There are plenty of predictable megastars among South Florida’s 2015-2016 pop touring docket, so much so that most are purposely not listed here. Yet scratching the surface to reveal the remainder will pay dividends.
Among the arena and ampitheater shows, smaller venues like the Culture Room and Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, the Fillmore and Knight Concert Hall in Miami, the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, and the Arts Garage and Crest Theater in Delray Beach are offering uncommonly pleasant surprises.
In a parallel universe, 45-year-old Ani DiFranco would be the daughter that 71-year-old Canadian and fellow singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell once gave up for adoption. Born not far from the Canadian border in Buffalo, N.Y., DiFranco has taken Mitchell’s DIY attitude and run with it, albeit in a very different direction. Clearly ahead of her time as an independent artist, DiFranco founded her own Righteous Babe Records label, retaining artistic control as she released albums that spanned pop to folk to punk — from her 1990 self-titled debut to a couple gems with anarchic singer/storyteller Utah Phillips (since deceased) to her latest, Allergic To Water. The personal reflection on New Orleans, where the singer and multi-instrumentalist now lives, will be aided live by bassist Todd Sickafoose, drummer Terence Higgins, violinist Jenny Scheinman, and perhaps some special guests. See Ani DiFranco at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale ($32.10 + up, 954-564-1074).
Richmond, Va.-born Michael Eugene Archer is better-known by his stage name, D’Angelo, though that name has inhabited fewer stages in the 21st century than it did through the 1990s. Parts R&B, soul, funk and hip-hop, the 41-year-old vocalist’s 1995 debut Brown Sugar made him a young star alongside Maxwell and Lauryn Hill within that decade’s neo-soul movement. D’Angelo’s 2000 sophomore CD Voodoo, with Roots drummer Questlove and The Who’s bassist Pino Palladino, earned a Best R&B Album Grammy, but if fans thought five years was a long hiatus, they were in for a longer wait. In the years leading up to Black Messiah, released last December, D’Angelo overcame multiple personal struggles and taught himself to play guitar. If each album gap triples in length, it might be best to see him now rather than wait until his next tour as an 85-year-old in 2060. See D’Angelo at 9 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach ($88 + up, 305-673-7300).
Seventy-four-year-old Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack has become one of New Orleans’ timeless exports as the singing keyboardist Dr. John. Early experience and exposure as a session musician in Los Angeles, while in his mid-20s, accented what were already signature rootsy vocal and playing styles. John’s late 1960s/early 1970s recordings helped develop a growing cult following, culminating in his 1973 album In the Right Place. With backing by members of New Orleans funk icons The Meters, the album earned John two of his biggest career hits, “Right Place Wrong Time” and “Such a Night.” Yet he’s not just a nostalgia act — his six Grammys have all come since the late 1980s, the latest for his Locked Down release as the 2013 Best Blues Album. John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 by fellow singing keyboardist John Legend. See Dr. John at 8 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. 8th St., Fort Lauderdale ($91 + up, 954-462-0222).
The 1970s were the horn era in pop and funk, with bands like Chicago, Tower of Power, Average White Band, and Earth, Wind & Fire. But the group that started the trend may have been Blood, Sweat & Tears, which formed in New York City in 1967. Its self-titled 1968 album featured vocalist David Clayton-Thomas belting out hits like “Spinning Wheel” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” and its musicians’ list is like a modern who’s who (including Jaco Pastorius, Randy Brecker, and Mike Stern). BS&T’s current lineup features former American Idol contestant Bo Bice, keyboardist Glen McClelland, horn players Dan Levine, Brad Mason and Carl Fisher, guitarist David Gellis, bassist Buster Hemphil and drummer Dylan Eilse. Also appearing are former Three Dog Night vocalist Chuck Negron and former Grand Funk Railroad vocalist/guitarist Mark Farner. See Blood, Sweat & Tears, with Chuck Negron and Mark Farner, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 8 at Pompano Beach Ampitheater, 1801 N.E. 6th St., Pompano Beach ($32.20-$73.20, 954-946-2402).
Can singing guitar legend Buddy Guy really be 79 years old? And have outlived guitar icons he helped to influence, like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King, who inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 with yet another, Eric Clapton? A native of Louisiana, Guy initially made a name for himself after moving to Chicago, where he rubbed shoulders with Windy City blues icons such as Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, and Otis Rush while still in his early 20s. His nightclub there, Buddy Guy’s Legends, has become one of the country’s premier blues venues since opening in 1989. But Guy’s aggressive, Chicago-style blues playing includes elements of the gumbo of his home state, from soul to jazz to rock — part of the reason why Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and John Mayer also list the six-time Grammy-winner as an influence. See Buddy Guy at 8 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood ($69 + up, 866-502-7529).
Being one of the best live rock acts for the past 40 years still hasn’t convinced the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct Cheap Trick, but that seems like just a matter of time. Sure, the Rockford, Ill.-launched band is a retro act now (their latest album is 2009’s The Latest, which was released on CD, vinyl and, gasp, 8-track), and original drummer Bun E. Carlos stopped touring in 2010, replaced by Daxx Nielsen. But in the late 1970s, there was no more popular band than the classic lineup of vocalist/guitarist Robin Zander, guitarist/vocalist Rick Nielsen (Daxx’s father), bassist/vocalist Tom Petersson and Carlos, all for those live shows and the releases Heaven Tonight, Dream Police and At Budokan, a classic rock live album. Recorded in Japan, and originally intended to be released only there, the import version became so sought in the United States that it went triple-platinum after its U.S. release. See Cheap Trick at 8 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Seminole Hard Rock ($65 + up).
If the solo career portion of singer/guitarist Warren Haynes’ career goes as well its other two primary phases, he’ll have achieved a stunning roots-rock trifecta. A soulful singer and powerful guitarist with a stinging slide guitar style, Haynes spent most of 1989-2014 as the second guitarist, with either Dickey Betts or Derek Trucks, in the Allman Brothers Band. One of the great American groups of all time, that unit shut it down last year after a 45-year run. Haynes also started the band Gov’t Mule, an improvisational, jamming blend of the Allmans and Cream, in 1994. Its first two studio releases launched a career that’s extended to this year’s Sco-Mule, a live CD recorded in 1999 with fusion guitar star John Scofield. Haynes’ occasional solo outings began with 1993’s Tales of Ordinary Madness, and his latest is the new Ashes & Dust, featuring a parade of guests augmenting the leader’s always impressive compositions. See Warren Haynes at 8 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Fillmore Miami Beach ($143 + up).
Soundgarden was one of the Seattle bands that defined the grunge movement of the 1990s, and its linchpin has always been leather-lunged vocalist/guitarist Chris Cornell. Rounded out by guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron, Soundgarden proved the most consistent of the star grunge bands through releases like Badmotorfinger (1991), Superunknown (1994) and Down on the Upside (1996) before breaking up. Cornell then fronted the band Audioslave, backed by three-quarters of the disbanded Rage Against the Machine, and embarked on a series of more introspective solo CDs and tours beginning with Euphoria Morning in 1999 and bookended by the new Higher Truth. The latter features a single called “Broken Heart” that’s in heavy radio rotation, and Soundgarden (which reunited to record a 2012 CD, King Animal) is also preparing a new release. See Chris Cornell at 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami ($88 + up, 305-949-6722).
Ben Folds emerged out of Winston-Salem, N.C., as a most unusual pop star in the mid-to-late-1990s. He was a singer/songwriter, but not just as a stereotypical guitarist, primarily playing keyboards, but additionally adept as a bassist and drummer. His group Ben Folds Five (a trio, despite its name) released albums that blended pop and punk; melancholy and sarcasm through the late ’90s before Folds embarked on a solo career. The trio reformed in 2011, but Folds has also branched out, spending much of 2013 composing his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which he premiered with the Nashville Symphony last year. His latest release is So There, the new recording with New York City-based chamber ensemble yMusic, a sextet hailed by NPR as “one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music.” See Ben Folds with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the University of Miami Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Road, Coral Gables ($191-$290, 305-284-2438).
If you’re familiar with 72-year-old vocalist Maria Muldaur, odds are it’s because of the pop hit “Midnight at the Oasis” from her self-titled 1973 debut. Yet the New York City-born artist has refused to let such chart-topping success typecast her, instead reverting back to the roots music that defined her upbringing. Muldaur was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s, rubbing elbows with Bob Dylan while part of multiple area jug bands that included the likes of singer/songwriters John Sebastian and Geoff Muldaur (her husband from 1964-1972). Along with work in the Jerry Garcia Band since, the vocalist has more than 40 releases under her own name. Many are on the Telarc label, like recent bluesy efforts in the Peggy Lee tribute A Woman Alone With the Blues (2003), Grammy-nominated Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul (2005), and Dylan tribute Heart of Mine (2006). See Maria Muldaur and special guests at 9 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton ($20-$35, 561-465-3946).
Their individual names may not ring a bell, but vocalist/guitarist Paul Barrere and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Fred Tackett have worked together off-and-on in one of the great and underrated American roots-rock bands of all time, Little Feat, since its 1973 album Dixie Chicken. Barrere has capably taken over much of the lead vocal and slide guitar duties of Lowell George since the band’s founder died in 1979, and Tackett’s expertise on guitar, mandolin and trumpet helped make him a permanent member by Little Feat’s 1988 comeback album, Let It Roll. For the past few years, the two have formed an additional acoustic duo featuring Barrere’s soulful vocals and soaring slide work in an unplugged format, along with Tackett’s harmonies and wide range of instrumental tones. They’ll play original material and Little Feat classics, many of which were written or co-written by Barrere. See Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett at 8 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Arts Garage, 180 N.E. First St., Delray Beach ($45-$60, 561-450-6357).
Country music going modern in the ’80s and ’90s generally meant Nashville composers writing pop hits with a twang, all geared more toward video than audio. Since the early 2000s, the Georgia-launched Zac Brown Band has thrown a wrench into that formula via rock elements and impressive musicianship. Vocalist/guitarist Brown is now Nashville-based, and owns the time-honored Southern Ground studio there, which allowed him to record one of the best tracks (“Congregation”) with the Foo Fighters for one of the best episodes of that band’s 2014 HBO series Sonic Highways. Brown fronts a multi-Grammy-winning octet that includes guitarist/keyboardists Coy Bowles and Clay Cook, percussionist Daniel De Los Reyes, violinist/vocalist Jimmy De Martini, drummer Chris Fryar, multi-instrumentalist John Driskell Hopkins, and bassist Matt Mangano, and they’ll play material from their latest release, this year’s Jeckyll & Hyde. See the Zac Brown Band at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Perfect Vodka Ampitheatre, 601-7 Sansbury’s Way, West Palm Beach ($45 + up, 800-745-3000).
Jethro Tull may have appeared on the surface to be vocalist/flutist Ian Anderson and a group of sidemen, but a listen to the band’s 1968 debut, This Was, reveals a different story. Featuring original guitarist Mick Abrahams, the album is bluesy rock in the Led Zeppelin vein. From Jethro Tull’s 1969 follow-up Stand Up on, guitarist Martin Barre’s stinging, precise work catapulted the band into classically influenced progressive rock history — and the deserved reputation as a must-see live act. Jethro Tull’s 1973 release Aqualung is one of the best rock albums of that decade, and the band’s influence extended well beyond, including a 1988 Grammy win for Crest of a Knave. Barre’s current touring band plays music from the Jethro Tull catalog and more, albeit in a more acoustic format, as he also occasionally dons the mandolin to play with vocalist/guitarist/bouzouki player Dan Crisp, saxophonist/clarinetist Richard Beesley, bassist Alan Thomson, and drummer George Lindsay. See Martin Barre at 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 at the Arts Garage ($45-$60).
On the surface, 76-year-old Chicago-born soul, R&B and gospel singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples and 53-year-old Kentucky-born pop vocalist Joan Osborne don’t appear to have much in common. Osborne may be best-known for her 1995 debut Relish, and its sing-along smash hit “One of Us.” But she also appeared in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, fronting the collective known as The Funk Brothers (whom she also toured with), the Detroit-based backing band that appeared on numerous hits on the Motown label between 1959 and 1973. Staples’ roots in the church led to a family band called The Staple Singers, which scored an inimitable number-one hit in 1972 with “I’ll Take You There.” Her dozen solo albums since include You Are Not Alone, which won a 2011 Grammy for Best Americana Album. See Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne at 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 S.W. 211th St., Cutler Bay ($35-$60, 786-573-5300).
The pairing of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Daryl Hall and John Oates was recognized as the number-one selling duo in music history in 1987 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Incredibly, they still retain that title today. Hall & Oates emerged from Philadelphia, a city with a deep soul history, and the duo’s pop songs often feature that additional element. Hall’s soaring voice became the centerpiece of early hits like “She’s Gone,” “Sara Smile” and “Rich Girl,” yet Oates’ vocal harmonies and musicianship made him the glue in live settings. The duo’s 1980s hits like “Kiss on My List” and “Maneater” were more campy and video-oriented, but no less successful. Largely separate since the 1990s, both Hall and Oates released solo recordings in 2011, and Hall’s award-winning monthly web series Live From Daryl’s House features him performing with guest stars from pop, blues and rock to soul, gospel and R&B. See Hall & Oates at 8 p.m. on Nov. 28 at Seminole Hard Rock ($72 + up).
With two remaining original members, Topeka-spawned Kansas has been a paradox for 40-plus years, but never more than now. Kansas’ self-titled 1974 debut album made it an American answer to classically influenced British progressive rock bands Yes, King Crimson, and Jethro Tull. Similarly filled with talented musicians like guitarist Rich Williams and drummer Phil Ehart (its two remaining originals), plus vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh, multi-instrumentalist Kerry Livgren, violinist Robby Steinhardt and bassist Dave Hope, Kansas nonetheless lacked those bands’ natural European classicism. New vocalist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist Dave Manion, violinist Dave Ragsdale and bassist Billy Greer will play “Carry on My Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind,” so listeners can decide if they’re progressive American classics or regressive British mimicry. See Kansas at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Dreyfoos Concert Hall at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach ($101 + up, 800-572-8471), and at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 at Parker Playhouse ($88 + up).
Seventy-seven-year-old singer/songwriter Peter Yarrow is one of those rare artists more recognizable by their first name than their last, since he was one-third of the seminal folk group Peter, Paul & Mary. Formed in New York City in 1961, the trio of Yarrow, fellow singer/guitarist Paul Stookey and vocalist Mary Travers (1936-2009) created a hit parade through the ’60s from “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” (1962) to “Leaving On a Jet Plane” (1969). Numerous reunion concerts, albums and compilations followed their 1970 breakup, during which time all three pursued solo careers. Yet the latest releases by this folk icon also involve his first rather than last name — Peter, Paul & Mary Live in Japan, 1967, a 2012 release previously available only in Japan, and Discovered: Live in Concert, a 2014 collection of live recordings from the 1980s onward that Peter, Paul & Mary never recorded in a studio. See Peter Yarrow at 8 p.m. on Jan. 14 at the Crest Theater, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach ($55-$77, 561-243-7922).
Austin, Texas native singer/guitarist Gary Clark Jr. revised history while performing at the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction for the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s backing band, Double Trouble (keyboardist Reese Wynans, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton). Vaughan died in a 1990 helicopter crash just after a performance with fellow blues guitar greats Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray. At the Cleveland induction, Double Trouble backed the modern guitar army of Clark, John Mayer, Doyle Bramhall and older brother Jimmie Vaughan on some of the late singer/guitarist’s classics. Clark likewise performed with Guy and Clapton (as well as B.B. King) at Clapton’s 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival. Perhaps the future of blues, the 31-year-old sports a stinging guitar style and compelling vocal delivery on his handful of studio and live albums since 2004, the latest of which is the new The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. See Gary Clark Jr. at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Fillmore Miami Beach ($45-$190).
Contrary to its name, there are no ladies in Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the nine-piece a cappella vocal troupe from South Africa. Formed by leader Joseph Shabalala in the early 1960s, the current lineup is rounded out by his sons Thamsanqua, Msizi, Thulani and Sibongiseni; their cousins Albert and Abednego Mazibuko, and friends Russel Mthembu and Ngane Dlamini. The vocal nonet initially rose to prominence after appearing on Paul Simon’s 1986 hit album Graceland, and appearing on his supporting 1987 world tour. Simon then produced the group’s first worldwide release, Shaka Zulu, which won a 1988 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording. The singers’ rich alto, tenor and bass harmonies have since won Grammys for 2005’s Raise Your Spirit Higher and 2009’s Ilembe, each for Best Traditional World Music Album. See Ladysmith Black Mambazo at 8 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center ($25-$45), and at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Gosman Ampitheatre at the Kravis Center ($20).
Seventy-three-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter Roger McGuinn was born in Chicago, and had already become a successful songwriter (working out of the famed Brill Building) and studio musician in New York City before he relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1960s to form the group that made his name. The Byrds’ original lineup included fellow singing guitarists Gene Clark and David Crosby, bassist/vocalist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke, and that quintet practically became America’s answer to The Beatles through the mid-’60s via their innovative vocal harmonies, folk-influenced use of 12-string guitars, and creative compositions and arrangements of hits like “Eight Miles High” and Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” In 1968, McGuinn founded the influential country-rock hybrid act Sweethearts of the Rodeo, and he started a solo career with his 1973 self-titled debut. He’s likely to play The Byrds’ biggest hits and material from his latest CD, 2011’s CCD. See Roger McGuinn at 8 p.m. on March 11 at the Crest Theatre ($55-$77).