Summerland Tour @ Crystal Ballroom, June 24
Say this about Art Alexakis—he knows where his bread is buttered, and it's on the back of a cracked jewel case in the box of stuff you left at home when you went away to college. The Everclear frontman's annual '90s alt-rock nostalgia tour is always expertly curated, in that he's an expert at booking bands who'll make his songbook seem like Dylan's by comparison—in this case, Marcy Playground and Local H, the "Sex and Candy" band and the band with that song everyone thinks is called "Copacetic," respectively. Tickets on sale March 30.
Halsey @ Edgefield, July 25
If you're having trouble distinguishing Halsey from the current crop of brooding pop singers, she's the one who sounds like she's singing the hook to one of those epically dour late-period Eminem singles, except it's, like, the whole song. Tickets on sale March 29.
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks @ Star Theater, Aug. 5
Pack up the tent, Timberlake, there's a new Man of the Woods 'round these parts. The promo photo for the new Jicks album, depicting Malkmus astride a horse like he's posing for a Stetson cologne ad, is either an inside joke or the result of a lost fantasy basketball bet. As with JT, the rugged makeover appears to be misdirection—the teaser singles for the upcoming Sparkle Hard suggest he's working the same slacker jangle that made him an icon for people with no desire to ever see a horse up close in their lives. Tickets on sale now.
Panic! At The Disco @ Moda Center, Aug. 12
More like, "Panic? At the Disco? They're still around?" Why yes, and don't look now, but they've somehow evolved into an arena-sized legacy act for millennial emo kids born about six months too late to really get Fall Out Boy. Tickets on sale March 30.
Leon Bridges @ Edgefield, Sept. 15
When he broke through three years ago, Bridges came across as a well-mannered church kid trying to entertain the congregation without upsetting his grandparents. On new single "Bad Bad News," he ain't exactly wildin' out, but he does step out of the retro-soul sepia tone of his last album to rock a hi-fi jazz groove, and even takes a moment to swag on his haters: "I hit 'em with the style and grace, and watch their ankles break." Go Leon! Go Leon! Tickets on sale March 30.