Vel Nine

Vel Nine With Ben Buck & Spy MC

Flamingo Cantina, Friday 17

Austin's Ben Buck first invited Southern California's Vel Nine for a Texas Two-Step tour in 2019, assisted by Spy MC for the San Antonio leg. Since, the steady West Coast artist landed R&B croon "Frutas" on HBO's Euphoria, under past title Vel the Wonder. Her latest September Freakjet hits harder with a baseball-bat-swinging cover – wrapping timelessly assured hip-hop around nostalgic opening samples from Love & Basketball and A League of Their Own. Gender studies in Nineties sportsmanship smooth the playing field across Lauryn Hill-esque spoken charisma and harsher defenses, oldies soul samples humming throughout.

Friday brings Buck's third season presenting Vel Nine as booming local outlet Speaker Bump, also continuing a monthly genre-crossing residency at Hole in the Wall and running cassettes for artists like Deezie Brown, Termanology & Paul Wall, and Vel Nine. On this weekend's lineup, Buck emails: "I've been a fan of Blakchyl ever since I first started attending hip hop events in Austin. Blakchyl's group Mindz of A Different Kind were one of my earliest influences when I started performing. I met Hellcat at the Vel 9 show at Swan Dive in 2021 and became a fan after booking her for my monthly residency 'Rhyme Schemes' last year. I felt both of them fit very well stylistically alongside Vel's music." Evolve, Bubs Rubino, Akomplice Beats, Landon Wordswell, and Resonate complete team Flamingo.  – Rachel Rascoe

Rotting Christ, Uada

Not rock, indie rock, or rap. Nor punk, pop, or dance. DJ, EDM – close. Pound per MF pound, extreme metal stacks far-flung international beatdowns. Nearly 40 years in, Greek black metal heretics Rotting Christ cycle back to Austin behind digital career comp The Apocryphal Spells. Meanwhile, Tolkien-titled symphonic black metallers Carach Angren jet in from the Netherlands. Gaerea's third LP, Mirage, grinds BM misanthropy originating from Portugal. Don't let that triptych pull focus from Oregonian USBM hooded heroes Uada or even blacked ATX extremists Whore of Bethlehem. "Black metal is a religion," Rotting Christ founder Sakis Tolis told the Chronicle in 2018. A m e n.  – Raoul Hernandez

Suckling, We Are the Asteroid, Tia Carrera

A triumvirate of top-tier heavy riffers under one roof: zero-gravity brain-scrapers We Are the Astroid, instrumental stoner voyagers Tia Carrera, and the mesmeric Suckling, christening a must-hear full-length debut. "This is me trying to raise the dead … in my head," expunges Suckling vocalist/organist Ezra Reynolds, to open the emotive and exploratory 11-song platter where Brett Bradford's fierce Stratocaster resounds like a hungry beast stalking around the intestine-rumbling bass grooves of Win Wallace. The cinematic strain of noise rock and post-punk laid out on Suckling's 2018 EP now enfolds a bounty of surprising jazz/soul horn arrangements and compositions that lean progressive and classical. Don't miss the lively "Mean a Nine," uniting Bradford with his Scratch Acid bandmate Rey Washam for the first time since 1986.  – Kevin Curtin

Rococo Disco, Danny Bonilla, Uncommon People

Austin duo Rococo Disco doesn't toe the lines of indie/R&B experimentation, they waltz across it and back. Elastic, snappy, and unsuspectingly sharp, the Texas A&M alums' latest single "Please Don't Leave Me" prompts dance sensibilities where melancholy moods linger. The Valentine's Day release showcases Paul Chu's suave soul vocals and David Soto's funk-tinged guitar riffs, paired with jazz harmonies and featured Atlanta singer Tori Templet. Fellow Texas acts Danny Bonilla (Luna Luna), Uncommon People, and Shelly Knicks complete the praiseworthy blend of R&B, soul, and hip-hop. Hallelujah, and BYOB.
 – Kriss Conklin

Sam Dimov Quintet

Singer/trombonist Sam Dimov gained experience performing with multiple jazz bands while at Temple University in Philadelphia, including the city's legendary wedding band Jellyroll. But it was his decade spent with the Delaware National Guard's 287th Army Band that really encouraged him to develop his technique and allowed him to lead ensembles of various styles. With a Bachelor of Music from Temple under his belt, Dimov now studies for his master's at UT-Austin. Inevitably he graces the stage at Monks, a club that throws its doors open to students and recitals to give them valuable experience.
 – Michael Toland

Show Me the Body, Jesus Piece, Zulu, Scowl

NYC industrial trio Show Me the Body is as much spiraling underground collective as snarling gutterpunk band. While past tours have been scene-straddling, genre-agnostic affairs, the group heads straight for the pit with their 2023 leg. Opening for SMTB are three heavily buzzed hardcore groups, all set to drop new music in the spring. Philadelphia sludge-metal brutalists Jesus Piece make a fine dark/light contrast with Scowl – who leaven their snarling D-beat with the occasional hit of Santa Cruz sunshine pop – but fiercest of all is the righteous, anti-racist powerviolence of Zulu.  – Julian Towers

Graham Weber’s Songwriter Sessions

On a central stage for singer-songwriters, Graham Weber kicks off his new monthly residency with a stellar cast in partnership with House of Songs. The Restos (formerly Western Youth) bandleader brings new material from upcoming sixth LP Old Young Man, his first solo offering in nearly a decade. Also in the round are UK standout Danni Nicholls, plying soulful, swooning Americana, and former Austinite Bonnie Montgomery busting powerhouse blues swagger with high-trilling ballads. Gordy Quist caps the song swap with a pocketful of new Band of Heathens tunes, previewing next month's Simple Things.
 – Doug Freeman

Music Notes

Akina Adderley

The jazz vocalist performs with her band on the heels of January single "Where Does the Love Go?"

Pisces Birthday Party

Astrology holds value after all, as those with a Pisces birthday can catch locals Transy Warhol, Dragon Rapid, and the Cuckoos for just $5 (versus $10 regular entry). Austin Witches Market pops up too.

Fat Tuesday w/ Nikki Glaspie

The North Carolinian drummer will play two sets in celebration of Mardi Gras: one with her all-star band and a headline with pianist Brian Haas.

Journey

Outfit responsible for perpetual karaoke inducer "Don't Stop Believin'," the band's current lineup includes lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, drummer Deen Castronovo, and original member/lead guitarist Neal Schon.