8 buzzworthy concerts coming to Charlotte in the next week

Never ones to skirt an issue, the legendary funk-metal act — whose seminal 1988 album “Vivid” took on gentrification, poverty, racism and the glorification of fame – makes a rare Charlotte appearance for Charlotte Cares About Mental Health. The benefit follows Mental Health Awareness Month (in May), which ended with Charlotte’s own Mental Health Help & Hope Day last week.

Evan Dando is back with his longtime alt-rock trio, having recently made an appearance on “The Goldbergs” and a second collection of disparate covers of songs by Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Paul Westerberg and others titled “Varshons II.” Westerberg’s former Replacements bandmate Tommy Stinson opens the show.

Headed up by frontwoman Madison Lucas, Modern Moxie is one of Charlotte’s best new bands with pop melodies, biting guitar and occasional new wave synth. Its debut — “Claw Your Way Out,” an eclectic but cohesive full-length — is out this week, and this release show will be heavy on female artistry that includes Faye, Future Friend and Sweat Transfer.

The acclaimed renaissance man has worked, written or toured with Band of Joy, Anthony Hamilton, Guy Clark, Steve Earle and, most recently, the Zac Brown Band; and his songs have been covered by the Dixie Chicks, Sara Evans and Travis Tritt. His live performances, which feature stellar acoustic shredding, are a real treat.

Matt Pike (also frontman for High on Fire) plays guitar for this fabled band, a legendary trio in stoner rock circles that broke up in the mid-’90s and reunited in 2009. Its much-anticipated comeback, “The Sciences,” was finally released in 2018 on Jack White’s Third Man Records and received heaps of critical acclaim.

Earle follows 2009’s “Townes” album — which featured covers of songs by Townes Van Zandt, who died in 1997 — with “Guy,” a full-length tribute to his other Texas songwriting mentor, Guy Clark, who passed in 2016. Expect a setlist heavy on Clark’s catalog as well as some Earle fan favorites and originals that fit in the same vein.

The Welsh indie-rock band returned with its third album, “The Balance,” in April. With nods to fellow UK alt-rock acts like Arctic Monkeys and a bit of Coldplay’s knack for well-orchestrated pop choruses, it’s a fitting act to take up the mantle of Brit-poppers of the past.

The award-winning Ohio duo behind massive hits like “Stressed Out” and “Heathens” returned in 2018 with its fifth full-length, “Trench,” and recently launched the “Bandito Tour.” With Bear Hands, a Brooklyn indie-rock band that released its fourth album, “Fake Tunes,” in May.