OUR TOP PICKS
Friday: Joy Williams at 3Ten. A winner of four Grammys as half of the duo Civil Wars, Williams released the solo album “Venus” in 2015 before taking some time off and having a second child. A new record, “Front Porch,” is due next year; she’s given a sneak peek with recent live videos of two tracks. Former Austinite Anthony Da Costa returns to town to open the show. $22-$25. 8:30 p.m. 310 Willie Nelson Blvd. 3tenaustin.com. — P.B.
Saturday: The Midnight Hour at Come and Take It Live. Hip-hop super producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and composer Adrian Younge have been collaborated several times over the last five years, most notably on the soundtrack for Netflix’s “Luke Cage.” Earlier this year, they dropped their first album, “The Midnight Hour,” a rich and atmospheric collection of sultry R&B and smoky basement jazz. $20-$45. 8 p.m. 2015 E. Riverside Drive. comeandtakeitproductions.com. — D.S.S.
Saturday: Amine at Emo’s. The Ethiopian-American Portland rapper logged a massive hit with his commercial debut single “Caroline” last year, and he’s followed up with two solid full-lengths. The new album, “OnePointFive,” opens with the confessional track “Dr. Whoever,” a nuanced take on sex and love that proves vulnerability is sometimes an artist’s greatest strength. Buddy and Kayo Genesis open. $25-$27. 7 p.m. doors. 2015 E. Riverside Drive. emosaustin.com. — D.S.S.
Monday: Bill Leissner book fundraiser at Esther’s Follies. Fascinating memories from a long-gone Austin have surfaced in recent months on photographer Leissner’s private Facebook group page over the past year. (There’s the shot of a baby Shakey Graves, for one.) Waterloo Press soon will publish many of them in “Austin Icons of the Eighties,” for which this event is a fundraiser. Musicians Jesse Sublett, Monte Warden, Gretchen Phillips, Larry Seaman, Randy Franklin, Bob Livingston and Eric Hisaw will perform; others will deliver readings and monologues, with Esther’s Follies co-founder Shannon Sedwick as emcee. No cover; donations will be accepted, and a silent auction will be held. 7 p.m. 525 E. Sixth St. esthersfollies.com. — P.B.
Tuesday: Shinyribs at Waterloo Records. Holiday records often seem like trifles or toss-offs, but there’s enough on "The Kringle Tingle" from Kevin Russell’s genre-defying outfit to transcend the season. That’s partly because of two really solid Russell originals: “Santa Comes to Atlanta” is a pedal steel-tinged beauty that’s more overtly country than anything the band has done to date, while “Christmas Time in Bossier City,” written with Dan Nugent, swings bittersweetly to gorgeous vocal and instrumental support from the Tijuana Trainwreck Horns and the Shiny Soul Sisters. Russell exercises the same muscle that produced the Gourds’ “Gin & Juice” reinvention on “Don’t Go Chasing Santa Claus,” a yuletide fresh take on TLC’s mid-’90s pop smash “Waterfalls.” Free. 5 p.m. 600 N. Lamar Blvd. waterloorecords.com. — P.B.
Wednesday: 6lack at ACL Live. “East Atlanta Love Letter,” the newest album from ATL crooner 6lack (pronounce it black), is a moody meditation on heartbreak and loss that slow flows through a series of cavernous trap grooves, occasionally augmented by wistful piano or swells of strings. Summer Walker and Deante Hitchcock open. $30-$35. 8 p.m. 310 Willie Nelson Blvd. acl-live.com. — D.S.S.
Thursday: Regrettes at Antone’s. With 18-year-old Lydia Night out front and 21-year-olds Genessa Gariano and Drew Thomsen on guitar and drums, the Regrettes have lit a spark in their Los Angeles home base with smart, sharp punk-pop songs. A second record for Warner Bros. is due early next year; meantime, they recently released the politically charged tune “Poor Boy” in response to the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings. Welles and Micky James open. $15-$17. 8 p.m. 305 E. Fifth St. antonesnightclub.com. — P.B.
ALSO PLAYING
Friday
John Butler Trio, Dustin Thomas at Paramount Theatre
Ian Moore’s Family Christmas at Stateside at the Paramount
Oh Hellos Christmas Extravaganza at Emo’s
Colter Wall, Josh Morningstar at Scoot Inn
Colter Wall at Waterloo Records
Norman Brown’s Joyous Christmas with Bobby Caldwell, Marion Meadows at One World Theatre
Weeks, Okey Dokey at Antone’s
Helio Sequence at Barracuda
Joe King Carrasco, Patricia Vonne, Blues Specialists at Continental Club
Tomar & the FCs, Robert Kraft Trio, Rosie Flores Revue at C-Boy’s
Matt the Electrician, Peter Mulvey at Cactus Cafe
Hype for the Holidays with Holy Wave, Pnthn, Why Bonnie, Reputations at Mohawk outdoor
SIMS Foundation benefit with Mamahawk, Bleached Roses, Mean Jolene, Carry Illinois, Lola Tried at Hotel Vegas
Yung Pinch at Empire Garage
Body Rock ATX with Riders Against the Storm, DJ Chorizo Funk at Empire Control Room
Magic Rockers of Texas, Ghost Wolves, Star Parks, Slomo Drags, Oysters at Hole in the Wall
Drug Church, Seattle’s New Gods, Vampyre at Mohawk indoor
South Austin Moonlighters, Denny Freeman at Saxon Pub
James Polk’s CenterPeace, Paper Moonshiners at Elephant Room
Altamesa, Rattlesnake Milk, Carrie Fussell at Sam’s Town Point
Jason Roberts at Broken Spoke
Walt Wilkins at Threadgill’s North
Saturday
“Night Lights” Trail of Lights preview party with Brownout, Interrobang at Zilker Park
Austin Chamber Music Center’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at Stateside at the Paramount (3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)
Radney Foster, Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel at Saxon Pub
Tango Night with GloverTango final performance at Esquina Tango Austin
Ray Bonneville, Gurf Morlix at El Mercado Backstage
McMercy Family Band, Lonesome Heroes at Cactus Cafe
Stephen Doster at Threadgill’s North
Bernhoft & the Fashion Bruises, Moorea Masa & the Mood at Antone’s
Ho Ho Hoedown HAAM benefit with Ramsay Midwood, Esther Rose, Croy & the Boys, Los Coast at Sam’s Town Point
Ayokay at Barracuda
Neil Hamburger at Parish
Tomar & the FCs, Kathy & the Kilowatts at C-Boy’s
Harvest Thieves, Jacob Jaeger, Big Cedar Fever at White Horse
Danny Malone, Born Again Virgins at Radio Coffee & Beer
Rod Melancon & Friends at Cosmic Coffee & Beer
Larry Seaman at One-2-One Bar
Tomas Ramirez at Elephant Room
Sunday
Light the World Christmas Concert with Amy Grant at ACL Live
Radney Foster, Sam Baker at Saxon Pub
Young Voices of Austin presents “Moments of Wonder” at Stateside at the Paramount
Jazz Mills & Corey Baum, Emily Gimble, Rattlesnake Milk at Cosmic Coffee & Beer
Wrecks, Deal Casino at Stubb’s indoor
Hilary York, Imperial Starlighters, Dale Watson at C-Boy’s
Wilson Marks Trio, Alice Spencer at Radio Coffee & Beer
Savage Poor, Zen Archer album release at One-2-One Bar
Soul of a Musician series with Nathan Hamilton at Threadgill’s North
Jake Andrews, Lavelle White, Mike Keller at Antone’s
Jazz Brunch with Michael Hale Trio at Geraldine’s
Monday
Conspirare Christmas with Ruthie Foster, Matt Alber at Long Center
A Very She and Him Christmas at ACL Live
Trail of Lights Grand opening with Tameca Jones, Tiarra Girls, Big Wy’s Brass Band, more at Zilker Park
Bedouine, Sun June at UT McCullough Theatre
Mystery Monday with Christine Albert, Mike Stinson, Jack Saunders at El Mercado Backstage
Lonelyland, Hoody & the Wolves at Saxon Pub
Dale Watson, Peterson Brothers at Continental Club
Church on Monday Band at Continental Gallery
Pollen RX, Black Basements, Fuzz Queen at Hotel Vegas
Bonnie Whitmore’s Tragic Mondays at Stay Gold
Geoff Queen at Sam’s Town Point
Derrick Davis Trio at Geraldine’s
Tuesday
Graham Reynolds Ruins the Holidays Part Deux at Long Center Rollins Studio Theatre
Garden, Leif, Machine Girl at Mohawk outdoor
Sue Foley Trio, David Grissom at Saxon Pub
Ephraim Owens, James McMurtry at Continental Gallery
Mike Stinson, Whitney Rose at Continental Club
Magic Sword, Crystal Ghost at Stubb’s indoor
Lindsay Beaver, Antone’s Big Trio at Antone’s
Lauren Sanderson, Sizzy Rocket at Barracuda
Margaret Wright, Adam Johnson at Volstead
Deep Fried Brass Tuesdays with Big Wy’s Brass Band, Blumoon at Empire
Jeff Crosby & the Refugees at Townsend
Bob Wills Night with Al Dressen’s Super Swing Revue at Sam’s Town Point
Wednesday
Eli Young Band at Paramount Theatre
Glorietta at Waterloo Records
JD McPherson at Scoot Inn
James McMurtry, Jon Dee Graham, William Harries Graham at Continental Club
Belle Sounds at Geraldine’s
Seela, Kate Howard at One-2-One Bar
Walt Wilkins, Wagoneers at Saxon Pub
Matthew Robinson & the Jelly Kings, Eve Monsees & Friends at Antone’s
Zeta, Grivo, Mean Girls at Mohawk indoor
Warren Hood at ABGB
Megan Lacey, Kris Schultz & Friends at Townsend
Thursday
Generation Axe with Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi at ACL Live
Roadshow Christmas with Matthew West, Building 429, Plumb, Josh Wilson, Leanna Crawford at HEB Center
Allen Munde & Billy Bright at Cactus Cafe
Black Pistol Fire, Blackillac, Emily Wolfe at Scoot Inn
Jmsn, August 08 at Parish
Travis Thompson at Empire
Armadillo Christmas Bazaar opening day with Dale Watson, Kalu & the Electric Joint, Greyhounds at Palmer Events Center
Jelly’s Christmas Jam benefit for SIMS Foundation with Reverent Few, Aaron Stephens, Texas KGB, more at One-2-One Bar
Erik Hokkanen at Radio Coffee & Beer
Kalu James, Beat Root Revival at C-Boy’s
Bonnie Whitmore, Monte Warden & the Dangerous Few at Continental Gallery
Derailers at Broken Spoke
Billy Harvey at Townsend
Nite Jewel, Memory Keepers at Barracuda
T. Rex Hoot Night at Hotel Vegas