Two decades after Count Basie rose to prominence in Kansas City, his big band had a massive hit with its exuberant 1957 rendition of “April in Paris.” This month’s concert calendar is so inviting, music lovers might prefer staying put in the City of Fountains to a vacation in the City of Light.
A few of the month’s highest-profile shows might not have made the list, but the 10 concerts highlighted here are sure to hold your artistic interest. They range from a rap luminary’s appearance at a glitzy downtown arena to a classical pianist’s recital in an elegant theater. It’s a spring selection worth getting excited about.
Atlanta legend Future will be joined by an appealing roster of fellow hitmakers at T-Mobile Center. And Anne-Marie McDermott will interpret the works of Joseph Haydn at the Folly Theater.
Other noteworthy selections include the Indian legend Zakir Hussain, the gloomy Belarus rockers Molchat Doma, the grizzled troubadour John Mellencamp and the biggest show to date for Salvation Choir, a collective of African immigrants that just might be Kansas City’s best band.
Zakir Hussain: April 1
- When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 1
- Where: Yardley Hall in the Midwest Trust Center, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas, 66210
- Tickets: Starting at $25 in advance
The late Ravi Shankar may be the only Indian musician better known to Western audiences than Zakir Hussain. The tabla master’s expansive approach allows him to explore sounds far beyond his foundation in Indian classical music.
Hussain has collaborated with rock musicians George Harrison, Van Morrison and the Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. He’s also worked extensively with jazz artists including Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland and John McLaughlin.
Hussain is demonstrating his global perspective on the Masters of Percussion tour. He and sangari player Sabir Khan will be joined at Yardley Hall by elite percussionists from Burkina Faso, Columbia and India.
John Mellencamp: April 3 and 4
- When: 8 p.m. on Monday, April 3, and Tuesday, April 4
- Where: The Midland, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri, 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $69.50 in advance
Bruce Springsteen receives the lion’s share of attention among rock artists chronicling the hopes, dreams, and disappointments of working class Americans, but his like-minded peer John Mellencamp has matched the Boss’ work for more than 40 years.
Their friendly rivalry is affirmed by Springsteen’s guest appearances on Mellencamp’s 2022 album, “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.” The potency of the recording shows Mellencamp’s heartland rock remains vital.
In a raspy voice that enhances his often despairing lyrics, the proud Indiana native continues to speak for blue-collar Midwesterners on strong new material as well as on enduring hits including “Jack & Diane,” “Pink Houses” and “Paper in Fire.”
Future: April 7
- When: 7 p.m. on Friday, April 7
- Where: T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $55 in advance
Future may be more responsible than anyone for the sound of hip-hop in 2023. The innovations popularized by the Atlanta native have changed the direction of the form during the past decade.
Future’s transformation of rapping into a rhythmic element rather than a vehicle for conveying coherent messages legitimized a wave of so-called “mumble” rappers.
Influential hits ranging from his 2011 debut single, “Tony Montana,” through last year’s chart-topping “Wait for U” demonstrate a rare longevity among rappers. He’ll perform in Kansas City with Don Toliver, G Herbo, Mariah the Scientist and Dess Dior.
Editor's note: Future's "One Big Party" tour has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. This includes his April 7 date at T-Mobile Center.
Joanne Shaw Taylor: April 14
- When: 8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 14
- Where: Muriel Kauffman Theatre, 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108
- Tickets: Starting at $47.50 in advance
Americans have a longstanding affinity for British blues musicians. Beginning with British Invasion bands of the 1960s like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, stateside audiences were introduced to homegrown sounds by musicians from London.
Joanne Shaw Taylor is a relatively recent addition to the peculiar tradition. She favors the sort of rock-infused blues that’s performed in Kansas City by local musicians like Nick Schnebelen.
The glitzy Muriel Kauffman Theatre is a far cry from the bars where blues-rock bands usually perform. Shaw possesses the massive talent and innate charisma needed to transform the opera hall into an earthy juke joint.
Anne-Marie McDermott: April 15
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 15
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $30 in advance
Classical music is often marketed with a crassness indistinguishable from how pop music is sold. Youthful musicians tend to receive bigger promotional pushes than established veterans.
The Friends of Chamber Music, a longstanding Kansas City presenter of classical music, bucks the trend by regularly booking time-tested artists like the New York pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.
She’ll bring her experience to bear on a program dominated by the compositions of Joseph Haydn. Gramophone magazine praised McDermott’s “pianistic sophistication and expressive economy” in her most recent recording of Haydn’s works.
Renée Elise Goldsberry: April 16
- When: 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 16
- Where: Folly Theater
- Tickets: Starting at $30 in advance
Devotees of the musical “Hamilton” may be surprised to learn that Renée Elise Goldsberry was a show business veteran prior to her portrayal of Angelica Schuyler in the game-changing, original 2015 Broadway production.
In addition to previously performing in Broadway musicals including “The Color Purple,” the Tony Award-winning Goldsberry starred in several seasons of the television soap opera “One Life to Live.” She continues to thrive.
Goldsberry’s current agenda includes a featured role in the television series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” The Harriman-Jewell Series, presenter of the concert at the Folly Theater, promises “a captivating evening of Broadway standards and showtunes.”
CupcakKe: April 22
- When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 22
- Where: Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: $25 in advance
Rap has no shortage of vivid characters, but few artists are as vibrant as CupcakKe. Delivering outrageous punch lines in a spectacular cadence, the Chicago rapper is one of the gaudiest figures in popular music.
Her confrontational persona and shockingly explicit lyrics have defined her career. Graphic and ribald, CupcakKe’s rhymes are capable of making the lurid songs of mainstream stars like Cardi B seem modest.
Unhinged shout-alongs to CupcakKe’s lewd songs, like “Squidward Nose,” will transform The Bottleneck into one of the most lascivious spots in the Midwest. She is set to share billing with N1n4 Freakquency and Chance Romance.
Editor's note: CupcakKe's performance venue has changed from The Bottleneck to Liberty Hall.
Molchat Doma: April 22
- When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 22
- Where: The Truman, 601 E. Truman Road, Kansas City, Missouri, 64106
- Tickets: $25 in advance
Unlike many cheerless goth musicians, the members of Molchat Doma have a good reason to be gloomy: The war in eastern Europe compelled them to flee their home in Minsk, Belarus.
Molchat Doma is receiving a warm welcome in concert halls and at festivals throughout the world. Popularized in part by viral TikTok videos, the band’s hypnotically dark hit “Судно” is an unlikely global sensation.
A month before Molchat Doma performs as the highest-billed new band at the ballyhooed Cruel World festival in California, the group will make its Kansas City debut at the Truman. Nuovo Testamento will open the show.
Ghost Funk Orchestra: April 29
- When: 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 29
- Where: Replay Lounge, 947 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: $5 cover charge
Multitudes of retro-soul and throwback funk bands entertain nostalgic fans in nightclubs around the globe, recreating classic sounds made in the 1960s and ‘70s by the likes of Isaac Hayes, the Emotions and the Isley Brothers.
Ghost Funk Orchestra is a cut above its peers. Rather than plagiarizing the songs that inspired them, the New York ensemble updates its form of R&B with Afrobeat flourishes and nods to hip-hop.
Guitarist and bandleader Seth Applebaum will be joined by nine musicians, including a four-piece horn section, on the Replay Lounge’s small stage for a Saturday night dance party. Rudy De Anda and The Sluts are also scheduled to play.
The Salvation Choir: April 30
- When: 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 30
- Where: recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108
- Tickets: $10 in advance
Whether The Salvation Choir is Kansas City’s best band is debatable. What’s fairly certain is that the multigenerational group is the most jubilant ensemble in town.
The Congolese rumba band consists of refugees who fled their war-torn homeland. A KCUR feature last year examined The Salvation Choir’s inception as the house band for worship services at a church in Independence.
A growing secular fanbase is falling under the spell of the Salvation Choir’s engaging rhythms, glorious voices, good cheer and the incredible dance moves of the group’s adorable children.
