift postpones Philips shows »