THURSDAY 3/24
Anthemic rockers Brenn bring synthesized grandiosity to Vino’s alongside Magnolia pop punk act belair, indie rockers Ellison’s Cage, and guitar thrashers The Alexei, 9 p.m., $5 adv., $7 d.o.s. Chris Henry sings and strums at Grumpy’s, 8 p.m., free. Thunder Thieves, the uber-buzzy newcomers who took the Next Big Thing award at the Musicians Showcase, make their White Water Tavern debut alongside Boston, Mass., bedroom pop act Aloud and Frown Pow’r, 10 p.m., $5. Trailer park garage rock trio Honky returns to Downtown Music Hall alongside West Virginia stoner metallist Karma to Burn and local dude-roots rockers The Reparations, 8 p.m., $8. At The Afterthought, local indie-folk singer/songwriter Justin Bank takes the stage for a solo show, 9 p.m., free.
FRIDAY 3/25
In Hot Springs, the Valley of the Vapors festival rolls on with manic two-piece Japanther and melodic, rambunctious New Zealanders Surf City, 8 p.m., $5. Reno’s Argenta Cafe hosts a singer-songwriter night with two of the best in town: throwback folkie Michael Leonard Witham and country-western chanteuse Bonnie Montgomery, 9 p.m., $5. Blues man Big John Miller takes the 12-bar guitar to Dugan’s Pub, 9 p.m. Cool Shoes returns with a “Spring Break Edition” deejayed by Wolf-E-Wolf, Red Six, Jason D., Rysk and Cameron Holifield, 9 p.m., $7. Maxine’s brings a triple-bill of metal from Iron Tongue, The Vail and From Which We Came, 8 p.m., $5 adv. , $7 d.o.s. Phillip McMath’s Civil War drama “The Hanging of David O. Dodd” returns to The Weekend Theater for its penultimate performance, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY 3/26
Stickyz brings American Aquarium, the Last Chance Records alt-country act with a Wilco-referencing name, and Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost, the stellar local country act with sweet Wilco-like effects pedals, 9 p.m., $7. The “Independent Music Night” hip-hop showcase returns to Downtown Music Hall, 9 p.m., $5. Red Dirt Country takes over Revolution when Wade Bowen takes the stage, 9 p.m., $10. In the nightclub world, Discovery offers Michael Shane in the disco, VJ g-force doing his thing in the hip-hop room and modern rockers Third Degree holding down the live band slot, 10 p.m., $12. And for the night owls, Ghost Town Blues Band takes it to Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members.