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Marshmello
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Nelly
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Halsey
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Photo credit: Tim Saccenti
Chromeo
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Photo credit: Lloyd Pursall
GoldLink
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Photo credit: Olivia Bee
Kesha
Thursday, June 28
Marshmello
Marshmello @ Miller Lite Oasis, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
Wearing a silly helmet on stage doesn’t guarantee a DJ stardom, but it doesn’t hurt, either. It’s certainly worked out well for Christopher Comstock, who performs under the pseudonym Marshmello. Since releasing his debut album, Joyride, in 2016, the masked electronic producer has worked his way into pop’s inner circle, collaborating with artists like Khalid, Selena Gomez, Annie-Marie, Migos, Juicy J and Logic—not bad for a performer whose face most listeners have never seen. He just released his sophomore album, Joyride II, this month.
Nelly
Nelly @ U.S. Cellular Connection Stage, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
Nobody would make the case for Nelly as one of the great rappers, but to fans, he’s symbolic of a better time for pop music, an era when pop-rappers didn’t have to play into EDM trends in order to turn hits. Instead, Nelly won over both pop and rap radio by drawing from popular Southern sounds of the early 2000s. Though he hasn’t released an album since 2013’s M.O., his Neptunes-produced smash “Hot in Herre” remains one of that decade’s great party jams.
Friday, June 29
Halsey
Halsey and Logic w/ NF @ American Family Mutual Insurance Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
An early tour with Imagine Dragons helped put pop singer Halsey on the map, but it was her smoldering “Closer,” her 2016 collaboration with the electronic duo The Chainsmokers, that made her a bona fide star. She followed it up last year with a chart-topping album of hip-hop-influenced dance pop, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. She co-headlines this show with another artist who had a 2017 to remember: Rapper Logic, who scored the biggest hit of his career with his suicide-prevention anthem “1-800-273-8255.” This spring he released a new mixtape, Bobby Tarantino II, that showcases his lighter, less serious side.
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Photo credit: Lloyd Pursall
GoldLink
GoldLink @ Miller Lite Oasis, 10:15 p.m.
XXL magazine has a mixed track record with its Freshman Class picks of rappers to watch, but sometimes those lists get it right. Case in point: 2015 Freshman Class alum GoldLink, who has gone on to become one of the most successful D.C. rappers since Wale. That regional character helped distinguish his infectious 2017 commercial debut, At What Cost, which blended the sounds of his city’s native go-go music with the spirit of classic hip-hop. It featured one of last year’s catchiest rap singles, “Crew,” which was nominated for a Grammy.
Saturday, June 30
Burnhearts/Pabst Street Party @ Burnhearts, noon
Like many of the city’s best street festivals, the lineup at the annual Burnhearts-Pabst Street Party is almost beside the point. Now in its 11th year, the annual Bay View street party is such an institution, and such a rite of summer, that attendees would look forward to it no matter who was headlining. Nonetheless, each year the festival puts together a distinctive lineup featuring a mix of big local draws and local cult favorites: B~Free, Buffalo Gospel, Sundial Mottos, Magnetic Minds, Taj Raiden and Luxi. In keeping with festival custom, there will also be between-set music from DJ Why B; a maker fair curated by Cortney Heimerl; food from area restaurants including Goodkind, Vanguard, Honeypie and Palomino; and specialty drinks including Korbel Brandy and Ginger Korbel Brandy Slushes.
Third Eye Blind @ Miller Lite Oasis, Summerfest, 10:15 p.m.
Though the band’s hit singles, including “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper,” had a satirical bite that sometimes was overshadowed by their sheer bubblegumminess, most people never considered Third Eye Blind an especially political band. Nonetheless, in recent years, band leader Stephan Jenkins has steered his alternative-pop group in a more overtly political direction, standing with the Occupy Wallstreet movement and criticizing politicians that stand in the way of LGBTQ rights. In 2016, the group released one of its most charged singles yet, “Cop vs. Phone Girl,” which touches on Black Lives Matter and a 2015 incident where a police officer violently assaulted a South Carolina high school student.
Make a Difference Concert: “Music from My Pen” @ Marcus Center, 7:30 p.m.
Preaching the power of music and artistic expression, The Better Project Awareness Foundation sponsors free music camps for kids age 6-16 as well as scholarships for music lessons. It’ll raise money for that cause at this fundraising concert featuring singer-songwriter Christopher Crain. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the Marcus Center box office or through tbpaf.org.
Sunday, July 1
Dave Matthews Band @ American Family Mutual Insurance Amphitheater, 8 p.m.
It’s possible nobody enjoyed Lady Bird more than Dave Matthews. Some of the most memorable scenes of Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut offered a heartfelt defense of the much maligned pop/rock band, who despite commanding a loyal audience for decades have rarely gotten much respect from critics. This year, the band put out its first album since 2012’s Away from the World, a stripped-down but agreeable album called Come Tomorrow. The band will look a little different than fans remember them on this tour: Longtime violinist Boyd Tinsley parted from the group this spring under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations.
Photo credit: Tim Saccenti
Chromeo
Chromeo @ Miller Lite Oasis, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
The electro-funk duo Chromeo once described itself as “the only successful Arab-Jewish collaboration since the beginning of time,” a statement that speaks volumes about the group’s cheeky sense of humor. The synth-rock outfit sometimes crosses the line between good-natured fun and straight-up irony—just listen to those bargain-bin synths on their breakout 2010 album Business Casual or the exaggerated throwback funk of 2014’s White Women—but jokey or not, their ’80s-inspired dance-funk throwbacks are reliable party starters. White Women featured an entertaining cast of guests including Ezra Koenig, Toro y Moi and Solange Knowles, while their new album, Head Over Heels, features an even bigger cast of guests including DRAM, The-Dream, French Montana and Raphael Saadiq.
Tuesday, July 3
J. Cole w/ Trippie Redd @ American Family Mutual Insurance Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
J. Cole is one of the quintessential modern rap success stories. After making a name for himself on the mixtape circuit, the New York upstart signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, which released his 2011 debut album, Cole Wold: The Sideline Story, to tremendous commercial success. But rather than leaning into his pop instincts, Cole backed away from them on subsequent albums, which cut back on the guest features expected from big-budget rap albums to create a more introspective vibe. His fifth and latest album KOD is a heady exploration of addiction and depression. Like the four albums before it, it debuted at number one on the Billboard charts.
Foster the People @ Miller Lite Oasis, 10 p.m.
When MGMT refused to fill the demand for catchy, buoyant psych-pop that they helped created with their 2007 album Oracular Spectacular and its ubiquitous hits, a bunch of other bands stepped in to capitalize on the opportunity. Among the most successful was Los Angeles’ Foster the People, which scored a big crossover hit in 2011 with the MGMT-esque “Pumped Up Kicks,” a song that helped shift alt-rock radio’s interest away from guitars and toward loose, happy grooves. Last year, the group released its third album, Sacred Hearts Club, which adds a more pronounced electronic influence but keeps the perky pop vibes.
Wednesday, July 4
The Pixies @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 9:45 p.m.
When The Pixies finally reunited in 2004, to great fanfare, they probably didn’t expect to still be on the road together 14 years later. These days, they have some new songs to play: After bassist Kim Deal left the band in 2013, they released a pair of full lengths, 2014’s uneven Indie Cindy and 2016’s much-better Head Carrier. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the new music was received with cold reviews; there was no way any new music from the band could live up to enigmatic albums like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, flawless LPs that helped lay the groundwork for an entire generation of alternative and indie bands. Nonetheless, Head Carrier in particular is the work of a band that, at the very least, is enjoying themselves.
Photo credit: Olivia Bee
Kesha
Kesha @ Miller Lite Oasis, Summerfest, 9:45 p.m.
For a time it seemed Kesha would never even get to release a new album. After the divisive pop singer came forward with accusations of sexual assault and emotional abuse against her longtime producer, Dr. Luke, she launched a legal campaign to free herself from her contract with Sony Music. She lost that battle but won the P.R. war: Dr. Luke has been all but blacklisted from the music industry, while Kesha was free to release a new album on her own terms, and it’s far and away her best. Nodding to classic rock ’n’ roll, soul and country and featuring guest spots from Dolly Parton, the Dap-Kings Horns and Eagles of Death Metal, her 2017 album, Rainbow, proved what an electric presence Kesha can be when given the chance to sing on her own terms.
