Musicians and their fans are shaking off their winter doldrums. A wealth of notable talent appears on Kansas City’s biggest stages and in intimate venues this month.
Our recommendations open with Simone Dinnerstein’s appearance at the Folly Theater. Her piano recital will be enhanced by artful production. At the opposite end of the sonic spectrum, hardcore punk darlings Militarie Gun will pummel fans at recordBar.
Civic boosters will take pride in homegrown hero Samantha Fish’s headlining appearance at the Truman, and pop fans will thrill to the triple-bill of Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull and Ricky Martin at the T-Mobile Center. An iconic rock band, a country legend, a member of jazz royalty and a folk conference boasting hordes of musicians are also among our endorsements.
We couldn’t make room for several prominent shows, including concerts by the party-starters Morris Day and The Time on Feb. 9 at the Uptown Theater, metal monsters Pantera Feb. 13 at T-Mobile Center, acclaimed singer-songwriter Willi Carlisle on Feb. 17 at the Bottleneck, and the beloved jazz artist Diane Schuur Feb. 24 at the Folly Theater.
Spring, along with area appearances by several of the world’s most popular acts, is right around the corner.
Simone Dinnerstein: February 3
- When: 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $25
A recent Kansas City recital by the legendary András Schiff proved solo piano performances don’t require any special staging to be entirely captivating.
Yet the celebrated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, a generation younger than Schiff, isn’t taking any chances on her current The Eye Is the First Circle tour, centered on a reading of Charles Ives’s startling Concord Sonata.
The “disorientingly immersive visual space” in the concert, presented by Harriman-Jewell Series, is intended to demonstrate “what it is to draw a new circle around the one we stand in, at the edge of what we can see,” according to the project’s website.
Social Cinema: February 8 and 9
- When: 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, and Friday, Feb. 9
- Where: Thursday at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044; and Friday at Farewell, 6515 Stadium Drive, Kansas City, Missouri, 64129
- Tickets: $10 at the door each night
The unhinged aesthetic of Social Cinema is encapsulated by the lyrics to its giddy song “Brown Paper Bags and Funny Faces”: “Let’s just get drunk in the back of my car, man / We found a good spot to park / Paradise ain’t that far.”
Consisting of members from Wichita, Kansas, and Lincoln, Nebraska, the quintet is one of the Midwest’s most underappreciated indie-rock bands. Fans of hard-partying groups like Fidlar, Japandroids and Wavves would find a lot to love in Social Cinema.
Social Cinema is touring with Jack. Thursday’s show begins with sets by City Hall and Flash Floods. Oxford Remedy and Siilk open the show at Farewell.
Indigo De Souza: February 12
- When: 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12
- Where: The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: Sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market
In her endearing appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert last year, Indigo De Souza performed songs that referenced skinny-dipping and biting fingernails.
Yet the North Carolina native’s repertoire is anything but trivial. The underlying message of her compositions is a plea to dismiss societal norms and find a truer appreciation of the brevity of life.
Given the often shocking guilelessness of songs like “Younger and Dumber” and “Kill Me,” De Souza’s performance in Lawrence is likely to be convulsively cathartic.
Living Colour: February 12
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12
- Where: Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64120
- Tickets: Starting at $35
Living Colour’s explosive 1989 outing at the long-defunct Westport venue the Lone Star in support of its debut album, “Vivid,” has achieved legendary status among Kansas City’s graying rock fans.
The New York City band known for burly hits like “Cult of Personality” hasn’t lost its edge in the intervening 35 years. A 2017 reworking of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?” is indicative of the quartet’s ongoing vitality.
Corey Glover is still a riveting front person and guitarist Vernon Reid’s innovative melding of metal, funk and jazz remains dazzling. The local hard rock trio Radkey opens the show.
Enrique Iglesias: February 17
- When: 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17
- Where: T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $55
Devotees of pop music witnessed Beyoncé and Taylor Swift unleash fusillades of indelible hits at Arrowhead Stadium last year. The Trilogy Tour that touches down at the T-Mobile Center on Feb. 17 is similarly auspicious.
The outrageously enticing lineup of Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull and Ricky Martin will provide an exuberant evening of Latin-tinged singalongs.
The Spanish star Iglesias crossed over to U.S. audiences with the chart-topping “Bailamos” in 1999, the same year Martin broke out with “Livin' La Vida Loca.” The inescapable “Timber” is among the Miami rapper Pitbull’s many hits.
Folk Alliance International Conference: February 22, 23 and 24
- When: 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22; Friday, Feb. 23; and Saturday, Feb. 24
- Where: The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center, 1 E. Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64108
- Tickets: $35 each night
The Folk Alliance International Conference is first and foremost a music industry convention. Yet this year, anyone who buys a ticket has an opportunity to rub shoulders with record label executives, radio personalities and music festival producers.
The singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is among the established artists performing during the three nights of showcases in Crown Center ballrooms and meeting rooms (the convention lasts four days total). The majority of musicians are lesser known hopefuls.
Gina Chavez, a self-described “queer, Catholic, internationally-acclaimed Latinx pop artist,” is among the contingent from Texas. Congolese composer Naxx Bitota is one of many international performers traveling to Kansas City.
Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton: February 22
- When: 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22
- Where: The Truman, 601 E. Truman Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $29.50
Loath to repeat herself, Samantha Fish is more daring than most of her peers in the roots music community. Since rising to prominence in Kansas City, Fish has unleashed a series of surprises on her growing fan base.
A terrific vocalist, scintillating guitarist, gifted songwriter, and fearless bandleader, Fish regularly ignores established conventions of blues-based music — her 2021 album, “Loud,” featured a collaboration with the Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne.
Fish partnered with roots music kingpin Jesse Dayton on the 2023 album, “Death Wish Blues.” The tandem is performing new songs like “Riders” and old Fish favorites such as “Bulletproof” on its Supadupabad tour.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: February 23
- When: 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $25
Marty Stuart titled his 1989 album “Hillbilly Rock.” The description is an appropriate summation of the exhilarating music he’s made during the past three decades.
The Mississippi native wasn’t always associated with twangy electric guitars. Stuart made waves in the 1970s as a teenage instrumentalist in the band of bluegrass legend Lester Flatt.
Abetted by the appropriately named Fabulous Superlatives, Stuart’s shows are an enormously entertaining blend of cornpone hokum, rigorous soloing and a sampling of his hillbilly rock hits like “Tempted.”
Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra: February 24
- When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24
- Where: Yardley Hall, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas 66210
- Tickets: Starting at $35
Each member of jazz’s first family has their own niche. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is the de facto spokesman for jazz. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis sets the standard for refined hard bop. Drummer Jason Marsalis made a name for himself with the Latin jazz group Los Hombres Calientes.
Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis specializes in the sounds associated with his family’s roots in New Orleans. Accordingly, he’ll lead a festive party as the headliner of the Winterlude Jazz Festival at Johnson County Community College.
Marsalis and his big band are expected to draw on familiar material like “Carnival Time” and “Big Chief” from his 2023 album, “Uptown on Mardi Gras Day.”
Militarie Gun: February 25
- When: 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25
- Where: recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108
- Tickets: $20
The California band Militarie Gun is no stranger to Kansas City. Building its fan base the old-fashioned way, they played a local basement party in 2021 before graduating to the punk-oriented venue Farewell in a 2022 appearance.
Unsuspecting television viewers can now be exposed to Militarie Gun through a recent Taco Bell commercial that makes use of the melodic punk banger “Do It Faster.”
Militarie Gun takes the next step up the rock ‘n’ roll ladder at recordBar. Pool Kids, Spiritual Cramp and Spaced open the show.
