Music Picks July 17-23 | Live: Andrew Bird & Josh Ritter, P.O.S., Smith Bros. Dirt Band & Fleet Foxes 

Thursday 7.17
ANDREW BIRD, JOSH RITTER
Andrew Bird is one complex fellow. The Chicago-based instrumentalist navigates a space occupied by Beirut, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens and other modern-day troubadours who draw on an arsenal of instruments to produce fantastic indie rock that sounds as new as it does old and oddly familiar. While he’s somewhat toned down his experimental approach to recording, his last release Armchair Apocrypha (2007) proves he is still one of today’s most refreshing solo artists—and a darn fine whistler. Unlike a certain band that played last year’s Twilight Concert Series, Bird does it all live. No whistle-syncing, or whatever. Josh Ritter, often cited as “the next Bob Dylan” or “soon-to-be folk legend,” writes powerful songs heavy on narrative, wordplay and gritty imagery. He also blogs for Huffington Post, but we’re glad Arianna Huffington doesn’t sing on his albums. Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 7 p.m. All-ages. Free

• Also Thursday: Gravy Train, Rope or Bullets, Buttery Muffins (Kilby Court); Death Ringers, Negative Charge, Killbot (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Salt Lake Hip Hop Showcase (Urban Lounge); Cahalen David Morrison & Sven Hooson (Why Sound, Logan); Feist (Deer Valley)

Friday 7.18
P.O.S., DOOMTREE
You’ve heard of P.O.S. (or at least, you have if you read last week’s Live), but perhaps Doomtree (left) just sounds like a cool title for the next Tim Burton movie. If so, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Minneapolis collective—a crew, 11 strong and getting stronger weeks before their long-awaited eponymous debut hits streets July 29. Eight years in the making, the 21-track album highlights the nine members’ individual talents as well as their strength in numbers. Doomtree isn’t a crew—they’re a bona fide family spitting grace and hellfire over ominous beats. Regarded as one of their hometown’s top live acts, they give 100 percent at every show because there’s no alternative: “We be all in the struggle, man/ grind hard/ 24-7, man.” Believe that. Avalon, 3605 S. State, 6:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: SmithsTix.com (with Flobots)

• Also Friday: Reviver (Artopia—Read Article); Rocky Votolato (Velour, Provo); The Chop, The High Beams, Dane & the Death Machine (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Groundation (Bar Deluxe); The Lo-Fi Trend (Zanzibar)

Saturday 7.19
SMITH BROS. DIRT BAND
In a way, Smith Bros. Dirt Band are punk rock. They don’t play punk music—far from it, in fact. But when founder Randall Smith started the band four decades ago, he did so in part to rock the establishment. Back in college, when his required classical music listening list didn’t fly, he discovered fast-paced bluegrass and jug band albums—and shortly thereafter formed his own group to keep the sounds alive in Salt Lake City. Their two vinyl releases on ‘70s label Ham & Egg Records aren’t available on CD (yet), which is a shame because judging by reviews of Once Over Easy (1976) and Stuck in Salt Lake (1979), the albums are a welcome jig down memory lane. Until the band goes digital, you’ll have to see them live to experience their quick wit and fast-picking down-home groove—a unique experience in its own right, with Smith’s daughter joining the group on fiddle. Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Westminster College, 1840 S. 1300 East, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 832-2457

• Also Saturday: Lyle Lovett (Kingsbury Hall); Paul Oakenfeld (In the Venue); The Police, Elvis Costello (Usana Amphitheatre—see Essentials); Flogging Molly (Great Saltair); Slowtrain Two-Year Anniversary (Slowtrain); Wisebird (Paladium); The Voodoo Organist (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Salt City Derby Girls After-Party (Saints & Sinners)

Sunday 7.20
Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein (Red Butte Garden); Sera Cahoone (Kilby Court)

Monday 7.21
Ariel Pink (Kilby Court); Summer Slaughter Tour (Avalon); John Mayer (Usana Amphitheatre); Goldfinger, Less Than Jake (Murray Theater); The Luchagors (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

Tuesday 7.22
Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi (Red Butte Garden); The Singularity (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); The Watson Twins (Urban Lounge—Read Article)

Wednesday 7.23
FLEET FOXES, THE DUTCHESS & THE DUKE
Fleet Foxes sound both familiar and otherworldly—a grounded bunch whose collective output resonates as if transmitted from up on high. To wit, several tracks off their eponymous album reference epic journeys: “Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long” and “She left a week to roam/your protector’s coming home,” all unfolding in a pastoral setting. Frontman Robin Pecknold sings in a style similar to My Morning Jacket’s Jim James if James were a ’50s crooner hollering down a tunnel. This show is likely the last time you’ll have the opportunity to see Fleet Foxes at Kilby. They’re traveling a steady trajectory to Big Time and will open for Wilco’s sold-out Red Butte gig in August. Foxes will be joined by two solid openers: The Dutchess & The Duke—no frills acoustic Americana with loose male/female harmonies that have a wonderful impromptu quality reminiscent of bonfire sing-alongs—and Salt Lake City’s The Devil Whale who might be playing their last gig with guitarist Marcus Bently tonight. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com

• Also Wednesday: Whitman, The Slants (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Culture (Bar Deluxe); Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo (The Depot)

Coming Up
De La Soul, The Cool Kids (Gallivan Center, July 24); Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (Kilby Court, July 25); Boris (Urban Lounge, July 26); Wayne “The Train” Hancock (Bar Deluxe, July 28); Lucero (Urban Lounge, July 29); Motley Crue & CrueFest (Usana Amphitheater, July 29); The Faint (In the Venue, July 30); Los Lonely Boys, Los Lobos (Red Butte Garden, July 30)