Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock ’n’ roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there will always be something to check out. Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of May 2:
Allison Russell — Friday at The Theatre of Living Arts
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, poet, activist, and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell comes to the TLA as part of her rescheduled “All Returners” headline tour. The run follows the completion of her Broadway debut as Persephone in the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical “Hadestown.” Russell took over the role in November 2024 after spending much of the year opening for Hozier on his “Unreal Unearth Tour,” supporting his arena run on all US dates and throughout Europe. Earlier this year, she released a new single, “Superlover,” featuring Annie Lennox, who called Russell, “A beautiful person, both inside and out, as well as having an absolute heart of gold.”
Jensen McRae — Saturday at World Café Live
At just 27, modern folk muse Jensen McRae has already toured with Noah Kahan, MUNA, Amos Lee, and Corinne Bailey Rae, graced a Times Square billboard, and served as the cover of Spotify’s Today’s Singer-Songwriters playlist. Recently named Deezer’s Global Artist to Watch for April, she continues to build momentum as a fearless storyteller, weaving raw vulnerability and poetic lyricism into songs that explore love, loss, and the complexities of life. A graduate of USC’s Thornton School of Music and a Grammy Camp alum, McRae is carving out space for young Black women in the folk genre with unflinching honesty and raw lyricism.
Sasami — Saturday at Underground Arts
After establishing herself with the poised melancholia of her eponymous 2019 debut, Sasami embraced volume and control on 2022’s “Squeeze” — touring in support of it with a metal band — but her goal for this year’s “Blood on the Silver Screen” LP was to speak her truth with conviction by singing. Working with co-producers Jenn Decilveo and Rostam, with Sasami as sole writer, each track on the LP viscerally captures a different thread of love, sex, power, and embodiment. “Pop music is like fuel,” Sasami said in a statement around the release. “It’s just invigorating.” She added that she wanted to “go all out” on the record and plans to do the same live.
Napalm Death + Melvins — Monday at Union Transfer
If you’re seeking a night of heaviness, stop looking. The godfathers of grindcore, Napalm Death, storm into town to reignite the “Savage Imperial Death March” alongside sludge-metal legends The Melvins, making for a night of unrelenting speed, chaos, and sonic devastation. For over four decades, Napalm Death have remained one of the most influential and uncompromising forces in extreme music, pioneering a sound that blends grindcore, crust punk, and death metal into a politically charged whirlwind of aggression. First teaming up in 2016, The Melvins proved to be perfect sonic compadres, bringing together two of the most fearless, boundary-pushing bands in heavy music. The next chapter of this legendary tour will feature The Melvins adding their unpredictable fusion of punk and metal to the bill and rounding out a night of sheer intensity.
Florist — Monday at Johnny Brenda’s
Indie folk outfit Florist invites listeners to question everything on their new LP, “Jellywish,” to imagine a world where magic, surrealism, and the supernatural are our companions in day-to-day life. It dares to present a realm of possibility and imagination in a time that feels evermore prescriptive, limiting, and awful. The album finds the New York minimalist quartet exploring life’s big questions without offering silver linings, morals, or definitive answers. Instead, the band asks perhaps the most difficult of questions: Is it possible to break free from our ingrained thought cycles and pedestrian way of life? That, Florist posits, may be the only way to be truly happy, fulfilled, and free. And for music lovers, it could start right at Johnny Brenda’s Monday night.
Coco Jones — Tuesday at The Fillmore
Coco Jones continues to cement herself as an R&B powerhouse, receiving seven Grammy nominations before ever putting out a full album. She earned five of them last year alone, including Best New Artist, and took home her first win for “ICU” for R&B Performance of the Year. She was also nominated for her first-ever MTV VMA Award for MTV Push Performance of the Year for the track. Most recently, she added two more Grammy noms at this year’s awards for R&B Performance of the Year and Best R&B Song for “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” which is the first single from her debut LP, “Why Not More?” which came out on Friday.
Tune-Yards — Wednesday at Union Transfer
Based in Oakland, Calif., Tune-Yards shot to fame with their 2011 4AD label debut, “W H O K I L L,” which topped numerous critics’ year-end lists. Now, the dynamic duo of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner are preparing to drop their sixth album, “Better Dreaming,” later this month. Ahead of the LP’s May 16 release, they’re out road-testing a bunch of the songs live, with a bunch of classics in the set as well. Seeing the trend of distraction, depression, and heartbreak reigning supreme in 2025, the duo are proudly waving an anti-fascist, liberation, freak flag on “Better Dreaming,” with some of Tune-Yards smoothest, funkiest, and most direct pop music to date. And, yes, you can dance to it.
Soundcheck
• Allison Russell: “Superlover”
• Jensen McRae: “Savannah”
• Sasami: “In Love with a Memory [Feat. Clairo]”
• Napalm Death: “The Wolf I Feed”
• Melvins: “Honey Bucket”
• Florist: “Have Heaven”
• Coco Jones: “You”
• Tune-Yards: “Limelight”
