The “Would You Like A Tour?” tour, featuring hip-hop artist Drake plus R&B singer Miguel and rapper Future, comes to the Sprint Center on Oct. 6, a Sunday. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. June 28, a Friday.
Drake is expected to release his new album, “Nothing Was the Same,” later this year. He recently released the album’s first single, “Started From the Bottom.” In February, Drake won a Grammy for best rap album for “Take Care,” the follow-up to his debut album, “Thank Me Later.”
He previously performed at the Sprint Center in March 2012, drawing about 15,000 fans. Kendrick Lamar opened that show. | Timothy Finn, The Star
Jay Lamont, a comedian who served as one of the opening acts for Mary J. Blige at the Sprint Center on Sunday, lovingly mocked several soul singers during his brief appearance. His deft impersonations of the quirks associated with artists like Luther Vandross had the audience of about 4,000 in stitches.
Lamont knew better than to poke fun at the evening’s headliner. Blige is so beloved that not even the most gentle form of ridicule would be tolerated by her fans. Blige proved that she’s worthy of such unwavering adulation. Effusively joyous and undeniably triumphant, Blige’s authoritative performance was without a single blemish. A lavish production and good sound enhanced her superlative outing.
One of the defining voices for the women in her generation, Blige’s combination of hip-hop and R&B has been thrilling fans for more than 20 years. The native New Yorker’s unpolished persona and public struggles with substance abuse and unhealthy relationships have proven enthralling to readers of tabloids and concerned observers.
Singer/songwriter and Kansas native Freedy Johnston will perform an early show at the Czar Bar, 1531 Grand Blvd., on July 17, a Wednesday. Tickets to the 18-and-older show are $8 and $10. Show time is 6 p.m. You can buy them online here.
Johnson was born in Kinsley, Kan., and lived in Lawrence for several years before moving to New York. He is best-known for his abum “This Perfect World,” released in 1994 and its track “Bad Reputation.” The album was produced by Butch Vig, the drummer for Garbage and producer of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album, and includes a guest performance by Marshall Crenshaw. | Timothy Finn, The Star
Neko Case announced her fall tour of North America, and on Oct. 15, a Tuesday, it will stop at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. The tour also stops at the Pageant in St. Louis on Oct. 20, a Sunday.
Case will be touring on her first album in four years: “The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You,” to be released Sept. 3 on Anti- Records.
According to the press release announcing the album and tour, her backing musicians on the album include guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, vocalist Kelly Hogan and multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse. Guests include M. Ward, Steve Turner, Howe Gelb, and members of the New Pornographers, My Morning Jacket, Calexico, Los Lobos and Visqueen.
Bonnie Raitt is bringing her Slipstream 2013 tour to the Midland theater on Oct. 18, a Friday. Marc Cohn opens.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Go here. Prices: $55.50 to $89.50. The presale runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. Password: SLIPSTREAM.
Raitt is touring in support of “Slipstream,” her 16th studio album, released in April 2012. It includes covers of songs by Bob Dylan, Loudon Wainwright III and Gerry Rafferty. | Timothy Finn, The Star
The French alternative rock band Phoenix will headline the 2013 Buzz Beach Ball. Twelve other bands will also perform in the annual music festival put on by radio station 96.5 FM on Sept. 27.
Daughter, Atlas Genius, Cage the Elephant, Awolnation, Alt-J, Little Green Cars and Phoenix will perform on the main stage. Hanni El Khattib, Waaves, Kitten, MS MR, Courtney Love, and Coheed and Cambria will perform on the second stage.
Phoenix is currently on a world tour for the band’s fifth album, “Bankrupt!” which was released in April.
When he’s leading the Psychedelic Furs through songs he has performed thousands of times over three decades, lead singer Richard Butler still acts like he’s having more fun than anyone in the room. His enthusiasm is contagious; on top of that, he has nostalgia on his side.
Sunday night, a crowd of about 800 gathered at the Midland theater, where Butler and the Furs put on a show that lasted nearly 90 minutes and rejoiced in the band’s heydays, which produced some of the more enduring songs of the 1980s.
The Furs bear some obvious influences, from Bowie to early punk, yet they have developed an inimitable sound, one that starts with Butler’s snarly, post-punk, Cockney-accented voice and is embellished by saxophonist Mars Williams, the second-busiest man in the six-piece band.
