Angel Olsen
Angel Olsen’s voice is like a flash flood—it’s easy to get swept up in the emotion behind her whispered devotions and existentially aching sighs. Nobody else can do what she does (the only worthy comparison is probably the late Patsy Cline). See Olsen perform songs from Phases, the collection of B-sides and rarities she released last year, at her second Portland show of the Tiny Dreams Solo Tour. (Thurs Sept 13, 8 pm, Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, $31-41; w/Hand Habits) CIARA DOLAN

No Kind of Rider, Sama Dams, Slow Corpse
Savage Coast, the debut album from No Kind of Rider, has been a long time coming. The band has been playing around Portland for the better part of a decade, slowly perfecting a sound that connects vintage shoegaze pop, sultry indie rock, and lush electronica. The theme of Savage Coast seems to be finding ways of letting go, not just of a bad relationship or the spirit of a beloved family member, but of an entire way of being. This is the music of reinvention and refocusing, a soundtrack to setting one’s hopeful eyes on the horizon. (Thurs Sept 13, Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) ROBERT HAM

Greta Van Fleet, Dorothy
The much-ballyhooed “death” of rock has led to an unusual side effect: As shaggy dudes playing loud guitars recede from the spotlight, the few remaining rock acts have grown even more precious to the diehards. This explains the rapid rise of Greta Van Fleet, a Michigan quartet of three brothers and one friend who are selling out large halls before they’ve even released a full-length album (and before two of the members have reached legal drinking age). A listen to either of GVF’s startlingly competent EPs, Black Smoke Rising and From the Fires, reveals why: These kids are hidebound devotees to the Orthodox Church of Led Zeppelin, replicating that band’s swing, swagger, and screeching vocals with an almost astonishing amount of confidence. They’ve gained acclaim for a powerful live show, and with their much anticipated debut album due in October, Greta Van Fleet are poised to become absolutely massive. When they do, enjoy their riffs, which really are good—but just be ready to ignore the countless think-pieces that say, “Rock is back!” (Fri Sept 14, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) NED LANNAMANN

Kali Uchis, Gabriel Garzón-Montano
Kali Uchis is teetering on the brink of pop super stardom. The Colombian American singer/songwriter has toured with Lana del Rey and cultivated a following of loyal stans ever since releasing her 2015 Por Vida EP. In April, Uchis dropped her debut LP Isolation, and it’s pretty much perfect—she jumps easily from R&B to garage rock to reggaetón, with features from artists like Bootsy Collins, Reykon, and Tyler, the Creator. Uchis’ music videos, which have millions of YouTube views, typically involve a lot of bubblegum-pink (her pink hairdo, a pink sunset) and driving down lonely roads in retro roadsters. (Fri Sept 14, Roseland, 8 NW 6th) ISABEL LYNDON

Murder by Death, William Elliott Whitmore
Murder by Death and William Elliott Whitmore have come full circle. Back in 2000, Whitmore performed for the first time with a brand-new band, Little Joe Gould, led by the young vocalist/guitarist Adam Turla and cellist Sarah Balliet, in a basement in Bloomington, Indiana. Little Joe Gould would eventually change their name to Murder by Death, and the two musicians embarked on multiple tours together. They found themselves once again sharing the road, and now a label, as both artists released albums this year on the venerable Bloodshot Records. MBD’s eighth LP, The Other Shore, finds them writhing in their literary gothic-folk, this time under the guise of a space-western epic taking place on a post-apocalyptic planet. Meanwhile, Whitmore’s seventh record, Kilonova, rides the singer/songwriter’s far-reaching baritone vocals and swampy Americana into new and exciting realms. (Sat Sept 15, Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) RYAN J. PRADO

Blood Orange
Though Dev Hynes has written and produced hits for the likes of Solange, Florence and the Machine, Kylie Minogue, and Carly Rae Jepsen, his solo work as Blood Orange has never been all that concerned with chart-topping singles. Over seven years and three albums, Hynes used the Blood Orange moniker to delve into deeper, more delicate, and more personal material. His new record Negro Swan explores themes like the ongoing anxieties of queer and trans folks and people of color, surviving childhood trauma, and what he defines as “Black depression.” Negro Swan is a meditative journey through Hynes’ most intimate thoughts, sung over minimalist drum beats, mellow guitar riffs, and spaced-out keys. It’s less an album of independent and disjointed singles—as so many hip-hop and R&B albums are today—as it is one continuous and slowly unspooling narrative. Lacking such straightforward bops as Freetown Sound’s “Best to You” or Cupid Deluxe’s “You’re Not Good Enough,” Negro Swan requires more patience than previous Blood Orange albums, and perhaps more than a couple of front-to-back listens. Its progressive R&B and lush bedroom pop is more ruminative than Hynes’ previous efforts, but the result is beautiful, haunting, and brutally honest. With guest appearances by Tei Shi, A$AP Rocky, Project Pat, and Diddy (who lets himself be surprisingly candid), the most important and frequent guest is transgender activist Janet Mock, whose spoken interludes are heard throughout the album, propelling the narrative forward to a triumphant coda. (Sun Sept 16, Roseland, 8 NW 6th, $29.50-39.50) SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

The Zombies, Liz Brasher
Sorry, youngbloods: The Zombies are responsible for some of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. The aging group, which formed in the 1960s and was responsible for some of the greatest pop songs of that decade (“She’s Not There,” “This Will Be Our Year”), reunited around vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist/songwriter/vocalist Rod Argent, and this new edition of the Zombies has been an ongoing concern for more than a decade now. In 2015, they played the entirety of their perfect 1968 album Odessey and Oracle at Revolution Hall, and it was mind-blowingly great, bringing tears and delight to the entire auditorium; Blunstone’s gorgeously smoky voice hadn’t aged a day. Expect some of that same magic tonight—although sadly, this time they’ll be without veteran bassist Jim Rodford (the Kinks, Argent), who passed away earlier this year. (Mon Sept 17, Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) NED LANNAMANN

Hatchie, Wildhoney
Sugar & Spice, the flawless debut EP from dream-pop purveyor Hatchie—AKA Brisbane, Australia’s Harriette Pilbeam—is a gorgeous, gossamer thing, filled with weightless stardust melodies and cozy-blanket hooks that make each track utterly irresistible. This is Hatchie’s first-ever Portland show, so get ready to be infatuated. (Wed Sept 19, 9 pm, Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, $13-15; w/Wildhoney) NED LANNAMANN

Liz Phair, Speedy Ortiz
Exile in Guyville’s 25th anniversary has given the world a good excuse to revisit Liz Phair’s early streak of wicked genius, but this year also marks the 20th anniversary of Whitechocolatespaceegg, an essential record that splits the difference between Phair’s ’90s intensity and ’00s sheen. Nothing in the collected musical works of humankind is quite as lethal as “Fuck and Run” or “Flower” on Phair’s third LP. What Whitechocolatespaceegg does have is Phair’s greatest pop triumph (“Polyester Bride”) as well as a handful of songs (“Go on Ahead,” “Girls’ Room,” “Perfect World”) that recapture the magic of Guyville’s standout tracks. Let’s hope they get some love tonight. (Wed Sept 19, Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) CHRIS STAMM

Toe
Japanese band Toe is all about interlocking precision, and while their music doesn’t quite fall in the category of math rock, that’s probably the closest descriptor for their rigid but never robotic jams. Toe’s newest album, That’s Another Story, collects various odds and ends from over the years with an emphasis on remixes, revealing something pretty fascinating in the process. By stripping the band’s exacting musical interplay down to its fundamental sounds and building it back up again, these remixes have found common ground between loop-based electronic music and the hypnotic repetition of Toe’s propulsive sound. (Wed Sept 19, Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) NED LANNAMANN

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Paul Cherry
On their last record, 2017’s Backlash, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears’ soulful, infectious blues met riff-heavy funk, with the focus shifting from Lewis’ noted fretwork to peppy brass and a steady rhythmic pocket, as heard on the excellent “Global.” As evidenced by their status as veterans of pretty much every major American music festival, the band is known for engaging performances that orbit around Lewis’ unhinged vocal delivery that sounds inspired by the likes of Howlin’ Wolf and James Brown. It’s the kind of guitar hero-centric act that’s not unlike the unifying allure of Jimi Hendrix or Lenny Kravitz (if that’s your thing). Their sixth studio LP, The Difference Between You and Me, is due out this month. (Thurs Sept 20, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) RYAN J. PRADO

John Prine, Todd Snider
The Tree of Forgiveness is John Prine’s first collection of new material in over a decade, and it contains some of the legendary folksinger/songwriter’s most playful tunes to date. At 71, Prine doesn’t spend too much time mulling over the end of life and the great beyond, but when he does, it’s with a twinkle in his eye: On the excellent closing track “When I Get to Heaven,” he sings of being reunited with family and smoking “a cigarette that’s nine miles long” amid a chorus of kazoos, saloon piano, and hooting backup singers. The Tree of Forgiveness is sweet, silly, and a little sad, meaning it’s the perfect kind of John Prine record. (Fri Sept 21, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) CIARA DOLAN

The Avett Brothers
Back in July, the Avett Brothers postponed the third of three consecutive shows they were scheduled to play at the Edgefield after a man claiming to be an out-of-state police officer entered the venue with a gun and disappeared into the crowd. Though unnerving, nothing came of the incident, and the beloved North Carolinian folk rockers made good on their promise to reschedule the cancelled concert—tonight they’ll perform to a sold-out Edgefield audience to close out the final day of summer. (Fri Sept 21, Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale) CIARA DOLAN

Slothrust, Summer Cannibals
Slothrust’s extraordinary new LP, The Pact, is a wild beast of a record, alive with sadness, fear, defiance, and joy. The album plays like a tour of night’s most tender zones, those places that hum with thoughts that don’t belong in the light. On “The Haunting,” the album’s centerpiece and one of 2018’s best songs, singer/guitarist Leah Wellbaum paints a picture of existential uncertainty that could double as a band motto: “Not sure if I am asleep or awake, so I’ll treat this body like I think that it’s a fake and see how much it can take.” We’ve all been to that terrible in-between—Slothrust has just figured out how to thrive there. (Fri Sept 21, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) CHRIS STAMM

The Mattson 2, Astronauts Etc.
If, as a band, you decide to cover John Coltrane’s landmark 1965 jazz album A Love Supreme, you’re either daringly confident in your ability to bring something new or interesting to one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed, or you just love being in way over your head. Most fall into the latter category, but the Mattson 2 qualify as the former. On The Mattson 2 Play “A Love Supreme,” the SoCal jazz duo—percussionist Jonathan Mattson and guitarist Jared Mattson, who are identical twins—rework Coltrane’s masterpiece with verve and virtuosity, giving familiar tunes an update that’s electrifying, psychedelic, refreshingly modern, and respectful at the same time. Sharing tonight’s bill (and backed by the Mattsons) is singer/songwriter Astronauts, Etc., AKA Anthony Ferraro, a classically trained pianist whose new album Living in Symbol is a deliciously unhurried set of soulful dream-pop jams. (Sat Sept 22, Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th) BEN SALMON

Johnny Marr, Belle Game
It’s a shame that Johnny Marr sometimes gets overshadowed by the headline-grabbing nonsense that pours from Morrissey’s mouth these days. Over the past five years, the former Smiths guitarist has released a string of striking pop records that recall the shimmer of his former band’s best album, 1987’s Strangeways, Here We Come. Marr’s new LP Call the Comet is no different, with jangly hooks for days and lyrics that address the caustic political climate we’re currently experiencing by painting a kinder, more empathetic world. Marr has played sideman to artists like Neil Finn, The The, Brian Eno, Billy Bragg, and Modest Mouse. Think about that: The writer of some of the greatest pop songs of all time took a backseat for years before releasing his first solo record. That says as much about Marr as the fact that such incredible musicians sought him out. (Sat Sept 22, Roseland, 8 NW 6th) MARK LORE

STRFKR
STRFKR: It’s short for Starfucker. At one time, the name gave Josh Hodges & Co. a little trouble. They changed it up, but in the end they always returned to their Starfucker source. Touring to celebrate the 10-year-anniversary of their first release, the self-titled album Starfucker, STRFKR wants nothing more than to play their dancey idiosyncratic pop-synth songs as many times as we’ll let them. I’ve got nothing but love for this crew. (Sat Sept 22, 9 pm, Sun Sept 23, 4:30 & 9 pm; Doug Fir, 830 NE Burnside, $25.50-30, Sun 4:30 pm show all-ages) SUZETTE SMITH

Big John Bates: Noirchestra, Stoned Evergreen Travelers
With their new LP Psychedelic Bloodbath, Seattle band Stoned Evergreen Travelers present something wholly unclassifiable. Stand-up bass and fiddle give the album the swagger and bounce of a drunken cowboy—it’s dirty, confident, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous. At times it sounds like stripped-down Americana or rockabilly, but the gruff vocals and crunchy guitar licks add an unexpected edge. The fiddle, present on every track, sounds like it should be coming from the middle of a circle of covered wagons, but it slithers and drips with enough reverb to be completely spooky. Stoned Evergreen Travelers are like everything and nothing you’ve ever heard before. (Sun Sept 23, Dante’s, 350 W Burnside) ARIS HUNTER WALES

Jonathan Wilson, William Tyler
Don’t make the mistake of relegating Jonathan Wilson to the position of second banana: Despite playing in the backing band for Roger Waters—and singing the David Gilmour parts—and serving as producer for Father John Misty, Conor Oberst, and others, Wilson’s solo work is a bounty of far-out delights. All three of his albums for Bella Union are epic double-disc affairs, and explore the far-ranging facets of psychedelic music. The newest, Rare Birds, turns away from the laidback caterpillar smoke-ring sounds of its predecessors in favor of a more yacht-pop vibe with new-age oriented material (to give you an idea, the guest credits include Lana Del Rey and Laraaji). Live, Wilson is in command of truly transporting sound; expect a crack band of seasoned vets and lengthy jam sections. (Mon Sept 24, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) NED LANNAMANN

Miguel, DVSN
Soul singer Miguel’s 2017 album War & Leisure is inspired by psychedelia and luminaries like Prince, Marvin Gaye, and Lenny Kravitz with lots of heavy-reverb guitar and his powerful, soul-drenched vocals. Miguel already showcased the album earlier this year, kicking off a tour leg in Portland back in February. In June, the singer announced this 26-date leg, “The Ascension” North American tour with Canadian R&B duo DVSN. This time, fans can shriek over renditions of “The Thrill,” “Pineapple Skies,” and “Pussy Is Mine,” in the glowy, comfy confines of the Schnitz. (Tues Sept 25, 8 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, $47-97, all ages; w/DVSN) JENNI MOORE

DakhaBrakha
With their matching red-and-black outfits and tall wool hats, DakhaBrakha hypnotized the crowds at Pickathon last month with bewitching sets centered around the chants of Olena Tsybulska, Iryna Kovalenko, and Nina Harenetska. Though they’ve got roots in Ukranian folk, DakhaBrakha draws from a hodge-podge of styles that’s anchored by warbling melodies and percussive elements like goblet drum and table, along with the dissonant sounds of didgeridoo and cajón. The group’s avant-garde aesthetic and self-described “ethno-chaos” sound have attracted curious audiences the world over, and this stop at the Aladdin Theater is sure to be a spectacle of otherworldly proportions. (Tues Sept 25, Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) RYAN J. PRADO

Kneebody, Donny McCaslin
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin has been riding a wave of welcome attention after his well-honed ensemble was chosen to be the backing band for David Bowie’s final album Blackstar. But the acclaim hasn’t gone to his head, as evidenced by his last Portland appearance, when he and his band soared through a two-hour set of modern jazz punctuated by Mark Linder’s keyboard filigrees and an intuitive rhythm section. Their work will be a fine complement to Kneebody, a fluid ensemble that faces forward as jazz, but is nimble enough to work with the colors of electronica, contemporary classical, and funk. (Tues Sept 25, Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) ROBERT HAM

Natalie Prass, Stella Donnelly
Natalie Prass had a sophomore album written and ready to record. It was an important one, too—a follow-up to her 2015 self-titled debut, a collection of lush and personal songs that earned her rave reviews and prominent placements on several lists of that year’s best albums. But then the 2016 presidential election happened, which threw her for a loop. Prass scrapped that sophomore effort and started working on a new one, and the result is The Future and the Past, a confidently funky record that echoes ’70s-era Diana Ross and ’80s-era Janet Jackson and courses with politically charged energy. Prass wastes no time getting into it, either: “What is truth and what is fear? What is lying to a cheat?” she sings on “Oh My,” the album’s snappy opening track. “And what is freedom for the free?” Maybe someday we’ll hear that album Prass scrapped, but for now, The Future and the Past sounds like the one she needed to make... and the one we needed to hear. (Wed Sept 26, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) BEN SALMON