9/7
Jason Aldean
Last month, CMT – basic cable's authoritative word on country music – held a Jason Aldean Weekend. That's a lotta Jason Aldean. But the 35-year-old Georgian has earned it over the past half-dozen years. He's scored seven No. 1 singles so far, and there's a pretty good chance that his latest, "Take a Little Ride" – from his upcoming album Night Train – will reach that spot too. The song is about his truck, which might seem like a country-music stereotype, but Aldean delivers it with full-tank enthusiasm. — Gallucci
With Luke Bryan, Rachel Farley, and DeeJay Silver. 7:30 p.m., $29.75-$59.25. Blossom.
9/8
Sheryl Crow/p>
Despite what its title might lead you to believe, this weekend's Campaign for Change Concert at Kent State University's Dix Stadium isn't a political-minded event. The fundraising show is an extension of the school's Centennial Campaign that celebrated KSU's 100th anniversary two years ago. Sheryl Crow — who's no stranger to tribute, anniversary, and political-minded concerts — headlines in one of the few shows she's performed since her last tour in support of 2010's 100 Miles From Memphis, her take on Dusty Springfield's blue-eyed-soul classic Dusty in Memphis. (This is also one of the first shows Crow has played since being diagnosed with a benign brain tumor late last year.) We're guessing her set will be more of a greatest-hits style package spanning the past 20 years with songs like "All I Wanna Do," "Strong Enough," and "If It Makes You Happy." The proceeds from the concert will go toward the school's operating funds, endowment, and, best of all, student scholarships. — Michael Gallucci
Sheryl CrowWith Los Lonely Boys and O.A.R.
6 p.m., Saturday, September 8
Kent State University Dix Stadium. Tickets: $35-$50
800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com
9/9
The Memorials
If you comb through this San Francisco band's past, you'll find links — some stronger than others — to everyone from the Mars Volta, Foxy Shazam, and Blackalicious to the Coup, Talib Kweli, and MF Doom. The biggest reference point is the most obvious: Leader Thomas Pridgen played drums with the Mars Volta for a few years, and his hyperactive time-keeping is all over the Memorials' music. But the jazzy horns, funky beats, and Viveca Hawkins' soul-sister sloganeering cast it all in a new light. — Gallucci
With Phantasm, Call Us Kings, Class A Bandits, Post Vinyl, Mission Bells, and Goodnight Jersey. 6 p.m., $10. Grog Shop.
Uproar Festival
How much pummeling from bands that were big a dozen years ago can you take this weekend? We bet you didn't even know a couple of them were still around. The daylong Uproar Festival is loaded with groups that hoped to catch the next big wave of rap-rock when it rolled in for a few months back when 13-year-old boys across the globe were snickering over the words "Limp Bizkit." There are about a half-dozen bands that you never heard of on the bottom of this fest; the big names — like Godsmack, Staind, and P.O.D. — are all still making records. And headliners Shinedown (pictured) are just as big now as they were in 2003, when they released their debut album. Their new record, Amaryllis, is their all-time highest charter. Of course, much of this is a nostalgia trip for fans who fondly remember when Staind and P.O.D. were all over the radio and Godsmack seriously scared the shit out of some people. That doesn't mean new fans aren't welcome, but you kinda know what you're in store for going into this. — Gallucci
Uproar Festival With Shinedown, Godsmack, Staind, Adelitas Way, P.O.D., and others
1 p.m. Sunday, September 9
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls . Tickets: $25-$85, 330-920-8040 or livenation.com
9/11
Odd Future's Camp Flog Gnaw Tour
It's probably no accident that the best hip-hop crew since the Wu-Tang Clan has a winding web of membership that can get just as confusing as the Wu's twisty history. The dozen people who make up Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (their full name) are just the core rappers and singers. But like the extended Wu family, Odd Future take on many more hype men, MCs, producers, etc. The group released its official debut, The OF Tape Vol. 2, earlier this year, and there are several solo projects due soon, including the second record by leader Tyler, the Creator. Even without Frank Ocean — their most visible and significant member, whose new album Channel Orange is one of the year's best — the Camp Flog Gnaw Tour making its way across the country is one of the season's most anticipated. (Ocean isn't on the road with the group and recently canceled a solo tour.) Odd Future's shows are already legendary: It seems they can't go onstage without somebody getting in a fight or arrested. Brace yourself. — Gallucci
Odd Future's Camp Flog Gnaw Tour9 p.m., Tuesday, September 11
House of Blues. Tickets: $28, $25 in advance.
216-523-2583 or houseofblues.com.
9/12
Kill Devil Hill
The old-school guys who make up this new band — which is named after a North Carolina town known for pirates and shipwrecks, and presumably where the group is based —
pack enough metal power to fuel a dozen or so stacked amps. Drummer Vinny Appice played with Dio and Black Sabbath, bassist Rex Brown was in Pantera, and guitarist Mark Zavon did time in W.A.S.P. No surprise that their self-titled debut, which came out earlier this year, sounds like a 1980s metal beast hungry for destruction. – Gallucci
7 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Peabody's.
Frank Turner
This 30-year-old singer-songwriter is huge in his native England, where's he considered kind of a folk-punk poet – sorta like where Billy Bragg was a quarter century ago. He even managed to sell out Wembley Arena earlier this year, a monumental career event documented on a DVD attached to a compilation record, Last Minutes and Lost Evenings, which comes out next month. There's nothing really new for fans, but the 15-song LP makes an excellent primer for newbies. So does this concert. — Gallucci
With Larry & His Flask and Jenny Owen Youngs. 8:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Grog Shop.
