Music Picks July 24-30 | Live: De La Soul, The Cool Kids, Harry & The Potters, Boris, Rehab, The New Frontiers, Samantha Crain 

Thursday 7.24
DE LA SOUL, THE COOL KIDS
Chances are, tonight’s Twilight Concert will attract a large crowd. Chances are, also, someone will spill overpriced beer on your fly summer dress. Such are the minor hazards of a free outdoor show. I know, I know. It’s hot. Your feet hurt. Someone better call the Whaaambulance, ’cause it’s hard to hate a series that brings out such cool acts as The Cool Kids. So fly, so fresh, the Chicago hip-hop duo outdoes 2008 Twilight kick-off performers The Knux with original beats that bring to mind a diverse range of artists—and at least one Technotronic-fueled dance party. Shake that body. Come on, move this! Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 7 p.m. All-ages. Free

• Also Thursday: Bomb City, Bloswick (Monk’s); Hellbound Glory, Utah County Swillers (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Minerva (Urban Lounge); Taj Weeks (Huka Bar & Grill)

Friday 7.25
• Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (Kilby Court); Dave Dresden (The Hotel); Murphy’s Law (Bar Deluxe); Cobra Skulls (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Drop Dead Julio (Huka Bar & Grill); Downright Blue (Liquid Joe’s); The Maldives (Snowbird); A Thorn For Every Heart (Why Sound, Logan)

Saturday 7.26
HARRY & THE POTTERS
Harry & The Potters have been kicking it J.K. Rowling-style since 2002, taking their high-brow concept band into libraries and the occasional coffee shop where all-ages fan boys and girls quickly responded with cheers and appropriately themed-costumes. Where naysayers might knock brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge for capitalizing on a literary phenomenon, followers applaud the duo for their lighthearted satire and genuine love for all things Harry Potter. If you like humorous music in the vein of Nerfherder or Leslie & the Lys, this group’s for you. Just don’t make the mistake of one cold-hearted journalist who dissed the band and earned herself the back-handed tribute song, “Wrath of Hermione.” Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com

BORIS
Whether they’re shredding or drudging through sludge, Boris are, above all, extremely, consistently loud. The Japanese quartet-turned-trio’s back catalog reflects a brilliant noise prism with fragments of pulsating doom, classic metal and psychedelic-rock variations that deliver physical catharsis and a nice cerebral massage. Their latest LP, Smile, is widely cited as their most accessible effort to date. Of course, that means a couple of the tracks off their U.S. release (Boris always distributes two albums, one in Japan where they switch up the tracks and cover art for an often wildly different version) are, well, a little boring. I expect more from a song titled “My Neighbor Satan,” though “Statement” certainly kicks enough ass to compensate for the lull. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Torche)

• Also Saturday: Velnias, Terra Noir, Gravecode Nebula (Dawg Pound); Three Bad Jacks (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Aerial CD Release (Club Vegas); The Secret Handshake (Club BoomVa, Ogden)

Monday 7.28
REHAB
U92’s DJ Dao is on a mission to spread the gospel of hip-hop as a legitimate art form. To that end, Dao recently launched a new weekly club night—Rehab, or Rehabilitating Our Music—with rotating themes exploring the rich, diverse movement. Last week, he focused on new songs and the original samples that inspired them. Tonight, he’ll dig through the crates for all things ’80s to get the crowd pop-locking. There’s not a whole lot of wiggle room in Kristauf’s, but where’s there’s a will to break dance, there’s a way. And party people, don’t forget Rehab’s educational component. Stop by one of Dao’s tables for informative literature on the evening’s historical significance. Kristauf’s, 16 W. Market St., 9 p.m. Info: 366-9490

• Also Monday: Kill Hannah (In the Venue); Hush Sound (Avalon); Wayne “The Train” Hancock (Bar Deluxe)

Tuesday 7.29
THE NEW FRONTIERS
The New Frontiers are both instantly catchy and surprisingly durable. On first listen, their pretty melodies hook anyone with a sweet spot for daydream-worthy pop, but press repeat and deep-seated layers reveal solid songwriting based in the rich no-nonsense storytelling tradition of Americana and alt-country greats. Think somewhere between Richmond Fontaine’s gritty, below-rock-bottom narratives and Ryan Adam’s sensitive-romantic side. At times, tracks off the Texas quintet’s Mending depend too heavily on labored metaphors and cliché imagery (“I burn my wings on the sun when I fly”), but even the cheesiest lines are leveled with gorgeous, clean production values. Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo, 8 p.m. All-ages. Info: VelourLive.com (with The Honorary Title)

• Also Tuesday: Crüefest (Usana Amphitheatre); James McMurtry (Bar Deluxe); Lucero (Urban Lounge—Read Article); Full Blown Chaos (Club BoomVa, Ogden)

Wednesday 7.30
SAMANTHA CRAIN & THE MIDNIGHT SHIVERS
Had Samantha Crain released her debut EP with The Midnight Shivers three or four years ago, the promising young artist would’ve likely been lumped among the then-growing crop of so-called “freak-folk” artists—a label that reduced musicians like Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart to one-trick ponies. Now that Banhart and others are openly questioning what “freak folk” even means, artists like Crain can more easily explore folk, Americana and roots-rock territory without fear of earning that “strange” reputation. There’s nothing really odd about The Confiscation, a “musical novella” in five chapters, besides maybe Crain’s untraceable accent. Though the 21-year-old singer-songwriter grew up in rural Oklahoma, her voice straddles the British Isles with the depth and texture of marmalade. Throughout the brief but epic EP, Crain lays herself bare, exposing her desires, fears and relateable instabilities: “I won’t say I’m needy/but I won’t say I’m fine.” The Paladium, 615 N. 400 West, 9 p.m. Info: 359-4883

• Also Wednesday: Shannon Curtis, Empire of the Forgotten (Addicted Café); The Faint (In the Venue); Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys (Red Butte Garden—sold out)

Coming Up
Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams (Gallivan Center, July 31); Joshua James (Slowtrain/In the Venue, Aug. 1); Crystal Method (Hotel, Aug. 1); Torrey Music Festival (Torrey, Aug. 1-3); Son, Ambulance (Kilby Court, August 2); Chris Isaak (The Depot, Aug. 4)