Local music news & events
• Blues rocker: Discovered at 16 by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Joanne Shaw Taylor has an impressive list of adherents including Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Cliff. With a string of blues chart-topping albums, she’s often boxed into the genre, but Taylor said recently, “I’m a soul singer and a pop-rock writer and it all just kind of jumbles together, because I’m hugely influenced by blues.” Friday, Nov. 24, 8 p.m., Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord, $34.75 and up at ccanh.com.
• Dead revival: Spending an evening with Zach Nugent’s Dead Set delivers more than a tribute act. Prior to launching the effort, which grew out of a weekly residency in Burlington, Vermont, Nugent was in ex-JGB member Melvin Seals’ band. Beyond that, the guitarist is a lifetime fan of the jam band standard setters. When he was 8 he received a Dead-themed elementary school graduation card. Saturday, Nov. 25, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua, $33 general admission at etix.com.
• Super group: Rock, funk and soul all-star group A Band of Killers was created by Johnny Trama, a Boston guitarist who’s played in Dub Apocalypse, Toussaint & The China Band and many other area acts. It features Tim Gearan on lead vocals and guitar, keys player Darby Wolf, Sonya Rae Taylor on vocals, Mark Hickox and Thomas Arey on bass and drums and guitarists Ryan Taylor and Kevin Barry. Saturday, Nov. 25, 6 pm., The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, $15 at portsmouthtickets.com.
• Song painter: With a voice that one writer enthused “goes down like red wine over good conversation,” Anna Paquin has five albums to her credit, with a new EP due next year. Sunday, Nov. 26, 1 p.m., Contoocook Cider Co., 656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook; see nhmusiccollective.com.
• Still standing: In the early days of MTV, The Fixx reeled off a string of hits, including “Red Skies,” “Stand or Fall” “Saved by Zero” and the smash “One Thing Leads to Another.” Lead singer Cy Curnin and guitarist Jamie West-Oram also contributed to Tina Turner’s Private Dancer album, appearing in her “Better Be Good to Me” video. Their classic lineup is still intact, apart from a few changes at bass. Tuesday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $40 and up at tuplelohall.com.