If the current Ricky Skaggs/Del McCoury Band tour lacks the ultimate star power of the recent Down from the Mountain celebration, it has the potential to surpass that event in pure bluegrass brilliance. Skaggs returned to bluegrass in 1997 following a successful, mainstream C&W career and he’s become one of the genre’s most authoritative advocates. The latest CD from Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder, “Live at the Charleston Music Hall” (Skaggs Family), captures the ensemble’s feel. The Del McCoury Band is an ensemble with a knack for stylistic experimentation, but the group’s recent opus, “It’s Just the Night” (McCoury Music), is an enthralling showcase of old-time vocal harmony and more relaxed, but no less superb, picking.
RICKY SKAGGS, the DEL MCCOURY BAND and MOUNTAIN HEART perform Saturday at the Chicago Theater, 175 N. State St. $32-$52. 312-559-1212.
A LIST
EMMYLOU HARRIS, Saturday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. $23-$53. 312-294-3000. Apparently no one told Emmylou Harris that most pop musicians are past their creative peak in middle age. Harris’ new CD, “Stumble into Grace” (Nonesuch), is further evidence that this erstwhile C&W traditionalist singer has evolved into an innovative songwriter whose polished, graceful Americana deftly mingles Bolivian melodies, shimmering soundscapes and pop hooks among its rustic roots. The result is warm, uniquely alluring music.
VIRGINIA RODRIGUES, Friday at HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo St. $25. 312-362-9707. No matter how much music you’ve listened to, you’ve heard few voices as captivating as that of Brazilian singer Virginia Rodrigues, whose rich, resonant alto combines classical elegance and refinement with an informal charm and passion. Those dualities are also present in the music on Rodrigues’ latest record, “Mares Profundos” (Deutsche Grammaphon), which inventively combines many Brazilian styles (samba is a main influence) into songs of beauty and Carnivale-ready ebullience.
RZA, Sunday at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St. $20. 312-923-2000. Best known as the sonic architect behind the Wu-Tang Clan’s stark, cinematic gangsta rap, RZA has finally stepped out on his own with his new CD, “Birth of a Prince” (Sanctuary). In contrast to the Clan’s influential m.o., “Birth of a Prince” is a lighter, less murky showcase of old-school skills built on vinyl samples and sharp, direct, sometimes playful rhyming.
KILLING JOKE, Saturday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St. $15. 773-549-0203. After landing with a seismic thud on the rock landscape in 1979, Killing Joke never reaped the critical notoriety or success of bands like the Clash, yet the group’s thundering rhythms, corrosive guitar scraping and generally belligerent bark presaged industrial music and deeply influenced a host of post-punk luminaries. The Joke has reformed several times with mixed results, but this current tour with the original lineup holds promise as the band’s new, self-titled CD (Zuma) is a bracing blast of rugged, bare-knuckle punk-metal.
TAMA, Saturday at HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo St. $12-$15. 312-362-9707. It’s a stretch to claim that Tama’s Afro folk-pop fusion contains the best elements of all African music traditions, but this talented group does weave a remarkable number of styles into songs that are infectious, melodic and just plain lovely.
MARSHALL CRENSHAW, Friday at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St. $17-$20. 773-478-4408. While the familiar guitar jangle has given way to a multifaceted palette of tones and textures and a muted jazz vibe on Marshall Crenshaw’s latest album, “What’s in the Bag?” (Razor & Tie), the veteran songwriter’s pop melodies remain as beguiling and gracefully hook-laden as ever. Crenshaw’s live sets have always been no nonsense displays of pure pop craft.
OTHER CONCERTS
WXRT BOOGEYMAN BALL, Friday at the Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. $35-$45. 312-559-1212. No matter what kind of candy you dish out on Halloween, some trick-or-treater will walk away disappointed. Bearing that in mind, WXRT has covered many bases with the lineup of its 5th Annual Boogeyman Ball, which will feature the Southern blues-rock of the North Mississippi Allstars, the florid, globally-accented pop of Rusted Root and the quietly melodic indie rock of Granddaddy.
