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 Aug. 29.
Bone Owens — Friday at The Keswick Theatre
Nashville’s Bones Owens is bringing his electrifying live show and roots-meets-rock style to town in support of Blackberry Smoke as part of a summer run leading into the release of his third full-length album, “Best Western,” due out Sept. 19. Having toured the globe and supported genre-bending heavyweights like Yelawolf, Jelly Roll, and Mikky Ekko, Owens self-produced the new LP, which was recorded at the legendary Smoakstack studio in Nashville, Tenn. Owens played nearly every instrument himself, with drums supplied by Julian Dorio of The Whigs and Eagles of Death Metal, and guest contributions from Matt Thiessen of Relient K.
Simple Plan — Saturday at The Mann
For more than two decades, Montreal’s Simple Plan has been one of the most culturally and commercially successful bands in pop punk. They’re celebrating their 25th anniversary with their biggest year yet, anchored by a career-spanning documentary on Amazon Prime Video, and their most ambitious headlining trek in 25 years. The tour is dubbed “Bigger Than You Think!” and features Bowling for Soup, 3OH!3, and LOLO. Simple Plan will donate $1 from each ticket sold on this tour to the Simple Plan Foundation, which focuses on helping young people in need and showcasing the power of music as a tool to find purpose and direction in life. Since its inception in 2015, the foundation has donated over $2 million to various charitable causes in Canada.
We Are Scientists — next Thursday Johnny Brenda’s
New York City-based indie rock act We Are Scientists released their ninth album last month, “Qualifying Miles,” which sees them return to the music that shaped their respective childhoods, seeing echoes of ’90s guitar music threading throughout the project. Trademark danceable, razor-sharp hooks and witty lyricism abound; the record is the sound of a band revisiting their roots while interrogating the distance they have traveled. It’s a reflective effort that trades studio maximalism for raw immediacy, exploring themes of loss, memory, and the half-haunting pull of the past. And that’s what makes the record so compelling: it feels instinctive, unfiltered, and human — the kind of record only a band this experienced and self-aware could make.
Haim – next Thursday at The Mann
Is Haim calling it a day? No, the beloved sister trio’s “I Quit Tour” is simply named after their new album, which came out in June. Next week’s show at The Mann sees Alana, Este, and Danielle Haim kicking off the run, which will go through mid-October. Renowned for their electric and energetic live performances, Haim have toured the world playing headlining shows and festival stages including Glastonbury, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and more. “I Quit” is their fourth studio album and hit No. 3 on both the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard Top Rock & Alternative Albums, all while receiving critical acclaim across the board.
Rilo Kiley — next Thursday at The Met
Back in February, indie rock darlings Rilo Kiley announced they’d be reuniting for their first tour in 17 years, which included a slot at the top of the bill for May’s Just Like Heaven music festival, held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a regional date anywhere in sight until late spring, when the Jenny Lewis-led outfit revealed a slew of new dates, including next week at The Met. To celebrate their return, the group also released “That’s How We Choose to Remember It,” a career-spanning retrospective which the band curated themselves.
Swans — next Thursday at Union Transfer
Formed in the early ’80s by Michael Gira, Swans were initially known for their brutal, high-volume onslaughts of sound and the extreme, abject imagery of the singer’s lyrics and his thundering vocals. Over the next decade and a half, the group underwent a series of startling transformations, exploring proto-industrial rock, atmospheric and gothic elements, acoustic meditations, and grand, melody-dense sonic whirlwinds, before becoming more dissonant and sharp-edged with 1994’s “The Great Annihilator.” Finally, “Soundtracks for the Blind” in 1996 combined all those elements across well over two hours of music. Gira then disbanded the group but revived Swans in 2010, earning critical and commercial success, leading to sold-out tours and multiple Billboard chart placements. The current tour, which kicks off at Union Transfer, is in support of the record number 17 by the band, “Birthing,” which was released in late spring.
Slow Crush — next Thursday at Archer Music Hall and Sept. 5 at The Foundry
Vibrant four-piece Slow Crush have cemented themselves at the forefront of rock and shoegaze globally with their two critically acclaimed albums, 2018’s “Aurora” and “Hush” three years later. Word of their intense and emotional live shows spread quickly, leading to sold-out tours around the world. On Friday, the Belgian outfit will release their third effort, “Thirst,” and celebrate with a North American tour that kicks off with two regional dates. Next Thursday sees them perform at Allentown’s Archer Music Hall with a stop at Philly’s The Foundry the following night.
Soundcheck
• Bone Owens: “Old Time Low”
• Simple Plan: “Addicted”
• We Are Scientists: “I Could Do Much Worse”
• Haim: “Down to Be Wrong”
• Rilo Kiley: “Pictures of Success”
• Swans: “The Healers”
• Slow Crush: “Cherry”
