Here Are the Ten Best South Florida Concerts to Catch This Season

Anaïs Mitchell
Being labeled the “queen of modern folk-rock” may seem a hefty title, but it’s a weight that singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell bears with ease. The earthy, girlish vocalist writes warm, melodic folk ballads in the same vein as Angus and Julia Stone and Laura Marling, with a sharp, confessional edge influenced by Ani DiFranco. Later this month, Mitchell will hit four stops in Florida, including what should be an intimate show at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach.

8 p.m., Saturday, October 24, at Arts Garge, 180 NE 1st Street, Delray Beach, 561-243-7129. Tickets start at $25. Visit artsgarage.org.

The California Honeydrops
Genres mean nothing to The California Honeydrops. Combining Bay Area R&B, funk, classic soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans jazz, the group is like the happiest army you’ll ever hear approaching. Led by lead vocalist, guitarist, and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski, The California Honeydrops traverse the length of all that’s bright and bouncy in music. They channel the full spectrum of emotions the music of greats such as Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield, and Bill Withers.

Hoodoo Voodoo Halloween, 8 p.m., Saturday, October 31, at Downtowner Saloon, 10 S New River Dr E, Fort Lauderdale, 954-463-9800. Tickets cost $15. Visit hoodoovoodoo.com.

Dance Gavin Dance
Imagine the creative funk breakdowns of an Incubus and the post-rock guitar noodling of a Mutemath combined with the suburban rage of a Memphis May Fire and there lies the foundation of emo/hardcore outfit Dance Gavin Dance. Featuring three vocalists (clean, unclean, and rap) and a penchant for both screamo and jazz fusion, Dance Gavin Dance is an attempt to lasso a wild assortment of styles into a singular menagerie. The band in its current format (they’ve had many musicians join their ranks) is celebrating the ten year anniversary of its formation and touring the well-received Instant Gratification, released earlier this year.

With Slaves, A Lot Like Birds, Day Shell, Strawberry Girls, 6:30 p.m., Friday, December 4, at Culture Room, 3045 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, 561-564-1074. Tickets cost $18 plus fees. Visit cultureroom.net.

Gin Blossoms
During the height of the alternative/grunge phenomenon that swept through music in the early nineties, an unlikely band broke through and dominated the pop radio charts. Gin Blossoms’ ubiquitous ear worms “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You” helped the Arizona natives reach platinum status with their breakthrough album, New Miserable Experience. Twenty plus years on and their combo of jangle and power pop still holds. In late November, the Gin Blossoms will headline a free show at ArtsPark in Hollywood to help celebrate the city’s 90th birthday. It’s a gift worth opening.

8 p.m., Saturday, November 21, at ArtsPark at Young Circle Amphitheater, 1 Young Circle, Hollywood, 954-921-3404. Admission is free.  Visit hollywoodfl.org.

GWAR
With the death of vocalist and bassist Dave Brockie in March of 2014, comedic thrash metal group GWAR is now left without any of its founding members. However, the often obscenely hilarious art-rock band is a beast that will scour the land devouring pop culture figures and spraying concert audiences with copious amounts of fake blood for as long as the spirit remains. Like a car accident mashing together the talents and styles of Alice Cooper, Slayer, and Spinal Tap, GWAR are still an exotic and outlandish show to behold. It's a performance that must be experienced to truly understand what these barbaric interplanetary warriors (and clever satirists) are really all about.

With Born of Osiris & Battlecross, 8 p.m., Friday, November 27, at Revolution Live, 100 SW 3rd Ave. Fort Lauderdale, 954-449-1025. Tickets start at $21 plus fees. Visit jointherevolution.net.

Lagwagon
Southern California’s Lagwagon were never in it for the money or the fame, and maybe that’s why they’ve made it this far. The punk-pop outfit began their career in 1990 churning out a series of records that seesawed between the socially conscious maturity of Pennywise and the goofball lyrics of a NOFX. Twenty-five years and eight albums later, Lagwagon are still knocking out tunes that both teenage skaters and punks with teenage children can rock out to. This should be a righteous anniversary tour with a reinvigorated Lagwagon, who returned in 2014 with Hang, nine years after their last record.

With Pears & Runaway Kids, 7 p.m., Saturday, October 30, at Revolution Live, 100 SW 3rd Ave. Fort Lauderdale, 954-449-1025. Tickets start at $20 plus fees. Visit jointherevolution.net.

Glass Animals
Following in the footsteps of Foals and Wild Beasts, Glass Animals meld spacey psych-pop with slick electro dance-rock. As if in recognition of their sound, the English quartet have a number of songs on their 2014 debut album Zaba that could easily describe their style; “Hazey,” “Gooey,” and “Pools” succinctly reflect the fuzzy, elastic, and aquatic music Glass Animals craft on each song, respectively. Like a downtempo Alt-J, Glass Animals set a number of ambient noises, glitchy electronica, and a diverse array of instruments over a series of smooth R&B grooves, perfect for a trippy night lost in a kaleidoscope jungle.

7 p.m., Tuesday, December 8, at Revolution Live, 100 SW 3rd Ave. Fort Lauderdale, 954-449-1025. Tickets start at $22.50 plus fees. Visit jointherevolution.net.

Lucero
There is one thing live audiences can be sure of when it comes to a Lucero concert: They've done this before. The Memphis-bred alt-country punks have consistently been regarded as one of, if not the hardest working band in the indie world and the music scene at large. Playing anywhere between 150 to 200 shows yearly, Lucero have almost always subsisted solely on their tour earnings since the band's start in 1998. A volatile combination of Against Me! and Drive-By Truckers, Lucero never fail to earn the respect of first-time listeners or delight longtime fans.

8 p.m., Sunday, December 6, at Culture Room, 3045 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, 561-564-1074. Tickets cost $20 plus fees. Visit cultureroom.net.

Matt & Kim
Concerts are meant to be fun. If there’s one group that is the pure embodiment of the word, it’s Matt & Kim. The Brooklyn-based partners in both love and music are the human equivalent of the explosion that occurs after shaking a can of soda and pulling the tab. Currently touring in support of their fifth studio LP, New Glow, Matt & Kim are guaranteed to be an all-out assault on the pleasure centers of the brain.

With Deaf Poets, 8 p.m., Saturday, November 7, at Revolution Live, 100 SW 3rd Ave. Fort Lauderdale, 954-449-1025. Tickets cost $24 plus fees. Visit jointherevolution.net.

Hall & Oates
“I Can't Go For That (No Can Do),” “Private Eyes,” “Kiss Is On My List,” “Maneater.” If you've been a human being on planet earth that loved a pop song within the last thirty years, Hall & Oates either wrote it or had some influence over it. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo from Philly wrote 34 hits that charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and had seven platinum selling records (only six went gold; slackers.) Successful indie-pop outfits such as The Bird and The Bee, Foster The People, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, and beyond owe Daryl Hall and John Oates a great deal of gratitude for the blueprints these giants of A.M./soft rock laid out for them during the '70s and '80'.

8 p.m., Saturday, November 28, at Hard Rock Live Hollywood, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, 866-502-7529. Tickets start at $50 plus fees. Visit seminolehardrockhollywood.com.