HIP-HOP | Matt Monday
w/ Benjamin Starr, Black Dave, Omar Bunyan, Warhol the Ghost, Khari Lucas, Lord Fubu, Salis & Phresh
Fri. Oct. 23
9 p.m.
$8/ adv., $10/door
Pour House
Matt Bostick, a.k.a. Matt Monday, has become a much talked-about figure in the local hip-hop scene, most notably with the video release of “Devils,” which dropped right after the Mother Emanuel shooting. In the politically charged video, role reversal places whites as the victims of verbal and physical abuse at the counter of Pitt Street Pharmacy as well as a lynching. “People either really love it or really hate it,” Bostick says. “I think it’s too intense and uncomfortable for some people and speaks to the internal anger and frustrations of others. Overall, it has touched everyone who has watched it in some way, shape, or form, and that was the initial goal.” Released this month, Filthy comes after a yearlong hiatus for the rapper to focus on the business side of things and rediscover his sound. “I was tired of rapping for the sake of rapping. I wasn’t having fun and needed to determine my purpose for making music. Once I figured this out, I was back at it,” says Bostick, who has another album completed that he’s waiting to drop. Filthy features Khari Lucas, Warhol the Ghost, Omar Bunyan, and Ben Fagan. “Everyone inspired me in some way or another,” he says. While Bostick’s personal favorite “Mixx” encapsulates youthful memories, like skating at Stardust and partying at Purple Tree Lounge, his standout track “For Amanda Parker” takes on the Instagram age, discussing sexualization through selfies. He says, “It makes you wonder, where did we go wrong?” —Kalyn Oyer FRIDAY
WORLD-BLUES | Taj Mahal Trio
Thurs. Oct. 22
8 p.m.
$39.50
Charleston
Music Hall
With an almost 50-year career, Taj Mahal is, hands down, one of the most prominent figures in late 20th century roots music. The 73-year-old musician has played the blues just about every way it can be played, but he’s always played it his way. Born Henry St. Clair Fredericks, Mahal inherited his love of the blues listening to his father’s short-wave radio while growing up in Springfield, Mass., but the music he heard from around the world laid the foundation for his genre-blurring experiments. Mahal established his cred as a real-deal bluesman with the Natch’l Blues, one of the hallmark records of the 1960s blues revival, but his musical adventurousness quickly took root, and the guitarist spent the following decades infusing his Stax/Volt-heavy blues with Caribbean rhythms, New Orleans street funk, Hawaiian hula, classical Indian ragas, and Malian kora music. “Eclectic bluesman” would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but Taj Mahal fits the description to a tee, and his insatiable desire for new sounds has led him to musical discoveries that have pushed traditional blues into new and exciting places. —Patrick Wall THURSDAY
TRIBUTE | Women & Waits
Fri. Oct. 23
8 p.m.
$15
Charleston
Music Hall
Singer-songwriter Lindsay Holler has been Wait-ing to put this show on for years now. A long-time fan of the endearingly gravel-voiced legend Tom Waits, Holler has gathered together half a dozen of Charleston’s leading female vocalists to pay homage to the legendary singer-songwriter with song. The Western Polaroids (Holler, Ron Wiltrout, Bill Carson, Sam Sfirri, and Jonathan Gray) and the Harrows (Hazel Ketchum, Bob Culver, and Gray) will back up local female vocalists in what Holler calls her dream show. “Waits had different ways of saying things with instruments and musical styles,” says Holler. “Rejecting trends, nothing was off the table and everyone was invited.” Among the ladies taking up Waits’ mantle at the Music Hall are Holler, Aisha Kenyetta, Hazel Ketchum, Ann Caldwell, Lauren Cahill, McKenzie Eddy, Danielle Howle, and Jordan Igoe. —Kaleb Eisele FRIDAY
TRIBUTE | Annual Halloween Cover Show
Sat. Oct. 25
5 p.m.
$8
Tin Roof
A horde of local musicians are gathering at the Tin Roof this week for an early Halloween party. Bands will take a break from their normal gigs to cover Alkaline Trio, the Birthday Party, Broadcast, Dead Kennedys, Fair Warning, Focus, Indigo Girls, the Magnetic Fields, Misfits, Refused, Spice Girls, Nirvana, Tom Petty, and No Doubt. Not only will local bands attempt to replicate the sounds of these artists, but they’ll also try to physically portray the bands themselves. Hosting the party a week before Halloween means that Charleston revelers can spend double the time dressed in their spookiest, craziest disguises. As for who will be performing, organizer Brett Nash’s lips are sealed. “Basically it’s a complete mish-mash of Charleston musicians — a few notable, a few that should be notable, and everything in between forming bands to their heart’s content,” he says. Anything could happen. Rumor has it Marty McFly’s band the Pinheads will also be making an appearance, which is particularly significant this week since Oct. 21, 2015 is the date McFly and the Doc traveled to in Back to the Future II. —Kaleb Eisele SATURDAY
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