Adventurous, genre-bending Athens outfit Perpetual Groove originated in Savannah. The quartet will play a two-night stand to say goodbye to 2011 and ring in 2012 at Center Stage. Tickets go on sale Friday.

ON SALE NOW
Machine Gun Kelly and Dom Kennedy. 9:30 p.m. Sept. 3. The Loft. $20; $15 in advance. TA.
Jimi Cravity, Graham Knox, Wil May. 9 p.m. Sept. 6. Vinyl. $10; $6 in advance. TA.
Progpower USA VII: Vanden Pass, Evergrey, Powerglove. 7 p.m. Sept. 15.  Center Stage. $35. TM.
Progpower USA VII : Sanctuary, Ihsahn, Mob Rules, Eldritch, Voyager, Dark Water. 2:30 p.m. Sept. 16. Center Stage. $60. TM.
Progpower USA VII : Therion, Forbidden, Labryinth, Red Circuit, While Heaven Wept, Hoken. 2:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Center Stage. $60. TM.
Atlanta Smooth Music Festival. With Fattburger, Nick Colionne, Steve Oliver, Jackiem Joyner and Jeff Sparks. 1:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Mable House Barnes Ampitheatre. $30-$85. TM.
Uh Huh Her & Friends. 9 p.m. Oct. 21. Vinyl. $15. TA.
The Meatmen. 9 …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Aug. 30 »

Chrisette Michele

The ONE Music Fest is back for round two with a heavy-hitting lineup including Chrisette Michele, Pharcyde, Anthony David and former “American Idol” contestant (and current Atlanta resident) Anoop Desai.

Phife Dog, of A Tribe Called Quest, will be on hand to host the event.

Last year’s inaugural event featured Common and De La Soul headlining and received a Phoenix Award from the city of Atlanta.

This year, ONE is pairing with Park Tavern’s Crab and Shrimp Festival for a 12-hour event with food, multiple DJ stations, mixologist lessons and, of course, music.

The show begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at Piedmont Park and Park Tavern.

Tickets are $37 and can be purchased at Marco Pita’s (752 Ponce De Leon Ave. N.E., Atlanta, 404-607-0071) and Moods Music in Little 5 Points (1131 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, 404-653-0724).

Festival organizers are also accepting old or new musical instruments at the front gate to be donated to needy inner city children.

For more …

Continue reading Christette Michele, Phife Dog, headline ONE Music Fest »

Former Atlanta musician and current New Yorker Shonali Bhowmik returns to town with her first solo album, "100 Oaks Revival." She'll play the EARL Tuesday. Photo: Demetrious Noble

TODAY
Los Lobos
Once self-described as “just another band from East L.A.,” Los Lobos has been a reliably powerful rock ’n’ roll mainstay for nearly three decades. The band’s rootsy Mex-Americana is as powerful as ever on 2010’s “Tin Can Trust,” which was nominated for best Americana album at the most recent Grammy Awards and includes a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway.”
8 p.m. Aug. 26. $39.50. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E. 404-876-5859.

Chrisette Michele, pictured here during her opening set for Charlie Wilson at Chastain Park Amphitheatre last month, will headline the One MusicFest. Photo: Raymond Hagans / Special

SATURDAY
ONE MusicFest
This is the second year for this young music festival, which debuted last year at the King Plow Arts …

Continue reading Live music picks: Aug. 26-Sept. 1 »

If you can’t get to Saturday’s Grace Potter show early enough to catch The Wood Brothers, check them out Sunday at their in-store at Criminal Records.

The duo, Oliver and Chris Wood, just released their third album, “Smoke Ring Halo,” on Zac Brown’s Southern Ground label.

Guitarist/singer Oliver is an Atlanta resident who, back in the early days, could be found playing a regular Tuesday-night gig at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and later with King Johnson.

Chris, meanwhile, is best known as the bassist for the jazz-roots trio, Medeski, Martin and Wood.

In addition to opening for Potter Saturday at Chastain, the brothers will play a free, all-ages show at Criminal Records in Little Five Points at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Info: 404-215-9511, www.criminalatl.com.

Continue reading The Wood Brothers to play in-store at Criminal Records »

Brilliant jazz guitarist George Benson returns to Atlanta following the release of his new album “Guitar Man.” He’ll play at Symphony Hall Oct. 16 and tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 26. Photo: Greg Allen

ON SALE NOW
Cory Gunz, Kendrick Lamar. 9 p.m. Aug. 27. The Loft. $25. TA.
Ricky Fontaine, Skys Fall, Crane, Cory White. 9 p.m. Sept. 2. Vinyl. TA.
Six Shot Revival, Motortrain, Bigfoot, The One Through Tens. 9 p.m. Sept. 23. Vinyl. TA.
Eric Roberson. Album release concert. 8 p.m. Sept. 27. Center Stage. $35; $30 in advance. TM.

ON SALE AUG. 26
Lupe Fiasco. 8 p.m. Sept. 20. The Tabernacle. $36. LN.
Hot Rize, Red Knuckles and the Trail Blazers. 8 p.m. Oct. 8. Variety Playhouse. $25; $22.50 in advance. TM.
George Benson. 8 p.m. Oct. 16. Atlanta Symphony Hall. $39-$95. TM.
Deer Tick. 9 p.m. Oct. 21. Buckhead Theatre. $15. TM.
Fitz & The Tantrums, Walk the Moon. 9 p.m. Oct. 29. Center Stage. $24; $20 in advance. TM.
Brandi Carlile. 8 p.m. Nov. 12. Buckhead Theatre. $29. …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Aug. 23 »

Ludacris and Neon Trees will do musical battle during the Red Bull Soundclash at 8 p.m. Sept. 5 at the West Plaza at Georgia World Congress Center.

The Atlanta rapper and New Wave pop band will face off on opposite stages and play to the same audience. The performer(s) with “the sharpest tongue, heaviest riffs and hottest beats” during four rounds of play will be crowned victorious.

During round one, each artist will perform the same cover song.

In round two, one group will start playing one of its own songs and the other takes over mid-song to finish it.

Round three, dubbed “The Clash,” will challenge the bands’ versatility by having them adapt their songs to a music genre chosen by the on-site DJ.

And the final round, the “Wild Card,” will see each act bring a secret guest on stage to perform.

Tickets are $10.

Info: http://www.ticketalternative.com/

Continue reading Ludacris takes on Neon Trees »

(Above: DaveFM winners got to see MMJ perform 4 songs during soundcheck prior to the concert) Lead singer Jim James and My Morning Jacket perform Saturday night before a large, enthusiastic crowd in Alpharetta at the Verizon Amphitheatre at Encore Park on the band’s Circuital Tour. Check out photo gallery from the show.

Folk-rock-alt country singer Neko Case opened the show. My Morning Jacket is a psychedelic-roots-indie rock band that was formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by singer, songwriter and guitarist Jim James (real name: James Olliges Jr). The band also consists of Tom ‘Two-Tone Tommy’ Blankenship (bassist), Patrick Hallahan (drummer), Carl Broemel (guitarist, pedal steel guitarist, saxophonist, vocalist), and Bo Koster (keyboardist, percussionist, vocalist). The group, touring in support of their sixth studio album, “Circuital”, has cultivated an ever-expanding fan base and is known for their extended jams and three-plus hour concerts. My Morning Jacket’s …

Continue reading My Morning Jacket & Neko Case Rock Out In Alpharetta »

If you’re going to throw a summer block party, it doesn’t hurt to have DJ Jazzy Jeff on the turntable and beatbox pioneer Doug E. Fresh on the mic, whipping the crowd into an old-school frenzy right before main act Jill Scott takes to the stage to pull you even further down memory lane to music’s good ol’ days.

On Friday night, the Budweiser Superfest Block Party was in an Atlanta neighborhood, the first of two night’s at Chastain Amphitheater. Check out photo gallery from the show.

“Yes, jazz still exists, funk still exists, hip hop still exists, soul still exists and storytelling still exists,” the neo soul singer told the crowd after opening her show with “Shame,” a powerfully contagious sample of the 1989 hit “I’m the Magnificent” from Brooklyn rapper Special Ed.

A thinner, sexy Jill Scott promised fans a night that would continue with storytelling. And so she did with deeply honest anthems (mostly from her new album “Light of the Sun”) that …

Continue reading Jill Scott rocks block party at Chastain »

Jill Scott performed Friday night at sold out Chastain Park Amphitheatre on her Summer Block Party tour. Ms. Scott was born on April 4, 1972 in Philadelphia. She is an American neo-soul and R&B singer-songwriter, poet, and actress. In 2007, Scott made her cinematic debut in the films Hounddog (as Big Mama Thornton) and in Tyler Perry’s feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That year, her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, was released on September 25, 2007. She has won three Grammy Awards. She also appeared in the lead role of the BBC/HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Scott has established the Blues Babe Foundation, a program founded to help young minority students pay for university expenses. The Blues Babe Foundation offers financial assistance to students between the ages of sixteen to twenty-one, and targets students residing in Philadelphia, Camden, and the greater Delaware Valley. Scott donated $100,000 to help start the foundation. …

Continue reading Jill Scott Packs Chastain On Her Summer Block Tour »

Gary Allan brings his thoughtful, rocking update of classic West Coast country to Wild Bill's Friday night. Photo: Tony Baker

FRIDAY
Gary Allan
Allan, one of mainstream country’s most thoughtful craftsmen, released his latest album, “Get Off on the Pain,” in spring 2010. The album’s promotional push was interrupted when Brooks & Dunn’s “Last Rodeo” tour, which Allan was opening, was postponed due to Ronnie Dunn’s doctor-mandated vocal rest. That incident prompted Allan to seek medical attention for his own vocal issues, and now he’s back on the road after having a polyp removed from his vocal cords in late 2010.
9 p.m. Aug. 19. $25-$60. Wild Bill’s, 2075 Market St., Duluth. 678-473-1000.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY
The Last Waltz Ensemble Presents Blue Waltz for Sean Costello Memorial Fund
Atlanta guitarist, singer and songwriter Costello died one day shy of his 29th birthday in 2008. His mother, Debbie Costello Smith, has established an organization in his honor, the …

Continue reading Live music picks: Aug. 19-24 »