3 DON’T-MISS SHOWS THIS WEEK
Klassik
Style: Out-of-the-box R&B from one of the very best in the city.
Why you should go?: Klassik (born Kellen Abston) has been one of the most ambitious artists in Milwaukee for the past decade, but he achieved a new level of greatness with his astounding album “Quiet” that came out last year. The kind of work that takes a lifetime to create, “Quiet” is informed by Abston’s struggles — from the murder of his father to his battles with addiction — becoming a cathartic guide for making your life, and the lives of others, better. The vinyl release of “Quiet” will be celebrated at this show, but always up for a challenge, you can expect Klassik to reimagine the album’s bold production in invigorating new ways live.
Time and place: 8 p.m. Friday, Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave.
Price: $15 in advance at the box office, (866) 4683401 and shankhall.com. $20 day of show. — Piet Levy, plevy@journalsentinel.com
The Chieftains
Style: The most wide-ranging Celtic band in history hints at, or winks about, a fare-the-ewell.
Why you should go: The Chieftains formed in Dublin in 1962 and released an eponymous debut album in 1964, and they might not have gone international if they hadn’t worked on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 masterpiece “Barry Lyndon,” or collaborated with everyone from Van Morrison to Pistol Annies. (Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney are among their famous fans.) They are open-minded enough to explore global music but traditional enough to make March a huge concert month, and founder Paddy Moloney remains a jovial storyteller. The Chieftains are currently touring with the banner “The Irish Goodbye,” but that might be slippery slang or Eire humor rather than a real finale.
Time and place: 8 p.m. Saturday, Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Price: $39.50 to $75 at the box office, the Pabst Theater box office (144 E. Wells St.), (414) 2863663 and pabsttheater.org. — Jon M. Gilbertson, Special to the Journal Sentinel
The Lumineers
Style: Folk-rock mixture of the modern and the oldfashioned.
Why you should go: Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites started making music together in New York City, but the cost of living drove them to relocate to Denver around 2009. Upon forming a three-piece with cellist and singer Neyla Pekarek, the band by then named the Lumineers built a following and went national with the 2011 TV use of “Ho Hey,” an easily remembered singalong that is still the band’s signature. (Pekarek departed the band in 2018.) From 2012 to now, the Lumineers have issued three albums, with last year’s “III” confirming how they beautify the simplest aspects of homegrown rock and folk to reach ears blunted by 21st-century bombardment.
Openers: Mt. Joy, an L.A.-based quintet with Philly background and broad-Americana appeal, and J.S. Ondara, a Kenyan singer-songwriter who’s settled in Minnesota and developed a Dylanesque rootsiness.
Time and place: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Fiserv Forum, 1111 N. Phillips Ave.
Price: $35 to $299 at the box office and ticketmaster.com. — Jon M. Gilbertson