“For every graveyard in the moonlight, there’s a junkyard in the sun,” sings the Texan folk-rocker Butch Hancock. Lately, our weekend music picks have been luring you to some dark worlds, like the ascendant hardcore punk scene in North Brooklyn. Today we head to sunnier climes, and recommend some acoustic, intimate, and heartwarming performances around town.
Abe Loomis says his songs are about “transformation and hope, heartbreak and true love.” He uses a rich cast of characters, from brawlers to amphetamine users, to make those abstractions raw and genuine. Loomis is at Pete’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St.) on Friday, performing at 8 pm.
At 11 pm on Friday at Pete’s, Sam Reider will put a big smile on your face and a dancing stomp in your feet as he combines Cajun accordion with catchy, sunny, and modern country melodies. If you find yourself bouncing like Snoopy after the Reider show, a great way to perpetuate that feeling through the weekend would be to catch Roy Williams’ zany, old-time, honeyed guitar jangle at Skinny Dennis (152 Metropolitan Ave.) at 4 pm on Sunday.
If you like Wilco, you’ll find much to like in Widower, a band that matches poignant lyrics to a twangy contemplative shuffle that just begs to be heard while driving across the dawn under a wide Oklahoma sky. They play Pete’s Candy Store on Sunday at 10 pm.
After you spend your weekend listening to the performances featured here, with their emphasis on kind, inviting songs, as a safety measure you should probably follow this link to reorient yourself to the streets of New York. In the meantime, let the good times roll.