Live: Music Picks May 1-7 

FRIDAY MAY 2

Rooftop Concert Series: Desert Noises, The National Parks, Strange Family
When it’s time for the Rooftop Concert Series, that’s a true sign that summer is just around the corner. Every year, hundreds of music lovers attend these popular outdoor performances on the roof of a parking garage in downtown Provo, eager to see some of the best acts to come out of the local scene. Kicking off the 2014 series is a show featuring Desert Noises, The National Parks and Strange Family. Desert Noises just released their new album, 27 Ways, in March, and the Americana/rock songs reflect the band’s near-constant touring over the past while. Americana/folk trio The National Parks’ beautiful new single, “As We Ran,” was recently featured in a documentary called Love in the Tetons, the first in a series of films centered around America’s national parks. And Strange Family play a mind-bending brand of electro-laced indie rock that will get everyone moving. You won’t want to miss this one, so show up nice and early. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Provo Town Square Parking Terrace, 100 North & 100 West, Provo, 7:30 p.m., free, RooftopConcertSeries.com

Little Hurricane
With their incredible energy, chemistry and attention to visual detail—turning every stage into a mini living room, complete with vintage rugs and lamps—boy/girl San Diego duo Little Hurricane was a contender for one of the most entertaining acts I saw at SXSW in March. Anthony “Tone” Catalano wails on his slide guitar with a homemade wine-bottle slide, and Celeste “CC” Spina drums barefoot and seems to put her whole body into putting together complicated drumbeat arrangements. And their vocal harmonies are a collision of opposites, with Catalano’s voice gritty and raspy at the edges, and Spina’s sweet and unearthly. Their debut album, 2011’s Homewrecker, is a swampy collection of blues-rock tunes like “Haunted Heart” and “Fourth of July,” and their sophomore album, Gold Fever, was recently released April 29. Check out the single “Sheep in Wolves Clothes,” one of the many new songs that reflect the album’s recording location: a 19th-century apple-packing house with no air conditioning. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The State Room, 638 S. State, 9 p.m., $10, TheStateRoom.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

Jake Shimabukuro
In 2006, a video of ukulele extraordinaire Jake Shimabukuro playing a cover of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” went viral on YouTube. With his natural talent and fast-paced hands, he’s been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis, and tackles any musical genre that comes his way, including rock & roll, jazz, folk and classical. In the 2012 award-winning documentary Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, Jake says, “I fell in love with the limitations of the instrument because I never saw the limitations as something that would hold me back.” He re-energizes popular songs, composes his own pieces and showcases his passion onstage. (Carly Fetzer)
Peery’s Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden, 7:30 p.m., $30-$45, EgyptianTheaterOgden.com

SATURDAY MAY 3

Better Taste Bureau Album Release
In March, SLC rap crew Better Taste Bureau—made up of emcees Shaun Bussard and Ben Harris and producer Mason Brewer—were named as City Weekly’s first-ever Rappers of the Year after an electrifying set at the CWMA rap showcase at The Complex. Now, they’re putting on a show for the release of their album, Outliers, at the same venue. With Bussard and Harris’ knack for getting the crowd hyped with catchy call & response lyrics, Better Taste Bureau always put on a great show, but they’re pulling out all the stops tonight. “This is our first full-length issue as Better Taste Bureau, and we can’t wait to show everyone,” Harris says via e-mail. “The show itself will be one to remember. This is the biggest we’ve ever gone, and we have awesome bands playing with us as well.” Those “awesome” supporting acts include Mimi Knowles, Solarsuit and Luna Lune, all of whom have shared stages and collaborated with BTB in the past. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 8 p.m., $10 in advance, $13 day of show, TheComplexSLC.com

MONDAY MAY 5

Radioactivity
If you’re a fan of Denton, Texas, punk band The Marked Men, you’ll dig Radioactivity, which features a lot of the same people. When Marked Men co-vocalist/guitarist and songwriter Jeff Burke moved back to the States after living in Japan for a spell, he brought with him a lot of material he’d written for the band he belonged to there, called The Novice. Once home in Texas, Burke started Radioactivity—which includes Marked Men cohort Mark Ryan—to perform and record that material, and they hit the ground running. Now, only a year later, Radioactivity is already at work on their second album, but in the meantime, be sure to check out their self-titled debut, released in October 2013 on Dirtnap Records. It’s lo-fi garage-rock that often tilts into full-on  punk, full of insanely catchy guitar, driving percussion and anthemic vocals. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Diabolical Records, 238 S. Edison St., 8 p.m., free, Facebook.com/DiabolicalRecords

TUESDAY MAY 6

Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs
Since British singer-songwriter Holly Golightly released her debut album in 1995, she’s been impressively prolific, releasing 14 solo records and collaborating with multiple noteworthy names—including The White Stripes, on their 2003 album, Elephant. In the mid-’00s, Golightly took up with American bandmate Lawyer Dave to form Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs, a twosome that plays a fiery combination of blues, honky tonk and garage rock influenced by their adopted homeland, Georgia. The Brokeoffs’ most recent album, Sunday Run Me Over, came out in 2012, but don’t miss their 2007 debut, You Can’t Buy a Gun When You’re Crying. The song “Devil Do,” from the latter, captures their irreverent songwriting in the line “You can dunk me in the river gonna clean my sin/ But you might as well dunk me in a bucket of gin/ ‘Cause there ain’t nobody gonna love me like the devil do.” Breezeway and George Nelson are also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 8 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 day of show, KilbyCourt.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

Dana Falconberry
Austin, Texas, folk musician Dana Falconberry explores a more synth/pop sound in her newly released two-track EP, Public Hi-Fi Sessions 02—released in April—which features the tracks “Palmless” and “Seven Hills.” In the album, she continues the nature-themed, poetic songwriting she does so well, creating music filled with vivid imagery and honest feeling. Her latest full-length album, 2012’s Leelanau, for which she pulled together her current five-piece band, offers odes to wildlife in daintily sweet tunes like “Crooked River” and “Birch Bark.” The orchestral/folk/pop-sounding music—created with cello, banjo, keys, percussion, violin and guitars—is laced with beautiful female harmonies that perfectly compliment Falconberry’s wispy, songbird-like vocals. Strong Words, Annie & the Flight and David Williams are also on the bill. (Deann Armes)
Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 8 p.m., $5, BarDeluxeSLC.com