With the splash-landing of their third album, “Glow On”, this hardcore quintet from Maryland seems bigger than ever, in popularity and sound. Turnstile’s aesthetic opened up enough to accommodate pastel Coachella synths, edgy punk-funk cowbells, more than one cameo from Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes and more – often without losing the emotional center of the music. . On the album’s bloody first track, “Mystery,” singer Brendan Yates sings, “I believe in holding on to love.” September 16 at Baltimore Soundstage. Baltimoresoundstage.com. September 23 at the Firefly Festival at The Woodlands, Dover, Del. fireflyfestival.com.
Write it on a post-it note or tattoo it on your neck: when the big rap tour comes to town, always arrive early. Georgian veteran psychonaut Future is the biggest name appearing at this end-of-summer party, co-hosted by Baltimore hip-hop and R&B radio station 92Q, but you’d be a fool not to walk through the doors in time to catch the radioactive charisma of the Miami City Girls duo and the exquisite giggles of Detroit’s 42 Dugg. September 19 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. merriweathermusic.com.
Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez
Pedrito Martinez has to be one of the most explosive drummers alive, but despite all the explosive power stored in his hands, he still plays well with others. Here’s a chance to surprise him with another expert on Afro-Cuban rhythm, Alfredo Rodriguez, a pianist who knows just as much about the magnetism of melody after years of working as a protege of the golden-eared record producer. Quincy Jones. September 26 at Strathmore. strathmore.org.
If there’s a little poetic paradox at this annual rap and R&B summit, it might be this: as the festival grows, the voices get smaller. The headliner of this year’s Broccoli City is Lil Baby, the skilled Georgian rapper who does his best work in intimate chirps and contemplative squeals. Sharing the top billing, singer Snoh Aalegra transformed the traditional catharsis of soul music into something more internal and understated. And somehow, those enchanting inner voices are able to generate great excitement on the outside. October 2 on the ground of the RFK stadium. bcfestival.com.
If you’ve seen the cover of this California R&B singer’s new album, “333,” you’ve looked into the third eye pictured on her forehead. What can Tinashe see through this thing? “I can see the future,” she sings at the start of the album, “and it sounds like you and me.” Keep listening. Using his clairvoyance to develop a laid back pickup line is just one of his bizarre metaphysical powers. Oct. 3 at 9:30 a.m. Club. 930.com.
Without reading too much into a punctuation mark, if you’ve spent the past five years listening to this young New York rapper zigzag through psychic darkness, his exuberantly titled new album, “Disco!”, might seem like the light in the end of the tunnel. His Gotham-grimy rhymes are still thick and intricate, but they seem to float a little easier on the new tracks, all self-produced by Mike. October 14 at Songbyrd Music House. songbyrddc.com.
There’s a disarming richness to the rhythms forged by this Ecuadorian dance music producer who describes his music as “the step of the Andes”, a suggestion that his music comes from deep regional folk traditions – and from deep within him too. “That’s the thing with electronic music, you can be as experimental as you want,” Cruz told the Creative Independent in 2019. “I tried to make my sounds as expressive as possible.” October 20 at Flash. flashdc.com.
Jazz is music without borders, but few jazz singers dare to travel to the margins where Fay Victor’s most wondrous and intense vocalizations comfortably reside. Transparent – the long-standing local avant-garde music promotion entity that hosts its entire fall season outdoors at Rhizome – welcomes Victor’s multitudes in two settings: she will perform a set with her band SoundNoiseFUNK and another duet with local polymath bassist Luke Stewart. October 24 at Rhizome. rhizomedc.org.
A good reason to play a musical instrument is that you want it to sound like something else. And sure, solo harpist Mary Lattimore’s music sometimes sounds like it’s being performed by cherubs in floating marble temples, but at other times those gently vibrating strings do heavy psychedelic work, evoking droplets of water. cascading water, or even abstract reflections of color. Everything checks out. Describing his relationship with his harp, Lattimore once said, “I also use it as a brush.” November 27 at the Miracle Theatre. themiracletheatre.com.
