Regional concert previews of Hozier, The Amity Affliction, Camera Obscura, more [Seven in Seven] (2024)

Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out.

Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of May 24:

Drain – Saturday at Union Transfer

Known for their dynamic shows and positive energy propelling them to peak underground popularity, Drain are a testament to the hard work and heartfelt ethos at the center of their good-time psyche. Stemming from humble DIY beginnings, the hardcore punkers formed in 2014 and built up their scene alongside friends who would go on to form bands like Scowl, Gulch and Sunami. In the process of paving the way for hardcore to thrive in their beach town of Santa Cruz, Calif., they’ve cemented a legacy that transcends their West Coast roots.

Hozier – Saturday at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

Exploding onto the scene more than a decade ago with his smash hit “Take Me to Church,” Hozier is still finding harmony and melody amid chaos. The Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist tunes into raw blues spirit, unrestrained soul, rock energy and folk eloquence. Last August, he released solo album number three, “Unreal Unearth,” cementing a unique connection with his audience that has grown more apparent over the years and stems from the enduring intimate nature of his shows. Live, despite the cliché, his performances are sometimes like church, with die-hard fans knowing the words and singing along to the album – even before its release.

The Amity Affliction – Sunday at Franklin Music Hall

Australian metalcore trailblazers The Amity Affliction return to North America for a headline tour that will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their beloved and iconic LP “Let the Ocean Take Me.” The band will be performing the album in its entirety, no doubt a treat for the hardcore fans to see favorites like “Pittsburgh,” “Don’t Lean on Me” and more getting some action live. Since emerging in 2008 with their debut, “Severed Ties,” the powerhouse unit have consistently delivered, garnering over a billion streams worldwide, tallying four No. 1 records, earning multiple Gold and Platinum certifications in their home country and enjoying a string of Top 30-charting albums on the Billboard charts.

J.Howell – Sunday at City Winery Main Stage

Memphis-native J.Howell has long shown that he is a force to be reckoned with since releasing his debut album, 2019’s “RedRoom.” He sings the stories of the brokenhearted, relating to them via his own personal experiences and putting them into every song he writes, making him a storyteller above all else. Howell’s passionate, authentic and soulful vocal croons and growls sound even better in person, as you can see and feel what he’s expressing, the emotions raw and laid bare for audiences to see up close and personal.

Charlotte Day Wilson – Wednesday, May 29, at the Foundry

Toronto-born and -raised singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Day Wilson comes to The Foundry in support of her brand-new album, “Cyan Blue,” which was released earlier this month. The record finds her crafting a smoothly woven cyan tapestry of her eternal influences in thumping gospel piano, warm soul basslines, atmospheric electronics and R&B melodies. Yet it possesses a sense of vastness that rings in a new era for Wilson, one in which she’s embracing collaboration and newfound creative openness tinged with wistfulness and yearning and a reflection on youthful innocence. Onstage and in the studio, she continues to use music as a vessel for unpacking relationships, which in turn allows her to meet and understand herself in life-spanning, panoramic focus.

Camera Obscura – Wednesday, May 29, at Union Transfer

Earlier this month, legendary Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura released “Look to the East, Look to the West,” their first new album in over 10 years. The record comes in the wake of an extended hiatus following the death of founding keyboardist and friend Carey Lander in 2015. The result is the sound of a band that has grown more confident in its sound and purpose than ever. It is Camera Obscura at their best and most evocative, an album that completely rearranges the listener’s emotional core, leaving them sad and exhilarated at the same time. Live, concertgoers can expect a cathartic sonic purge of all those emotions.

X Ambassadors – Wednesday, May 29, at Brooklyn Bowl

Multi-platinum trio X Ambassadors have been dominating the alternative charts over the last decade. Formed in 2009, the band exploded with the success of their 2015 debut album, “VHS,” and just last month released the LP “Townie,” marking a compelling new chapter as the threesome return to their Upstate New York roots and paint an intricate portrait of their hometown’s most mundane aspects and the community that molded them.

Soundcheck

• Drain – “Watch You Burn”

• Hozier – “Take Me to Church”

• The Amity Affliction – “Don’t Lean on Me”

• J. Howell – “Something About Ya”

• Charlotte Day Wilson – “I Don’t Love You”

• Camera Obscura – “Big Love”

• X Ambassadors – “No Strings”