Brian Wilson at Pitchfork Festival 2016
Brian Wilson at Pitchfork Festival 2016 (photo by Ben Stas)

What's going on Saturday?

Morrissey at Riot Fest Chicago 2016 - Saturday
Morrissey at Riot Fest Chicago 2016 (photo by James Richards IV)

You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight’s shows, but here are some highlights…

Brian Wilson (performing Pet Sounds) @ Beacon Theatre
Pop music as we know it today probably wouldn’t exist without Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson’s masterpiece for The Beach Boys that hasn’t aged a day since 1966. He’s playing it in full for its 50th anniversary on tour, and any chance to see these songs live by the guy who wrote them is one worth taking.

Morrissey @ Kings Theatre
Try as he might, the songs Morrissey wrote with the Smiths are un-tarnishable. We just wish he’d play more of them and less of his new solo stuff.

Brooklyn Flea Record Fair @ Smorgasburg 
Vinyl lovers, heads up: Independent record labels, record stores and vintage dealers will all have tables (over 50 vendors total) at the fall 2016 installment of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair.

Morgan Delt, Mass Gothic, Palmas @ Villain
Morgan Delt‘s new album Phase Zero, on Sub Pop, is a primo slab of bliss-out, sunshine psych. He rarely heads to the East Coast so don’t miss you’re chance to catch him. This show was moved from Baby’s All Right.

Mahogany @ Berlin
Can it really 10 years since local dreampop outfit Mahogany released the great Connectivity? It can and we’ve been waiting for its follow-up ever since. They’re promising…soon. Go bug them about it tonight.

Agnostic Front, Apparition, Decimate the Living, We All Die, Onpoint, Cherry Pop, Scarboro @ Blackthorn 51
NYHC legends Agnostic Front are as angry and aggressive today as they were when they started out in the ’80s, as last year’s The American Dream Died proves.

Princess (featuring Maya Rudolph) @ Brooklyn Bowl
Princess, aka the Prince tribute act fronted by Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum, have been paying awesome homage to the Purple One for a few years now. Maya and Gretchen put Princess back in action this year before Prince’s death and this should be a very fun tribute to him.

Ted Leo, The Britanys, Big Huge, The Regrets @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Indie/punk/etc vet Ted Leo is always active, but he’s saying tonight’s solo show will be his last NYC appearance for a bit.

Chook Race, Hamish Kilgour, Mountain Movers @ Cake Shop
Jangly and poppy, warm and friendly, Australia’s Chook Race have an unassuming charm and their songs wraps their way around you upon repeat listens. If you like The Go-Bewteens or The Wedding Present, check out Chook.

Diplo @ Flash Factory
Diplo has been playing very large venues on the Mad Decent Block Party tour, but tonight he gets back to a smaller club environment.

John Talabot (DJ Set), JDH & Dave P @ Good Room
Barcelona’s John Talabot has a light touch with dance music, making bouncy, buoyant pop that attracts club heads too.

Toshi Reagan, Tamar-Kali, Martha Redbone, Joan As Police Woman, Mal Devisa @ (le) poisson rouge
This event is part of Word*Rock* & Sword’s “A Festival Exploration of Women’s Lives” and features a full night of music with over 20 performers.

Ken Vandermark, The Few @ Manhattan Inn
The in-the-round nature of the very intimate Manhattan Inn will suit this show well with skilled, improvisational saxophonist Ken Vandermark.

Julien Baker, Allison Crutchfield and the Fizz, Grayling @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Even if you’re unfamiliar with Julien Baker, it’s very tough to deny her live show, where she knows how to keep very large crowds silent with nothing more than her voice and clean electric guitar. She’ll likely do that at tonight’s sold out show, which has two very good openers.

Psychic Twin @ National Sawdust
Erin Fein used to be in mid-’00s band Headlights (that also featured Nick Sanborn, now of Sylvan Esso). She now makes ethereal, bewitching dance pop as Psychic Twin and her debut, Strange Diary, just came out via Polyvinyl. This is the record release show.

Weird Al Yankovic @ Radio City Music Hall
While he’s already got a Grammy, Weird Al can finally really say he’s made it, playing NYC’s toniest venue.

Califone, Death Vessel @ Rough Trade
Tim Rutili’s long-running indie project Califone will celebrate the 15th anniversary of Roomsound tonight with members who recorded the album. It’s worth showing up for falsetto-voiced folk singer Death Vessel too.

Tournament, Dinos Boys, Tough Shits, Bob Man @ Shea Stadium
Philadelphia’s Tough Shits make punky “wimp pop” in the fine tradition of Milk N’ Cookies.

Pansy Division, Crazy and The Brains, Teen Vice @ Sunnyvale
One of the leading queer pop punk bands of the ’90s, Pansy Division (who famously opened Green Day’s Dookie tour) are back with their first album in seven years and it rivals their classic stuff. Crazy & the Brains, the rare punk band that makes good use of a xylophone, are worth catching too.

The Men, Fur Helmet, hUH, Worse @ The Gutter
Brooklyn band The Men’s new album Devil Music finds them back in punk rock territory.

Global Citizen Festival @ Great Lawn at Central Park
You have to “earn” tickets by volunteering to take action to get into the Global Citizen Festival, but if you do, the lineup is pretty rewarding. It’s got Rihanna, fresh off releasing her best album yet, rapper of the decade Kendrick Lamar, thrash legends Metallica, who have a new album coming soon, and more.

The Toasters, Pomps, Skarroneros @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
If you like ska at all, it’s tough to deny the power of NYC legends The Toasters who turn 35 this year and hold up very well. They celebrate that anniversary tonight.

Signals Midwest, Timeshares, Cold Wrecks @ Aviv
Signals Midwest just returned with a new Evan Weiss-produced albun, and if you tend to like Evan’s stuff, you’ll probably dig this too. Twang-punks Timeshares are worth catching too.

LVL UP, Ovlov, Forth Wanderers, Vagabon @ Market Hotel
Local rising band LVL UP have a lot to celebrate, like the release of their first album for Sub Pop, tonight at its release show at Market Hotel.

For all of tonight’s shows, and tomorrow’s, check out our NYC concert calendar.

For laughs, check out the NYC Comedy calendar too.

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