The "Hippie With Soul" from  Chewelah, Washington, Allen Stone, will be your evening's entertainment at Headliners Music Hall on  June 19. Stone's R&B-ish music is also laden with social commentary, which these days might be left or right. He does have a self-titled album out on ATO, his first. A chance to set what this guy is about will cost you $15. Justin Paul Lewis and Dave Moisan open.

--Paul Moffett

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It's not music but it's worth noting that the Cirque Du Soleil: Quidam show will be staging shows at the KFC Yum! Center, from June 19 through June 22. Tickets will run $38-$99.

--Paul Moffett

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Soaring country singer and Mineola, Texas native  Kacey Musgraves, of "Merry Go 'Round" fame, will play a free show at  4th Street Live! on June 21. The hit song is from the Same Trailer, Different Park album, just released in March. Musgraves' first real break was getting on Nashville Star in 2007, where she placed seventh. She got a slot on the Lady Antebellum Own The Night tour in 2012; she signed with Mercury the same year. Ir looks clear sailing ahead, so you better catch her while you can for free.

--Paul Moffett

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The World Refugee Celebration, possibly the best little-known immigrant music celebration in the City takes place at St. Anthony's, at 2234 W Market St, to benefit Catholic Charities – WITH FREE LUNCH from around the world provided.The Catholic Charities event at 9 am on a Friday morning (yes, you will need to be there 9 a.m. on a Friday morning), is where you can get to see some of the world's most elusive music: from Myanmar/Burma, Afghanistan, Cuba, Congo, Burundi, Iraq, Bhutan, Nepal, and even others. Even the Dalai Lama on his visit didn't get to see our local performers from the immigrant Buddhist and Himalayan communities perform – but those of us who take Catholic Charities up on their offer can.

--Alexander Campbell

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Ex-Tantric/Days Of The New guitarist Todd Whitener has a new project with bassist Dave Moody and drummer Terry Harper. They have recorded a full-length album at Todd's home studio, which, I heard. is "over the top!" Apparently Todd used his Tantric/DOTN money wisely and invested in some top-notch studio equipment. I wasn't a huge fan of Tantric, but Todd's former band Recourse To Reason (also with Dave Moody) was seriously awesome. I liked that music very much! Maybe it was Todd's vocals that made me like it more than Tantric. Recourse To Reason played my big Rock For Kosair benefit for the kids a few years back and brought all kinds of people to help out the Kosair kids for Christmas. I will never forget such noble actions! Much like Recourse To Reason, the new music from this project called Whitener is Grunge-ish rock with lots of melody and feeling. Harper calls it "Jerry Cantrell-ish." The band recorded fourteen tracks in Todd's studio in January of 2013. A few of the songs had been sitting around for a good while. I'm listening to the track 'When I'm Done" and it is definitely different. It has a great radio rock style that many people could relate to. It starts out with a cool piano with effect intro that sounds neat. The acoustic tone/sounds on the songs are great. Todd's vocals are good. Creative note placement and lovely melodies. You can actually understand the man when he sings and I love that. So many bands have a singer with the Stevie Nicks/Bob Dylan syndrome: you cannot understand what the hell they are saying! The song is about being out on the road doing something you truly love, but also missing home and family very much at the same time. This song is deep and it rocks. It has those infectious melodies in the lyrics and chorus that kinda suck you in, and then it keeps the melody there all day long. It's very well-written and thought-out music. Meaningful lyrics. There are no stand-out guitar solos, burning leads, or heavy guitar parts, but they are not needed here. It's perfect the way it is. It's Todd Whitener's work of art, and the dude is an artist. The next track is "Away" and it starts with a cool acoustic intro that screams "hills of Kentucky." It quickly jumps into an energetic, upbeat rock song. Todd's voice gets much higher on this song. This song kind of reminds me of Tantric a little bit, especially the vocals in the beginning. But it gets away from that shortly after. The breakdown towards the end with the acoustic guitar with effects, and the acoustic lead sounds amazing. Badass. Now that is feeling! All these musicians are exceptional in my opinion. Dave rocks on bass, and Terry is a beast on drums no matter what kind of music he is playing. Todd is a whiz in the studio to get such incredible sounds from the guitars. I'm ready to see these guys play in action, so I might have to get my big rump out to Headliners on Friday, June 21 to see them finally play out. Meet me up there for a drink!

To get a taste of what these Louisville rock n' roll veteran musicians have been up to, go check out the new tunes at whitenermusic.com

--Eddy Metal

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Finding some punk figure playing the Horseshoe Casino always weirds me out. Now, it's ex-Generation X member Billy Idol. Well, Idol's been around a long time, making music and trying to stay ahead of the curve. You might remember him from his MTV days, particularly for "Cradle Of Love." He'll be at the casino on June 22. Tickets run $40, $50 and $65.

--Paul Moffett

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The history of the are-they/are-they-not a band Son Volt, led by Jay Farrar, is a microcosm of the travails of the music business that crop up when mixed with artistic temperament. Farrar formed Son Volt following the disintegration of Uncle Tupelo, then put Son Volt on hiatus while he released several solo albums, followed by an effort to reunite the original Son Volt, which effort failed. So Farrar and some members of Son Volt put together a new version of the band and, since 2005, have been recording and touring. The most recent record is Honky Tonk, released in March. They'll play it for you live at  Headliners on June 23. Opening will be something called Colonel Ford, featuring members of Son Volt. It'll cost you $18 to see the current version.

--Paul Moffett

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Alt.country rock singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile has the top spot on the bill for WFPK's Walk 'N' Stroll at the Iroquois Amphitheater on June 23, with The Lone Bellow opening. Carlile is a WFPK favorite and, with a relatively new CD, Bear Creek, to work from, she should provide plenty of entertainment for the walkers and strollers. The Lone Bellow is a brand-new group from Brooklyn, with a just released debut album, The Lone Bellow. Tickets to the concert are $30.

--Paul Moffett

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Three-time Grammy winner Boney James will tote his saxophone and band into the Louisville Palace on June 23. For an instrumental artist, James has done right well, selling in excess of three million records over his twenty-plus year / 14-album career. His 14th album, The Beat, was released April 9 of this year on Concord Records, so he's not slowing down. Jazz fanatics might dismiss his music as Kenny G-ish smooth jazz, but no doubt, he cries all the way to the bank. Longtime jazz singer Miki Howard will open. Tickets run $29.50-$49.50.

--Paul Moffett

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Vento Winds, which does Andean/Classical hybrid, will be playing on Sunday, June 23 at 7pm at the Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church, 1722 Bardstown Rd., as part of their CoffeeStop series. Vento Winds, which is headed by Penelope Quesada, is a classical group, comprised principally of flautists, that combines a classical section with Latin and Andean pieces. Theirs is a very neat idea, to meld the sounds of classical flute with Pan Flute. Vento Winds has been around for about five years, under different names – and in earlier incarnations more featured the Pan Pipes (and also occasionally Peruvian dancers). In their current version, they are a little more pitched toward the classical honed, but they have not lost their hallmark, beautiful poignancy.

--Alexander Campbell

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The Louisville Jazz Society, on whose Board I have served for many years, now, presents bassist extraordinaire Chris Fitzgerald, along with some of Louisville's top jazz musicians, all of whom Chris is proud to number among his friends. They are David Klingman – Clarinet, Jacob Duncan – Saxes, Craig Wagner – Guitar, Todd Hildreth – Piano, and Mike Hyman – Drums. At deadline time, the show time was not finalized, but it will be 5:30 or 6:30 on Sunday, June 23. The Rudyard Kipling is in Old Louisville, at 422 W. Oak Street, phone 502-636-1311. Based on past experience, the kitchen will be open for the first hour or so. 

--Martin Z. Kasdan Jr.

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Well, it's the boy bands all grown up and back together again: Boyz II Men and New Kids On The Block will appear at the KFC Yum! Center on June 24. Unfortunately, the show is sold out, so you'll have to go hunting on the aftermarket.

--Paul Moffett

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