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 June 20:
Blondshell — Saturday at Union Transfer
Last month Blondshell, aka Sabrina Teitelbaum, released the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her raw and exposed 2023 self-titled debut. The result, “If You Asked for a Picture,” is alive with a more vital nuance both sonically and thematically, gesturing towards a deeper autobiographical story that taps into something painfully universal without being too overt. The singer found herself more confident in the studio this time around and thinking in terms that were less black and white and more questioning than on its predecessor. Teitelbaum spent two years on the road in the wake of her first album dropping, with over 150 shows, including major festivals and a tour with Liz Phair on top of her own sold-out headline dates. Now she’s back doing the latter, bringing unfettered excitement to share the new material live.
The Allman Betts Band — Saturday at The Music Box at The Borgata
The calendar says summer begins this weekend, so if you find yourself down the shore, there’s no better way to keep cool than to take in a show. The Allman Betts Band, fronted by Devon Allman and Duane Betts, the sons of legendary Allman Brothers Band founders Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, are celebrating seven years of making music and their road dog style of touring around the world. Known for their signature mix of classic rock, blues, soul, country, jazz, and jam influences, the band takes audiences on a musical journey through their own originals, as well as a fair share of classic Allman Brothers songs for an evening filled with that familiar sound that’s part of their family’s legacy.
DeVotchKa — Sunday at Reverb
Denver gypsy folk outfit DeVotchKa has existed almost exclusively as a touring act for the past several years, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as that’s where the ensemble thrives. Coming up on three decades together as a band, they remain one of the most unique out there to witness onstage, blending cabaret styles and indie pop for a night that promises to be mysteriously engaging, as it will be breathtaking. Led by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Nick Urata, DeVotchKa has made it a habit of sucking audiences into their world, building a fanbase that will last for life.
U.S. Girls — Monday at Johnny Brenda’s
Originally from Illinois, Meg Remy is established as one of the most acclaimed songwriters and performers to emerge from Toronto’s eclectic underground music scene. As the creative force behind the musical experimental pop entity U.S. Girls, her celebrated discography spans 15 years, including three Polaris Prize shortlisted albums that also garnered Juno nominations for Best Alternative Album. As a platform and persona, U.S. Girls operates on a uniquely out-of-time wavelength, alternately wronged and rueful, classic but contemporary, bruised vignettes of poetic Americana through a feminist lens.
Buscabulla — Tuesday at The Foundry
Puerto Rican indie pop duo Buscabulla landed on the radar with their 2020 breakthrough debut album, “Regresa.” Along with global critical acclaim, the LP captured the attention of Bad Bunny, who invited the duo to collaborate on “Andrea,” one of the many highlights of his chart-topping, Latin Grammy Award-winning album, 2022’s “Un Verano Sin Ti.” The experience filled Buscabulla with renewed ambition and revitalized creativity, the results of which continue with their latest effort, “Se Amaba Así.” The new album pushes the duo’s shared sonic world through dark synthesizers, witchy vocal loops, and the sharp snap of live percussion to create a singularly universal record about the difficulties inherent in keeping a relationship alive at this moment in time.
Jessie Reyez — Wednesday at the Met
Grammy-nominated and five-time Juno-winning Colombian/Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez has cemented herself as a trailblazer in pop and R&B with her raw vocals, fearless lyricism, and emotive performances, all evident on her newest LP, “Paid in Memories.” She first gained attention with her 2016 hit “Figures,” leading to her acclaimed EPs “Kiddo” and “Being Human in Public,” the latter earning a Grammy nomination. Her 2020 debut album “Before Love Came to Kill Us” debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart, and No. 13 on the Billboard 200, and recently achieved RIAA Gold certification, while her 2022 sophomore album, “Yessie,” was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. She has collaborated with Eminem, 6lack, Calvin Harris, and recently Lil Wayne, Miguel, and Ari Lennox, while also penning hits for Dua Lipa, Sam Smith, and more.
Bettye LaVette — Wednesday at World Café Live
At 78 years old and in her 62nd year in show business, Bettye LaVette is one of the very few of her contemporaries who were recording during the birth of soul music in the 1960s and still creating vital recordings today. Her career began in 1962, at 16 years old, in Detroit with the Atlantic Records debut single, “My Man — He’s a Lovin’ Man.” Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, she recorded for several major labels and appeared in the Broadway run of “Bubbling Brown Sugar” alongside Honi Coles and Cab Calloway. Her show at World Café Live is being billed as an intimate evening with the singer, one where she’ll be performing classics new and old from throughout her catalog.
Soundcheck
• Blondshell: “What’s Fair”
• The Allman Betts Band: “Magnolia Road”
• DeVotchKa: “How It Ends”
• U.S. Girls: “Pearly Gates”
• Buscabulla: “11:11”
• Jessie Reyez: “Figures”
• Bettye LaVette: “My Man — He’s a Lovin’ Man”
