Here are musician Ken Beasley’s top music picks on the Lower East Side for this weekend:
WILDLIFE – Fri Jan. 20 | 7:30pm at Mercury Lounge
Hockey, public art, low crime rate … just a few of the things that Toronto is known for. Now we can add Wildlife to the list. Wildlife, the Band. Delivering a bright, driving indie-pop sound, the Canadian quintet stops off in NYC this weekend in support of their album Strike Hard – Young Diamond, and urge you to ignore any warning to keep hands and feet inside the vehicle. $10//217 E. Houston St.
EVE BEGLARIAN’S RIVERPROJECT– Sat Jan. 21 | 8pm at Abrons Arts Center
In the fall of 2009, composer Eve Beglarian traveled down the Mississippi River by kayak and bicycle, where she encountered sights, sounds, people, and communities that awakened a new body of “experimental Americana” music. This concert will feature musicians performing on wind instruments, the original compositions inspired by her journey. $25 ($15 students/seniors) //466 Grand St (at Pitt)
ARIEL LASK – Sun Jan. 22 | 8pm at the Living Room
Singer/Songwriter Ariel Lask grew up in Monroe, N.Y., and had the brass to seek out the NYC music scene at the tender age of 18. Since then she’s continued to play around the East Coast and even across the pond in England for much of 2009. She has a remarkably dynamic voice that does her more most delicate melodies justice, but can also freight-train through walls when she wants it to. FREE//154 Ludlow St.
Splitting his time between performing and producing, contributor Ken Beasley primarily plays with his own roots/rock band, Ken Beasley & Co., as well as the power punk outfit, Missy Sport, while also curating the Underground at the Abrons music series on the Lower East Side.
