27

Saturday

On It’s Harder Now, his first new album in 12 years, Wilson Pickett pretends that rap and disco never happened. With the aid of rock-critic-turned-songwriter Jon Tiven, Mr. Midnight Hour applies his still-magnificent raspy wail to a set of new songs that bring back his classic sound—down-home kinetic R&B with tasty organ fills and potent horn-section blasts. Although that retro approach may not gain him many younger fans, anyone familiar with ’60s Southern soul should be impressed. Whether singing about his old cohorts in “Soul Survivor” or the allure of a female in “Taxi Love,” the now-58-year-old vocalist shows he still has the chops to skillfully go from a passionate cry to a melismatic roar. With Betty “Clean Up Woman” Wright and Clarence “Strokin’” Carter at 8 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall, 18th and D Streets NW. $35. (202) 628-4780. (Steve Kiviat)