Blogs

There’s potent soul and spirit coursing through Boston’s concert spaces. Start with haunting folk-pop group Lost in the Trees at the MFA Friday or catch explosive sax virtuoso James Carter at Scullers Friday and Saturday... There's also the Rumble at T.T.'s Friday and the Cribs at Brighton Music Hall Saturday... But the biggie is Sunday's sold-out Alabama Shakes show at the Paradise; singer-guitarist Brittany Howard storms the stage like a force of nature.  … More>

This summer’s Newport festival offerings grow more astounding, particularly with today’s news that Wilco will headline a July 27 bill at Fort Adams State Park on the eve of the Newport Folk Festival, which includes My Morning Jacket, Patty Griffin and the hot new Alabama Shakes on Saturday, and Jackson Browne, Punch Brothers and the also-exploding Of Monsters and Men that Sunday. And that’s just the folk fest. The also-stacked Newport Jazz Festival will take over Fort Adams the next weekend with Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, etc… More>

Is this the next Mumford & Sons? Not only does the Icelandic sextet Of Monsters and Men put a charming, winsome spin on folk-pop, it has sold out House of Blues Saturday... The Magnetic Fields turn the synth-pop textures of its latest droll, clever CD into an acoustic chamber-pop show at Berklee Friday and Saturday... Impressionistic upstarts The War on Drugs let it drone at the Middle East Saturday, Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble preliminaries conclude at T.T. the Bear’s, and alto-sax virtuoso Kenny Garrett plays the Regattabar Friday and Saturday… More>

When New Zealand chanteuse Kimbra walked out to join Aussie whiz Gotye for their YouTube-boosted single “Somebody That I Used to Know” at House of Blues Thursday night, it provided the moment that made this show rival Bruce Springsteen and Fiona Apple for the week’s hottest ticket. Yet whether it was the weight of expectations or patchy sound, the duet failed to click live... Fans looking for more than the hit, however, found their rewards at House of Blues.  … More>

Music spans the map, crossing different borders. Russian house-music trio Swanky Pants pumps up the Langham Hotel’s Bond lounge Friday, while Americana pioneers Levon Helm and Los Lobos launch the season at Hampton Beach's Casino Ballroom... Wild Flag broke out last year as an indie-rock supergroup, and took it further onstage with garage-punk abandon and psychedelic sprawl, fueling the band's return to the Paradise Rock Club Saturday... Finally, Sunday kicks off the week-long preliminary rounds of the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble, … More>