saturday

Stolen Babies

6:30 p.m. Tremont Music Hall, 400 W. Tremont Ave. $10. www.etix.com.

Taking one page from goth-punk/metal bands like Schoolyard Heroes and another from No Doubt, this L.A. group boils it all down into a sinister, noisy, circus-ready cabaret.

Garrison Starr/Maia Sharp/Adrianne Gonzalez

8 p.m. Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. $12-$15. www.eveningmuse.com.

This talented trio of LGBT-friendly, folk-rock singer-songwriters features Starr, the spunky tomboy; Sharp, the mature peer favorite, covered by Cher, Dixie Chicks, Kathy Mattea and others; and Gonzalez, who fuses her visual art and her lyrics.

Steve Forbert

8 p.m. Stage Door Theater, Fifth and College streets. $22. 704-372-1000.

The gravely voice of this matter-of-fact veteran storyteller lends itself well to the lived-in, mature and sometimes playful songs about relationships that populate his newest album, “Over With You.”

Antibalas

9 p.m. Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $15. www.visulite.com.

With ties to “Fela!” (the Tony-winning musical on which two of its members served as musical directors) and a 15-year history as an influential force in the second wave of Afrobeat, the Daptone Records’ act straddles forward thinking and rhythmic tradition.

9th Wonder

10 p.m. Republic, 314 N. College St. $15. www.thesolkitchen.com.

Before embarking on a three-year research project as a Harvard fellow, the Winston native, Little Brother member and Grammy-winning producer spins hip-hop classics.

tuesday

Cursive

8 p.m. Milestone Club, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road. $15-$17. www.etix.com.

Usually booked at much bigger venues, the group has been a fan and critical favorite since 2002’s “Domestica.” This rare intimate set follows the Midwesterner’s 2012 story-driven album, “I Am Gemini.”

Allen Stone

8:30 p.m. Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $13-$15. www.visulite.com.

If you’ve missed this vintage-soul throwback on the late-night talk-show circuit or opening for the Roots during the DNC, you’re in for a surprise. Beneath the hippie-geek look lies a killer voice that has audiences doing a double take.

thursday

White Rabbits

8:30 p.m. Visulite Theatre. 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $12-$15. www.visulite.com.

This Brooklyn (by way of the Midwest) outfit hovers somewhere between the riffing and rhythms of Minus the Bear and the gentle (thanks to the vocals) indie-rock of Death Cab for Cutie, but with jazz roots that add another layer of complexity.

Curtis Salgado

9 p.m. Double Door Inn, 1218 Charlottetowne Ave. $12. 704-376-1446.

The 2012 Blues Music Awards soul/blues singer of the year survived a 2006 liver transplant and had his second cancerous lung tumor removed this summer. But he sounds like a youthful, driven vocalist channeling Motown and classic R&B like a male Sharon Jones.