Edith Frost
Duke CoffeehouseOpeners The Zincs are headliner Edith Frost’s flip side, committing reverberating pleas to redemption in entirely convincing, sometimes doleful dirges. They’re one of America’s best new bands, fronted by one of its brightest new writers, Jim Elkington. Kindred spirit Randy Bickford, who fronts Chapel Hill’s The Strugglers, opens, along with Regina Hexaphone. Excusing Frost’s recent miss by nodding at her strong back catalogue, this is one of the quarter’s best bills. –Grayson Currin
Hillsborough Mardi Gras Party
Blue Bayou ClubReturning to the Blue Bayou for their fourth Mardi Gras show, Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos will bring a healthy slice of New Orleans to Hillsborough, no doubt with a little added poignancy in the grooves this year. Bayou regulars look for excuses to dance, so they’ll be in their glory when the zydeco, funk and swamp bop–and some beads–start flying. Party starts at 6 p.m.–Rick Cornell
Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun
The ArtsCenterHis 100-mph playing on “Hot Rod Lincoln” while a member of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen might have given Bill Kirchen a signature lick and a concert centerpiece, but he’s more than a one-trick guy. After all, he’s recorded with Nick Lowe and been name-dropped in a George Pelecanos novel. Local Americana aces the Brown Mountain Lights open. The $16 show starts at 8 p.m. –Rick Cornell
