MUSIC PICKS: MAY 12 - 18 

• Courtesy Photo
• The Mountain Goats

Snoh Aalegra @ The Complex
The two-time Grammy-nominated Snoh Aalegra visits Salt Lake City with a lengthy tour supporting the 2021 album Temporary Highs In The Violet Skies. The album, her press states, "delved into the forces and feelings that fill the walls of her sound and mind: self-love, independence, alienation, anxiety, toxic relationships and love, growth, and hopefulness." In short, all the emotions! The Houston Press reviewed her current tour, noting of the May 1st gig that "Aalegra's music is laid back and her show reflects that. Simple and sultry, the stage only had Aalegra and her band who were often covered in fog as lights danced over them and the room. At times it looked like she was performing in the middle of a cloud... The production gave the show an air of mystery." Snoh Aalegra plays at Rockwell at The Complex (536 W. 100 South) on Thursday, May 12 with Shaun Ross. Tickets for this gig are priced at $34.50, and can be secured at thecomplexslc.com; showtime is 8 p.m.

Terrapin Flyer @ State Room
There are a handful of major tribute bands that (forgive the pun) dedicate themselves to the music of the Grateful Dead, touring the country to good-sized audiences at every stop. Based on the sold-out show that greeted the Dark Star Orchestra a couple of months back, there's a (forgive us again) heady amount of local interest in seeing these GD tributes. Terrapin Flyer is among the best of the lot, and come with arguably the finest pedigree of any of their peers, as the group has included Grateful Dead members Tom Constanten, Bob Bralove and the late Vince Welnick at different points along the way. There's some fluidity in the band's ranks, and the band itself says that "Terrapin Flyer performs with a lineup that continues to bring in new guest musicians, nationally recognized artists and mix(es) up various members from its history to create new and intriguing musical dynamics to each show performed." In a very real sense, no two shows of the group are the same, true of this rare visit to SLC by the Chicago-based group. Terrapin Flyer plays a full night of Grateful Dead music at The State Room (638 S. State) on Friday the 13th of May. Ticket info can be found at thestateroompresents.com, which lists this as a 9 p.m., 21+ show.

The Mountain Goats @ The Depot
A smart, cerebral, rocking outfit, The Mountain Goats return to Salt Lake City with a Gateway gig and a passel of new songs from which to choose their setlist. Pitchfork gives this pithy summary of the band's last few, extremely-prolific years: "John Darnielle and the Mountain Goats, his one-time solo project which has now solidified into a quartet, have remained in constant motion. After a five-month tour at the end of 2019, the group settled at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis to make 2020's Getting Into Knives, with a plan of heading south to Muscle Shoals, Alabama shortly afterwards to record the immediate follow-up. After spending a week at FAME Studios, they emerged with Dark in Here, their third studio album in 15 months, sixth in as many years, and 20th overall." The ever-busy Mountain Goats play The Depot (13 N. 400 West) on Saturday, May 14. Doors are at 7 p.m., and ticket information can be found at livenation.com.

• Courtesy Photo
• The Reddmen

The Reddmen @ The Beehive
Formed way back in 1995 (though on hiatus for the past 11 years), The Reddmen are made up of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist J. Waylon Porcupine; sibling/drummer, Miyo One Arrow; and bassist Trevor Leo. The trio's out on a fast run of the western states, covering seven cities in just eight days, including a stop in SLC. Described as the "penultimate indigenous DIY power-pop syndicate from the Black Hills of South Dakota," the band enjoyed some moments during their initial run, including TV show song placements and a spate of live appearances, especially across this region. There's a whopping, 60-song album on Bandcamp capturing that time, The Reddmen Anthology 1995-2010 Boxset, from which you can sample all you need to know to gauge interest in this unique reunion. The Reddmen play The Beehive (666 S. State) with Wounded Knee and Mopsy on Monday, May 16.

Palace @ The Complex
With a quite-new album in 2022's Shoals, Palace haven't become a critic's darling, though they continue to flirt with commercial success. An example of the tepid love affair they have with the press comes via Pitchfork, which writes of their latest album: "The best song on Shoals... 'Shame on You' is the kind of sweeping, weeping power ballad that Coldplay perfected and then spent the past 20 years trying not to write anymore." While that might seem a backhanded compliment, it's also in the group press kit, so it's perhaps an understood reality that the group will rely more on old-fashioned word-of-mouth than striking it big through clips. In fact, it's almost refreshing that we still have bands that're going for the Perfect Big Rock Track, the sing-along, crowd-pleasing, set-closing affair that Palace has pulled off with the Pitchfork-referenced "Shame on You." They'll bring that cut and about a decade's worth of other mini-anthems to The Complex (536 W. 100 South) on Tuesday, May 17. Tickets to this all-ages show, priced at $21, can be found at thecomplexslc.com. Doors open at 6 pm.