It's Thursday! You know what that means, right? One more day and it's FRIDAY! Oh, yeah. But, let's focus on tonight, shall we? Some rather good music happening on this 10th day of July; highlights below.
Ray LaMontagne with Jenny Lewis, The Belle Brigade Ray LaMontagne sure does know how to deliver a bearded-blissful serenade with husky, honeyed intones and poignant resonance. Fifth and latest album Supernova (issued on RCA in April) is made up of striding folk-rock numbers like the hip-swaggering, organ-grooving title track, which channels ‘60s psychedelia and Brit invasion sounds, while the stripped-down, jazz-flecked Van Morrison reminiscent “Airwaves” sways and shambles along and “Pick Up a Gun” is a lush, dreamy country-rock waltz that gets all retro-trippy. Dan Auerbach produced Supernova, likely accounting for its fine production values (he seems to bring the cool out every person he works with, from Dr. John to Lana Del Ray). LaMontagne is joined by a full band on his current tour; Arcade Fire stage-design collaborator Maureen Towey is responsible for his subdued, moodily lit stage set up. Rilo Kiley’s lead piper Jenny Lewis opens as does brother-sister-led indie pop duo The Belle Brigade. 7:45 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater.–Leilani Polk
Loco Dice with Hector, Brian Busto At this rate, Loco Dice may as well take up a residency at The Kennedy (not that we’d complain), considering 2014 marks the third annual appearance of this tech house guru. Don’t be too shocked if you detect the Notorious B.I.G’s unmistakable raps spliced together with brooding drums and sinister high hats; German in origin but Californian in spirit, Dice spent his early days producing hip-hop and appearing alongside hood heavyweights like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Rising talent Hector opens for a night free of hand-hearts and awkward jumping and full of nonstop dancing and grooving. 9 p.m., The Kennedy, Tampa. –Cody Smith
Side Door Series: Masters and Minors of Jazz Four youthful jazz upstarts — alto sax player Danny Stagnitta, pianist Aaron Lehrian, trumpeter Tony Stagnitta and tenor sax player Jordan Richardson — are paired up with three vets of the genre (bassist John Lamb, trombone player Buster Cooper and drummer Ron Gregg) in this Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association presentation. 7:30 p.m., Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg. –LP