The weather's gonna be quite fantastic this weekend, which is one reason to get out and do something. Want a few more? There’s plenty to see and do, whether that involves hitting up an outdoor event (like, say, our annual Street Eats Food Truck Festival), scoping out both a lunar eclipse and comet in the skies overhead tonight, or treating your boo to a night on the town in honor of Valentine’s Day.
Of course, you could also spend an evening at one of the great performances happening this weekend around the Valley, whether it's one you'll find in our online concert calendar or any the following seven shows.
The Lemon Twigs – Friday, February 10 – Valley Bar
The Lemon Twigs’ latest album, Do Hollywood, is new only to their listeners. Brian D’Addario, the eldest of the two brothers and songwriting team that powers the four-piece, has been working in some capacity with of all these songs for the last two years. “I can’t wait for this cycle to be over a little bit,” he admits with a laugh from the basement of his parents’ Long Island home. “But I guess I should focus on this one since it just came out.” Recorded under the direction of Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and released this past October, Do Hollywood is the band’s proper, label-backed introduction to the world. That’s the sticking point for nineteen-year-old D’Addario: It’s out in the world – and no longer just in his head and on his computer. People are listening to it, writing about it, evaluating it, turning it on its ear and shaking out the influences – the majority of which are the pop greats of yesteryear. One listen conjures sonic images of the Beach Boys, Electric Light Orchestra, Wings, Todd Rundgren and the Beatles. ELLE CARROLL
George Acosta – Friday, February 10 – Gypsy Bar
As a general rule, the top trance DJs are all European. One of the few exceptions that proves the rule is Florida-based trance hero George Acosta. He may not have quite the same cultural cachet as Tiësto, Ferry Corsten or Markus Schulz, but he is certainly capable of spinning the same highly ornamented, melodic, pumping cheese as his Euro counterparts. From slick, pretty and soaring to hard, banging and soulless, Acosta can work both ends of the trance spectrum. His 22 years behind the decks have been captured on mix discs such as Ministry of Sound's Trance Nation America and Ultra Records' History of Trance, and he's got a slew of his own trancetastic productions, including "The Reaper" and "Mellodrama." His sets have soundtracked everything from Berlin's Love Parade to nightclubs around the world. CORY CASCIATO
Broken Hearts Ball feat. Lindsey Stirling – Friday, February 10 – Livewire
Part Riverdance, part steampunk, part Paganini, part Skrillex — there’s no one really quite like Lindsey Stirling, the Gilbert native whose first exposure to the masses came on America’s Got Talent in 2010 when Piers Morgan told her “she wasn’t good enough” to win the show. But unlike the rest of her AGT peers, Stirling actually has built a career for herself, and though her stage show is more like a Las Vegas act than a traditional concert, she’s still carved out a niche for herself with her mostly instrumental music, which mixes her dexterous violin playing with electronic dance-inspired beats. Stirling, now 30, released her third studio album, Brave Enough, in 2015, and shows no signs of slowing down. This weekend, she'll headline Mix 96.9's Broken Hearts Ball in Scottsdale. DAVID ACCOMAZZO
Paris Combo – Saturday, February 11– Musical Instrument Museum
France more than holds its own on the world music stage. Paris, in fact, long ago established itself as the international music capital of the world, a sanctuary for musicians from other lands whose work is either underappreciated or under attack. The city has long been home to American blues and jazz greats, African superstars, Latin expats and others seeking both artistic and commercial acceptance. And with so many styles and sounds circulating about, Paris also has been the breeding ground for countless unique hybrids that have expanded the global repertoire at an unprecedented rate. Paris Combo embraces this multiculti movement while remaining distinctly French. Fronted by sultry chanteuse Belle du Berry, who emotes with the passion and flair of Piaf and also pens all the band's songs, the group emerged from the cabaret revival of the 1980s to become one of France's premier musical exports. Anchored by the skilled guitar work of Potzi, trumpeter David Lewis (who played with Afro-pop heavyweight Manu Dibango), bassist Mano Razanajato from Madagascar and drummer-crooner François-François, Paris Combo captures the theatrical magic of French cabaret, embellished with touches of jazz, gypsy swing and Latin rhythm. BOB BURTMAN
Angel Olsen – Sunday, February 12 – Crescent Ballroom
Although Angel Olsen has held a place in the hearts of lo-fi folk fans for the last five or so years, it wasn’t until her 2016 release, MY WOMAN, that Olsen truly exploded onto the scene. The critically acclaimed album showcased a more matured and nuanced take on Olsen’s dark, esoteric singer-songwriter style, offering instant classics like “Shut Up Kiss Me” and “Intern” that function as addicting earworms that are still artistically engaging. Undeniably a rock statement, Olsen’s third LP shows a progression away from the haunting Americana that began to define her work. Instead, MY WOMAN starts with a clarity in vocal production previously unfound in Olsen’s recordings, which almost immediately makes the point that she’s here and has something to say. Throw in some synths and up-tempo beats and you have a whole new woman, though her siren-like crooning still sneaks its way in from time to time. Unfortunately, though, if you don’t already have tickets to Olsen’s Crescent Ballroom performance with Chris Cohen, you’ll have to wait until her next tour to catch her live because the show is, unsurprisingly, sold out. (Or you could always hit up the secondary market.) HEATHER HOCH
Branford Marsalis – Sunday, February 12 – Scottsdale Center for the Arts
New Orleans-born saxophonist Branford Marsalis has been a household name since the early 1980s. Alongside his younger brother Wynton, he set the jazz world ablaze, earning his stripes on the bandstand with Art Blakey. From there, he found work in pop music (the Grateful Dead, Sting) and acting (Throw Mama From the Train, School Daze). His unpredictable career found its highest profile when, just over 20 years ago, he became the bandleader for Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show. He spent his weekdays on late-night television, smiling politely at Jay's Bill Clinton jokes and most of his weekends jetting to New York to see his young son. Marsalis did not last on the bandstand too long. He left two and a half years later to focus on his saxophone and has released a handful of terrific records, including 2013’s Four MFs Playin' Tunes and last year’s Upward Spiral. SEAN J. O'CONNELL
Turtle Island Quartet – Sunday, February 12 – Musical Instrument Museum
This month, the double-Grammy-winning, San Francisco-based Turtle Island Quartet is planning to make a stop at the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix. And they’ve got something special planned for their show. The four-person ensemble – consisting of violinists David Balakrishnan and Alex Hargreaves, viola player Benjamin von Gutzeit, and cello player Malcolm Parson – will perform their interpretation of John Coltrane's seminal A Love Supreme, the one which earned them a Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Crossover Album. For more than two decades, Turtle Island have reworked music from Bach to Hendrix to Clapton, taking on the occasional musical collaborators along the way, such as vocalist and fellow Grammy winner Tierney Sutton. The quartet will be rolling solo, however, during their performance at the MIM’s musical theater, one of the Valley’s finest venues and one that should provide an apt setting for this jazz-centric event. TOM MEEK