neneh-cherry1

What's going on Friday? (Neneh Cherry, Future Islands, High on Fire, !!!, YG, Hailu Mergia, Roman a Clef & more)

Neneh Cherry

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

Neneh Cherry, Sinkane, Kaki King @ Highline Ballroom
Nearly 30 years after “Buffalo Stance” (and with a new, Four Tet-produced LP under her belt), Neneh Cherry plays her first-ever NYC show tonight with solid support.

Future Islands, Operators, Wing Dam @ Terminal 5
Perhaps the biggest success story of 2014, Baltimore’s Future Islands start their 2015 with their two biggest NYC shows to date. (This is #2.) If you’re heading to T5 tonight, don’t miss Operators, the new band from Dan Boeckner (Handsome Furs).

High on Fire, Windhand, Mountain of Wizard @ Saint Vitus (2 shows)
It’s an excellent double bill at these two Vitus shows with sludgy stoners High on Fire and the highly melodic trad-doomers Windhand. Both are sold out.

!!! , Cheap Shots @ Union Pool
Punk-funk stalwarts !!! (Chk Chk Chk) are getting ready to head into the studio to record their new album. To make sure they’re well prepared, they’ll be playing their new material (and a few old favorites) this week at four consecutive nights at Union Pool. Tonight’s the third.

YG, Nipsey Hussle @ Best Buy Theater
YG had a great 2014 with the release of his official debut album, the mostly DJ Mustard-produced My Krazy Life. His tour with Nipsey Hussle was supposed to happen in the fall but it got rescheduled and finally hits NYC tonight.

Hailu Mergia, Low Mentality, Alsarah and The Nubatones , The Happy Show (DJ) @ Baby’s All Right
Ethiopian funk musician Hailu Mergia’s 1985 album was an overlooked gem, but thanks to its 2013 reissue it’s been getting the attention it deserves. Hailu now plays NYC relatively frequently, and tonight’s his first of two shows here this weekend.

Rangda, Samara Lubelski/Marcia Bassett duo @ Baby’s All Right
Rangda, the trio of Six Organs of Admittance’s Ben Chasny, Sun City Girls’ Richard Bishop, and Bjork/Kim Gordon/Thurston Moore/etc collaborator Chris Corsano, haven’t played in a while but tonight they kick off a 2-night run of the Northeast. They say a new album’s on the way, so maybe we’ll hear new songs tonight. Samara Lubelski, who was in Thurston Moore’s band Chelsea Light Moving, opens with a duo set with Zaimph’s Marcia Bassett.

Tijuana Panthers, The Garden, Surfbort, Dances @ The Studio at Webster Hall
Southern California trio Tijuana Panthers keep things on the party side of the garage with some of it spilling into the beach.

Dr. Dog, Twain @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Dr. Dog are putting a live album out next week, and they’re also about to kick off a run of eight NYC shows, with different openers. Tonight’s the first show, with Twain opening.

Roman a Clef, Wins, Klaus @ Mercury Lounge
Do you wish Prefab Sprout were still a touring entity? Well you might want to check out Roman a Clef, which features members of A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Ice Choir who seem to be channelling serious Paddy McAloon vibes. Pretty Swoon-worthy stuff, indeed.

Jason Molina tribute @ Troost
Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co) sadly passed away in 2013, and in his honor a tribute album was released this week. Tonight’s the release party for that album which includes some of the musicians he played with in Songs: Ohia, Thalia Zedek, a Sparklehorse backing musician and more.

Dead Stars, Life Size Maps, Slonk Donkerson, Adult Dude @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar
It’s “Locals Only!” night at Brooklyn Night Bazaar with some of the borough’s best indie rock bands on stage at this grownup playground of microbrews, fancy food truck eats, shopping, minigolf, pingpong and other activities. Free entry.

Slick Rick, Amy Lynn & The Gun Show @ Brooklyn Bowl
1988’s Best Rapper Alive Slick Rick turns 50 next week and tonight the legendary MC celebrates his birthday at Brooklyn Bowl.

Peanut Butter Wolf, Breakbeat Lou @ Brooklyn Bowl
After Slick Rick, stick around for DJ and Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf brings the late night dance party.

Reggie Watts @ Blue Note
This is Reggie’s first solo show since being named bandleader of Stephen Colbert’s takeover of CBS’ The Late Show. Reggie’s blend of improv, comedy, beatboxing and loop-pedal mastery is usually worth catching.

Alex Calder, Laced, Donovan Blanc @ Cameo Gallery
Tonight’s the record release party for Alex Calder’s debut album, Strange Dreams. He plays with fellow Captured Tracks artist Donovan Blanc, and Laced which is Dustin from Beach Fossils’ new band.

Crying, Painted Zeros, Glueboy, The Empty Gestures @ Silent Barn
Crying bring gameboy-fueled chiptune together with sugar-high pop punk, and they’ve got a not-so-secret weapon as their drummer.

Terror Pigeon, Stranger Cat, Blood Moon @ Silent Barn
After the Crying show, Silent Barn hosts another good lineup, this time from party-bringers Terror Pigeon and Cat Martino’s electronic-tinged project, Stranger Cat.

Mother Falcon @ Littlefield
Many membered chamber pop collective Mother Falcon are playing NYC as part of the APAP conference tomorrow, but tonight they squeeze in another show here at Littlefield.

Vasudeva, Pinegrove, The Most, Nine of Swords, Co-Pilots @ Palisades
Some cool bands on this show, including mathy/dancey instrumental rockers Vasudeva, indie rockers Pinegrove, and screamo-y punks Nine of Swords.

Earl Boykins, Thick, Diet Cig, PWR BTTM @ Legion
Diet Cig hail from New Paltz and have an album coming on Father/Daughter produced by Christopher Daly (Porches, Quarterbacks), and if you’re into the DIY pop that label is known for, you might dig Diet Cig too.

Nomadic Massive, Nation Beat’s Carnival Caravan, Boogat, Aurelio, Rocky Dawuni, Daby Toure, Elizabeth Shepherd, Odessa/Havana @ DROM
There’s a lot of artists on this world music APAP showcase at Drom, but one that’s especially of note is Honduran musician Aurelio, who put out his well-received third album last year.

Patton Oswalt @ Carnegie Hall
With a new book out about his movie-obsessed years in ’90s Los Angeles, Patton’s been a busy guy this week in NYC, but this is his big, stand-up-centric centerpiece of his visit.

Winter Jazzfest
The 2015 edition of this yearly festival gets into full swing tonight with concerts at 10 different NYC venues.

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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