Recommended Live Music for the Weekend

This weekend's soundtrack comes with an extra helping from Down Under with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard at Stubb's and trio Middle Kids at Antone's.

FRIDAY

Middle Kids

Antone’s
Fri., June 22, 8pm

Propelled by shout-outs from Elton John, Aussie trio Middle Kids rode the festival circuit behind anthemic indie charmer “Edge of Town.” A 2017 EP showed off Hannah Joy’s forcefully earnest vox, matched by hyper, tumultuous rock backing. Latest Lost Friends achieves an ambitiously big sound via country-tinged enthusiasm. Locals Duncan Fellows begin with playful indie-pop from debut LP Both Sides of the Ceiling. – Rachel Rascoe

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

Stubb’s
Fri., June 22, 8pm

Australia’s King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard smelt musical intensity to smiling hedonism, shaking psych rock down until it pounds. On 13 albums in five years – five in 2017 alone – the septet slams smart pop, power rock, microtonal music, and free-form improv. Here they import the raving garage rock of fellow Melbournies Amyl & the Sniffers. – Michael Toland

Blue Öyster Cult

Empire Control Room
Fri., June 22, 8pm

Last August, the pride of Long Island, 51, filled the onetime Empire Garage with metal revivalists crowding at the feet of bandleaders Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and Eric Bloom. Deep dishes including Mirrors’ “The Vigil” and “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” LP mate “Tattoo Vampire” rang mystically sinister, while old-schoolers “Hot Rails to Hell” and “Then Came the Last Days of May” thrilled one and all. – Raoul Hernandez

Smooth Jazz & R&B Festival

The Belmont
Fri., June 22, 8:30pm

Austin saxophonist and show emcee Charmin Murphy drops latest full-length, Eminence, while classical/jazz pianist and singer Avery Sunshine drops in with velvety vocals known worldwide. Now over recent health scares, R&B/gospel vocalist Nikki Ross stirs in sweetness with her regal cords. And counting Hubert Powell Jr. and George Duke as influences, Doobie Powell isn’t your straightforward gospel purveyor. – Kahron Spearman

SATURDAY

Lee Fields & the Expressions, Tameca Jones, DJ Mel

Fiesta Gardens
Sat., June 23, 6pm

A gritty 1972 funk record, Lee Fields’ “We Fought for Survival” chronicles a hardscrabble North Carolina upbringing that included picking cotton with his family to keep food on the table. Now 67, the soul survivor began a long and winding career after cutting a cover of James Brown’s “Bewildered” as a teenager in 1969. By the mid-Nineties, the singer helped spur the Brooklyn soul revival that birthed Daptone Records and launched the late Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley to third-act stardom. – Thomas Fawcett

Tha Alkaholiks

Little Darlin’
Sat., June 23, 7pm

Rappers Tash, J-Ro, and producer/DJ E-Swift have promulgated party rap with hardcore accents for 25 years. Known for associations with Xzibit and King T, the L.A. trio first garnered notice on 1993’s 21 & Over, a quintessential throwdown album that yielded Top 10 single “Make Room.” 1995’s Coast II Coast remains their best, with 1997’s Likwidation placing a close second. – Kahron Spearman

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

Hotel Vegas
Sat., June 23

Synth enthusiast Robert Rolston and his spouse, puppeteer/maracas-extraordinaire Panacea Theriac, have spent the better part of two decades crafting a fantastical alternate universe. The freak NOLA duo plies colorful narratives soundtracked by a sonic chaos of industrial dance party beats and bayou-infused spookiness. Austin party monsters round out the electri fied, experimental bill: the crass, fearless feminism of weirdo-punk quartet Sailor Poon, and gritty, classic rock & roll from trio Trouble Boys. – Libby Webster

Nolatet

One-2-One Bar
Sat., June 23

Given our proximity, no surprise locals take for granted Bayou State virtuosos. Fronted by vibraphonist and honorary ATXan Mike Dillon (Critters Buggin) and pianist Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey), Nolatet travels on its backline of Astral Project rhythm duo James Singleton (Lionel Hampton, Chet Baker, John Abercrombie) and the band’s true star, veteran drummer Johnny Vidacovich (Professor Longhair, James Booker, Mose Allison). NOLA in da house. – Raoul Hernandez