MUSIC PICKS: FEB 16 - 22 

• Eighty8 Media
• Mega Ran

Mega Ran, Mark Dago, DJ intimiN8 @ DLC 2/16
Innovative and beloved rapper Mega Ran has been changing the game for years. Since getting started in the early aughts, he has spent years honing his skills and cutting his teeth as an emcee and producer performing in Philadelphia. Subsequently, Mega Ran has become a staple in the nerdcore genre, blending his love of music with pop-culture materials like video games and comic books. Adding to his extensive resume, the rapper is a former middle-school teacher, so adding education in his music is another niche the rapper fills. According to Mega Ran's website bio, LA Weekly said that his "fanbase and niche audiences are growing at a rate not seen since Tech N9ne." He offers something for everyone; fans of rap will enjoy his precise and intricate rapping style and music, while fans of pop culture and different fandoms can enjoy references to their favorite media. More recently, Mega Ran has been streaming on Twitch as a way to better connect with fans across the world. "I learn something literally every day, which is the best part of this time at home," he said. "I'd already been meaning to get more involved with my Twitch and with streaming, and it gave me that time to do that," he told CNN in July 2021. Catch Mega Ran with local openers City Weekly contributor Mark Dago and DJ intimiN8 on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $12 and can be found at quartersslc.com. (Emilee Atkinson)

• Cassilyn Anderson
• Krooked Kings

Krooked Kings @ Kilby Court 2/16
Rightfully crowned local royalty, the Krooked Kings will play at Salt Lake City's quintessential home base Kilby Court on Thursday, Feb 9. This gig follows a fresh batch of five single releases, starting with the last year's "Landfall," and ending ceremoniously with the Jan 2023 release of "Sick of Being Young," with the ambitious inclusion of "Love Song," (an auspicious cover of The Cure's time-honored gothic tour de force) thrown profitably in the middle. The SLC five-piece specializes in stratified and quick-witted indie anthems. With the vast majority of their songs sitting below the four-minute mark, Krooked Kings' reign may signify the return of alert, brisk, and endlessly catchy songs that both suit radio runtime and provide the crowd with energized, on-their-toes live performances. While this description runs the risk of making their majestic music sound frivolous, the Krooked Kings ensure that their production of hits stays sophisticated and stone-cold. On top of pleasing and plucky refrains are rich lyrics, contrastingly coated in the melancholia of feelings swiftly fleeting and all-at-once forgotten, resulting in music that is blissfully breathless. The band will be joined by the LA-based Cryogeyser and fellow locals Kipper Snack, ensuring an evening full of all things ideally indie. Doors for the all-ages show open at 7 p.m., tickets are $12 and can be found at 24tix.com. Don't snooze on getting yours; unsurprisingly, this show is projected to sell out. (Sophie Caligiuri)

No Love Lost @ Metro Music Hall 2/19
Mic Masters Alliance and SEM present a mash-up of an event, No Love Lost. Part rap gladiatorial bout and part all-the-way-live hip hop festival, it features eight performing artists (with emphasis on Termanology earning top billing) along with four battlers facing off in two battles. Rap battles can contain sloppy jokes to intricately crafted verses, but when the battle scene is predictable, it becomes boring. You know exactly where the punchlines will land during each bar, where the flows will speed up, the couple lines where they'll slow down for maximum effect. "After the first few shows, they caught on" Gabino Grhymes a.k.a. Nate Chacon (creator of the Mic Masters alliance) said. "It's a very difficult setting to be in. When you see someone who has been there before, you can feel it." Gabino is no stranger to battles or dropping new music; his latest single, "Back in my Bag," came out in January. Even after several listens, there is still a long way to go with it. "Back in My Bag" precedes his new EP, scheduled for release on Feb 17. No Love Lost's roster of rhyme-spitters should please all the heads. From the Wake Up Show tastemakers to the post-8 Mile audience. We would recommend this event to anyone with a passing interest in rap or anyone just looking for something a bit different. Check these acts, hosted by Rhyme Time, at Metro Music Hall on Sunday, Feb 19. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $25. Booth Reservations are $50 and can be found at 24tix.com (Mark Dago)

• Cody Cowan
• Unsane

Unsane, Swarmer @ Urban Lounge 2/20
The earliest incarnation of Unsane dates back to the late '80s in NYC; today, the trio are pioneers in the noise genre, and they've spent decades honing their sound and cultivating a massive cult following. Fans of hardcore punk and metal will enjoy Unsane's sound, and 2023 is a great time to see them. They've spent time remastering their debut self-titled album from 1991 and the tour has been affectionately dubbed "The Early Cuts Tour." "Unsane upped the ante on the paradigm for abrasive noise rock. With its implacable, corrosive feedback, noisy riffs, distorted vocals, thumping bass, and barely contained drum fury, this is a damaging—and quite damaged—record," their Bandcamp page says about the album. "The Lower East Side trio's inaugural release assaults the senses like the Swans or Foetus before them, but tempers that art-scum priggishness with clear roots in punk and classic rock." Joining the noise pioneers are SLC heavy band Swarmer. "Swarmer's sound is low, heavy, and relentless with strong influence from members' previous works," they clarify on their Bandcamp page. Their 2021 release Brutalist features an image of the iconic Great Saltair in its heyday. The album itself has gained praise from many, citing this release as some of their best yet. "Difficult to choose a favorite song as there are so many standouts in musical and lyrical composition—'Mediocre' for the sheer kicking to the head; the lyrics of 'Graveyard' capture the essence of Salt Lake's harsh and desolate beauty; 'Stardust' for the musical nuance and existential / metaphysical lyrics; 'God/Damn' for the amazing second half and poignant ending—the resonating bass strings!" said reviewer Master of Alchemy on Bandcamp. Come see these heavy acts on Monday, Feb 20 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $15 and can be found at urbanloungeslc.com. (EA)

• Dana Willax
• Fit for a King

Fit For a King, Northlane, Alphawolf, Kingdom of Giants @ The Depot 2/22
"I want to raise self-awareness," Fit For a King vocalist Ryan Kirby told HM Magazine last August. "It's not just important to fight for ourselves, but we're fighting for others. You can reach out for help even if you're scared. I know I was. I hope we can all reflect on not only what we put ourselves through, but what we put others through." The hardcore band's latest work The Hell We Create is a deeply personal and emotional album, especially on the song "End (The Other Side)." "This song is about my wife's near-death experience after having a stroke, and how the experience not only showed me how unprepared I was to lose her, but also how unprepared I am to face death. I am fortunate to have not dealt with much death in my life, but I learned, in the end, that death comes for us all," Kirby said. "It is a reflection of the events that happened throughout the pandemic. In short, my wife and I adopted children and had to homeschool them. She almost died from a stroke. The Hell We Create is by far the deepest and most personal record we've ever written." Joining Fit For a King are fellow metalheads Northlane, Alphawolf and Kingdom of Giants. Head out to this heavy show on Wednesday, Feb 22 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $44, and can be found at livenation.com. (EA)