Chris Stapleton, Elle King, Morgan Wade @ Xcel Energy CenterA gruff and bluesy performer who made his name as a Nashville songwriter before his reworking of "Tennessee Whiskey" made him a star, Stapleton has staked out a one-foot-in, one-foot-out career, appealing to mainstream country fans while stretching out to Americana types. His bearded manliness will be balanced out tonight by the womanly horniness of the great Morgan Wade, whose 2021 album Reckless lives up to its name.

Saturday, October 8

Armin Van Buuren @ Armory

Billy Johnson’s Black Dog High @ Aster Cafe

Chase and Ovation @ Bunkers

The Neighborhood Quartet @ Cabooze

A Night of Bette Midler! with Erin Schwab & Jay Fuchs @ Crooners

Cate Fierro (CD Release) @ Crooners

Greats Gone 2 Soon! The Spirit of Whitney @ Dakota

Fab Hackmasters, Lucy Red & Whiskey Dogs @ Driftwood

Partial Traces, Norcos y Horchata, Un Named Jesse Thorson @ Dusty’s

Bad Idea, Barker, That's What You Get (twyg), and Chandler @ Eagles 34

Deorro @ Fillmore

Cigarettes After Sex @ First Avenue

Sad Park with Heart to Gold, Caracara, & Killusonline @ The Garage

Purple Black Tie Ball @ Granada

GRRRL SCOUT @ Hook and Ladder

Molly Brandt, Eric Carranza @ Icehouse

Collapsing Stars (Record Release), Jillian Rae @ Icehouse

Kælan Mikla, Kanga @ Icehouse

Trip to Brasil with Trio Bossa Nova @ KJ’s Hideaway

Phil Hey Quartet, Pete Snell Quartet @ KJ’s Hideaway

Broken Social Scene with Poliça @ Palace TheatreWow, it's been 20 long years since You Forgot It in People taught United Statesians that Canadians have indie rock too. Now core scenester Kevin Drew has re-collected as many members of his Toronto collective as were available to play his band's breakthrough album in full. With bassist Chris Bierden sidelined by a brain tumor, Poliça is soldiering on in support of its terrific newish album, Madness.

Mr.Phylzzz, Hammerhead, and Unguided @ Palmer’s

Hold Your Lady Tight @ Palmer’s

Nova Twins with Gully Boys @ 7th St Entry

Awakening @ Skyway Theatre

Little Man, Submarine Secrets, Velvet Television @ 331 Club

Voltage Controller Vol. 10, Kindohm, Fluidic @ 331 Club

Kelsey Waldon with Emily Nenni @ Turf Club

Echobass: Infinity @ Uptown VFW

Heavy Sixers w/ Leslie Rich & Rocket Soul Choir @ White Squirrel

Sunday, October 9

Flor, the Widlife, Good Problem @ Amsterdam

Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe

David Wilcox with Jean Rohe @ Cedar Cultural Center

Billy Steele, Tonia Hughes, & Sara Renner @ Crooners

Alan Broadbent Trio Featuring Harvie S @ Crooners

John Splithoff with Abby Holliday @ Dakota

Super Duty, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood

It's Still The Weekend w/DJ Jeff Recommends + DJ Kavorka @ Dusty’s

One OK Rock @ Fillmore

Mac Sabbath with Speedealer and Lung @ Fine Line

black midi with Quelle Chris @ First AvenueI foolishly resisted black midi’s silly-somber ADHD prog at first—no matter how unseriously they took their chops, they still seemed mighty impressed with themselves. (Zappa thought he was funny too.) But with Hellfire, they've kept up the game for three albums now, so I give. Geordie Greep has… well, not exactly grown, but expanded as a singer. On my favorite track, he croons about a futuristic sumo match then steps aside for a racing fusoid guitar that sounds like The Inner Mounting Flame setting a fart on fire. The good news: The parts that bore you are over quick. Problem is, so are the great parts. Rapper Quelle Chris is more lowkey and intense than usual on his latest, Deathfame, which features sharp rhymes over yet more of Mello Music's seemingly limitless store of unflashy, ingenious beats.

Brett Studer @ Granada

Facing the Fire @ Hook and Ladder

Red Hot Django Peppers @ Icehouse

Charanga Tropical @ Icehouse

Mirakler, Murf @ Mortimer’s

Trivium @ Myth Live

Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer’s

Kai Brewster’s Millions @ Palmer’s

Joe Satriani @ State Theatre

Heavy Gus, Sister Species @ 7th St Entry

Corpse Revive @ 331 Club

Bumpin Uglies with Kyle Smith @ Turf Club

Superorganism @ Varsity TheaterWorld Wide Pop is the name of this London-based, everywhere-bred outfit's second album, and also their concept from the get-go. Some of the exuberance has dimmed since their debut, and they've shorn off a few of their many members, though not imperturbably, transcendently blasé singer Orono Noguchi. Truth be told, their world (and their pop) isn't much wider than most indie folks', but it does take in guests Chai and Stephen Malkmus, the Welcome Back Kotter theme, and an unrushed eclecticism that makes them sound like... a 21st century Bran Van 3000? (Look 'em up.) Being a slack motherfucker in the age of the gig economy and the 24-hour social media cycle is no small achievement.

Martin Devaney with Clare Doyle & Cole Diamond @ White Squirrel

Monday, October 10

Dr. Mambo’s Combo @ Bunkers

AHI @ Dakota

Awolnation @ Fillmore

Calexico with Ada Lea @ Fine LineNo longer Tucson-based, Joey Burns and John Convertino regrouped back in Arizona for their latest, El Mirador, which is, as ever, heavy on atmospherics but kept in motion by an inauthentically accurate pan-Mexican groove. Opener Lea is a Montreal singer-songwriter whose one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is full of sharp songs about overthinking the many possibilities that remain open during your unsettled youth.

Brian Nichols’s Jazz Mondays @ Icehouse

Eloise with Michal Leah @ 7th St Entry

The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club

Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club

Shadow of Intent @ Varsity Theater

Chef Sounds (DJ Night) @ White Squirrel