Independent Weekly

If you were an entomologist, you wouldn't know where to pin these specimens. The driving undercurrent is rootsy, but the Blue Dogs simply sport that around town like a shiny new car. You'll find funky freakouts, shimmery atmospheric pop, crackling country rock, ragtime blues and felicitous folk. Whether lauding the charms of a Jeep Cherokee, imagining sailing the world in a boat with his horse, or passing through the world like a "Cosmic Cowboy," they've a playful spirit. The harmonies are crackling and the energy's infectious, which helps explain their quarter-century in the game and large grassroots following. With Old Habits and Old Man Whickutt. —Chris Parker

The shakeup after the Carolina Chocolate Drops won a Grammy for 2010's Genuine Negro Jig was not what you might have imagined. First, the band lost original member Justin Robinson to grad school (and his Mary Annettes; see page 37); then, they picked up old-time bluesman Hubby Jenkins as a full-time member and beatboxer Adam Matta as a contributor. Such shuffling might have been a radical detour, but it turned out to be a natural fit and creative boon. The energetic band has kept up a grueling tour schedule, wowing audiences with their roots music chops and pure showmanship. They're as likely to play a tune gleaned at the knee of Mebane's Joe Thompson as a cover of some R&B smash—like the overwhelming crowd favorite "Hit 'Em Up Style." For this night, New York gypsy punks and frequent Drops collaborator Luminescent Orchestrii join in on the fun, adding Balkan flare to this string band crew.

There's also a decent bet the Drops will be previewing cuts from their upcoming album, Leaving Eden, due at the end of the month on Nonesuch Records. Produced by Buddy Miller, the record will smartly combine original compositions, traditional tunes and covers alike. Given the Chocolate Drops' catch-all creativity, fueled by fiddles, kazoos, drums, jugs and jigs, along with a continually adventurous spirit, there's little telling where they'll go tonight—or any other evening, for that matter. —Ashley Melzer

Imagine Dave Grohl dipping into Brill Building pop, and you've caught a glimpse of David B. Dollar. The tonality of Dollar's singing shares something with Grohl's, but that's where the resemblance ends. Dollar's music is textured and understated, drifting like morning fog off a lake, shading spare melodies that emanate a pop classicism between Burt Bacharach and Bread. Dollar's drummer maintains a taut pulse while the guitars ring and dissipate like breath on a cold day. It's pretty stuff, though at times too laconic, lacking the widescreen feel and appeal of similarly minded local Brett Harris. With Detective Miles, Tin Can Sailor, Ryan Hamlin, Harvey Dustin & the Everyday Kings.—Chris Parker

Though they've all been unified by his knack for lyrical detail and a voice that feels like a new belt made of old leather, various and distinct phases have marked the career of Kenny Roby for the last two decades like mileposts. With his alt-country bellwether Six String Drag, he was the ball coming out of the cannon, singing his songs in front of a heavy country-rock wallop. In the last decade, he's moved from sweet, spare storytelling to Elvis Costello, man-on-fire élan. Whether from restlessness or a compulsion to remain au courant, he's spiritedly shifted again to an elegantly atmospheric take on what's these days generally labeled indie rock—think a midpoint between Bon Iver's first two albums or Sufjan, coming down. Appropriately, he'll share tonight's stage not with a guy and his guitar but with young Charlotte quintet The Houston Brothers, who set melodies adrift on beds of reverb and twinkling effects. —Grayson Currin

"Everybody wants to be a rock star," or so hopes Francis George and the rest of his bandmates in Voices Carry, a new act that ups the ante on the standard karaoke gig by playing the songs as the amateurs sing them. With "bandaoke," Voices Carry invite aspiring rock 'n' rollers to center stage to sing the best hits of the '80s with live music at their backs.

"Being in a band is about entertaining. It's about giving people a show, an experience," says George. "So we dress like rock stars, [...] we jump around stage and when the singer comes up, we'll put our arms around them like they're part of our band." Lucky for the singers, being a temporary part of their band doesn't mean dressing like they're in the band, too, even if it is encouaged—wigs, animal print pants, faux fur and generally anything that echoes the very best (or worst) of David Lee Roth's sartorial days. But it may mean singing "Purple Rain" at the top of your lungs or attempting your very best Steve Perry impression.

"When we play 'Don't Stop Believing' the whole place just comes down," says George. "I don't know why. It's just a song that people really connect to." But why wouldn't someone thrust into the spotlight, handed a microphone and cheered on by friendly and strange faces alike want to "hold onto that feelin'"? There aren't too many places where you can share the night and the spotlight so easily. —Ashley Melzer

Even with Bull City Metal Fest, Durham doesn't have a complete lock on this weekend's metal mayhem. Raleigh's traditional metal workers Colossus will offer their New Wave of British Heavy Metal-influenced triple-guitar attack in this free show. The band is heading into Chapel Hill's Warrior Sound Studio in March and will be playing much of their new material. Meanwhile, Wilmington's Salvacion take their cues from classic metal gods such as Michael Schenker and Ritchie Blackmore, but with a Molly Hatchet-like Southern flair. Church of Zann, a new band featuring members of Valient Thorr and Thunderlip, opens at 9:30 p.m. —Karen A. Mann

Jeff Hart released a couple of albums in the '90s, led a few bands, and then popped back up in December with his first solo disc in 16 years, Ghosts of the Old North Coast. A tuneful blend of '60s British Invasion melodicism and '80s new wave spunk (think Elvis Costello or Graham Parker), his music moves with an enduring heartland spirit somewhere between John Hiatt and Jay Farrar. There's a no-frills simplicity to his rock that amplifies its earnest appeal, kind of like Tom Petty. Sea Cow opens the free show at 10 p.m. —Chris Parker