8 buzzworthy concerts coming to Charlotte in the next week
10th Letter
Friday 10 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. $5. www.snugrock.com.
Atlanta’s Jeremi Johnson (aka 10th Letter) creates beat- and bass-heavy tracks with a combination of live instrumentation, samples and found sounds for a unique, Afro-futuristic psychedelic ride. This time he teams with Ghost Trees, a Charlotte experimental jazz duo made up of Brent Bagwell and Seth Nanaa – who are often involved in some of the most innovative live music in town. The Cusp: Volume 4 show also features Quisol, Brother Aten and Zodiac Lovers.
The Business People, It’s Snakes and Mike Strauss
Saturday 9 p.m. Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. $8. www.petrasbar.com.
A long-running Charlotte pop-rock outfit, Business People crafts their own big, catchy anthems with danceable rhythms and sing-along choruses in the vein of the Killers and Bloc Party. They’re teamed up with the latest from Fetchin Bones/Sugarsmack/Snagglepuss matriarch Hope Nicholls and versatile bluesy band leader Strauss, who recalls Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler.
Hippie Sabotage
Saturday 9 p.m. The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. $25. www.livenation.com.
This curiously named California duo of brothers Jeff and Kevin Saurer has an approach to EDM that’s more laid back, experimental, and rooted in rock and blues than your typical Drop !t dance party headliner. There are few predictable pumping basslines and frenetic beats. It’s moody, gloomy and nuanced.
Bask
Saturday 10 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. $8. www.snugrock.com.
Between a European tour with genre-leaders High On Fire and a U.S. and Canadian trek with Pallbearer and Black Tusk, this Asheville-based progressive, psychedelic hard rock band released “Ramble Beyond” and watched its profile grow. Hard to peg – with a mix of rural roots, earthy leanings and heavy, sky-gazing psychedelia – Bask is carving its own sound.
Loose Lugnuts
Sunday 6 p.m. The Thirsty Beaver, 1225 Central Ave. Free. 704-332-3612.
It’s a typical Sunday afternoon in Plaza-Midwood for Beaver brothers Mark and Brian Wilson, who’ll trade T-shirts and jeans for gloriously fringed western wear when they ring in the New Year with their honky-tonk band Loose Lugnuts. Classic garage rockers Temperance League and classic country loyalists Jason Mason Hosses warm up the close-quarters’ crowd.
NYE 2018: Countdown With The Bands
Sunday 8:30 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. Free. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com.
The NoDa venue hosts its own NYE party with Charlotte bands Radio Lola (fronted by belter Danielle Engle, it trades in simmering soul and brooding rock); Party Battleship (the latest project from Charlotte music vets Shalini and John Morris, Adam Roth and Donnie Merritt); Gastonia Southern rockers the Menders, and colorful, gnarly rock group Penitentials.
J.J. Grey & Mofro
Sunday 9 p.m. The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. $42.50. www.livenation.com.
While this year’s NYE lineup is light on the big jam and rock concerts that usually help us ring in the New Year with the Avetts in Raleigh and Widespread in Atlanta, Florida bluesman Grey and his swamp-rock band (with support from on-the-rise Americana singer-songwriter Tyler Childers) make a fine substitute.
Blanket Fort Guitar Orchestra
Monday 9 p.m. The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Ave. $5-$7. www.themilestone.club.
Brett Green has been receiving positive reviews for his indie-rock band Mineral Girls’ full-length “this is the last time every time” since dropping in November, and now he has another release up his frayed denim sleeve. His solo side project Blanket Fort – the lower-fi, atmospheric bedroom cousin to his lo-fi guitar rock band – sprouts a live backing band to celebrate its new EP, “in the ufo over the sea.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "8 buzzworthy concerts coming to Charlotte in the next week."