The 8 best concerts in Charlotte this week

If you’ve never been to Mardi Gras, this quintet brings the Mardi Gras Indian tradition from New Orleans’ iconic parades to its eclectic mix of brass band, percussive street funk, group chanting and spiritual soul. Percussionist/singer Honey Banister and vocalist J’Wan Boudreaux marched with their ornately dressed tribes as children and carry on both that tradition and Banister’s family’s musical history – his dad played guitar on the original recording of “Jock O Mo” and performed with many of the city’s biggest acts.

A soul singer with operatic range who is part fierce frontwoman and part belter (think Annie Lennox, Florence and Adele), vocalist Jennifer Pague promises to be something to behold live. That striking voice is set against an electro-soul backdrop and cohort Adam Shumski’s rhythms, and the result is a refreshingly good indie band.

Having paid tribute to soul legends Bill Withers, Al Green and Marvin Gaye, The Charlotte Music Heroes honor a female performer – legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin – at their fourth installment. Although it’s not technically a benefit this time out, a portion of proceeds will go to help support a local family in need.

CJ Hardee and Jimmy Brown of Charlotte’s Matrimony have devoted the last year to their new Nashville-based band Bassh. The group is joined by longtime friend Eric-Scott Guthrie (formerly of the New Familiars) and his Carrboro-based sextet Grand Shell Game, with Temperance League frontman Bruce Hazel doing an opening solo set.

Charlottean Tommy Ballard’s annual benefit, which was inspired by his brothers’ battles with cancer, is a family-friendly party that features live music by members of Skaterink Jukebox, the Double Door’s Monday Night Allstars, and the Coconut Grove Band taking on the tunes by acts like Steely Dan, Chicago and the Doobie Brothers. Funds raised will go to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

The Grammy-winning, Western Carolina-based progressive bluegrass group (known internationally as comedian Steve Martin’s backing band) had to reschedule its original show due to snow two weeks ago, but fans didn’t have to wait long. Old Crow Medicine Show co-founder Willie Watson, who left that band in 2011 and embarked on a solo career, is the opening act.

It’s been 37 years since this band brought hardcore and peace punk to NYC – a run that lasted ten years and two albums. Reconvening under the stewardship of co-founder Paul Bakija in 2006, a revolving lineup continues to tour while Bakija works on a long-promised final album about the wild life and tragic times of the band’s co-founder, Dave Rubinstein, who committed suicide in 1993.

The longtime SiriusXM favorite’s 2016 album, “Human Performance,” was met with raves by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork.com and Entertainment Weekly. A mix of introspective (but sometimes fuzzily lo-fi and sarcastic) indie rock and Elvis Costello’s early bounce, the NYC band contemplates existence and emotions with questioning and ruminations.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 8:25 AM with the headline "The 8 best concerts in Charlotte this week."