Superstar country trio Lady Antebellum comes to Gwinnett Arena in June. Tickets go on sale Friday. Photo: Williams + Hirakawa

ON SALE NOW
Cheap Trick. 8 p.m. Dec. 28. Buckhead Theatre. $31-$46. TM.
Olivia Tremor Control. 9 p.m. Jan. 7. The EARL. $15; $12 in advance. TA.
Cass McCombs. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 19. The EARL. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
This Will Destroy You. 8:30 p.m. Feb. 15. The EARL. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
Adam Arcuragi. 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14. The EARL. $8. TA.
Van Dyke Parks. 9 p.m. Feb. 18. The EARL. $25. TA.
Aretha Franklin. 8 p.m. March 5. Fox Theatre. $59.50-$150. TM.
Cults. 8:30 p.m. March 6. The EARL. $15; $12 in advance. TA.
Fun. 9 p.m. March 9. Center Stage. $19; $17 in advance. TM.
The Moody Blues. 8 p.m. March 24. Fox Theatre. $46.50-$76.50. TM.
Bowerbirds. 8 p.m. April 15. The EARL. $10.
Hanni El Khatib. 8:30 p.m. May 3. The EARL. $7; $5 in advance. TA.

ON SALE DEC. 16
D.R.U.G.S., Hit The Lights, Like Moths to Flames, Spark The Rescue. 7 p.m. Jan. 28. The …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Dec. 13 »

THE STORY Tour: A Musical Journey from Genesis to Revelation, landed at Philips Arena Thursday night for an evening of Christian music, prayer and Christmas spirit. The holiday spectacular features many favorite Christmas carols as well as THE STORY album, all performed by popular artists Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, Francesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Selah,  Anthem Lights, and special guests Max Lucado and Randy Frazee.

AJC photographer Robb Cohen covered the event with his camera. Check out the online gallery. What did you think of the show? Which artists stood out the best?

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

Continue reading Thousands Witness The Story Tour Thursday Night At Philips Arena »

Banjo man Noam Pikelny comes to Smith's Olde Bar on the heels of a new solo album "Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail." Photo courtesy Compass Records

TODAY
Noam Pikelny
This banjo prodigy might be familiar from his stint with purveyors of polyethnic cajun slamgrass Leftover Salmon following founding member Mark Vann’s death. In recent years, he’s been playing with former Nickel Creek mandolin master Chris Thile in Punch Brothers. He’s currently on the road in support of his latest solo release, “Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail,” which includes a banjo duet with Steve Martin on the old Appalachian standard “Cluck Old Hen.”
8 p.m. Dec. 9. $18; $15 in advance. Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-875-1522.

SATURDAY
“The Happenstance: A Battle of Hastily Assembled Bands”
30 local musicians meet in the morning and are randomly divided into five-piece bands. Then they must create a 20-minute set of music to be performed later the same evening, …

Continue reading Live music picks: Dec. 9-13 »

Robin Thicke performs at The Loft on Dec. 7. (Raymond Hagans)

ON SALE NOW
Robin Thicke. 9 p.m. Dec. 7. The Loft. $35; $30 in advance. TA.

ON SALE DEC. 6
Galactic. 8 p.m. April 19. Variety Playhouse. $25; $22.50 in advance. TM.

ON SALE DEC. 9
Flannel Church 8 p.m. Jan. 5. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $8 in adv. TA.
Evanescence 8 p.m. Jan. 14 The Tabernacle. $38.50 in advance. LN.
David Mead & Harper Blynn 8 p.m. Jan. 23. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $10 in adv. TA.
Frank Smith 8 p.m. Jan. 26. Smith’s Olde Bar – Atlanta Room. $8 in adv. TA.
Marc Broussard 8:30 p.m. Jan. 27. Center Stage. $28. $25 in adv. TM.
Anthrax & Testament with special guest Death Angel 8 p.m. Feb. 2. The Tabernacle. $28.50 in advance. LN.
David Ball 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $15 in adv. TA.
Trey Anastasio with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 8 p.m. Feb. 9. Atlanta Symphony Hall. $39-$85. TM.
James McMurtry 8:30 p.m. Feb. 17. Variety Playhouse. $20; …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Dec. 6 »

Trans-Siberian Orchestra brought a new, massive stage production to Philips Arena. Photo credit: Robb Cohen

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is either awesomely ridiculous or ridiculously awesome.

 Your call.

 But regardless of your feelings toward the group’s bloated bravado, the hair metal underpinnings, the head-spinning spectacle that is presented with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, you can’t deny the TSO allure.

 Even those who might have been dragged to Philips Arena Friday night for the Christmas show masquerading as a rock opera had to be impressed by the sheer magnitude of a TSO performance, clichéd as it might be.

 And kudos to creator Paul O’Neill for upgrading his musical theater each year with more lights, more pyro and new songs, but retaining the uniqueness of TSO. The tour is in its 13th season, still romping through multiple shows in many markets, still wooing repeat customers and still capturing new fans through word of mouth (Philips was about …

Continue reading TSO: A little bit sappy, a whole lot of everything else »

Progressive rock ensemble Trans-Siberian Orchestra entertained 7,000 fans Friday night at Philips Arena. In the words of TSO founder, Paul O’Neill,” “The whole idea was to create a progressive rock band that would push the boundaries further than any group before, following in the footsteps of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, the Who…but take it way, way further.”
>>>(from Wiki) Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American progressive metal band[1] founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O’Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8 million concert tickets and 8.5 million albums. The band’s musical style incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic, and progressive elements into hard rock and heavy metal. The band is most famous for their series of rock operas: Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The …

Continue reading Trans-Siberian Orchestra Brings Holiday Rock Opera Production To Philips Arena Friday »

Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers kicks off the new "Eddie Owen Presents" series with a pair of solo shows at the Red Clay Theatre in Duluth. Photo: Jason Thrasher

FRIDAY
Paul Simon
He’s one of our greatest songwriters, with stellar gems such as “The Boxer” and “America” on his résumé, but he could hardly be called prolific. Since his 1970 break with Art Garfunkel, Simon has released just 10 studio albums of new material, and one of those was a recording of songs from his failed Broadway musical “The Capeman.” Even more surprising, his 2011 album, “So Beautiful or So What,” is his highest debut ever, coming in at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.
8 p.m. Dec. 2. $39.50-$89.50. Gwinnett Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-813-7500.

FRIDAY
Missing Link Festival
Two of Atlanta’s best and most successful current bands, Mastodon and the Black Lips, don’t share the stage very often, so this is a real treat. Metallic monsters Mastodon have been …

Continue reading Live music picks: Dec. 2-8 »

Adele scored six Grammy nominations. Photo credit: Courtesy Sony Music

Careful, Grammy…you might hurt yourself trying to demonstrate your hipness this year.

Bon Iver? Mumford & Sons? Skrillex? All nominated in major categories instead of the usual niche pockets (if at all)?

Wednesday’s “The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!” (yes, two exclamation points officially required) marked the fourth time the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences chose to hype its February music awards show with an hour of performances sprinkled with a handful of award nominations.

And, for the first time in years, several surprising names slipped into marquee categories: Bon Iver’s “Holocene” nabbed nods for Record and Song of the Year, as did Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave.

Meanwhile, the Best New Artist grouping ranged from predictable – The Band Perry, Nicki Minaj (whose first name was misspelled on stage) – to the somewhat surprising inclusion of North Carolina rapper …

Continue reading Grammy noms yield some surprises »