A rock ‘n’ roll time machine is coming to The Burl

JD McPherson

9 p.m. Aug 2 at The Burl, 375 Thompson Rd. $17.50, $20. 859-447-8166. theburlky.com, jdmcpherson.com.

The glossary of rock ‘n’ roll traditions making up the music of JD McPherson are revealed within the opening moments of his fine 2017 album, “Undivided Heart & Soul.”

As the leadoff track, “Desperate Love,” commences, what we hear is a clash of guitar and percussion, a blast-off that sounds like it could have been hurled out of Detroit in the late ‘60s by the MC5. Then as McPherson’s vocals cement the melody, a vital pop sensibility yanks the music back about a decade to a vintage Everly Brothers feel. The song’s syncopation sets the resulting sound in motion with a groove that is half ‘60s hullabaloo and half ‘80s post-punk pop.

So begins a crash course in the time-tripping lexicon of pop, rock and swing that has established the Oklahoma native and his expert band (bassist Raynier Jacob Jacildo, bassist Jimmy Sutton, drummer Jason Smay and guitarist/saxophonist Doug Corcoran) as an immensely resourceful performance unit. Their collective artistic heart is in the rock traditions of generations past, but what they have delivered over the course of four splendid albums is anything but museum music. It rolls with a vitality and presence rooted very much in the here and now.

Kentucky audiences have been able to chart the progress of McPherson’s roots-rock journey through a series of expansive festival appearances (the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Festival in Lexington, the 2017 edition of Forecastle in Louisville), along with numerous club shows that included a white hot November 2016 performance at the now-defunct Willie’s Locally Known.

“I still get really excited by early expressions of rock ‘n’ roll,” McPherson told me in an interview prior to the 2016 show. “That stuff still rings true to me. There is something about swinging and rhythm that’s always going to be cooler than playing it straight. But how do you juxtapose something against it that makes it all swing? These weird push-and-pull things are fascinating to me.”

What resulted at that performance was even more expansive than the sounds McPherson captured on record. There was the giddy rockabilly strut propelling “Crazy Horse,” the enticing mixture of croon and twang within “Bridgebuilder” and the jittery, Nick Lowe-style pop mood of “Firebug” that McPherson further enforced by tagging the tune to a cover of Lowe’s “Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day.”

But that was three years ago. McPherson’s concerts this summer have been saturated with music from “Undivided Heart & Soul.” He has been playing as many as eight of the record’s eleven tunes at recent tour stops with the aforementioned “Desperate Love” as a frequent show opener.

Curiously, you won’t be hearing anything from McPherson’s newest album, 2018’s “Socks.” That’s because it’s devoted exclusively to holiday music. Luckily, it’s not the kind of seasonal fare you might expect. McPherson dumps the schmaltz and sentiment, along with the usual corral of carols. Instead, he serves up 11 tasty original tunes that are stuffed with all the rootsy charm of his other recordings along with a sense of holiday charm that is as upbeat as the music. The uproarious “Bad Kid,” for example, is about as dark as McPherson’s seasonal spirit gets, and even there the mix of Elvis-esque swagger, surf-style guitar drive and suitably sardonic lyrics provide the saga with a sunny cast.

“I can’t help it I was born like this, a permanent spot on the naughty list,” McPherson sings, “I never get a present, Santa’s scratchin’ his head. How’d a little fella get so misled?”

That’s the point when you realize what is truly arresting about McPherson’s music. Once he cranks up his rock ‘n’ roll time machine, every day is Christmas.

Kentucky goes Cincy

Where do you go to catch two of Kentucky’s most celebrated rock and pop exports on Aug 2? Why, Ohio of course — specifically, Cincinnati.

▪ At Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Bowling Green rock fave Cage the Elephant will perform as part of a co-headlining bill with Beck. The latter better watch himself. Matt Shultz and company have a show-stealing way about them. Just ask The Black Keys, whose 2014 concert at Louisville’s KFC Yum Center was essentially hijacked by Cage the Elephant’s boundless groove and immediacy. Spoon and Wild Belle complete this mammoth lineup (6 p.m.; $29.50-$200.50). riverbend.org

▪ Also on Aug. 2, Anchorage native Joan Osborne will present a program built around her 2017 album “Songs of Bob Dylan.” But chances are her 1995 Grammy-nominated hit “One of Us” will pop up in the mix, too. Osborne will perform at Memorial Hall, 125 Elm St. in Cincinnati (8 p.m., $28-$45). memorialhallotr.com