Soundcheck - Gig Alerts

Gig Alert: Julia Holter's Tragedy Opera at National Sawdust Tickets: $34-$42, General Admission. Shows at 7PM, 6/22 & 6/23 Singer and composer Julia Holter writes music that blurs the line between acoustic and electronic, and between pop music and the classical art song tradition. Her 2011 album Tragedy worked just fine as a collection of songs, but Holter had something bigger in mind. Inspired by a play by Euripides, she is rearranging those songs into "The Tragedy Opera," a multimedia...

ARTIST: RighteousGIRLS GIG:Friday night at Joe's Pub New Yorkexperimental duo known as RighteousGIRLSis flautist Gina Izzo and pianist Erika Dohi. Their latest album is called Gathering Blue, named after the Lois Lowry book of the same name. The book’s premise centers around a weaver, and the RighteousGIRLSsay they’re trying to weave together diverse New York based artists; that’s why the album features credits from Vijay Iyer and Ambrose Akinmusire, and on this song, the percussionist...

ARTIST:Shabazz Palaces GIG:Wednesday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg If hip-hop and jazz were suited up and sent on a space mission - the music they would make would sound a lot like Shabazz Palaces. The Seattle-based experimental hip-hop group is led by Ishmael Butler, aka Palaceer Lazaro, who comes from jazz-hip hop group Digable Planets. He combines jazz’s melodic qualities with the cut and paste aesthetic of a mixtape.

ARTIST:R. Ring GIG:Fridaynight at the Bell House Until now, the rock duo known as “R-Ring” was mostly spare atmosphere, guitars and voices. But a new single shows the group wearing its shaggier, louder impulses like a well-worn flannel shirt. And that makes sense: singer and songwriter Kelley Deal was one of the founding members of the 90s group The Breeders, along with her sister Kim Deal. Here’s a bit of the song “Loud Underneath.”

ARTIST:Gerry Hemingway GIG:Tonight atThe Stone Jazz composer and percussionist Gerry Hemingway has been doing groundbreaking work for three decades. He’s moved beyond and between genres and has been an innovator in contemporary classical and electronic music. He’s airing lots of his rich back catalog all this week at downtown performancestaple The Stone. Tonight, he’s playing selections from his 2002 album “Songs.”

ARTIST: Bomba Estéreo GIG: Friday Night at the Highline Ballroom This upbeat, Friday-appropriate song is called Amanecer – “Dawn” – by the electro-cumbia band Bomba Estéreo. It doesn’t so much sound like chirping birds as a DJ’s no-brainer pick to summon the third wind for an all-night beach party.

Amsterdam's afro-beat band, Jungle By Night, sound exactly how you might think - sensual saxophones and grooving bongos make you feel like you're in the hippest dance club in all of Africa. But what's special about the nine-piece, is that their music lives beyond the club.While they take cues fromJames Brown, Maceo Parker and electronic dance music,their music lives beyond the boundaries of a genre.Listen for yourself in their latest song, "El Miraglo." Jungle By Night performs atRough...

ARTIST:Belcea Quartet LISTEN: Belcea Quartet, Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 GIG: Wednesday night atZankel Hall, Carnegie Hall The Belcea Quartet is an multinational group – its members hail from Romania, Poland and France. Tonight, they’ll be transporting their Carnegie Hall audience back to their European stomping grounds… with a program of works all originally premiered in Vienna.

ARTIST:Sammy FigueroaGlaucia Nasser DOWNLOAD:Sammy Figuero and Glaucia Nasser, 'Quando Eu Canto' GIG: Monday 9 PM atZinc Bar Famed jazz percussionist Sammy Figueroa and Brazilian singer-songwriter Glaucia Nasser joined forces fora perfect balance of great musicianship and soaring vocals in their latest album Talismanrecorded inSao Paulo.Featuring guitarist Chico Pinheiro, pianist/composer Bianca Gismonti and pandeiro virtuoso Bernardo Aquilar this album is fullof textures, including track,...

ARTIST:Julianna Barwick DOWNLOAD: Julianna Barwick, 'One Half' GIG: Saturday at The Wick9:00 PM Ambient folk artist Julianna Barwick creates hersoundby looping her own angelic vocals. She adds minimalistic guitar and piano to create full ambient atmospheres. Currently living in Brooklyn, Barwick was raised in Missouri and credits her sound to rural church choirs. "One Half" comes from her latest album Nepenthe. Julianna Barwick - Forever from Feathers on Wings on Vimeo.

ARTIST:Homeboy Sandman DOWNLOAD: Homeboy Sandman, "America, The Beautiful" GIG: Thursday night atGlasslands8:30 PM The lyrical talent of the Queens-based rapper known as Homeboy Sandman is on full display on his new record, “Hallways.” Funny, scathing, and always politically engaged – all qualities that show up on the track “America, The Beautiful.”

ARTIST:Abjeez DOWNLOAD: Abjeez, 'Tu Me Haces Falta' GIG:Tonight at Drom. The group Abjeez takes its name from Persian slang for sister, and indeed the band revolves around a sister act, the Iranian-born musicians Safoura and Melody Safavi, But the group also sings in English, Swedish and Spanish.Abjeez plays an unplugged show tonight at Drom; this song is called "Tu Me Haces Falta."

ARTIST:Sun Kil Moon DOWNLOAD: Sun Kil Moon, 'Ben's My Friend' GIG:Tonight at Town Hall ($30-$40) The latest album from songwriter Mark Kozelek and his project, Sun Kil Moon, is packed with hyper-personal stories … and very some frank lyrics. It’s not for the faint of heart, but “Benji” might be one of the best albums of 2014. In this song, Kozelek gets an update on family members.

ARTIST:Lage Lund DOWNLOAD: Lage Lund, 'Foolhardy' GIG:Tonight and tomorrow at Small’s. Lage Lund titled his most recent album “Foolhardy,” but clearly this Norwegian-born guitarist is making some smart moves. Lund attended the Berklee and Juilliard schools of music and won the coveted Thelonious Monk International Jazz competition. Watch Lage Lund perform at Smalls last year:

ARTIST:Arto Lindsay DOWNLOAD: Arto Lindsay, 'Personagem' GIG: Tonight at 8pm at Le Poisson Rouge. During a long career, the musician and producer Arto Lindsay has worked in so many different styles, it was perfectly reasonable to call his new CD retrospectiveThe Encyclopedia of Arto. A member of New York’s so-called “No Wave” scene of the 1970's, Lindsay is a pioneer of modern experimental music, while embracing jazz, funk and the sounds of his Brazilian homeland. Here’s the song...

ARTIST:Jenifer Jackson DOWNLOAD: Jenifer Jackson, 'Texas Sunrise' GIG:Tonight at 8pm at Rockwood Music Hall Jenifer Jackson moved from New York to Austin, Texas a few years ago, and the Lone Star State certainly has left its rootsy mark on her music. The prolific songwriter’s eleventh album is called Texas Sunrise, and on it Jennifer Jackson is backed by her band, the Texas Gentlemen.Download thetitle track from the album Texas Sunrise. BONUS: Watch Jenifer Jackson perform below.

ARTIST:Blackbird Blackbird DOWNLOAD: Blackbird Blackbird, "Hold On" GIG:Thursday night at Mercury Lounge ($12) Almost anyone has the ability to program some beats in their basement and make vaguely melodic tunes over the top. But not everyone does it with as much finesse as the musician known as Blackbird Blackbird, who manages to blend bold hooks with the better aspects of ambient electronics on his new record, Tangerine Sky. Take a listen to “Hold On”... Blackbird Blackbird is at Mercury...

ARTIST: Regina Carter DOWNLOAD: Regina Carter, "Trampin'" GIG: Wednesday night at Birdland ($40) Like many great musicians, jazz violinist Regina Carter is something of an anthropologist: peeling back the layers of history that accrue around time-worn melodies. She sat with old Southern folk recordings at the Library of Congress to create the songs on her new album Southern Comfort. Here’s one called “Trampin’.” You can catch Regina Carter tonight through Saturday at Birdland. BONUS: Watch...

ARTIST: Ben Watt DOWNLOAD: Ben Watt, "Nathaniel" GIG: Tuesday night at 9:30pm at Joe's Pub ($25) Ben Watt is best known as half of the British jazz-pop duo Everything But The Girl. But his new solo record Hendra shows him in prime singer-songwriter mode. The track “Nathaniel” is a great example -- and features a well-placed cameo from Bernard Butler, the lead guitarist of Brit-rock band Suede. Ben Watt is at Joe’s Pub tonight, and at Rough Trade tomorrow night. BONUS: Here's the video for...

ARTIST: Wild Ones DOWNLOAD: Wild Ones, "Paia" GIG: Thursday 7pm at Webster Hall ($18) In a music world where synth-heavy electro-pop frequently has its tongue firmly in its cheek, it can be difficult to know when a group is displaying a sincere love for the sound vs aping it for hipster points. There’s no doubt that the quintet Wild Ones is in the former camp. Check out the sparkling “Paia” from 2013’s Keep It Safe. Wild Ones is at Webster Hall tonight. BONUS: Some gorgeous video of the band...