MUSIC PICKS: OCT 7 - 13 

• Ivan Collaco

AG Club at The Beehive
The Beehive has been hitting it hard with shows over the past few months since they've re-opened. Locals and touring acts alike have been filling the gritty DIY venue with sound, and soon they'll have some big shit coming through. AG Club is one of the hottest new things out of the Bay Area—a music collective with the numbers of Brockhampton, but with a harder edge executed with finesse by its members, despite their youth. Among their chief creators are vocalist Baby Boy, Jody Fontaine, Mick Antony and their go-to music video director, 777 Media. There's another thing they have in common with Brockhampton: a multimedia approach to creating fire music with colorful and inspired promotional content to match. The "AG" in AG Club stands for "avant garde," an apt name for a group that experiments widely with their multitude of influences—a quality that makes their brand of hip hop deeply dynamic and always shifting and surprising. They'll fit right in at The Beehive. The show, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, is all-ages, and doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22. The Beehive is now requiring proof of vaccination for all shows. Visit sartainandsaunders.com to snag tickets.

The Front Bottoms at The Union
Classic rock for a certain type of alt-minded millennial, The Front Bottoms have earned an enduring popularity for themselves since their days of early successes in the late aughts. With the tongue-in-cheek breathlessness of folk-punk popular at the time, plus the angst of Midwest emo, The Front Bottoms carved out a niche that's so influential you can still hear it in DIY bands today—spare guitar + wild drums + lyrics that can be sardonic as often as they can be emotionally raw = a straightforward equation to relate to, to rock out to and to interpret for one's own music. Though things have changed a lot since their first, more spare releases (the guitars have long been fleshed out and more capital-R Rock 'n' Roll), they're still busy as ever, having just released In Sickness & In Flames in 2020. They'll be stopping into The Union Event Center on Sunday, Oct. 10 alongside the contemporary indie emo sensations Oso Oso, as well as Sydney Sprague, who just released her pop-hued debut album maybe i will see you at the end of the world this year. The show is all-ages, doors are at 6 p.m. and tickets are $26.50. Visit theunioneventcenter.com for tickets and more info.

Thelma Houston at Loud and Queer: The Ballroom
It's hard to figure out what to get most excited about with this fundraiser event for the Utah Pride Center. On Saturday, Oct. 9, Soundwell will play host to a who's-who of Utah's finest drag queens, LGBTQ+ dancers and artists, speaker Matty Easton (the BYU valedictorian who "lives rent free in Jeffrey R. Holland's head" for being openly gay) and to top it all off, Motown legend Thelma Houston! Her classic tunes (like the iconic disco hit "Don't Leave Me This Way") will help set the scene for Soundwell's transformation into a Studio 54-themed party, complete with a Pose-informed runway featuring walks from SLC's ballroom houses Vom Blush, Stephens and Devonce. It will be hosted by Gia Bianca Stephens—Southern States National Showgirl 2021, member and producer of Quorum of the Queens show and former Miss Gay Utah. Meanwhile, Jason CoZmo will be rollicking around as Disco Dolly alongside dancers from his Viva La DIVA show, and Marrlo Suzzanne will also make an appearance with her Galaxy Band performing covers of '70s and '80s hits. More music will come from Andrew Christian and Lyle Anthony, with go-go boys in the back, of course. One thing is for sure with this event—there's more than enough to keep entertained! The show is 21+, starts at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $40 to $120. Visit soundwellslc.com for tickets and more info, and follow @queenhousemusic on Instagram for more details on performers.

• Fabrizio Moretti

Nation of Language at Metro Music Hall
If it's fresh and clean New Wave you crave, look no farther than Metro Music Hall on Sunday, Oct. 10. Nation of Language will be stopping at the venue while on tour with their 2020 album, Introduction, Presence along for the ride. The album came out over the course of several years of slowly released singles, all teasing a contemporary take on '80s synth-pop that's been all the rage these last few years in the indie circuit. There is a lot of fluff within that revival, but this is the rare contemporary album that goes beyond many others with clear, intentional, synth-driven melodies that play well with guitar and basslines that are just as intelligently placed—all of which play an equal part in the 10-track album. While the music itself encourages everything that good synth-pop does—namely dancing—it's an emotional work that fixates on being fixed in place, stuck. This, too, helps the album stand out from many others that focus purely on the aesthetics of the glittery genre. They're supported by opener Bobo, who also finds joy in experimenting with synth-pop, and her experiments can go from the slightly melancholy to the bubblegum-like, depending on the day. The show is 21+, doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $13. Metro Music Hall requires proof of vaccination or a negative test, plus masks, at all shows.

801 Sessions Presents at Kilby Court
The Spy Hop youth-run music production group 801 Sessions has long been fertile ground for some of Utah's best young talent, and the same is true today. 801 Sessions allows local youth to learn to run a music production company by taking over the program, which is offered three times a year, in an apprenticeship style that has the benefit of Spy Hop funding—so the kids get paid to learn valuable skills. Recently, 801 Sessions affiliates include OK Vision, Gavin Palmer, Marcus Koncar, Obabo, English Budgies, Sunfish and Madi's Tattoo, all of whom showed up on their late 2020 801 Sessions Compilations Vol. 1 album. In addition to help from Spy Hop, 801 Sessions finds a partner in Kilby Court, which provides testing ground for those learning the ropes of putting on a show. And on Monday, Oct. 11, they'll do just that, when folks like the aforementioned solo artist Obabo will perform at an 801 Sessions-centric showcase there, alongside the somewhat chaotic DIY-style band Mildred Mildew & The Leftovers, and indie crooners Who Killed Candace. The show is all-ages, as always, doors are at 6 p.m. and tickets are $8 at kilbycourt.com. Kilby Court requires proof of vaccination or a negative test, plus masks, at all shows.