Live: Music Picks June 20-26 

THURSDAY JUNE 20

Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown
While most kids say they want to be a firefighter, veterinarian or astronaut when they grow up, when 21-year-old wunderkind Tyler Bryant was in first grade, he wanted to be Elvis Presley—he even dyed his hair black and wore leather pants to imitate him. Add a steady rock/blues diet of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, as well as serious guitar skills and a voice that was meant to belt, and you have a talented musician whose skills belie his young age. Bryant and his full band, The Shakedown, released their debut full-length album, Wild Child, in January on Carved Records, conjuring the grit of their hometown, Nashville, Tenn., to create a record that will appeal to lovers of classics like The Rolling Stones, as well inspire a new generation. In Glide Magazine, Bryant said, “I wanted to make a rock record for kids like me, you know. I wanted to make a rock & roll record for my generation and we wanted it to sound alive and dirty and raw, like four dudes standing in the room together.”
The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 9 p.m., $10 in advance, $15 day of show

The Mighty Sequoyah “Farewell” Show
This double-feature performance by Provo folk-rock band The Mighty Sequoyah is certainly a farewell of sorts, but don’t worry—they’re not going away all the way. Frontman and band founder Caleb Darger is departing for an LDS mission to Taiwan next month, and although the five-piece will still remain a band—and even have plans to release an EP—these two shows will be the last they’ll play for the next two years. On Thursday night, they’ll play a seated acoustic set, featuring mellow, stripped-down versions of their lush tunes. On Friday night, though, they’ll pull out all the stops for a raucous rock show to give their bandmate a properly deafening send-off. If this is the first you’ve heard of The Mighty Sequoyah, catch up by listening to their latest album, Sunken Houses (May 2012), which is filled with yelpy vocals, woodsy violin and alt-country touches like harmonica and pedal steel. There will be some special merch available to purchase at these shows, including some never-before-released music. Bat Manors open on Thursday; The National Parks and Lady & Gent will open on Friday.
Velour, 135 N. University Ave., also June 21, Provo, 8 p.m., $7

The Iron Maidens
If you’re haunted by the fact that you didn’t see Iron Maiden’s show at Usana Amphitheatre in summer 2012, this performance by The Iron Maidens—billed as “World’s Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden”—will ease your soul. These five rockin’ ladies have perfected covers of “Two Minutes to Midnight,” “The Trooper,” “Number of the Beast” and other hits from the British heavy-metal gods, and their legitimate chops will shut up anybody who thinks that chicks can’t shred. In the spirit of being as authentic as possible, The Iron Maidens have even taken on stage personas in honor of their male counterparts: Kirsten “Bruce Chickinson” Rosenberg, Linda “Nikki McBurrain” McDonald, Wanda “Steph Harris” Ortiz, Courtney “Adriana Smith” Cox and Nita “Mega Murray” Strauss—and have that pre-requisite hair-flipping down. So grab a beer, get your devil horns up and prepare to be pulverized by the power of rock.
Kamikazes, 2408 Adams Ave., Ogden, 7 p.m., $10 in advance, $15 day of show

MONDAY JUNE 24

Paper Route
Nashville-based trio Paper Route (vocalist J.T. Daly, drummer Gavin McDonald and bassist/pianist Chad Howat) creates songs that are easy to listen to and undeniably catchy. Though they’re a bit poppy, beneath their beats are lyrics that revolve around disappointment and loss, a reflection of the personal hardships Paper Route has endured since the band’s first album, Absence, dropped in 2009. The songs off their newest album, The Peace of Wild Things, are experimental with emotional undertones; a departure from their old sound, but Paper Route makes it work. Halfnoise opens the show. (Renee Estrada)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 day of show

Radiation City
As a fan of everything zombie-related, and someone accustomed to the typical end-of-the-world bleakness prevalent on most shambler-related music, I was not expecting the sun-dappled feel of Radiation City’s  “Zombies,” from the Portland, Ore.-based indie-rockers’ latest album, Animals in the Median (Tender Loving Empire), released in May. It’s an effective prank that the five-piece—made up of two real-life couples and a fifth wheel—has pulled on the haunting tune, which lures listeners in with dreamy, golden-afternoon instrumentals, only to ambush them with lyrics like this: “How can we get down, when everybody’s lying on the ground?/ Bullets under beds, where are the pistols? They cannot be found.” The song’s electronic and even spaghetti-western touches show that, like a kid gleefully yanking all of the tissues out of a box one by one, these musicians are masters of destructive genre-mashing play. L’anarchiste and Jamaica Queens start the show.
Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $10

She & Him
The 1960s were full of big hair and even bigger vocals. Girl groups like The Shangri-Las brought soul and swing, while the Beach Boys shone the warm, fuzzy light of the California sun on the era. And the ’60s-inspired band She & Him, a pairing of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, promises to bring the same soul as Red Butte headliners. The two have produced over four albums over the seven years they’ve been a duo, and their most recent, Volume 3 (Double Six Records), might be their best work yet. The song “Never Wanted Your Love” transports listeners to simpler times. So you & me, he & her, them & us should all go to see She & Him. Tilly & the Wall open the show. (Courtney Tanner)
Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, 300 Wakara Way, 7:30 p.m., $45 for members, $50 general public

Camera Obscura
Some musicians let their egos run rampant, and sometimes even take on an outrageous persona to attempt to hold all that overblown personality. That’s why it’s refreshing to see the five members of the Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura not make themselves out to be anything but who they are. On Camera-Obscura.net, all the musicians have their own mini biography that lists their favorite meal, book, color, movie, etc., providing a real-life glimpse into their true selves—nothing grandiose here. For example, pianist Carey Lander’s favorite food is the fishcakes with asparagus cooked by Tracyanne Campbell, the band’s lead vocalist—who has the best accent ever, by the way. That same brand of honesty shines through on Camera Obscura’s latest album, Desire Lines (4AD), released earlier this month. The 12-track album explores love and heartbreak with gorgeous vocals and poetic, intimate lyrics, and a smattering of interesting instruments—like various horns, organ and pedal steel—creates lovely layers. Marissa Nadler gets the show started.
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $18