Band of Heathens invades Buster's

The Band of Heathens, Stoll Vaughn, Ashleigh Flynn, Rusty Scott

9 p.m. Jan. 30 at Buster's, 899 Manchester St. $10 in advance, $12 day of show. (859) 368-8871. www.bustersbb.com.

The Band of Heathens is one of those effortlessly authentic Americana acts that only Austin, Texas, could produce. For proof, we offer the ingredient list to tunes on the ensemble's fine new album, One Foot in the Ether.

L.A. County Blues might reflect a West Coast accent only as far as its electric Neil Young-like melody goes — the tune sounds, in fact, like Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, played at half speed. But the resolute chorus is decidedly Southern.

Then there comes the mix of rolling electric-piano patterns, tent-revival percussion, churchy organ fills and wicked slide-guitar colors on Shine a Light. Such a concoction gets wrapped up in a rough-cut gospel arrangement that makes The Band of Heathens sound like a Lone Star variation of Little Feat.

A little deeper in Ether, we discover a patient guitar groove with a modest Southern R&B flair during Look at Miss Ohio, with lyrics of sheepish simplicity ("oh me oh my oh, look at Miss Ohio").

The Austin element surfaces most prominently when all the rootsy elements crash into one another. And they do that often in One Foot in the Ether. Nothing sounds out of place on the album, though: the layers of antique keyboard sounds conjured by guitarist/singers Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist that echo The Band's Garth Hudson; the wily string additions on dobro, lap steel and mandolin courtesy of Colin Brooks; or the immensely flattering but flexible rhythm section of bassist Seth Whitney and drummer John Chipman.

All of this places Saturday's show by the Band of Heathens at Buster's firmly in the not-to-miss category. Seriously: one of Austin's best original music acts of recent years playing here on a Saturday night? How could you say no?

Saturday's show also features Lexington's own Stoll Vaughan, who continues to be a busy Americana stylist. He is providing music for David Lynch's Interview Project, a 121-part documentary series filmed during a 20,000-mile journey through the United States. Vaughan also issued a new album last fall, The Weatherman, produced by My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel and songwriter/instrumentalist Carl Restivo, who has written or produced music for Wyclef Jean, Perry Farrell, Tom Morello, 50 Cent and many others.

Opening the performance will be Kentucky native Ashleigh Flynn, now living in Portland, Ore. Flynn's attractive 2008 album, American Dream, balances bright folk melodies that reflect generous shades of her home state's rootsy heritage with numerous Northwestern pop preferences.

Rusty Scott, an Americana and swing artist from Lawrence, Kansas, will perform in the bar area during intermissions between mainstage acts.

For tickets, go to www.ticketfly.com.

Jim Brickman

7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Lexington Opera House. $35-$50. (859) 233-3535 or Ticketmaster, 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

Pianist and pop entrepreneur Jim Brickman performs Friday night at the Lexington Opera House. The concert falls just two nights before Sunday's Grammy Awards, at which Brickman's Faith has been nominated for best new age album.

Brickman, who began his career as a pianist with the pioneering Windham Hill label, has scored 27 romantically inclined pop hits that have enlisted the talents of numerous pop, country and contemporary Christian celebrities.

Over the years, artists as diverse as Martina McBride, Kenny Loggins, Carly Simon, Michael W. Smith, Lady Antebellum, Olivia Newton-John, Herb Alpert, Donny Osmond and Sara Evans have contributed to Brickman's recordings.

But Brickman hardly keeps his work limited to the recording studio and the stage. He has hosted a weekly three-hour syndicated radio program, Your Weekend With Jim Brickman, since 1997. He also founded Brickhouse Direct, an online marketing, Web site design and "fulfillment business" organization.

In the midst of all that, the Cleveland native has established a pretty durable relationship with Lexington. Friday night's concert will be Brickman's fifth local performance in little more than a decade.

Another Cleveland native will be in town this weekend. For more about jazz master Joe Lovano, turn to Page 18.

Rock back at Rupp

Country music had its say at Rupp Arena when Brad Paisley returned to town last week. Now it's time for the venue to wake up the neighbors with some ear-crunching, guitar- dominated rock 'n' roll. On Monday, the Pennsylvania quartet Breaking Benjamin, back on the airwaves this winter with Give Me a Sign); the Toronto rockers of Three Days Grace, whose album Life Starts Now entered the Billboard charts at No. 3 upon its release last fall; and Texas rockers Flyleaf team up for a loud, proud concert. (7 p.m. $39.75. (859) 233-3535 or Ticketmaster, 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.)

Flyleaf talks to us in Saturday's Life + Faith section, and Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier checks in with us in Sunday's Life + Arts section.

Eric Hutchinson at UK

Making his way to the University of Kentucky's Student Center Grand Ballroom on Thursday with remarkably little promotional fanfare — at least to those of us outside the collegiate world — is pop singer Eric Hutchinson.

The Washington, D.C., native began making serious national commotion in fall 2008 with a reggae-fied pop-soul single, Rock and Roll. Radio ate it up, and the Jason Mraz-like single established a strong international followings for Hutchinson, especially in New Zealand and Norway. The Down Under crowds will be further fortified when Hutchinson tours Australia in April with Kelly Clarkson.

In the wake of Rock and Roll, the singer has scored two ultra-sunny radio hits — OK, It's Alright With Me and Oh! — from his 2008 album Sounds Like This.

Hutchinson also released an online-only concert EP, the five-song Sounds Like This Live 2, in December.

(8 p.m. $15. (859) 257-8427 or Ticketmaster, 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.)

This story was originally published January 28, 2010 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Band of Heathens invades Buster's."