Kansas City concerts Feb. 6-12: Jill Scott, Miranda Lambert, Bobby McFerrin, Joseph, The New Pornographers

The music industry establishment in Nashville rewards straight-laced country artists who do precisely as they’re told and quashes the careers of defiant hell-raisers. Miranda Lambert is a notable exception to the rule. She pals around with subversive musicians and imbues her albums with rebellious rock ’n’ roll. The products of her free-wheeling nature are enormously successful. Lambert’s appropriately titled new release, “Wildcard,” is her seventh consecutive album to top Billboard magazine’s country chart. With the Randy Rogers Band and Parker McCollum. 816-949-7100. Tickets are $38.75-$113.75 through sprintcenter.com.

Kansas City has the honor of hosting the first night of the new tour of the pre-eminent soul artist of the past 20 years. Since the release of “Who Is Jill Scott?” in 2000, Scott, 47, has advanced the tradition established by the likes of Aretha Franklin and Al Green with passion and grace. In exhibiting a consistency lacking in some of her peers, the Philadelphia native is entirely deserving of the three Grammy Awards she’s received. 816-283-9900. Tickets are $36-$136 through arvestbanktheatre.com.

Many passionate fans of country music view Lorrie Morgan’s lengthy career through the lens of tragedy. Her husband, the country star Keith Whitley, was only 34 when he succumbed to an alcohol-related malady in 1989. Morgan’s subsequent hits “A Picture of Me (Without You)” and “Good as I Was to You” seem like commentaries on the doomed romance. Even so, Morgan continues to perform her melodic brand of country with heartening enthusiasm. With Mark Wills. 816-414-7000. Tickets are $38-$135 through ameristarkansascity.com.

Lyle Lovett hasn’t issued an album since “Release Me” in 2012. The extended gap doesn’t diminish the loyalty of Lovett’s admirers. Even if he never writes another song, the proud Texan will continue to sell a respectable number of concert tickets for the rest of his career. Lovett earned the devotion of fans with his engaging stage banter and a collection of eccentric songs like “If I Had a Boat,” “You’ve Been So Good Up To Now” and “Here I Am.” The compositions will be rendered in an acoustic format Saturday. 816-753-8665. Tickets are $45-$222 through uptowntheater.com.

No one is more aware that a novelty hit is both a blessing and a curse than Bobby McFerrin. The innovative vocalist still appears on big stages as a consequence of his 1988 smash, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Yet the fluke hit isn’t representative of his abiding interest in jazz and indigenous folk music. The audience at Yardley Hall should be prepared for an uncompromising exhibition of vocalese from McFerrin and his longtime collaborators, Gimme5, a collective that includes the similarly resolute vocalist Rhiannon. 913-469-4445. Tickets are $32-$125 through jccc.edu/carlsen-center-presents.

As with every family, the three sisters in the Oregon-based folk-pop trio Joseph occasionally clash. Allison, Meegan and Natalie Closner had a falling-out that threatened the future of Joseph before releasing their third album, “Good Luck, Kid,” last year. The resolution of their differences is reflected in the new material. The sisters unite their glorious harmonies around the phrase “I want it brighter” in the soaring chorus of “Fighter,” one of the expectant new tracks alluding to their reconciliation. With Deep Sea Diver. 816-753-8880. Tickets are $22-$99 through madridtheatre.com.

The New Pornographers, a longstanding collective led by A.C. Newman, has successfully combined the giddy exuberance of The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” with the profound depth of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” for more than 20 years. Led by Newman, the all-star cast featuring the country-oriented maverick Neko Case, is touring in support of its eighth studio album, “In the Morse Code of Brake Lights.” With Diane Coffee. 816-205-8560. Tickets are $30 through thetrumankc.com.

G Herbo’s disturbing music revives the longstanding debate about whether street-oriented rappers encourage bloodshed or merely report on violence in their communities. The Chicago musician born Herbert Wright III is one of his city’s most prominent practitioners of the vicious style known as drill music. “Chiraq,” his merciless collaboration with Nicki Minaj, is among the most conspicuous narratives about Chicago’s staggering murder rate. On his candid new song “Summer Is Canceled,” Wright asks his trigger-happy peers to “think about it before you kill about it.” 785-842-1390. Tickets are $30 through thegranada.com.

This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Kansas City concerts Feb. 6-12: Jill Scott, Miranda Lambert, Bobby McFerrin, Joseph, The New Pornographers."