Get fresh tunes for June, park it for Humming House

This week, I give a long overdue hat-tip to National Public Radio’s music website, specifically the First Listen feature. It allows listeners to preview upcoming releases, with interviews and articles accompanying links for streaming the albums. Once an album drops, the link becomes inactive (the interviews, articles and reviews remain accessible).

I’ve been hanging out in NPR’s virtual music studio listening and re-listening to several fine releases that drop today, including the new Fleet Foxes album (“Crack-Up”), Steve Earle’s latest (“So You Wannabe an Outlaw”) and the steaming slab of fresh musical meat from Royal Trux (“Platinum Tips + Ice Cream”). And because I want to keep on listening, I will purchase them (I think that’s the big idea behind First Listen — at least for obsessive listeners like myself, and even for those whose listening habits tend more to whimsical music-flipping).

My first purchase will be “The Nashville Sound,” the new album by Jason Isbell and his musically muscular band The 400 Unit. It gallops right out of the gate with lead-off song “The Last of My Kind,” which starts as a pristine finger-picking exercise that builds as the whole band drops in — a nice way to introduce The 400 Unit, which receives co-billing for the first time since 2011’s “Here We Rest.” And it primes the pump for the next tune, “Cumberland Gap,” a raw, rangy and bare-knuckled rocker that hearkens back to Isbell’s time with Drive-By Truckers and songs like “Decoration Day” and “Outfit.”

What follows is a yet another of Isbell’s Americana masterpieces. Like its immediate predecessors “Southeastern” and “Something More Than Free,” “The Nashville Sound” is a showcase for Isbell’s cinematic songcraft. He is, quite simply, one of the best bards working today, with an ear fine-tuned for the way people really speak, a heart tuned to how people weave lives together and unravel the threads that bind, and a gift for creating characters who voice truths — clear-eyed, hard-edged, open-hearted — that speak to us all.

Isbell’s honesty ensures his songs are never maudlin or over-wrought, especially unabashedly tender songs like “Cover Me Up” from “Southeastern” and its companion/sequel “If We Were Vampires” from the new album. “Vampires” is both steel-hard and soft, gleaming with truth and foggy with longing. “Vampires” is the standout track on a standout album — it’ll ring in your ear and quiver in your heart long after the last note fades.

May you find some music to jangle your jewels in this week’s local offerings:

In the key of Cuba

A group of Florida State Opera students is scheduled to perform at the El Gran Teatro in Havana, Cuba, this summer. To raise funds for the trip, the singers will stage a benefit concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church, 110 N. Adams St. The program will include everything from Cuban songs to 18th century opera, with works by Purcell, Hansel, Granados, Turina, Grever and more. The concert is free but donations are appreciated.

Love songs & libations

Enjoy an intimate evening set to the music of Luther Vandross when performer Vonzel Reynolds runs through the late singer’s songbook at the “So Amazing” tribute at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Indianhead Factory, 1018-20 E. Indianhead Drive. Attendees can also nosh on food prepared by celebrity chef Shacafrica Simmons, who smoked the competition last week on TV’s “Chopped.” Tickets are $50. Call 850-320-7647 for reservations, or purchase advance tickets at eventbrite.com by searching for Vonzel Reynolds.

Harp on it

New Orleans harmonica master Rockin’ Jake’s harp licks are as slick and scorching as his signature “Badmouth” hot sauce. He throws N’Awlins-style blues, swamp rock and zydeco into the musical blender and whips up a funky mix that will keep the dance floor simmering at 9 p.m. Friday at Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Day of show tickets are $25. Call 850-906-0766 or visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

Tavern goes BAM

Superstar local trio BAM — bassist Brian Hall, vocalist Avis Berry and keyboardist Mason Margut — brings its warm musical gestalt to one of the best listening rooms in town at 8 p.m. Friday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. Cover is $10. Call 850-212-5204.

Camp songs

The other “best little listening room” in town hosts a showcase to celebrate the conclusion of the first round of Jazz Camp, with participants taking the stage at 7 p.m. Friday at B Sharp’s Jazz Cafe, 648 W. Brevard St. Proprietor Gerri Seay says she’s going to cook up some yummy stuff to eat and there will be iced sangria and cold beer. Seay will also get her chance at the mic, along with camp participants. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Call 850-766-0972.

Humming right along

Nashville band Humming House is known for its lush harmonies, crackerjack musicianship and joyous stage presence. The band’s blend of bluegrass, folk and soul shimmers with fleet picking, deft arrangements and the dual vocals of Leslie Rodriguez and Justin Wade Tam. Humming House’s latest release “Revelries” bubbles with jaunty musical attitude, but the band really twangs and chirps in performance, so warm up your pipes to sing along when Humming House performs a Sundown Series concert with local heroes Two Foot Level at 7 p.m. Saturday at the amphitheater in Cascades Park. It’s free and you’re welcome to bring your own snacks and libations.

Slim’s pickin’

Rootsy bluesman Slim Fatz joins fellow vintage blues travelers Belmont & Jones for a ramble down the dusty backroads of roots music at 8 p.m. Saturday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. Cover is $5. Call 850-212-5204.

Callin’ on Colin

Crescent City singer-songwriter Colin Lake makes his local debut at 9 p.m. Saturday at Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Lake is touting his new CD “One Thing That’s for Sure,” which showcases his soulful vocals and multi-instrumental prowess. The first set of Saturday’s performance will be simulcast on 106.1 The Sound and at www.1061thesound.com. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 day of show. Call 850-906-0766 or visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

Longing for Longineu

Local jazz maestro Longineu Parsons brings his bag of tricks, charismatic stage presence and limber interpretations of jazz, blues and world music to the tiki bar stage for a night of dynamic music with his ensemble from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Road. There’s a $5 cover. Call 850-224-1887.

Harmonic headlines

Find out if the heart of rock ’n’ roll is still beating when Huey Lewis & The News play such hits as “Hip to Be Square,” “Workin’ for a Livin’,” “Back in Time” and “The Power of Love” at a special Father’s Day weekend concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the All-Star Amphitheatre at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia. The concert is free with park admission of $48 for adults, $43 for seniors and children. Visit www.wildadventures.com.

Gorge on Gorguts

There’s death metal, and then there’s avant-garde technical death metal, which is Canadian band Gorguts’ claim to head-banging fame. For close to three decades, Gorguts has been fusing massive chunk-itude to challenging time signatures. The band’s latest EP, “Pleiades Dust,” is a concept album about the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during the Dark Ages — heady and mystical stuff, man. Gorguts joins Exist, Carrion Curse and Lustrav for a thrash-fest at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at The Wilbury, 513 W. Gaines St. Tickets are $14 advance, $17 day of show; there’s a $2 under-21 fee at the door. Call 850-320-6353 or visit www.thewilburytallahassee.com.

And the beat goes on . . .

Fill ‘er up with some funky HighTest at 8 p.m. Friday at Proof Brewing Co. in Railroad Square Art Park. The band will be joned by special guests Kalen Mercer and Clyde Ramsey. It’s free. . . . Polish the dance floor to the tunes of Pure Platinum at 8 p.m. Friday at the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella. Admission is $8 per person, $15 per couple. Call 850-222-3382. . . . Walden Station welcomes new member Bobby Horne on lead vocals and guitar and invites Wayne DeWeil and Lee Payton to join the fun at 6 p.m. Friday at Peppers Mexican Grill Patio, 1425 Village Square Blvd. It’s free. . . . Blues-fusion singer-songwriter Aleyna Brown plays jazz standards and pop covers from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Black Dog on the Square in Railroad Square Art Park. No cover. . . . International guitarist, singer-songwriter and recording artist Stephen Esteban brings Rebirth of True Blue with vocalist Deanna “Squeaky” Miller to the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Junction at Monroe, 2011 S. Monroe St. Tickets are $12 general admission, $18 for reserved seats. Visit www.junctionatmonroe.com. . . . The music gets experimental and loopy when Sneaky Lion, Soft Opening, Alien Hypnotist and more join in the “To Be Continued - Noise Showcase” from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the 621 Annex in Railroad Square Art Park. There’s a $3 cover. . . . Public Address goes coastal for a show at 9 p.m. CDT Saturday at the Lookout Lounge in Mexico Beach. No cover. Call 850-647-8310. . . . The Kalen Mercer Project whips up an evening of funk and soul-jazz from 8 to 11 p.m. Sunday at Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub, 1122 Thomasville Road. It’s free. . . . Chicago-based hip-hop/fusion band Sidewalk Chalk joins local funk/hip-hop collective Ecology for a night of bouncy business at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Wilbury, 513 W. Gaines St. Call 850-320-6353. . . . Jacksonville songster Charlie Robertson brings his “uneasy listening” music to Tallahassee at 8 p.m. Thursday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. Cover is $2. Call 850-212-5204.