Our weekly concert picks: August 26–September 1

Picks for the last week of August!

Thursday, August 27: Meg Baird

It's hard to believe it's been three years since Meg Baird — Philly's honey-tongued folk songstress and founding member of Espers — left the City of Brotherly Love for the West Coast. I feel like it was just yesterday I was watching her, entranced, from the floor at Johnny Brenda's. Yet time has marched on and so too has Baird, who released her third solo record Don't Weigh Down the Light earlier this summer and continues to flourish musically. Born in New Jersey and weaned on traditional and Appalachian folk music (she's the great great-niece of famed composer I. G. Greer), Baird moved to Philly in 1995, and quickly found her spot in the scene, her sweet, delicate vocals giving Espers their trademark ethereal sound, and collaborating with Kurt Vile, Bonnie Prince Billy, and Sharon Van Etten (to name just a few). Live, the singer exudes levity and grace, staring shyly at the crowd behind long locks — then weaving beautiful and delicate melodies unconcerned with time or trends. This Thursday, she returns to her home city and Johnny Brenda's, where we can't wait to be swept away in her peaceful compositions.

9:00 at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., $10. Tickets available here. 

Friday, August 28: Grandchildren

West Philly pop orchestra Grandchildren write lush pop songs imbued with an undercurrent of darkness. Formed in 2005 as a solo project for Aleks Martray, looping guitars and vocals from his bedroom, the band soon coalesced into a sprawling six-piece, whose bright concoctions explode with energy and color. Live, they're known to swamp instruments and jam out — Martray planted firmly in the middle; the energy source around which everything revolves. I still remember the first time I saw them live, at a DIY show in West Philly, their warm, trippy concoctions the perfect spring escape. Since then, they've released two albums and have now readied their third — the excellent Zuni, which they'll celebrate live this Friday. Inspired by moments of emotional darkness and a fascination with the macabre, Zuni delves deep within these feelings to find the lightness within. They're joined this Friday by the equally transportive Spaceship Aloha, whose creative take on Hawaiian tunes will make you feel like you're far away from Philly, on a black sand beach in the Pacific.

9:00 at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., $12. Tickets available here. 

Saturday, August 29: The Vaccines 

When British punk foursome The Vaccines first burst onto the scene in 2010, all explosive guitars and snot-nosed swagger — I never thought that half a decade later, I'd still be listening to them, never mind recommending their show. Dubbed England's "hottest band" before they had even released a record, I expected the band to fizzle out in a Wavves-like burst, or burn out from all the touring. Instead, they did the opposite — they matured, and got better. Their third record, English Graffiti, lacks the one-two punch of tunes like "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" but finds instead a cool, moody middle ground between new wave and radio bombast, from back alley dance groove "Denial" to guitar-band-playing-slow-jams anthem "Dream Lover." Since forming, the band's toured frequently, even opening for The Rolling Stones once, but will skip the stadiums this tour and play The TLA instead, where we're certain much revelry will occur. Plus show up early for Philly's The Lawsuits, another band that's only getting better with age.

9:00 at The TLA, 334 South St., $20. Tickets available here.

Saturday, August 29: Screaming Females

Screaming Females are a band I've enjoyed live a half-dozen times, yet still get excited to see on a bill because they are just that good. Anchored by the diminutive but fiery Marissa Paternoster, whose searing vocals are trumped only by her ability to absolutely shred, Screaming Females are proof that all you need to become the best band from New Brunswick, N.J. is raw talent, passion, and a belief in the power of punk to motivate. Over the past decade, the band's transitioned from playing house shows near the Rutgers U campus to hitting the road with the likes of Garbage, JEFF The Brotherhood, Titus Andronicus, and more — and appearing on MTV, NPR, and Pitchfork TV — although they also still play the occasional house show too. Along the way they've released six records through Jersey indie label Don Giovanni, including the recent Rose Mountain, which thunders like a bowling ball through a window, shattering everything in its path. Live, Paternoster is known to rip, flail, lie on the floor attacking her guitar, and generally transform crowds into amped-up, sweaty masses of unadulterated punkery — which is pretty much guaranteed to occur when they take on Union Transfer this Saturday. Don't say we didn't warn you.

8:30 at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., $13–14. Tickets available here.

See also: La Luz (Wednesday, August 26 at Underground Arts), Dead Tenors with Upholstery (Thursday, August 27 at PhilaMOCA), And The Kids (Thursday, August 27 at Milkboy Philly),  Dangerous Animals (Thursday, August 27 at Kung Fu Necktie), Royal Headache (Friday, August 28 at PhilaMOCA), Damian and Stephen Marley (Saturday, August 29 at The Mann Center), JJL (Saturday, August 29 at Johnny Brenda's), Suburban Living (Saturday, August 29 at Underground Arts), Void Vision (Saturday, August 29 at Kung Fu Necktie), Lenny Kravitz (Sunday, August 30 at The Mann Center), Ed Schrader's Music Beat (Monday, August 31 at PhilaMOCA)