Since his 2006 debut, Mindblow, Kyle Thomas, who performs buzzy, garage-glam rock under the stage name King Tuff, has cultivated a wild, party-boy persona. But after touring for 2014’s Black Moon Spell, Thomas found himself hitting rock bottom—physically, mentally, and creatively. “At the end of it I was like, I just can’t do this. I’m essentially playing this character of King Tuff, this crazy party monster, and I don’t even drink or do drugs,” Thomas confessed to his record label, Sub Pop. “It had become a weird persona, which people seemed to want from me, but it was no longer me.” So, at the risk of abandoning more than a decade’s worth of staunch supporters, Thomas shed his party-hard persona in favor of a more cosmic, existential existence on 2018’s The Other—to great results. Read more>>> King Tuff performs with Cut Worms and Sasami at 8 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H St.NE. $18–$20. (202) 388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com. (Casey Embert)

OH AND ALSO

R&B singer-songwriters BJ The Chicago Kid and Ro James perform at U Street Music Hall. 7 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $25.

The Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Cuban Experience, a five-piece ensemble led by Gillespie’s bassist John Lee, performs the Afro-Cuban rhythms and melodies of Gillespie’s work at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. 6 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. Free.

Tony Lewis: Anthology 2014-2016, an installation of 34 original collage-poems by Chicago artist Tony Lewis exhibited for the first time in the collection’s entirety, nears the end of its run at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Independence Avenue at 7th Street SW. Free.

Want To Do Today sent to your inbox five days a week? Sign up here.