Concert Previews

A standout among the growing crop of future-funk outsiders, Atlanta-based multi-hyphenate Janelle Monae meshes brainy sci-fi concepts with high-gloss genre diversions. Beholden to no one scene, she has worked with OutKast and toured alongside No Doubt as well as Of Montreal. The flamboyant single "Many Moons" from her debut album,

Metropolis: The Chase Suite

, landed a Grammy nod, and her current single, "Tightrope" - featuring a guest turn from OutKast's Big Boi - is a worthy successor. Leading up to the May release of

The ArchAndroid

, Monae is doing a series of two-night stands at small clubs. With creativity to burn, she's proven to be both an exhilarating performer and an immaculate sonic architect.

- Doug Wallen

His sophomore album might be titled

The Boy Who Never

, but Nashville native Landon Pigg is more like the Boy Who's Determined To. With his shaggy good looks, sensitive-guy ballads, and hook-laden pop numbers - not to mention the backing of a major record label - the 26-year-old singer-songwriter seems clearly poised on the brink of a commercial breakthrough. As it stands, Pigg's breathy single, "Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop," reworked for his latest album, remains his best-known song, having been heard by millions via De Beers Diamonds TV commercials a few years back. Pigg's acting debut in 2009's Drew Barrymore-directed

Whip It

gave him another chance to sing for the masses (he played the rocker boyfriend of the lead character), but the unassuming musician seems best at charming his audiences one intimate show at a time.

- Nicole Pensiero

After generating buzz at last year's South by Southwest and CMJ festivals, Philly's Drink Up Buttercup is finally ready to release a debut album.

Born and Thrown on a Hook

will come out March 23, and the rambunctious quartet will mark the occasion with an early show tomorrow night at Kung Fu Necktie. The band shares with locals Dr. Dog and Man Man a wild, celebratory sensibility (and, not coincidentally, record producer Bill Moriarity). With rowdy sing-alongs, garbage-can percussion, carnival keyboards, and abruptly segmented song structures, Drink Up Buttercup sounds joyfully unhinged and unfettered. But beware, the lyrics often depict a party gone wrong, and things end violently for "Mr. Pie Eyes," "Sosey (and) Dosey," and "Young Ladies."

- Steve Klinge