Shawn Colvin has been “a working musician” since she was 18 years old, playing around Carbondale, Illinois, while attending Southern Illinois University.

“That’s a career,” she notes, with a chuckle. And indeed it has been.

Colvin has released a dozen albums since her Grammy Award-winning debut, “Steady On,” came out in 1989, while she was based in New York City. That includes a “Holiday Songs and Lullabies” collection in 1998, the covers set “Uncovered” in 2015, a collaboration with Steve Earle the following year, and an acoustic reworking of “Steady On” to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019. Colvin also won a pair of Grammys in 1998 for “Sunny Came Home,” the Top 10 hit from her fourth album, 1996’s “A Few Small Repairs.”

“I don’t know if I was confident it was gonna work out,” Colvin, who turned 70 in January, says via phone from her home in Austin, Texas. “There was a point when I was in New York, playing in clubs and bars and dance halls, when I thought: ‘Maybe I’m not supposed to do this. All I do is cover songs, and I really want to be a songwriter, and I’m feeling kind of sick of being a copycat.’ It was leaving me feeling empty.

“And after I’d walked away, per se, I had this voice come into my head that said, ‘But you’re good at it!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I am good at it.’ And the voice said: ‘You have to be a solo acoustic artist. That’s what you do best, and you have to write personal songs’ … like my acoustic-playing songwriting heroes, of which there were many.

“So that was the voice I followed, and look where it got me.”

Colvin is satisfied to be still doing just that: “You play three hours a night, three nights a week, or more, you’re gonna get good, so that`s the standard, always,” she explains. But she’s also working on new music, although not saying much about it other than “it will be an album,” on which she’s collaborating with Stephen Barber, an Austin-based composer she’s worked with periodically over the years.

“I’m taking it really slow — obviously,” Colvin notes. “I’ve made a lot of records, so at this point if I do another one, it needs to mean something, y’know?”

Shawn Colvin performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include …

FRIDAY, MARCH 6

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra holds its annual Classical Roots weekend with a pair of concerts — 10:45 a.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 — conducted by Thomas Wilson and featuring Kenneth Thompkins on Carlos Simon’s “Troubled Water” for trombone and orchestra at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. A Classical Roots Celebration gala and dinner takes place at 5 p.m. Saturday, with an afterglow following the concert. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• The DSO has also opened an exhibit celebrating 50 Years of Classical Roots featuring artifacts, oral histories and other elements. The exhibit will be open through 2028 on the third floor of the William Davidson Atrium in the Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

• The annual Hamtramck Blowout runs through Saturday, March 7, with 130 acts playing at 18 venues around the city. Visit hamtrmackblowout.com for a full schedule, tickets and other details.

• German DJ Paul Van Dyk mans the decks at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. 313-833-9700 or themajesticdetroit.com.

• Techno legend Kevin Saunderson’s sons Damarii and Dantiez spin at 9 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Virginia’s Pat McGee Band heads to the Mitten for an 8 p.m. show at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• California dreampop outfit 60 Juno is joined by Vaega at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Detroit singer-songwriter Audra Kubat performs at 7 p.m. for Friday Night Live! at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-7900 or dia.org.

• Hard rock troupes Heavy Lies the Crown and Nothing Ever After join forces at 7:30 p.m. at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• The Tartan Terrors bring a Celtic Invasion to town at 7:30 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Pianist Zen Zedravec is in the house through Saturday, March 7, at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe. 313-882-5399 or dirtydogjazz.com.

• Monique Ella Rose brings The Soul Experience to Cliff Bell’s at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Up-and-coming pop singer Ella Red brings her Tour’s Not Real tour to the Pike Room in the Crofoot Complex, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac. Doors at 7 p.m. Peggy opens. 248-858-9333 or thecrofoot.com.

• Troubadour Jason Dennie plays his songs at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• It’s a Pink Floyd two-fer at Orsa Music Hall this weekend, starting with “The Wall in Concert” at 5:30 p.m., followed by a “The Dark Side of the Moon” show at 8:30 p.m. 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Tributes to the Cult (Sanctuary) and Stone Temple Pilots (Meat Plow) team up at 8 p.m. at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• The iconic Judy Collins looks at both sides at 8 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Pianist Ellen Rowe starts the weekend at 5 p.m., followed by sets by Don Hicks & Friends at 7 and 9 p.m., at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong serves up at 7:30 p.m. from Sanford, Florida, and again at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7, from St. Petersburg, both streaming via nugs.net.

• Virtual: The Warren Haynes Band livestreams at 8 p.m. from Port Chester, New York, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Moe. jams at 8 p.m. from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and again on Saturday, March 7, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: 311 streams live from Las Vegas at 11 p.m. and again on Saturday, March 7, via veeps.com.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7

• Ontario electronic rocker Lights flips the switch at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Detroit Opera finishes its run of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, at 7:30 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. 313-237-7464 or detroitopera.org.

• French DJ and producer Hol! tops a two-stage, 10-act bill at the Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-434-7699 or russellindustrialcenter.com and thecrofoot.com.

• Detroit’s own MK presides over the dance party at Lincoln Factory, 1331 Holden St., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. paxahau.com.

• Multi-genre trumpeter Chris Botti is on at 8 p.m. at the Orsa Music Hall, 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Blues-rock veteran Duke Tumatoe & the Power Trio returns for an 8 p.m. show at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• Eddie and the Getaway arrive at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• Drum Tao brings ancient Japanese drum art at 7:30 p.m. to the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Flint’s Shadow of the Talisman tops a seven-band bill at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Atlanta quintet Penelope Road comes north for a show at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Saxophonist Alex Harding & Organ Nation blow at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., and again at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Kourgaran, Faded and Second Salem are among the bands playing for Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• Jasno comes from the Upper Peninsula to rock at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Mild Pulp and Odd Reality are also on the bill. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• The Mega 80’s play that decade’s hits at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.

• Floyd Live — America’s Pink Floyd Experience will make you wish you were there at the Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-630-0120 or theemeraldtheatre.com.

• The Cadieux Cafe hosts the Before The Flood: A Bob Dylan Revue at 8:30 p.m. 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Global singer Tatiana Eva-Marie headlines at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Rainbow Kitten Surprise livestreams at 8 p.m. from New Haven, Connecticut, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Gorillaz celebrates its new album, “The Mountain,” as the musical guest on this week’s episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. (WDIV, Channel 4 in Detroit). Ryan Gosling hosts.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

• Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV’s “Headbangers Ball,” presides over an evening at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. Doors at 8 p.m. district142live.com.

• Iranian-American rap and rock stylist Aries promotes his latest album, “Glass Jaw,” at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Grizz CLL brings his gothy darkwave to the Lager House at 8 p.m. 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Tiffadelice and Vazum open. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Florida’s Capstan celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its “Cultural Divide” album at 6 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Cleveland’s Inoculation brings its brand of death metal to Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. Doors at 6 p.m. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Macomb Symphony Orchestra plays Dvorak, Elgar and Britten at 3 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• The C-Notes play a 3 p.m. matinee at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Alejandro Escovedo brings a long career of music as well as his latest album, “Echo Dancing,” to the Ark for a 7:30 p.m. show. 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Trumpeter Anthony Stanco and his Quintet perform at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Harry Styles’ “One Night in Manchester” concert, held March 6 to launch his new album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” will stream beginning at noon on Netflix.

Bad Omens’ latest road trek is dubbed the Do You Feel Love Tour, after a refrain from the show-opening “Specter.”

And rest assured there was plenty of affection for the Virginia-formed heavy rock band from a packed Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night, Feb. 28.

Much has happened for the quartet since it first played in the metro area 10 years ago (almost to the day) at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac. Back then it had just a couple of singles behind it, with its first album still six months away. Now Bad Omens is an undeniable global headliner and leader in its genre, with an aggregated fusion of styles — metal, metalcore, emo, ambient — that hits hard but is still mindful of melodies.

Bolstered by plenty of pre-recorded backing tracks, Bad Omens certainly had its share of high-octane bangers such as “Limits,” “Nowhere to Go,” “Artificial Suicide” and “Anything > Human.” But, along with Saturday’s show openers Beartooth and England’s entertainingly mysterious President, it applied a dynamic sensibility that keeps fans on their toes — moshing, crowd-surfing and even dancing to electro-fused songs like “V.A.N.,” “What Do You Want From Me” and the epic “Impose,” the latter one of four 2025 singles that vaulted the group’s popularity even further.

Bad Omens certainly greeted its moment visually as well. Saturday’s 90-minute show delivered an ample amount of spectacle, with 14 angled LED screens above the stage and three more on the sides and behind the band, as well as lasers, smoke jets and enough fire to melt the hockey ice beneath the arena’s seats. There was even a “plot” as five cryptic messages — portrayed with an old school cassette recorder on the screens — between the 18 songs; the contents were largely lost on the crowd but definitely provided a sense of drama that set up each set of ensuing songs.

And despite frontman Noah Sebastian’s assertion that he was “extra nervous” on Saturday, the group’s performance was spot-on, the live and synchronized elements synced tightly together, and with the special effects that accompanied every song. (He also noted that drummer Nick Folio had worked for Little Caesars Pizza for “about two weeks” before one of Bad Omens’ tours.) Confetti rained over the general admission floor during “Impose,” while the encore “Concrete Jungle”/”Dethrone” closed the night like an aural sledgehammer.

Saturday’s other acts teed things up nicely for Bad Omens, deploying much of the same kind of sonic synthesis. Bearthooth’s fifty minutes was driven by frontman Caleb Shomo’s physical charisma and infectious enthusiasm (not to mention wisdom in not mentioning the band’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio — never a great selling point in Michigan). And President made good on the intrigue surrounding it; nobody knows who the masked troupe — with monikers such as The President, Heist, Protest and Vice — really is, but that’s only added to the intrigue and its half-hour Detroit debut was certainly strong enough to bring fans back for more.

President also finished with a late-set, recorded message that, “We came to build a movement, a sound, a future” — a sentiment that rang true for all three bands on Saturday. And in their collective hands, that future seems undeniably solid.

There was no fat lady singing on Saturday night, Jan. 31, at the Detroit Opera House.

But things were certainly phat.

Part concert and part tribute, “Symphonic PFunk: Celebrating the Music of Parliament-Funkadelic” was a joyous throwdown that treated George Clinton’s famed funk catalog in a new way yet was undeniably a P-Funk throwdown joint.

With an hour and 45-minutes of music divided into two parts, the show needle-dropped into many of the highest points of that enduring body of work as well as a selection of deep digs, with the sold-out crowd of 2,700 dancing, arm-waving and whooping and in a manner decidedly different than, oh, “Madama Butterfly” or “La Traviata.”

The orchestral arrangements, meanwhile, — crafted by “Dancing With the Stars'” music director Ray Chew, who conducted the Detroit Opera Orchestra — largely inobtrusive and certainly eclipsed by the amplified power of the current Parliament Funkadelic lineup.

But when the orchestra did surface through the mix — during songs such as “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” “(I Wanna) Testify,” “Agua Boogie” and “Flash Light” — it added an audible richness and sonic depth to music created mostly at Detroit’s United Sound Systems studio during the 70s.

It didn’t take long for the part to get started as the Mothership and Clinton’s animated visage landed on the video screen and the ensemble kicked into a tight “P.Funk (Make My Funk the P-Funk).

In the flesh, the 84-year-old Clinton was animated and energetic in a dapper suit and fedora as he hyped the crowd along the front of the stage, mugging with Chew and the backing vocalists, including Sheila Brody Amuka in a tall Brides of Funkenstein wig and glittering bikini. Clinton was present for more than half of the 14-song show, occasionally sitting in an office swivel chair on stage and watching the rest from a private box on the Opera House’s mezzanine level.

The concert stayed hot with and without him, of course.

Clinton fronted a muscular rendition of the Parliaments’ 1967 hit “(I Wanna) Testify),” while Rahsaan Patterson joined the collective for “Aqua Boogie” and Labelle veteran Nona Hendryx came on board during “Mothership Connection (Star Child).” Living Colour’s Vernon Reid’s guitar acumen was featured during “Cosmic Slop,” while P-Funk mainstay Michael Hampton shredded on his guitar for “Alice in My Fantasies” and “Maggot Brain.”

 

A trio of P-Funk alumni — vocalists Sheila Horn and Paul Hill and drummer Gabe Gonzalez — reunited for a “Red Hot Mama” that lived up to its name, while the perennial “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” did just that. And the roof stayed off as the whole company romped through an extended medley of “One Nation Under a Groove” and “Flash Light.” The encore, “Atomic Dog,” only kicked things up a notch as a dance team from the Omega Psi Phi fraternity worked its way down the aisle and onto the stage for an assemblage that looked epic — and operatic.

Clinton — who’s planning to launch a new Mothership show during the summer, 50 years after he introduced it — noted during the intermission that he and New York-based Chew Entertainment, which produced “Symphonic PFunk,” hope to keep the concept going; representatives of other venues, including the Hollywood Bowl, were there on Saturday to check it out. But there was only one proper place to start it, of course, and the Opera House certainly had the funk in abundance on Saturday night.

 

The Ark experimented with the format of its annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Friday night, Jan. 30, at Hill Auditorium.

And in Greensky Bluegrass, it couldn’t have found a better band to do that with.

For the first night of the 49th annual incarnation of the Ark’s largest fundraising event, the festival eschewed the usual multi-act bill (six will be part of the lineup on Saturday. Jan. 30) with truncated sets and presented a more traditional headliner-with-opening act (Junior Brown). That allowed Greensky, formed more than 25 years ago in Kalamazoo, to do what it does best — take a couple hours and stretch out, mixing tight songcraft with improvisational daring do, its five members improvising and dancing around expansive song arrangements.

It’s certainly worked for the group, whose plugged-in approach with acoustic instruments has made it one of the darlings of the nu (blue)grass world and a large-venue headliner around the world.

But the Greenskyers were clearly stoked to be playing their first Folk Festival, as well as returning to Ann Arbor for the first time since 2013; dobro player Anders Beck told the audience that the group, which headlined at the Fillmore Detroit last August, was actually planned to not play shows this winter and instead focus on making a new album, but that the Folk Festival was a gig on the band’s bucket list.

“It’s good to be playing Greensky Music in Michigan,” he noted.

The troupe’s two-hour, 16-song set certainly reflected that feeling as well as the sea change in approach for the festival, with many Greensky faithful standing throughout while some mainstays noticeably drifted out during the show.

Following a characteristically fiery set from country singer-guitarist Brown — an Ark regular resplendent in his suit and cowboy hat and dazzling as always on his hybrid “guit-steel” double-neck guitar — Greensky set the tone with a fast-paced “Past My Prime,” with mandolinist Paul Hoffman singing and the Beck picking through the first of his many solos during the night and the band’s custom light show immersing itself onto Hill’s walls and ceilings. But the set hit stride as the next three songs — “Monument,” “Streetlight” and a warp-speed “Burn Them” — flowed into each other, their sturdy melodies giving way to improvisational forays by Beck, Hoffman, guitarist-vocalist Dave Bruzza and banjoist Michael Bont, while Mike Devol held things together on his bass.

Likely takeaways for Greensky fans were epic, extended performances of “Whatchoo,”the Traveling Wilburys “Handle With Care” and “Don’t Lie,” as well the dobro-mandolin exchange during “Weather,” a particularly emotive “Windshield” and a playful romp through “Fixin’ to Ruin.” The group also covered fellow Michigander Billy Strings’ “While I’m Waiting Here,” and it encored with appropriate version of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman’s “Drink Up and Go Home.”

Whether it was a successful start for the festival will be the subject of review and discussion in days to come. But, no question, it was another successful — and more than that, really — night with an undeniably upper-strata live act.

The Ark’s 49th Ann Arbor Folk Festival concludes at 7 p.m. Saturday,. Jan. 31 at Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. Amos Lee, Dawes, the Crane Wives, Jon Muq, Rabbitolgy and emcee Ryan Montbleau perform. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

Halsey hasn’t played a venue as small as the Fillmore Detroit since her first show in these parts — nine and a half years ago at Saint Andrew’s Hall.

But rest assured there was nothing small about the New Jersey-born modern pop singer’s show on Saturday, Jan. 17 — the first of two sold-out Back to Badlands dates at the Fillmore, continuing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her double-platinum 2015 debut album “Badlands.”

Besides offering a generous selection of material (32 songs) from across her catalog, the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle delivered an arena-sized visual punch. Halsey and her three instrumentalists played on a two-tiered stage in front of a floor-to-ceiling high-def video wall that displayed a series of images and animations — and even 3-D imagery (glasses provided as fans entered) during a late-set “Lonely is the Muse,” as fans followed a reclining Halsey floating in front of them.

Halsey herself was the strongest effect, however, prowling and dancing around the stage in a low-plunge black halter-top and low-slug pants and exercising her pipes with extended notes on songs such as “Nightmare” “Without Me.” Fifteen songs from “Badlands” — its original and deluxe editions — were scattered throughout the night, non-sequentially, and the crowd was vociferously happy to hear the likes of “Coming Down,” “Strange Love” and “Garden” for the first time live in many years.

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It was a special night, by any measure, for those used to seeing Halsey in bigger spaces such as Little Caesars Arena and Pine Knob — including a season-opener at the latter last year. And that made some of her attitude for much of Saturday night a bit odd and, truthfully, disingenuous.

Early on, after performing “The Lighthouse,” Halsey dubbed the Fillmore “a weird (expletive) building,” different from other places the tour had played. “There are two shows happening,” she explained, maintaining that it required her to make grand movements and gestures for those in the balcony (“I have to make some (stuff) up on the fly,” she said) that might be off-putting to those packed in front of her on the main floor.

Eh? The former were certainly considerably a far sight closer than those in the back and top of LCA, or on the lawn at Pine Knob. And it’s highly doubtful that anybody down front really minded any of Halsey’s energetic movements. And yet it became a theme for the good stretch of Saturday’s show. At one point Halsey complained about the muted reaction from some “dudes” after she sang into their faces during “Hold Me Close;” “You guys are hard to impress, man,” she groused afterwards. “What do you want me to do?” (She did make a guess, if course. IYKYK.)

And later on, before her Chainsmokers collaboration “Closer” shook the Fillmore, Halsey said that, “I’ve accepted that you guys are tired tonight. You don’t have it; I get that” — even though the evidence right in front of her was quite contrary.

Fortunately she got over it before the end of the main set — or, in her view, the audience raised its game. Halsey did declare her strong affinity to Detroit and Michigan, celebrated in several of her songs (“It’s not like it’s an easy rhyme, y’know,” she quipped). And she rewarded the crowd with “a very special, once-in-a-lifetime Detroit encore” that veered from the tour’s usual program for a half-hour of deeper favorites such as a rocking “3am” (one of two songs on which Halsey played guitar), “Killing Boys,” “Clementine,” “929” and “Bad at Love” before the usual closer “Is There Somewhere.”

“I’ve had a great time with you tonight. Nobody loves you more than I do,” she shouted as the latter finished. The feeling was certainly mutual from the Fillmore crowd, and, despite any reservations she might have expressed earlier, “Badlands” proved to be a nice place for everyone to visit once again.

Halsey performs again on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Fillmore Detroit, 2115 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out. 313-961-5451 or thefillmoredetroit.com.

It will be a while before you can come and get those Motown memories this weekend.

After Monday, Jan. 19 — the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday observance — the Motown Museum will be closed for tours to allow for intensive construction of its $75 million expansion, which is slated to grow the shrine from two houses on Detroit’s West Grand Boulevard into a 50,000-sqare-foot facility housing interactive exhibits, artifacts, a professional recording studio and more, as well as the Hitsville NEXT educational academy.

The expanded museum is slated to open in the spring of 2027.

This week and weekend also feature days themed to specific artists from Motown’s history. The Marvelettes, Teena Marie, Stevie Wonder and the Temptations were covered earlier in the week, while the weekend will focus on the Four Tops (Friday, Jan. 16), Diana Ross & the Supremes (Sat., Jan. 17) and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (Sunday, Jan. 18, with discounted admission). All will feature immersive tours, curated playlists, video footage and special giveaways.

MLK Day will also feature special immersive tours.

The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Call 313-875-2264 or visit motownmuseum.org.

The new year is only a few days old, but Sponge is looking at plowing its way through a busy year ahead.

The Detroit band — whose gold-certified 1994 debut album “Rotting Pinata” launched the hits “Plowed” and “Molly (16 Candles”) — has an abundant schedule of shows already on tap, including the ’90s Cruise later this month with Sugar Ray, Tonic, Smash Mouth and others. Come July, Sponge will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its second album, “Wax Ecstatic,” and sometime this year, it will be releasing a new set, “Enclosing,” that frontman and co-founder Vin Dombroski says will likely be the band’s last.

“We’ve done many records,” explains Dombroski, citing listening habits and marketplace trends as reasons for a re-think. “It’s nice to talk about ‘a record’ … but everybody goes to YouTube and listens online. We sell some records at the shows, but I scratch my head and go, ‘Why am I even putting the effort into making a full-length record?’

“I’ll release songs, sure,” adds Dombroski, who describes “Enclosing” as “really dark.” “Nowadays, if you want content, just release a song. Why wait? But as far as a full-length album, I really have no more motivation to do it.”

Dombroski says Sponge hasn’t started thinking about “Wax Ecstatic’s” anniversary, but anticipates doing something to commemorate the album. Sponge also has its annual Bus Tour in St. Clair Shores set for March 28, and while he did not anticipate the band’s longevity, Dombroski is certainly happy to still be at it all these years later.

“I remember playing ‘Plowed’ the first time at the Ritz in Roseville, before anything was going on, and we got a really good reaction and thought, ‘Right, this one’s a keeper,'” says Dombroski, who recently released a single, “Maggot Wind,” with the Lucid, an all-star band he’s also part of. “Radio still plays it, and ‘Molly’ and sometimes others. We’re fortunate to have songs in movies sometimes, all kinds of stuff.

“It’s really the willingness of the guys in the band to get in the van and keep doing it. A lot of bands won’t do it like that anymore. We pretty much have this all down. Everybody gets along really well. They’re talented guys and decent people. I’m willing to do it, of course, but without the guys being good people and feeling the same way, I couldn’t do it.

Sponge performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com. Sponge also performs with Everclear on March 18 at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. Doors at 7 p.m. district142live.com.

Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include …

FRIDAY, JAN. 9

• Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah lays down the law at 8 p.m. at Sound Board in the MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit. 800-745-3000 or soundboarddetroit.com.

• Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble comes home to launch its latest tour with four shows — at 7 and 9 p.m. each night — through Saturday. Jan. 10 at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra plays along with a screening of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• Eclectic New York singer and songwriter Nellie McKay performs for Friday Night Live! at 7 p.m. at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-7900 or dia.org.

• Vocalist Lexie Blue sings at 8 p.m. at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• Trumpeter Trunino Lowe blows his horn through Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe. 313-882-5399 or dirtydogjazz.com.

• The Detroit Jazz Project takes over at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Eastside Elvis & the Motor City Mafia shake it up at 8:30 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Penarth, the Walk Talkers and the Mansion triple-bill at 7 p.m. at the New Dodge Lounge, 8850 Jos Campau, Hamtramck. 313-638-1508 or thenewdodgelounge.com.

• Adjust the Sails, Dear Cincinnati, Hummus Vacuum and Loudfoxcult pile up at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Reverend Robert Jones and Todd Albright team up at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• That Arena Rock Show does just that at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. And Rush Experience will create its own kind of arena rock experience there on Saturday, Jan. 10. Doors at 7 p.m. both nights. district142live.com.

• Blues guitarist Duke Tumatoe squeezes into The Ark for an 8 p.m. show. 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Virtual: Depeche Mode’s concert film “M,” which debuted at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and had a limited run in theaters in October, premieres on Netflix.

SATURDAY, JAN. 10

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Pops plays “Total Eclipse of the Charts: ’80s Chart Toppers” at 8 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11 at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. A “Total Eclipse of the Chart: Afterdark” dance party takes place at 10 p.m. Saturday in The Cube. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• Performance artist Satori Circus presents Lads Insane: A Musical Celebration of David Bowie to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the British music icon’s death at 8 p.m. at the Tangent Gallery/Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee St., Detroit. tangentgallery.com.

• Albany punk rockers State Champs visit the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors at 6 p.m. Real Friends, Driveways and Summerbruise are also on the bill. 313-833-9700 or majesticdetroit.com.

• Michigan music mainstay Joe Hertler performs a solo acoustic show at 8 p.m. at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• Singer-songwriter and comedian Kristin Key takes the stage at 8 p.m. at the Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac. 248-309-6445 or flagstarstrand.com.

• Never The Crash, The Lion Within, Allen Pond and other bands perform as part of the Rise from the Ashes Benefit concert for those affected by the Sto-Away Self Storage fire in November in Rochester Hills. The show starts at 2 p.m. at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• Detroit’s Lager House hosts Darkness on the Edge of Corktown 3, with more than 30 local artists playing tribute to Bruce Springsteen, at 8 p.m. Proceeds go to the Motor City Mitten Mission. 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Problems, Deadbeatdad, Origami Phase and Seanni B rock hard at 7 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• Bassist Gwenyth Hayes leads her band at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Singer-songwriters Tom Alter, Bob Sky Young and Mary Hartman get together at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• Popular local cover bands the Mega 80’s and the Square Pegz square off in an 80’s vs. 90’s show at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.

• Hotel California — The Original Eagles Tribute takes it to the limit at the Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-630-0120 or theemeraldtheatre.com.

• The Loving Touch hosts a Broadway Rave. 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• Popular local singer-songwriter Jill Jack holds her annual Birthday Bash at 8 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Virtual: The Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series presents “The Stars of I Puritani” in theaters worldwide. metopera.org for theaters and showtimes.

SUNDAY, JAN. 11

• R&B singer Carl Thomas croons at 7:30 p.m. at Sound Board in the MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit. 800-745-3000 or soundboarddetroit.com.

• Dan Devins and the Blues Delegation play at a 3 p.m. matinee at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Trumpeter Mason Bays closes the weekend at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Ember & Ash, the duo of the Ragbirds’ Erin Zindle and Native Howl’s Alex Holycross, burns at 7:30 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Ann Arbor trio the Triumvirate starts at 6 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

Albums don’t sell like they used to, but rest assured, they’re still being released.

And they still matter.

The long-player is, in fact, still the most potent and important musical expression, a chance to go on an aural journey that keeps you engaged from start to finish. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom about limited attention spans in the streaming world, but the significant number of albums that continue to come out shows that’s how artists prefer to pursue their craft.

That was certainly the case during the past 12 months, and 2025 welcomed so many good and, yes, great, albums that the annual ritual of picking the best is never easy. But after careful consideration and some (pleasurable) relistening, these were unquestionably our dozen favorites for the year, all works that are rewarding every time you listen to them.

Clipse, “Let God Sort Em Out” (self-released): The rap duo’s long road back — 16 years between albums — reaches a triumphant destination with this 13-track set. The chemistry between Pusha T and Malice is as tight as ever, and reuniting with Pharrell Williams to produce had us partying like it was the 2000s once again — with Kendrick Lamar, Nas, John Legend, Tyler, the Creator and others on the guest list.

Alice Cooper, “The Revenge of Alice Cooper” (earMUSIC): The event tends to be greater than the quality in these kinds of reunions — in this case, the original Cooper band’s first full album since 1973. But periodic recording since 2011 has honed the surviving quartet to this point. The songs and playing stand up to those classic 1970s records, and the magic of technology even allows the late Glen Buxton to be part of a couple of tracks.

De La Soul, “Cabin in the Sky” (AOI/Mass Appeal): Another welcome hip-hop return. Nine years and one death (Trugoy the Dove) later, this is still a special and forward-looking troupe that fills its ninth studio album with high conscience and advanced intent. Sporting sharp production, tough rhymes and a who’s-who list of collaborators, the 20-track set more than lives up to the designation of Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It … series.

Dropkick Murphys, “For the People” (Dummy Luck): After two previous albums of songs set to unused Woody Guthrie lyrics, Boston’s Celtic punk lords stay on target and deliver the right album for the times — ferocious anthems of resistance (and some personal reflections) that feature guest appearances by Billy Bragg, the Mary Wallopers and the scratch. Vocalist Al Barr is back for one track, too.

Florence + the Machine, “Everybody Scream” (Polydor): Florence Welch is no stranger to turning personal turmoil into anthems of resilience and joy, and we get more of the same on album number six. With songs inspired by an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, Welch and her crew — including collaborators Aaron Dessner of the National and Mark Bowen of Ides — stir a wealth of emotions and mystical perspectives into life-affirming catharsis that brings everybody out better on the other end.

Lord Huron, “The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1” (Mercury): The Michigan-formed, now Los Angeles-based indie rock group hits a new peak on this semi-conceptual 12-track work, with some of Ben Schneider’s most evocative songwriting (and vocals) and collaborations with actor (and fellow Michigander) Kristen Stewart and Blonde Redhead’s Kauz Makino.

Pulp, “More” (Rough Trade): It’s been 24 years since the British group’s last studio album (sensing a theme for the year here?), but it really sounds like no time has passed. While Oasis was ruling on the road, Jarvis Cocker and company brought another wing of Britpop back with these 11 songs (as well as the group’s on tour), all of which stand alongside the best of Pulp’s previous work.

Addison Rae, “Addison” (As Long As I’m Dancing/Columbia): The actress and TikToker has been dropping musical bon mots since 2021, but her first full album shows a fully developed talent that’s maybe a little bit smarter than her pop peers, but still just as much fun when it needs to be. “Fame Is a Gun,” as she sings, and Rae’s aim is absolutely true.

Ketch Secor, “Story the Crow Told Me” (Equal Housing/Firebird Music): The Old Crow Medicine Show leader goes out on his own for the first time and delivers a winning 12-song effort rooted in tradition, but made modern in its delivery. Secor plays more than a dozen instruments himself, as is his wont, and welcomes contributions from Marty Stuart, Jaren Johnston of the Cadillac Three, Old Crow mates Critter Fuqua and Willie Watson, and Molly Tuttle, returning the favor for her latest album.

Sparks, “Mad!” (Transgressive): The Mael brothers follow “Annette — An Opera by Sparks” with their 26th studio album and 12 songs that, per usual, deftly balance quirk with pathos and melodic sensibilities that are at once classic and idiosyncratic. Fifty-four years in Ron and Russell have their own lane, and they haven’t run out of road yet.

Turnstile, “Never Enough” (Roadrunner): The hardcore quintet from Baltimore takes the format in bold new directions on its fourth studio album, and first with guitarist Meg Mills. It’s daring stuff — flute solos, anybody? — that never ceases to work and yields fresh flavors on every listen.

Molly Tuttle, “So Long Little Miss Sunshine” (Nonesuch): The California-born singer, guitarist, banjoist and songwriter is among those taking bluegrass and Americana in new directions, with abundant songwriting, instrumental and vocal assistance from Ketch Secor throughout her fifth studio album. And be assured, you never heard the Icona Pop/Charli XCX hit “I Love It” quite like this.

12 others that we liked a lot

Bad Bunny, “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” (Rimas Entertainment); Jon Batiste, “Big Money” (Naht Jona/Verve); The Black Keys, “No Rain, No Flowers” (Easy Eye Sound); David Byrne, “Who Is the Sky?” (Matador); Ethan Daniel Davidson, “Cordelia” (Blue Arrow); Olivia Dean, “The Art of Loving” (Capitol); Don Was & the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, “Groove in the Face of Adversity” (Mack Avenue); Geese, “Getting Killed” (Partisan/Play It Again Sam); Kendall Jane Meade, “Space” (Mother West); Mavis Staples, “Sad and Beautiful World” (Anti-); Jeff Tweedy, “Twilight Override” (dBpm); Wolf Alice, “The Clearing” (RCA/Columbia)

Our 25 favorite concerts of 2025

Guster, Jan. 29, Majestic Theatre

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve, March 8, Michigan Theatre

Chiodos, March 20, Royal Oak Music Theatre

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, March 25, Masonic Temple Cathedral Theatre

Kraftwerk, March 28, Masonic Cathedral Theatre

The War and Treaty, March 29, Saint Andrew’s Hall

Jack White, April 12-13, Masonic Temple Theatre

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, April 19, Masonic Temple Theatre

Gang Of Four, May 7, The Magic Bag

Devo, June 28, Fillmore Detroit

Weird Al Yankovic, July 2, Pine Knob Music Theatre

Wu-Tang Clan, July 8, Little Caesars Arena

Vince Gill, July 24, Fox Theatre

Katy Perry, Aug. 3, Little Caesars Arena

Rufus Du Sol, Aug. 5, Pine Knob Music Theatre

Lord Huron, Aug. 9, Meadow Brook Music Festival

Nine Inch Nails, Aug. 22, Little Caesars Arena

Jason Moran, Jeff Mills and Jessica Care Moore, Aug. 29, Detroit Jazz Festival

Pulp, Sept. 17, Masonic Temple Theatre

Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule, Sept. 20, Pine Knob Music Theatre

Don Was & the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Oct. 11, Majestic Theatre

Jon Batiste, Oct. 24, Fox Theatre

David Byrne, Oct. 25, Fox Theatre

Chris Isaak, Dec.16, Fox Theatre

This was supposed to be a year that “was kind of quiet” for Trisha Yearwood.

Instead, the country star released two albums — “The Mirror,” her first album in six years, in July and then “Christmastime” in November. Both put her on the road, too, including a concert Friday, Dec. 19, with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall.

“So it turned out to be one of the busiest years so far. I wasn’t expecting that to happen,” Yearwood says. “Somebody called me not too long ago and said, ‘When are you gonna start your next cookbook?’ (laughs) I said: “You’ve got to give me a minute. I’ve got to get through 2025 first!'”

“Christmastime” — produced by Oak Park native Don Was — is Yearwood’s first holiday release since “The Sweetest Gift” in 1994. She and husband Garth Brooks teamed up for “Christmas Together” in 2016, and Brooks appears on the “Christmastime” track “Merry Christmas, Valentine,” which the couple also co-wrote.

“I just love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday,” says the Georgia-born Yearwood, 61, who began her recording career with the 1991 single “She’s in Love With the Boy” and has since released 17 albums and scored 18 Top 10 country hits, with three Grammy Awards. “And since it’s been so long since I’ve made a (holiday) record, I had a list of songs I knew I wanted to record someday.

“When I made my first Christmas album, I’d only been making records for a couple of years … so I’ve had a long time to think about this.”

Also among the songs is “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” which she walked down to aisle to when she and Brooks married in 2005. And “Merry Christmas, Valentine” was a personal highlight on a number of levels.

“I used to be really hard to write with,” Yearwood says, “because in my head, I didn’t believe in myself. It was like pulling teeth to work with me. But I got this newfound confidence a couple of years ago (she co-wrote all 15 tracks on ‘The Mirror’), so I said to him: ‘You need to write with me again, ’cause I’m really fun now. The switch has flipped. I’m not afraid anymore.’

“Then, I had to strong-arm my husband into singing harmony on it. But because it’s a love story for two people, he had to be the guy to sing on it … and I’m really happy with the way it came out.”

Brooks joined her for the song on their wedding anniversary, Dec. 10, in Atlanta.

Yearwood’s holiday tour features Christmas fare as well as other hits, and she plans on touring more extensively to support “The Mirror” in 2026. She also plans to explore some new food-related endeavors, perhaps even another cooking show.

“If you would’ve asked me at 5 years old what I wanted to do when I grew up, I know I wanted to be a singer. That’s all I ever wanted to do,” said Yearwood, who was a studio singer before releasing her 1991 debut studio album. “I don’t take it for granted that I can say I have been getting to do this for 35 years. To be able to live the dream. … It’s not a job, this is really a vocation, and it’s a calling, and I can’t believe I actually get to do the thing I love the most.

“And as long as I can sing, as long as my voice will do the things it needs to do, I’ll do it.”

Trisha Yearwood performs at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include …

FRIDAY, DEC. 19

• Global EDM star GRiZ — Southfield native Grant Kwiecinski — concludes his charitable GRiZMas event, supporting the youth nonprofit Seven Mile, with a pair of concerts through Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Masonic Temple Theatre, 500 Temple St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m., with different supporting acts each night. 313-548-1320 or themasonic.com and 12daysofgrizmas.com.

• Carl Craig hosts a Detroit Love — Holiday Edition with two stages of DJs at 9 p.m. at Lincoln Factory, 1331 Holden St., Detroit. paxahau.com.

• The eclectic Rob Schwimmer partners with Ethan Iverson for “A Science Fiction Holiday” at 7 p.m. for the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Friday Night Live series. 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-7900 or dia.org.

• Polka parody troupe the Polish Muslims holds its annual holiday/anniversary show at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. The Redones open. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• Green Bay’s TAE & the Neighborly hope to pack(er) ’em in at 8 p.m. at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• Charles and Gwen Scales are home through Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe. 313-882-5399 or dirtydogjazz.com.

• The James Carter Organ Trio presents “Yule Log of Soul & Swing” through Sunday, Dec. 21 at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• The Orbitsuns and the Carolyn Striho group team up again at 8:30 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• The Shamrock Jazz Orchestra brings its Christmas Show back at 8 p.m. at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com.

• Mild Pup and the Ethan Marc Band pair up at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Finvarra’s Wren gets Celtic for a Solstice Show at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• A Magical Motown Christmas happens at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Hall Center, 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• The Nine Inch Nails tribute This Broken Machine plays two sets at Small’s, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck. Doors at 7 p.m. Access to Concrete and DJ Pinknoise also perform. 313-873-1117 or smallsbardetroit.com.

• The Ark in Ann Arbor hosts a couple of nights of Celtic music, starting with Tartan Terrors at 8 p.m. and then, at the same time Saturday, Dec. 20, the acoustic quartet Blackthorn. 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Saxophonist Marcus Elliot opens the weekend at 7 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Boston horror rock outfit Ice Nine Kills premieres its concert special “I Heard They Kill You” live at 3 p.m., via veeps.com.

• Virtual: Dogs In a Pile rocks at 8 p.m. From Ardmore, Pennsylvania, with shows through Sunday. Nov. 21, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Port Chester, New York, at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday, Dec. 20, streaming both shows via nugs.net.

• Virtual: The Disco Biscuits play three different venues in Chicago this weekend, streaming each night at 9 p.m. via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Queens of the Stone Age’s new concert film “Alive in the Catacombs” and the companion documentary “Alive in Paris” are streaming now, for free, via YouTube.

SATURDAY, DEC. 20

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra plays the live soundtrack for “Home Alone” at 7:30 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• Dutch DJ Sam Feldt mans the decks at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. 313-833-9700 or themajesticdetroit.com.

• DJ Minx headlines a Holiday Your Life celebration with Jon Dixon, KRW and more at 9 p.m. at Spot Lite, 2905 Beaufait St., Detroit. paxahau.com.

• The Steve Taylor Three, Stephen Clark and J.T. Harding repeat their annual Home For the Holidays Songwriter’s Round at 6 and 8 p.m. at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. The late show is sold out. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• Detroit rapper Tay B celebrates his birthday with a 6 p.m. performance at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• The Motortown All Stars, the Shades of Blue and Leisa Parham are part of A Motown Merry Christmas at 7 p.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn. 313-943-2354 or dearborntheater.com.

• Warhorses, Haf Life and the Seatbelts perform as part of Detroit Santarchy, a party and pub crawl at three Corktown venues. Get details via thelagerhouse.com.

• Local punk favorite PT’s Revenge starts a two-night stand at Small’s, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck. Doors at 7 p.m. and also on Sunday, Dec. 21. Middle Out, Frank White and Newburgh are on the bill both nights. 313-873-1117 or smallsbardetroit.com.

• Boys of Fall is at home on a bill with Stories Untold, Young Pioneer and Cloud Season at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• FinalBossFight! tops a hard-rocking five-band bill at 6 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• Aaron Caruso croons a special Christmas Show at 8 p.m. at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com.

• Helen Welch channels the late Karen Carpenter in the Carpenter’s Christmas tribute show at 7:30 p.m. at the Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac. 248-309-6445 or flagstarstrand.com.

• Android Paranoid pays tribute to Radiohead at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.

• The Nick Collins Sextet sets up at 6:30 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. The Karim Gideon Quartet follows with a 10:15 p.m. show. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Improvement Movement livestreams at 8 p.. from Atlanta, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: The Terrapin Family Band jams at 11 p.m. and again on Sunday, Dec. 21 from Menlo Park, California, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Ariana Grande hosts, but it’ll be Cher who sings on the holiday episode of “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. on NBC (WDIV, Channel 4 in Detroit).

SUNDAY, DEC. 21

• R&B singer Eric Roberson souls it up at 7:30 p.m. at Sound Board in the MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit. 800-745-3000 or soundboarddetroit.com.

• A corps of all-star musicians band together for an All-Star Detroit Organ Jazz Party at 7 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. The venue also hosts A Tribute to Vince Guaraldi at 3 p.m. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Ann Arbor guitar hero Laith Al-Saadi struts his stuff at 8 p.m. at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• The Motor City Brass Band plays “Sounds of the Season” at 3 p.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn. 313-943-2354 or dearborntheater.com.

• The Prolifics offer a third Motown Tribute Show at 7:30 p.m. at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com.

• DRAW presents the Christmas of Hope concert, featuring more than 60 musicians to raise money for disaster victims, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac. 248-309-6445 or flagstarstrand.com.

• John Prine tribute specialist Mark Laavengood headlines a John Prine Tribute Show that also includes a lineup of Michigan artists at 7:30 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Trumpeter Maurice Mobetta Brown blows his own horn at 6 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Brandi Carlile settles down at her log cabin for a “Merry & Gay Holiday Special” at 3 p.m., streaming via veeps.com.

• Virtual: Michigan alt-rock favorite Chiodos streams the final performance of its All’s Well That Ends Well 20th Anniversary Tour at 11:45 p.m. from Anaheim, California, via veeps.com.

For the past 13 years, Pentatonix has been as much a part of the holidays as egg nog, Santa Claus and sale-of-the-day emails.

The Texas-formed a cappella quintet, which landed a recording deal after winning “The Sing-Off” in 2011, has released seven Christmas albums so far. plus several holiday-themed EPs and compilations. This year’s “Christmas in the City,” meanwhile, finds the group working with a full orchestra on seasonal classics — including “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” with Frank Sinatra’s vocal grafted into the recording — as well as a fair number of originals and a pair of medleys.

That, of course, means Pentatonix is on the road for the holidays, too, focusing on the new album but still drawing from its litany of Christmas records over the course of each show…

• Co-founder Scott Hoying says from Zoom via Chicago that he and his Pentatonix mates “love making Christmas music, and we always have new ideas each year. For “Christmas in the City,” he explains. “One area of Christmas we hadn’t touched yet is that classic Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole kind of sound with the big, orchestral, sweeping tracks — but still very vocal forward. We were just inspired by that idea, and we wanted to capture the feeling of going into the city at Christmas time and seeing the decorates and the hustle and bustle of window shoppers and the skyline, so we based a whole album around that. It felt like we were writing musical.”

• Hoying, 34, adds that working with such a large ensemble “felt like a different art form. When you’re arranging completely a cappella, the background parts have to be long, sustained notes and you have to fill every ounce of the space. But when there’s an orchestra and a big band in the background you can focus on the background (vocal) parts being supplementary and just coming in at certain moments. They can be more tasteful. It feels like a whole different ball game when you’re doing that. It’s easier in some ways and harder in some ways. Because the frequency space is so covered, we had to find space for our vocals to make sure it sounds like us and felt very vocal forward, even though there’s all that sound.”

• The instrumentation for Pentatonix’s current show is pre-recorded rather than bringing an orchestra on stage. “We discussed doing that,” Hoying notes. “There were a lot of factors that came into play.” Much of the “Christmas in the City” album is part of the concerts, however, blended with the group’s other holiday material. “Over the years of doing so much Christmas touring we’ve really learned what moments the audience loves and things that really work. The trickiest part is we have a lot of ballads that have done well, but if we do them all a little close to each other the show gets a little, like draggy. So it’s spreading those out, and we’ve shortened a bunch of stuff to keep the show moving. It’s like a puzzle. It’s fun.”

• Hoying says he and his bandmates are working on non-holiday original songs as well as “a big project in TV/film that we’ve been working on for years that’s finally starting to come to fruition.” He’s also preparing a stage musical called “Grim” to premiere next October in La Hoya, Calif. And Hoying says there’s a loose idea for the direction of Pentatonix’s next holiday album. “We haven`t done a lot of the kid ones, like ‘All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth’ and the hippopotamus for Christmas song, the silly ones. We’re all having kids, so my first instinct is that our next one is, like a kids Christmas album.”

• Away from Pentatonix, Hoying was a contestant on the latest season of “Dancing With the Stars,” partnered with Rylee Arnold and finishing in 10th place. “Omigod, that was the best experience ever. It was so much fun. It was epic. It was really, really hard, but it was hard in a good way and very transformative for me. I felt like I was doing inner child therapy work out there on the dance floor in front of millions of people without a microphone in my hand. I have so much experience performing, and performing for sold-out arenas and winging it, and that’s totally fine. But out there, even totally prepared and ready, it’s so nerve-wracking. I felt like the seven-year-old-version of myself who was shy and scared was being seen by the world and had to dance and be messy and imperfect. But it was such beautiful experience. I came out on the other side and felt honestly changed by it, as dramatic as that sounds.”

Pentatonix brings “Christmas in the City” to town at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit. (313)471-7000 or 313Presents.com.

A legion of rock fans is still mourning the death of Kiss’ Ace Frehley last month, but few more so than John 5.

The Grosse Pointe-born guitarist considered Frehley both a friend and colleague. 5 (nee Lowery) is a Kiss fan first and foremost. He maintains an extensive (understatement) collection of Kiss memorabilia dubbed the Knights in Satan’s Service Museum, which he displayed publicly in the spring. He also took what’s acknowledged to be Gene Simmons’ final photo in makeup, shortly after Kiss’ farewell concert on Dec. 2, 2023, in New York, and co-wrote a song for Paul Stanley’s “Live to Win” solo album in 2006.

5 played on Frehley’s two “Origins” albums in 2016 and 2020, as well, but says there was much more to the relationship than guitars.

“He was my great friend for, like, 40 years. Very friendly,” 5, 55, says during a tour bus ride through Florida on his way to Georgia. “We would go to movies, go to pawn shops, just run around and things like that — what friends do. I didn’t really talk to him a lot about Kiss or memorabilia or the ’70s or anything like that. We were just good friends. We had a lot of laughs, a lot of fun. He really was my hero — still is, of course. I miss him every single day.

“I mean, he changed the world, he really did,” 5 continues. “Everybody loved Ace. Gene is the face of Kiss, then it was Ace … because he was just cool. He was like Fonzie cool, or James Dean cool or anything like that. Just naturally cool. That’s something you can’t learn or teach, and people just gravitate towards that energy. He’s immortal like that.”

And, 5 adds, Frehley’s playing was equally iconic. “Omigod, he influenced everyone. Everyone that’s playing today pretty much has been influenced in some way from Ace. I could just rattle off a list, but it would take way too long.

“And it’s not just the guitar playing; it goes beyond that. You just see a picture of him and — especially as a kid — you’re like, “Omigod, that is cool!” And then you hear him, and you’re sold. He was one of a kind.”

Not surprisingly, 5 is not playing any of Frehley’s material, even in tribute, during his co-headlining tour with fellow guitarist and bandleader Richie Kotzen. “A lot of people at the shows are like: ‘Play Kiss! Play some Ace songs!,’ he acknowledges. “But to be honest with you, I can’t do it. It’s too emotional for me right now.”

5 has no shortage of other music to play, of course.

Honing his musical chops while growing up on Wellington Street — starting with “Hee Haw” and continuing with his local guitar teacher, Robert Gillespie — 5 moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 and established a reputation as both a player and a writer. Producer Bob Marlette became a supporter, and 5 logged credits on albums by Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Meat Loaf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, former Journey frontman Steve Perry and many others — even, surprisingly, the likes of Dolly Parton, Salt-N-Pepa and Ricky Martin. 5 also toured with Rob Zombie (as well as playing on some of his film scores), Marilyn Manson and David Lee Roth, and since 2022, he’s been part of Motley Crue — and does include a medley of that group’s songs in his sets.

“All these people come to the show and have Motley Crue shirts on and things like that,” explains 5, who first wrote with Motley bassist Nikki Sixx for his Sixx A.M. band with fellow Michigander James Michael. “They know I’m in the band now, so I thought it would be fun to end the show with a bunch of the songs that are the soundtrack of our lives … ’cause I was a fan first, before I played with them.

“People go crazy for it; they really, really enjoy it. I make ’em sing ‘Home Sweet Home,’ and everybody knows it. It’s like singing ‘Happy Birthday’ or something. It’s really fun.”

And after Motley’s Las Vegas residency in September — which marked frontman Vince Neil’s return after suffering multiple strokes — 5 is ready for more Crue work.

“I’m just waiting, waiting, waiting,” says 5, who was part of recent Motley songs “Dogs of War” and “Cancelled.” “I was so proud of Vince. He was so good. It was like a movie. This terrible thing happened to him. He had to learn to walk again, learn to sing again, and then he comes out like a champion. He just killed it every night. Every show was great. I was so proud of what we did.

“I’ve had just a blast. It’s been three years already. I feel like there will be more, but like I said, I’m just waiting to hear.”

In the meantime, 5 is continuing his own, mostly instrumental, music alongside all the other concerns. His latest, “Ghost,” came out last month, featuring 10 tracks with contributions from Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, Kenny Aronoff and brothers Matt and Gregg Bissonnette from Warren, who worked with 5 in Roth’s band.

“I took my sweet, sweet time with this record,” says 5, who includes a cover of the jazz standard “Moonglow” on the set as a tribute to his parents. “When I went into the studio, I wanted to record all the songs as performances. If I messed up, I would start at the beginning again. I think that’s a lost art today. The technology is so incredible, but I really wanted to capture the energy of a single performance, from start to finish.”

5 will be on the road until just before Thanksgiving, and he has an eye towards 2016 already — both with the band and on his own.

“It really is such an incredible pleasure. I love just having a guitar in my hands and being out on stage pickin’ and playing — anywhere,” he says. “I just wanted to be a session musician — go to work and come home. That’s when I was a kid. I never imagined my life would turn out like this.

“I love music. I love it all. I love everybody I’ve played with, and I’m just thankful every day that this is what I get to do. It’s wonderful. It’s just a dream come true.”

John 5 and Richie Kotzen perform Wednesday, Nov. 19 at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. district142live.com. The two also play Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Machine Shop, 3539 Dort Highway, Flint. 810-715-2650 or themachineshop.info. Doors at 7 p.m. for both.

Jim McCarty and Johnny “Bee” Badanjek may not be household names, but in the music world, the guitarist and drummer, respectively, are legends.

And now the two Detroiters are the subject of a documentary series, “Jim and the Bee,” that will have a premiere screening this weekend before airing next spring.

The three-part series examines the duo’s careers, which include tenures with Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Detroit, Cactus, the Rockets and more. McCarty currently leads his own band, Mystery Train, while Badanjek — whose session resume includes work with Alice Cooper, Edgar Winter, Nils Lofgren and others — is also a noted painter who released a solo album.

Ken LaPlace, whose Ortonville-based Living Legends Motion Pictures directed and co-executive produced “Jim and the Bee,” says the plan began after Badanjek appeared on its syndicated PBS cooking show “The Melody Grill.” “The original plan was to produce a simple half-hour feature on Johnny,” he explains. “Word got out and pretty soon, we had a list of well-known rockers calling to be in it, and here we are today.”

Filming took place between March 4, 2024, and Oct. 2, 2025, including interviews with Cooper, Lofgren, Suzi Quatro, Ted Nugent, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, the E Street Band’s Max Weinberg, Mark Farner, the Smithereens’ Dennis Diken and others. It’s slated to be shown in three parts on WDCQ in Saginaw, most likely in March, and is being pushed to other PBS outlets. An extended trailer is available on YouTube.

The “Jim and the Bee” premiere takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Harpo’s Concert Theatre, 14238 Harper Ave., Detroit. 313-824-1700. Proceeds will benefit sick, injured and disabled first responders through the nonprofit Living Legends Organizations. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign a petition requesting Ryder and the Detroit Wheels to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Stage musical adaptations of movies and TV shows are buyer-beware propositions.

It’s, over the years, proven not easy to capture such productions in the flesh, with songs added. The ratios of success to failure largely tilts in the latter direction, with a fair number of attempts also follow under the category of “meh.”

So “Back to the Future: the Musical?” As Doc Brown would say, “Great Scott!”

With an emphasis on the great.

At the Detroit Opera House through Nov. 9, the treatment of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy — which premiered days before the pandemic shutdown during 2020 in England and on Broadway in 2023 — ticks off all the boxes that make for a winning musical of any kind, regardless of its source material. The songs — by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, save for those couple of Huey Lewis & the News hits from the film. The acting is on a high level, the choreography energetic. And, as an adaptation, it makes tweaks to the plot that are clever enough to make it work on stage but without losing any of the original, joyous and tongue-in-cheeky spirit of the movie.

It adds to that, in fact. Musical numbers such as “It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Got No Future,” “It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Future Boy” and “For the Dreamers” dig into the existential struggles Marty McFly (Lukas Hallauer) and Doc Brown (David Josefsberg) are experiencing in their quests to make some sort of mark on the world. That’s added emotional content that brings welcome dimension to the goings-on in Hill Valley, both in 1985 and 1955, where Marty unwittingly travels back to in the infamous DeLorean.

And the car, Flux Capicitor and all, is front and center in “Back to the Future’s” most striking visual moments, as the production uses scrims, screens and video projections to simulate the time travel experience in a seamless fashion that will impress “BTTF” die-hards — including those who dress up in character for the show — and casual theater fans.

Key lines from the film, meanwhile, pop up with applause-generating regularity, and the Under the Sea school dance sequence is recreated in all of its Chuck Berry-predicting glory. The new or changed aspects of the script work so well that they belie any complaints about what might be missing — and even at times make the story that much more enjoyable.

It is, in the end, a great deal of fun — right down to the video screen messages pre-show and during the intermission — which is exactly what it should be.

The performances are strong from top to bottom. Hallauer channels plenty of Michael J. Fox into his Marty, even looking the part — and, like Josefsberg, has the gift of opening his mouth wide enough that his moments of comic angst can be seen and felt in the top row of the balcony. Josefsberg, meanwhile, plays Doc a bit more like Beetlejuice than Christopher Lloyd but injects a bit more of a human touch into his film counterpart’s zany eccentricity.

A perhaps unexpected standout is Cartreze Tucker as future mayor Goldie Wilson, a character that’s given more real estate in the musical and nearly steals the show with his gospel-flavored “Gotta Start Somewhere.” Mike Bindeman nails Crispin Glover’s demeanor from the film but brings more physical comedy to the role, as did Jenny Dalrymple (an understudy for the show’s media night) as Marty’s future mom/seductress Lorraine Banes.

And Central Michigan University grad Nathaniel Hackmann brings the right amount of comedy to Biff Tannen — a role he created for the Broadway production — particularly in the slapstick of “The Hill Valley School Fight Song” and “Something About That Boy.”

All of that makes for a wholly enjoyable and even timeless kind of trip back, and forth, in time. And if you are a fan of those Huey Lewis tunes (“The Power of Love” and “Back in Time”), don’t leave during the bows; there’s no moment of this party that should be missed.

“Back to the Future” runs through Nov. 9 at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St. (313)237-7454 or broadwayindetroit.com.

A banner hanging above Jon Batiste’s stage Friday night, Oct. 24, at Detroit’s Fox Theatre declared that, “This is the circus of love. Under our tent there is revival and joy.”

The two-hour show was, in fact, all of the above.

Born into and raised in the New Orleans tradition, Batiste has proven over the course of his 20-year recording career to be master of musical alchemy and excellence. Friday’s concert was another case in point, as the multi-instrumentalist and singer led his facile and physical nine-member band through a set of songs that were dizzying in their range, an aural circus — as advertised — from Beethoven (“5th Symphony in Congo Square” from last year’s “Beethoven Blues” album) to be-bop, funk to blues to gospel, a few choice covers, singalong moments for the crowd of nearly 4,000 (including David Byrne, who’s performing at the Fox on Saturday,. Oct. 25) and plenty of the also-promised joy throughout.

It started that way, in fact, as Batiste — sporting a black, studded mariachi suit — strolled down the Fox’s center aisle, smiling as he banged on a tambourine on his way to the tent-styled stage before leading the group into an exultant version of “Let Got Lead.” “I love you even if I don’t know you,” the former “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” music director told the audience — one of his trademark hook-lines — before delivering a “public service announcement” that “it’s time to shake your tail feather.” Flashing the hand sing for love repeatedly, he later explained that, “This is not a concert; this is a spiritual practice,” promising, too, that “no matter how dark it gets, we can win…y`all.”

There is no darkness at a Batiste concert, however, and certainly not on Friday. He and the band shifted gears with Formula 1 precision but avoided any whiplash with a spirited demeanor — and a daring-do sense that they didn’t necessarily know what waited on the next turn but were perfectly capable of steering their way through it.

The result brought roof-raising renditions of the title track from Batiste’s latest album “Big Money,” an achingly soulful “Cry,” “I Need You” and a pairing of Beyonce’s “American Requiem,” which Batiste co-wrote, and his own “Freedom.” Vocalist Desiree Washington took the spotlight for a Motor City-appropriate take on Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)” and Andra Day joined Batiste and company for “Lean On My Love,” their duet from the “Big Money” album, and the Impressions’ “It’s All Right.”

The troupe also extended the polyrhythmic blues of “Petrichor” into a percussive jam that found Batiste working the drum kit after he’d already played piano, guitar, saxophone and melodica.

Batiste did just fine when he was on his own, too. Besides the Beethoven moment, he performed a solo piano jazz improvisation and then, later in the show, put together medley that knitted the Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers,” Tupac’s “Changes,” Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” into a moving and pointed tone poem that held the Fox crowd rapt until Batiste called it to join in for the closing chorus of the latter.

His “healing song” “Butterfly” was nothing short of beautiful and teed up a “Worship” that finished the night with Batiste, as is his tradition, leading the band back up through the theater’s center aisle — revived, joyful and definitely feeling the love for another masterful performance.

Lukas Nelson has been known, for all of his life, as Willie Nelson’s son and occasionally part of his family band. And for 16 years of his music-making life he was the leader of the band Promise of the Real, which backed Neil Young as well as releasing eight albums of his own.

Now this Nelson, 36, is out on his own.

During June, Nelson — who won Grammy and BAFTA awards for the songs he wrote for the hit 2018 remake of “A Star is Born” — released “American Romance,” the first album to bear his name alone. Produced by longtime friend Shooter Jennings, the 12-track set includes a collaboration with Sierra Ferrell (“Friend in the End”), as well as a new version of “You Were It,” the first song Nelson ever wrote — at 11 years old — that was first released on Willie Nelson’s 2004 album “It Will Always Be.”

The set ushers in what Lukas Nelson acknowledges is a new era in his career, one he feels will allow him to make a wide array of music, entirely on his own terms…

* Nelson says via Zoom from New York that he considers stepping away from Promise of the Real — whose other members are working in Young’s Chrome Hearts band — to be “almost cosmetic. What happened to me was the name Promise of the Real was so tied into Neil Young from the times we’d been playing with him that I felt like I wanted to make sure I could do something different, that felt different, that maybe fans of Neil Young or even fans of my dad wouldn’t necessarily be bummed about. I love Neil Young fans, and I love my dad’s fans, but I want to bring other fans along, too. And I felt like sometimes people were getting a little aggressive about me not playing as much guitar or rocking out at certain points. I wanted the freedom to NOT do that, and to do what I want to, when I want to. So I just felt I had to change the name, really.”

* He acknowledges that the tenor of “American Romance” is a bit quieter and more reflective than the harder-rocking Promise of the Real material. “I have so many songs. I was in a flow of writing, and you can’t really tell yourself to write a certain song — some people can, but for me, whatever comes out comes out. So I was writing a lot of songs that were more about lyrics and vocals than they were about rockin’ out. That’s just what was coming out, and I wanted to focus on those songs. Since then, I’ve written a lot of rockers.” (laughs)

* Nelson — who splits time between homes in Nashville and Maui — considers “American Romance” to be a kind of aural travelogue, inspired by his own journeys as a musician. “Moving, traveling — up until this point in my life and, actually, continually that has been my biography the defining aspect of my life. That’s what’s kept me from getting married and having kids. It’s what keeps me from so much. It’s a romance; there’s happiness and sadness, and heartbreak and elation. It kind of covers the gamut.”

* As “American Romance” is his first “solo” album, Nelson felt it would be appropriate to include “You Were It” as the closing track. “I was on the school bus one day when I was 11, and it started playing in my head and I realized it was a song that hadn’t been written yet. So I wrote it and played it for my dad, and he liked it so much he put it on his album. That gave me a lot of confidence; I knew it wasn’t just fluff ’cause dad put it on his album. I figured it was appropriate to finally put it out, and what better way to put it out than on a record with just my name on it. It’s very stripped down; that’s me at my core, so it was kind of a nice callback.”

* Nelson says he has “so many things I’m excited about in the future, including both music and movies. “I’m working on a movie project right now that I can’t really talk about yet, but I’ve written 30 songs for that with Ernest, and that’s exciting. I’ve got some other stuff in New York that I might be doing soon. And I’m planning on recording another album coming up pretty soon; I’m writing for that now, ’cause I can’t stop the songs from coming. I just wrote a song with Ben West and Laci Kaye Booth that feels like a mix of Radiohead and country. So it’s hard to say; I can just tell you there’s a lot of music, and some fun stuff on the horizon.”

Lukas Nelson performs Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the Majestic Theatre at the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-833-9700 or majesticdetroit.com.

Looking to be entertained this weekend? There’s plenty of the usual fare — lots of music, movie openings, TV, etc. But if you feel like stepping out for something special, there are a few significant opportunities in the metro area over the next few days …

• The Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates the opening of its reimagined African American Art Galleries with a number of events during the weekend. A preview for members runs all day on Friday, Oct. 17, with the grand opening and member lecture taking place at 6 p.m. in the Detroit Film Theatre. A special gala opening will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, and the galleries open to the public at 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 19. 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-9700 or dia.org.

• Comedian and actor John Mulaney is making himself at home this weekend. He wraps a two-night stand on his “Mister Whatever” tour at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at the Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. Mulaney then moves to the Fillmore Detroit for one more show on Saturday, Oct. 18. 2115 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-5451 or thefillmoredetroit.com.

• The Dance @ Detroit Opera season begins with performances by Stars of the American Ballet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. The company will salute iconic choreographers Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Gerald Arpino and George Balanchine. Daniel Ulbricht, artistic director, will speak an hour before each performance. 313-237-7464 or detroitopera.org.

• We often forget that “Steel Magnolias” was a stage play — in 1987, by Robert Harling — before it became a hit film two years later. You can see it at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour — featuring cast members Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors), Laura “Little Nell” Campbell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) — stops Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Masonic Temple Theatre, 500 Temple St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-548-1320 or themasonic.com.

Barry Bostwick to appear with ‘Rocky Horror’ co-stars in Detroit to celebrate film’s 50th anniversary

It would make sense that a home town show would be special for a band known as the Pan Detroit Ensemble.

And indeed it was on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre — especially as it was celebrating the release of its first album.

The nine-member troupe is the brainchild of Don Was, the award-winning elite producer and Blue Note Records label president from Oak Park. It’s been together less than two years and played its first “proper” concert on just over 16 months ago at Orchestra Hall. During the interim the Ensemble has toured internationally in addition to preparing the new “Groove in the Face of Adversity,” which came out the day before the concert.

And as Saturday’s hour-and-40-minute show demonstrated, the nonet has grown into an electrifying ensemble, one capable of — in the Detroit music tradition — exploring a repertoire that blends jazz virtuosity with funk energy and a fearless spirit. Was even acknowledged before a couple of the night’s 15 songs that “we sorta knows this, sorta don’t.”

“We’re on a…mission to promulgate the indigenous sounds of our home town,” Was told the Majestic crowd — which greeted the group with a standing ovation even as it walked on stage — before the Ensemble began the night with its rendition of Hank William’ “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time,” adding that in playing Detroit “it’s so nice to be somewhere we don’t have to promulgate.”

What’s changed for the Ensemble since that Orchestra Hall show is the benefits of time. Back then it was a band of players so skilled that their sheer chops belied its short time together. On Saturday, however, it was evident how it has grown into a true, well, ensemble during the intervening months; the arrangements flowed with instinctive acumen, freely improvising upon the songs’ frameworks and often reaching a place of intuitive, organic ecstasy.

It was clear throughout that the Ensemble didn’t necessarily know what was coming from its individual members but still knew exactly what it was doing.

 

Was made early mention of his 45-year association, dating back to his band Was (Not Was), with keyboardist Luis Resto and saxophonist David McMurray, who were featured on “You Asked, I Came” from Was’ score for the 1994 film “Backbeat” and Yusef Lateef’s trippy “Nubian Lady.” All of the players — drummer Jeff Canaday, trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, guitarist Wayne Gerard and percussionist Mahindi Masai — received spotlight moments throughout the night, while vocalist Steffanie Christi’an showed an even greater comfort in her role, commanding the stage with a ferocious, loose-limbed exuberance.

The substantial number of Deadheads at the Majestic did their part in twirling to Jerry Garcia’s “Loser” and a trio of tracks — “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot” and a euphoric “Franklin’s Tower” — from the Grateful Dead’s 1975 album “Blues For Allah.” The Ensemble dipped into the Was (Not Was) canon for the first-album favorite “Carry Me Back to Old Morocco” and, towards the end of the night, “Wheel Me Out,” which came out of a rendition of Cameo’s “Insane” and found Resto adding violin to the mix.

The Ensemble ended the show with the Impressions’ defiant “This is My Country,” which Was noted “is unfortunately becoming ore apropos every day.”

It’s still a young band, but it’s clear the Ensemble is a growing concern — it already has another tour set for January, including four shows Jan. 9-10 at the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor — that’s only growing in potency and is promulgating its Pan Detroit heritage in a manner that does the city proud.

It’s not hard to figure out Jake Bass’ inspiration for his One Night Only Music Revue on Thursday, Sept. 25 in Pontiac.

“I wanted to have this old school, Motown Revue style event,” explains the Ferndale-based musician, producer and recording engineer, who owns and operates F.B.T Studios and Basement Sounds 2.0 record company. The studio was started by his father Jeff Bass and uncle Marky Bass, who among other credits were the first producers to work with a fledgling Eminem during the late 90s.

For his Revue, Bass has assembled a lineup of artists “who are either signed to (Basement Sounds) or have worked in (F.B.T.) the last few years and give them an opportunity to showcase what they do and talk about what we already put out and new music they have coming out…basically give them this platform they might not otherwise be able to get on their own.”

The Revue roster includes singers Mama Yaya and Apropos, rappers Drew Verde and Ryn Scott, rock act Better Unsaid and singer-songwriter Dan Tillery. The show will also feature a variety of guest performers, including singer Israa — who finished no. 2 on the Fox network singing competition show “Alter Ego” (Mama Yaya also made the Top 10) — and Raquel Soledad, as well as Swifty McVay from the rap group D12, which Bass also works with.

Bass’ father and his brother Mark Bass, meanwhile, will join an all-star house band that includes a number of

An all-star house band will back the performers throughout the night, with DJ Bam spinning between sets.

 

The concept of the Motown (Revue) is what really turned us on about getting all the artist and the diversification and put it out there,” Jeff Bass says. “So there’s a little bit of everything for people.”

Jeff Bass will be filming and recording the show as well, with plans to make a documentary about the event. “This is going to be an event that hopefully inspires and motivates people…to really have an experience,” he says. “I want people to leave feeling like they can conquer the world, and be excited about the future of music here.”

The One Night Only Music Revue takes place at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac. 248-858-9333 or thecrofoot.com.

You’ll find few singers as grateful and happy to still be performing with their band than Tim Booth.

He co-founded the British group James back in 1982 and, save for a six-year break during the 00s, has fronted it through 18 studio albums— 11 of which hit the Top 10 in the U.K. — and hits such as “Sit Down,” “Born of Frustration,” the title track to 1993’s “Laid” and others. And if you need proof of its continuing potency, it’s latest album, “Yummy,” knocked Beyonce out of the No. 1 spot on the U.K. charts during the spring of 2024.

The current incarnation of James is nine members strong, with Booth and bassist Jim Glennie the only remaining founding members. And Booth notes with pride that drummer Debrah Knock-Hewson is doing the current tour at nearly five months’ pregnant. Those dates find the band playing the “Laid” album, albeit in non-sequential order, along with an ever-changing array of material from throughout the group’s history — which Booth, 65, says is a long way from being over…

• Booth says via Zoom from a tour stop in Ottawa that the idea of doing “Laid” in its entirety was a former manager’s idea, and that he was “a bit averse to it at first,” mostly because “I like the unpredictability of a set list where you don’t know what’s coming.” But he’s allayed that concern by taking the songs out of chronological order and performing them amidst the other selections. “So there’s still a level of unpredictability to the whole evening that I kind of love. That is James; something that differentiates us from most bands is we change the set list nightly, we change the set list during the set. I look at bands that do the same set every night and I’m like, ‘What are they thinking? How boring!'”

• Booth adds that breaking the “Laid” songs better up serves the aesthetic of the shows as well. “It’s a great record to perform, but to perform the whole thing in one row, to a standing audience…I think it’s a big ask ’cause there’s a lot of very mellow jams on there, and it becomes a little bit too much. And emotionally for me it gets a bit dark…and it’s hard to come out of it. It’s better for everybody, I think, if we move those (‘Laid’) songs around and maybe next to…some little uplifting, joyful things, and then go back to the moody.”

• “Laid,” according to booth, was heavily influenced by James touring with Neil Young during 1992. “He invited us to play with him in America, but we had to play acoustic and had to figure out how to do that. We had some new songs we were working on and tried them out on the tour; by the time (‘Laid’ producer) Brian Eno came to see us, we were still playing acoustically — we enjoyed it so much we didn’t stop for about a year — and he was like, ‘That’s great. Let’s just continue like that,’ and that’s how we approached the album.

• The six members of James at the time famously posed in women’s dresses for the “Laid” album cover, but Booth doesn’t believe any of the musicians have them anymore. “I think they were our girlfriends’ dressed that we borrowed, so we don’t have those. It’s probably one of the best covers we ever had. I’ve got a nice dress for (the current tour), and Andy’s (Diagram, trumpet) got a nice dress we tend to wear for these gigs. It seems appropriate.”

• James’ next projects include a compilation album with two new songs and a documentary about the band that’s being directed by U.K. filmmaker Chris Atkins. Booth says the band is also working towards a follow-up to “Yummy.” “We’re in the best time of James, the most enjoyable time we’ve ever been in. I’ve been with (Glennie) 44 years — that’s more than most marriages — and it’s an amazing, enduring relationship. WE get to live our passion. We are so full of gratitude that we get to do what we love. So often old school friends will turn up and…they’re retired and they’re so happy they’re retired. We don’t want to retire. We really love what we do, and It really makes a difference I’ve been lucky enough to do what I love for 44 years.”

James performs Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. (313)833-9700 or majesticdetroit.com. The concert will also be livestreamed via nugs.net; a subscription is required.