Blogs > Sound Ideas

Like jazz-fusion comets, John Scofield and Mike Stern have long crossed orbits. The two guitarists were Berklee classmates in the ’70s, they overlapped time in Miles Davis’ band in the ’80s, and they’ve played on records together. But it’s been decades since the two friends, who frequently hit the Regattabar with their separate groups, shared the same stage – until Tuesday’s first of two nights of guitar heaven there.  … More>

The concert menu lets up a bit this week, but noteworthy options still range from indie-rockers Local Natives and Hey Marseilles to blues veteran James Cotton and Wu-Tang rapper Raekwon to Indian music from tabla master Zakir Hussain with hammered dulcimer maestro Pandit Shikumar Sharma… More>

The mellowing of Nick Cave has been greatly exaggerated. True, he retired Grinderman, his midlife crisis of garage-punk noise, and hatched one of his more subdued albums with his steady crew the Bad Seeds for the new Push the Sky Away. He even added strings and a choir for a recent live webcast. But the Australian goth-punk wordsmith and his core septet sprang a visceral assault on a sold-out Orpheum Theatre Sunday.  … More>

Snow melts and spring quickly delivers. New York Voices command with sophisticated jazz vocalese and the Strangefolk Reunion revives the Vermont quartet's folk-rooted jam-rock. Stick Men (including ex-King Crimson local Tony Levin) wind prog-rock with innovated electric stringed instruments, while Natalie MacMaster stokes her Celtic-style fiddle. And the Orpheum provides a heavenly country-shaded pairing of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell plus Richard Thompson before dark rockers Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds shift into haunting ruminations.  … More>

St. Patrick’s Day must mean the Dropkick Murphys are shipping back to Boston. Our Celtic-punk heroes are playing hometown venues across the spectrum, headlining an Irish festival at TD Garden, downsizing to the Brighton Music Hall and closing with their annual House of Blues raveup. Otherwise, one could also catch the Saw Doctors this weekend, or -- for non-Irish fare -- shows by Keller Williams, Tristan Prettyman and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, or the blizzard make-up for Shawn Wolf Wortis' local star-studded Mardi Gras bash at T.T. the Bear's Place… More>