[Note: The Week Ahead will be posted on Wednesday this week.]
Here at Boca magazine, we’re all for expanding your musical horizons. That’s why, instead of focusing on the major headliners of this week’s SunFest—your Duran Durans, your Meghan Trainors, your Alabama Shakeses—we’re spotlighting five notable undercard acts that have headlined clubs in the past, or will headline them in the future. All offer plenty of reasons to show up early.
1. The ‘90s are certainly back, if they ever left to begin with. The Brooklyn indie duo Secret Weapons marries the shimmering, incandescent polish of Backstreet Boys pop with the ubiquitous electro-pop of today. Guitarist Danny Rocco and vocalist Gerard Lange formed the band in secret (hence the name) for a full year before revealing their project to friends and co-workers—upon which time Epic Records signed them. Judging by the timeless infectiousness of debut single “Someone New,” which rocketed through the social media and has been performed on “The Today Show,” Secret Weapons’ forthcoming LP will be a hit in dancehalls and bedrooms the world over. See them open for Duran Duran, at 7 p.m. April 27.
2. If you watch any televisions dramas, you probably know the music of Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, even if you don’t know you know them. The group’s music has been featured in more than 40 series, from “House” and “Justified” to “Criminal Minds” and “America’s Got Talent.” Holcomb’s sound, with its gentle Americana simplicity and accessible folk-rock, is cut from a similar cloth as Miami’s own Iron & Wine, with lyrics drawn from the most relatable elements of human experience. Holcomb and his band, which includes wife Ellie, are supporting their critically acclaimed ninth album, “Medicine.” They open for Train, at 7 p.m. April 28.
3. The trends in indie rock today point in three directions: thumping, arguably sterile synth- and electro-pop; fragile, near-whispered folk that could crumble at the presence of an amplifier; and sloppy, punk-inflected garage rock. There isn’t much room in the tent anymore for a bombastic rock band like Wales’ The Joy Formidable, a reality the group been working to its hard-touring advantage for nearly the past decade. Led by charismatic frontwoman Ritzy Bryan, the band’s mantra seems to be “go big or go home;” on its new album “Hitch,” nine of the 12 tracks run longer than five minutes, each constructed with dynamic solos and building to crescendos that turns the amps up to 11. No matter what venue the Joy Formidable plays, it seems too small to contain them; let’s see how they’ll fill the JetBlue stage at 7:30 p.m. April 29, opening for Bastille. Look for a review of their set next week at bocamag.com.
4. A staple of any self-respecting teenager’s album collection in the mid-to-late 1990s, Los Angeles’ Goldfinger fused the alienation and melodrama of youth with plenty of good humor, trumpet blasts and kick-drums. Pop-punk and third-wave ska get plenty of flak from the hipster establishment as being poor replacements for the original movements, but Goldfinger transcended the herd: Its first three records are bona fide classics and still constitute much of the set list in the group’s current, semi-retired incarnation. Indeed, Goldfinger barely tours anymore, and the SunFest gig is the only one on its calendar, so enjoy this rare and nostalgic treat at 2:45 p.m. April 30, when the band opens for Flogging Molly.
5. It takes a certain skill to re-construct pop earworms from their effective foundation and re-build them in completely different genres, but the insanely talented Scott Bradlee possesses a unique ear for re-invention. He fell in love with jazz, like many people did, when he heard “Rhapsody in Blue” for the first time at age 12, and as an adult pianist/arranger, he’s been transforming modern pop tunes into genres more evocative of the time of Gershwin. With assistance from superstars of the contemporary jazz scene, his Postmodern Jukebox project has reimagined Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” as ‘50s R&B, Elle King’s “Exes and Ohs” as ‘30s jazz and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” as vintage swing. Prepare your best Charlestons, lindies and jitterbugs for a set that will likely include retro takes on Guns N Roses, OutKast, Beyonce and many more, beginning at 3 p.m. May 1.
