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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The week in music: The concert calendar is packed through the season

Summer might not officially start until June 21, but the summer music schedule is already in full swing. Here’s a look at a handful of shows coming up this week, plus a list of concerts happening in the coming months to add to your calendar now.

The Cave Singers

Lucky You Lounge, the new venue from Bartlett owners Karli and Caleb Ingersoll, has already hosted shows by acts like Mudhoney, the Dip, Sego and Black Taffy, but its grand opening weekend kicks off Thursday with a performance by Seattle’s the Cave Singers.

On May 6, the Cave Singers wrote on Facebook that they were spending most of the summer working on a new album, which will follow the 2016 release of “Banshee,” the band’s fifth album.

The Lucky You Lounge grand opening weekend continues June 14 with Deep Sea Diver and Nat Park and June 15 with Super Sparkle and Sisters. And the Cave Singers are scheduled to headline the new Get Out Fest in Republic the last weekend in June.

If you go: 8 p.m. Thursday; Lucky You Lounge, 1801 W. Sunset Blvd.; $15-$18, available through Eventbrite. Note: This show is 21+.

L7

After a 13-year hiatus, punk rock icons L7 reformed in 2014.

Two years later, the documentary “L7: Pretend We’re Dead,” which was funded by fans through a successful Kickstarter campaign, was released.

In May, the quartet – guitarist/vocalist Suzi Gardner, vocalist/guitarist Donita Sparks, bassist/vocalist Jennifer Finch and drummer/vocalist Dee Plakas – released “Scatter the Rats,” their first album in 20 years.

And on Monday, the band will headline the Knitting Factory in support of the album.

If you go: 8 p.m. Monday; Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave.; $22.50, available through Ticketweb.

Cowboy Junkies

When he spoke with the Spokesman-Review in July 2017, guitarist Michael Timmins shared that his band Cowboy Junkies was in the studio recording its upcoming album. That album, “All That Reckoning,” was released in July 2018. On the record, the band explored personal and political happenings.

Expect the Junkies to play songs from it and their vast catalog at the Bing Crosby Theater on Saturday.

This show was rescheduled from Feb. 10.

If you go: 8 p.m. Saturday; The Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave.; $27-$57, available through TicketsWest.

Dead and Company

After stopping by the Gorge Ampthitheatre last June, Dead and Company are back this summer, this time for two nights, Friday and Saturday.

Dead and Company is former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir, along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band) and Jeff Chimenti (Bob Weir and RatDog, the Dead, Furthur).

The band began to take shape after Mayer, hosting “The Late Late Show,” invited Weir to join him for a studio performance.

Live reviews have been positive across the board, with the Asbury Park Press’ Alex Biese praising the band’s June 2, 2018 show in New Jersey.

“What’s so remarkable about the band on (a) night like Friday is the way that Dead and Company lovingly honors the 50-plus-year history of the Grateful Dead while still being unafraid to stand on its own, conjuring something singular out of the sextet’s considerable, combustible abilities.”

If you go: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; The Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road NW, Quincy, Washington; $41-$141, available through LiveNation.

Live After 5

Music in McEuen Park will soon be back thanks to Live After 5, the lineup of which has just been announced.

Concerts are held in McEuen Park, 420 E. Front St., Coeur d’Alene, every Wednesday from June 12 through Sept. 4, from 5-8:30 p.m.

The 2019 series features:

“The Voice” Showcase with Jacob Maxwell, Eric Henderson and Trey Rose (June 12); Kelly Hughes Band (June 19); Royale (June 26); Willie K (July 3); Dirty Revival (July 10); Dreamin’ Wild (July 17); Sam Chase and the Untraditional (July 24); the Shook Twins (July 31); Eclectic Approach (Aug. 7); Jam Shack (Aug. 14); Haley Young and the Bossame (Aug. 21); Sol Seed (Aug. 28); and the Rub (Sept. 4).

Single concert tickets are $5-$10, and season passes are $100 and available now through www.liveafter5events.com.

Wynonna and the Big Noise

Wynonna Judd’s name, and voice, has been part of country music since she joined mother Naomi in the Judds.

The pair released eight albums and 23 singles, including 14 which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

As a solo artist, Judd has released eight albums, most recently “Wynonna and the Big Noise” in 2016.

Speaking with Rolling Stone in January, Judd celebrated the release of an acoustic cover of the standard “Feeling Good.”

“It’s kind of my battle cry for 2019,” she said. “I am determined to march into this new season with a sense of pure determination, not from arrogance, but from confidence knowing that I have a gift, and I know how to use it.”

That new season will likely kick off soon, as, in recent Facebook posts, Judd has shared photos of herself and her band, the Big Noise, in the studio working on a new album.

If you go: 7 p.m. Friday; Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel, 37914 S. Nukwalqw St., Worley; $30-$60, available through www.cdacasino.com.

Floater

In its Twitter bio, Portland-based band Floater describes itself as that “rock band that your friends told you about.”

Seeing as the band’s shows typically sell out, it’s clear that plenty of people have been told about the trio.

Floater – Robert Wynia, David Amador and Mark Powers – released its ninth album, “The Thief,” in 2018.

According to the band, the album focuses on the idea of loss, inspired a “feeling of decay and helplessness” they experienced in 2015 and 2016.

“You feel, as you’re aging and you’re watching your parents get old, it feels as if everything is being stolen from you,” Wynia said in an interview with Oregon Music News. “It became ‘Who is the thief?’ You never know, and I think that conversation was the seed that it started really growing from.”

If you go: 8 p.m. Saturday; Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave.; $13, available through Ticketweb.

Reverend Horton Heat

When recording its latest album, “Whole New Life,” which was released in December, Reverend Horton Heat took a step back in time.

Singer/guitarist Jim Heath, paying homage to his love of reverb chambers, used vintage gear on the album, some of which he built himself.

In the band’s Facebook bio, Heath said “Whole New Life” featured the most positive material he had ever written.

“It focuses heavily on rock and roll but there is a human interest parallel – songs about growing up poor, vices, marriage, having children and walking the rapturous streets of America.”

If you go: 8 p.m. Thursday; Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave.; $20, available through Ticketweb.