SHAKE OFF WINTER
And get down with some of the season’s best concerts
From intimate folk clubs to club beats bouncing around TD Garden, we have concerts for every taste. Fine, not every taste. Sadly, our winter music preview only covers: Americana, funk, hip-hop, indie, jazz, pop, rock, soul and world beat. Martha Bourne, Steve Mayone, and the Blue Ribbons, Jan. 25, Club Passim, Cambridge.
Passim's evolving songwriter night features a few old friends doing some rocking, brilliant Americana (in the broadest sense of the word). All vets of the Cambridge/Somerville scene, these three acts will slide from outsider folk to oldschool r&b to dreamy pop.
Club d’Elf, Feb. 9, Lizard Lounge, Cambridge.
Bassist and band leader Mike Rivard celebrates 20 years of sonic globe trekking at this Lizard show. As always, expect absurdly talented guests going from jazz to funk to half a dozen musical traditions from Morocco to the Middle East.
Robert Plant, Feb. 16, the Orpheum.
David Bowie, Gregg Allman and Prince all left us last year. Robert Plant remains the same: The golden god of rock released a masterpiece in 2017. His latest album, “Carry Fire,” looks back to “Led Zeppelin III” and his own “Raising Sand” while sounding as young and indie as the war on drugs. See your idols while you can.
Ali McGuirk, Feb. 17, Atwood's Tavern, Cambridge.
I declare 2018 the year of Ali. With her excellent modern soul debut LP in the rearview, the local singer will take the show on the road. Check out the city's most underrated voice at the perfect, cozy, winter venue.
Jonathan Richman, March 2, Somerville Theatre.
Somewhere in the sonic Bermuda triangle between Noel Coward, Lou Reed and Stephen Malkmus, Richman gleefully sails the seas of song. Live, the Modern Lover croons over his Spanish guitar, and Tommy Larkins drums, full of coy smiles and odd tunes. (See Robert Plant re: Enjoying your idols while they are still around.)
Dutch ReBelle, March 3, the Lilypad, Cambridge.
Boston MC Dutch ReBelle released one of the best hip-hop collections of 2017 without even trying. While ReBelle readies her new album, “Bang Bang,” she slipped out some leftover tracks on the set “No Stems.” “Pretty Girls” is hard as hell; “Miss Me” is sweet soul spiked with ReBelle's smooth, speedy rhymes. Hey, Dutch, don't take much more time with “Bang Bang.” We know it's going to be a blockbuster.
Kristin Hersh and Tanya
Donelly, March 9, City Winery. Old friends and bandmates Hersh and Donelly team for a night of solo songs and, we hope, lots of classics from Throwing Muses, Belly and 50FootWave.
L Jon Batiste, March 14, the Sinclair, Cambridge.
You probably know Batiste as the leader of Stay Human, the house band of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” But the man is much more. He's one of the great modern jazz pianists, an amazing live performer and the force behind last year's striking reimagining of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” L Betty Who, March 15, the Paradise.
The Australian-born, Berklee-educated budding pop star makes music Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Carly Rae Jepsen fans can groove to. But Who does it with touches of fresh synth-pop and club-ready tropical beats that show off her outsider approach.
L Lorde, April 3, TD Garden. The most important voice in pop music? Maybe. The most unexpected success of the last decade? Probably. Skip Demi Lovato and Pink, see Lorde. L Tony Bennett, April 13, Boston Opera House.
The legend is still belting out the classic American Songbook at 91. What more is there to say? Oh, yeah, don't wait until he's 92. Witness the magic now.