Heidi Spencer and the Rare Birds

Milwaukee songwriter Heidi Spencer touched on some dark places on her first two albums, but her latest release, Under Streetlight Glow, lets in a good deal of brightness while retaining the cozy, late-night feel of those earlier efforts. Guided by Spencer's pretty voice, a lovely quiver indebted to Dolly Parton, Glow is a more hopeful collection of songs about creature comforts and the quiet satisfaction of realized dreams. That more optimistic outlook is fitting, given that the record is Spencer's first for the esteemed independent folk and alt-country label Bella Union. Tonight Spencer plays her first local show since that album's release at the same venue where she played her very first shows, Linneman's Riverwest Inn. Jeremiah Nelson and 4th Street Elevator open.