Sudan Archives at National Stage 4, 6:15 p.m.
There’s layers to Brittney Parks, the 23-year-old violinist/vocalist behind the Sudan Archives. Her style is layered: the Cincinatti-born, L.A.-based Parks blends Sudanese fiddling with R&B and experimental electronic music. And then she builds her music on stage by layering her singing overtop of looped rhythmic violin plucking and melodic bowing.
Rhye at Mainstage, 6:55 p.m.
Between the critically acclaimed Woman and his latest album Blood, Rhye a.k.a. Mike Milosh did go through a couple of breakups—from his musical collaborator Robin Hannibal and wife Alexa Nikoas—but he doesn’t want Blood to be known as a breakup record
as he tells Eric Volmers in an interview for the Calgary Herald
. “It’s more about living, rediscovering myself, finding someone to live my life with,” he says. “A lot of the songs are about me and (his new partner) Geneviève (Medow Jenkins), things that we’ve experienced. But it’s not just one-sided, it’s not just one-dimensional.”
Blackalicious at National Stage 4, 9 p.m.
Blackalicious’ lyrical legacy is secured
with “Alphabet Aerobics” becoming a challenge meme
. Perhaps that’s why they’ve left fans hanging after promising that 2015 album Imani Vol. 1 was part of a trilogy to be released over two years.
Joe Jackson at Mainstage, 9:45 p.m.
Jackson told the Wall Street Journal
that Kraftwerk provided some inspiration for the beats of his signature hit, “Steppin’ Out.” “I liked Kraftwerk’s electronic dance beats and bass riffs on albums such as Computer World,” he told the paper for an Anatomy of a Song feature. “I set the synth bass so it had a completely precise and metronomic sound. I also used a Boss DR-55 drum machine. I just pressed the ‘club beat’ button.” Don’t expect the album version when he takes the stage on Friday, however: “Today, I often rework my original arrangement of ‘Steppin’ Out’ before we go on tour,” he told the Journal. “I’m currently performing the slow version that works really well in concert. I may try a Latin version next.”