Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock ’n’ roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there will always be something to check out.
Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of Feb. 16:
The Dead South — Friday at Franklin Music Hall
The Dead South have never been about constant reinvention, but about full commitment to their own way and a confidence in their sound and style along with trust in each other. It’s something that has provided near total autonomy. It doesn’t really matter whether you call it progressive bluegrass, alternative Americana, country, folk or western; what matters is that this is their music, and people from all different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, languages and ages love it. The Canadian ensemble doesn’t shy away from ruffling traditionalists’ feathers from time to time, as they flawlessly execute banjo rolls and lightning-fast mandolin tremolos, three-part harmonies and songs of classic themes like murder ballads, disloyalty, ghosts and the like, all with a wink and a smile.
Jamila Woods — Saturday at The Theatre of Living Arts
Chicago musician and poet Jamila Woods comes to town as part of her “Water Made Us” tour, named for her latest album. Across the 17-track effort, she embraces new genres, playful melodies and hypnotizing wordplay, asking the question: What does it mean to fully surrender into love? A forceful and captivating reemergence for the prolific artist, she answers with everything from autotuned R&B on “Send a Dove” to gentle acoustic folk rock on the heart-wrenching “Wolfsheep” and bubbly dreampop on dance anthem and second single “Boomerang.” The result is her most personal LP yet, with songs that promise to deliver in a live setting.
Poolside — Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl
The recording project of producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Paradise, Poolside set out to produce appropriately chill music for summer soirees when it began in 2011, a light but danceable kind of music with sunny vibes and liquid rhythm that he dubbed “daytime disco.” Since then, Poolside has put out four full-lengths, including last year’s “Blame It All on Love,” which features collaborations with Ben Browning of Cut Copy, Vansire, Panama, Munya and more. The results are funky, soulful, laidback and full of hooks that elevate Poolside’s sound to poignant pop heights. Rather than flex his electronic muscles, the production marks a return to the live music roots of Paradise, making the Brooklyn Bowl show that much more anticipated.
Glen Phillips + Shawn Mullins — Tuesday at City Winery Main Stage
During his years as lead singer and main songwriter of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips helped to create the band’s elegant folk/pop sound with honest, introspective lyrics that forged a close bond with their fans. When Toad went on hiatus in the late ’90s, he launched a solo career that continues to this day, even with his main band back as a functioning outfit. Co-headliner Shawn Mullins came up around the same time, specializing in folk rock, instrumental rock, adult alternative and Americana music. He is best known for the 1998 single “Lullaby,” which hit No. 1 on the Adult Top 40 charts and was nominated for a Grammy.
Thursday + Rival Schools + Many Eyes — Tuesday at The Theatre of Living Arts
Rising from New Brunswick, N.J., in the midst of a late ’90s DIY basement culture revival, Thursday seemed out of step with the traditional hardcore of their peers but ended up as post-hardcore icons. The tour they’re currently on celebrates the 20th anniversary of their major label debut, “War All the Time,” as well as the vinyl re-press of 2022’s “War All the Time Live,” which has been out-of-print and unavailable since it initially came out. Get to the TLA early for both openers with direct support coming from hardcore supergroup Rivals Schools and Many Eyes, the new project from former Every Time I Die singer Keith Buckley.
The Veils — Wednesday, Feb. 21, at City Winery Main Stage
Since being signed to Rough Trade when lead singer Finn Andrews was 16 years old, The Veils have released six studio albums, touring consistently and building a reputation as a stellar live act. The show at City Winery will be an Andrews solo show, supporting the latest Veils recording, the double-album “… And Out of the Void Came Love.” It’s the first from the band in seven years, taking so long due to a freak accident in which Andrews suffered a debilitating wrist injury while on tour, followed by the pandemic and, finally, a new life in the birth of his daughter.
Jess Williamson — Thursday, Feb. 22, at World Café Live
Jess Williamson kicks off her 2024 tour at the World Café on the heels of last year’s breakthrough album, “Time Ain’t Accidental.” The Texas-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter most recently known for being half of the acclaimed country duo Plains, alongside Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, sees the record showcasing her wholly modern and unique take on country music. Written after a protracted breakup, the album’s reckoning with loss, isolation, romance and personal reclamation signals a tectonic shift for Williamson as a person and as an artist from someone who once accommodated and made herself small to a woman emboldened by her power as an individual.
Soundcheck
• The Dead South: “Tiny Wooden Box”
• Jamila Woods: “Send a Dove”
• Poolside: “Around the Sun”
• Glen Phillips: “Everything But You”
• Shawn Mullins: “Lullaby”
• Thursday: “War All the Time”
• The Veils: “The Leaver’s Dance”
• Jess Williamson: “Time Ain’t Accidental”
Source: Berkshire mont
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