While not quite as busy as Saturday, still, this Sun., May 17 is a rather busy one. Check out what's happening below.The Hackensaw Boys with Greenland Is Melting, Murder Creek For those Old Crow fans seeking a second helping of vintage Americana sounds, The Hackensaw Boys provide an abundant yield in a quartet formation; finger-picked banjo, fast-bowed fiddle, bouncing beats that include “charismo,” ostensibly a bunch of recycled junk (tin cans of varying sizes, license plates, a hubcap and book bag straps) fashioned into a distinctive percussive instrument, and rural country-soaked vocals by all members, who sing in four-part harmonies and trade off on lead duties in the Boys’ sprightly tunes. Gainesville swamp-dunked, punk-grass purveyors Greenland is Melting warm the stage along with the latest Will Quinlan project, Murder Creek. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
The Slackers with The Duppies, Saganaki Bomb Squad It’s a ska-stained Sunday evening when The Slackers from NYC bring their classy upbeat fusion of ska soaked in swinging jazz, buoyant rocksteady and dub-bumpin’ reggae hues, keyboardist Vic Ruggiero trading vocals and harmonies with trombone player Glen Pine, when the latter isn’t launching a two-horn attack with sax blower Dave Hillyard. Gainesville’s own Duppies provide suitable accompaniment, adding a bit of melodica, trumpet and occasional harmonica to their own heady fast-jiving mix. Locals Saganaki Bomb Squad storms the stage in urgent punk-wild and surf-riding warm-up. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Ol’ Dirty Sundays with Chuck Chillout & Charlie Chase After the skanking is done, ODS throws down the hip hop jams, with resident DJs Casper and Le Sage welcoming very special guest Chuck Chillout, one-third of the Bronx-spawned B-Boyz (of 1983’s much-sampled “Rock the House”) and an esteemed DJ/producer who worked on tracks for such legends as Run DMC and Public Enemy. Another Bronx hip hop biggie, Latino DJ Charlie Chase, also hits the decks on this night. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Mac Arnold & Plate Full of Blues Electric bluesman Mac Arnold was born and raised in South Carolina, but he cut his musical teeth in Chicago, where he played bass with the Muddy Waters Band from the mid-1960s through the early ‘70s. He’s been rolling solo since then, picking up the odd gig (like working on the set of Soul Train for several years while living in LA), and eventually returning to S.C., his current base of operations. Arnold sings in a booming drawl, and in addition to his low-end capabilities, he juggles rhythm and slide on his homemade gas can guitars, the originals crafted by his brother from parts found on his family’s farm in the 1940s. Now that’s what I call recycling. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Laurie Berkner Some have lauded the acoustic guitar-toting songstress as the “modern matriarch of kindie music” (aka kindie rock, that hazy made-for-children genre that’s upbeat without being dumbed-down, trite or overly cutesy), and she has two compilations to back it up; the latest, 2014’s The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection, extends from 1997 debut Whaddaya Think Of That? (“The Cat Came Back”) through 2011 CD/DVD release, Party Day! (“Where is the Cake?”“Shake Your Body Down”). (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
Blues in the Library: Bodie Valdez Safety Harbor Public Library continues its drive to offer more unconventional and frankly exciting programming with a performance by Bodie Valdez. The Sarasota-based guitar slinger combines acoustic blues, folk and Americana in a repertoire that encompasses covers (including The Beatles’“While My Guitar Gently Weeps) along with plenty of original material. (Safety Harbor Public Library, Safety Harbor)
Master with Solstice, Dismemberment, Hate Storm Annihilation, Generichrist, Riptorn You see the name, you find out it’s metal, and automatically you wonder if it’s a Master of Puppets-inspired name. Nope; Master frontman/bassist Paul Speckmann actually claimed it when he originally formed the band in ’83, three years before the Metallica album existed. Plus, Master has a harsher sound, crushing past thrash into deathly territories. (Orpheum, Ybor City)