MUSIC PICKS: APR 14 - 20 

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Bill Frisell @ The Egyptian Theatre
With a three-pack of dates at the historic Egyptian (328 Main St, Park City), acclaimed guitarist Bill Frisell will be joined in this Thursday-Saturday engagement by his tourmates for this run, drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Thomas Morgan. As a recording artist, he's been active since the early '80s, creating literally dozens of works as a bandleader, winning consistent acclaim as one of the finest guitarists in the world while crossing every genre imaginable. Including his works as a guest artist and collaborator, the man's discography grows into the hundreds. Thus, guessing what Frisell and his talented trio will bring to this gig might be an impossible, if enjoyable, task. Tickets for this three-night stand (April 14 - 16) range from $29 - $43, and can be purchased via tickets.egyptiantheatrecompany.org.

Geekin' Out @ The DLC @ Quarters
Hosted by the evening's emcee Sequoia, this multi-performer variety show with comedy, music and drag features Icky Rogers, Schade the Queen, Agony Ray and Mik Jäger. Doors for the 21-plus event on Thursday, April 14, open at 8 p.m., and performances will take place at both 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets for this show at The DLC (5 E. 400 South) are available at tix@jrcslc.com.

Mattiel @ Urban Lounge
Atlanta's Mattiel is an exciting act made up of songwriter/vocalist Atina Brown and songwriter/guitarist John Swilley. Together since 2014, the pair have released three albums since 2017, each of them melding a host of influences, from '60s garage to contemporary pop. (They've also shown a nice ability to craft a fun music video; to whatever degree you still take those in, give theirs a listen/look.) Spin says of their latest album, Georgia Gothic: "It's a record whose sound hops around like the flavors of a savory-sweet sample platter, and Brown's vocals mixed with Swilley's chords are as cohesive as a rich pâté on the perfect cracker." Evocative, no? They're very much that. Mattiel plays the Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East) on Monday, April 18 with a 7 p.m. door. Tickets for this 21-up show are $15 and available at 24tix.com.

Mondo Cozmo @ The Depot
Mondo Cozmo's third and latest album, This is for the Barbarians, is mere days old, having been released on April 8. The work, the group's bio suggests, "was inspired by the Barbarian poets, a group of writers who gathered in San Francisco's Cafe Babar in the 1980s." Those literary influences are found wedded to an album with all the trappings of post-pandemic ennui. As the bio continues, songwriter Josh Ostrander says that "It's a slice of my liver and a piece of my heart. This is for the people going through darkness like I've been going through. Is anybody else out there hurting, or mad, or scared out of their mind? We're in this together." The album's first single, an uptempo, soulful affair called "Electrify My Love," is easily accessible at all the usual places, giving a fine introduction to this new album's vibe. Mondo Cozmo appears at The Depot (13 N. 400 West) on April 20 with the headlining Airborne Toxic Event. Doors open at 7 p.m. with tickets available at ticketmaster.com.

Joy Oladokun @ Soundwell
Out as a headliner in support of her major label debut in defense of my own happiness, Joy Oladokun is enjoying a moment in which her art's being highlighted in high-profile music vlogs, magazines and network television. Rolling Stone says that the work "features an immaculately crafted batch of folk-and-R&B-influenced songs that center her experiences as a queer Black woman in America." NPR Music praises the artist by saying "she has a remarkable ability to distill how forces at work in the world...she can make even social and political protest feel like an intimate, warmly human act." In fact, we'd suggest that a quick visit to the web to search out Oladokun's Tiny Desk concert for NPR Music would be a stellar way to introduce yourself to the artist if you're not yet hipped. It's a stunning little concert, one that conveys here unique folk/R&B styles perfectly. Joy Oladokun plays Soundwell (149 W. 200 South) on Tuesday, April 19, with a 7 p.m. door time. Tickets are available via soundwellslc.com, priced $18-20. This is an all-ages show.

Jon Spencer & The HITmakers with Quasi @ Urban Lounge
Famed guitarist, songwriter and howler of the late Blues Explosion, Jon Spencer's back with an album called Spencer Gets It Lit, augmented by a new band to bring those songs to life live. Spencer's bio says of the album: "electro-boogie, constructivist art pop, a psychedelic swamp of industrial sleaze and futurist elegance. It is an epic master work of freak beat from the world's weirdest garage. Across brain-boggling layers of fury, fuzz guitar, and a crash-bang battery of phaser blasts, photon torpedoes, and otherworldly zounds, he frantically spits, croons, rhapsodizes, and seduces." Okay, then! What's especially awesome about this event is the fact that world class drummer Janet Weiss (of the amazing long-timers Sleater Kinney and masterful short-timers Wild Flag) will appear on drums for The HITmakers as well as the band she's been a part of since the 1990s, Quasi. Along with Sam Coomes, Quasi's been creating brilliant, if intermittent two-piece rock'n'roll via drums and keys since 1993. This memorable double-bill hits the Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East) on Wednesday, April 20, with doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are $28, available via theurbanloungeslc.com.