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In the years since their 2009 album, Hospice, the Antlers have moved away from static, heavy sounds and stories of bone cancer and begun creating modern soul music inspired by Alice Coltrane and Miles Davis. But don’t confuse this sonic change for a thematic turnabout: Their brand of soul sounds almost as depressing as the cancer did. The band’s fifth album, Familiars, delivers its deeply brooding emotions through synthesizer tones, lonely piano melodies, and funereal trumpets that lead long, woeful ballads. Read more >>> The Antlers perform with Mr. Twin Sister at 6 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $20. (202) 265-0930. 930.com. (Tim Regan)
EAT THIS
It’s looking like good beer-garden weather this weekend, which means a visit to Silver Spring’s new brewery, Denizens Brewing Co., may be in order. Denizens’ first beer is a rye IPA called Southside, which you can read more about in our Brew in Town column. The Go Fish food truck will serve food to drinkers on the 150-seat patio this Friday, and Holy Crepes will make a stop on Saturday. Check back in the coming weeks for pulled pork and ribs from the BBQ Bus folks, who will be permanently setting up shop at the brewery. Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring. (301) 557-9818. denizensbrewingco.com. (Jessica Sidman)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: Neutral Milk Hotel visits Merriweather Post Pavilion on its reunion tour with opening act Circulatory System. 8 p.m. at 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. $36–$46.
Friday: Enjoy an evening of funk with psychedelic Brazilian group Alma Tropicalia and gypsy brass group Black Masala at Comet Ping Pong. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. $12.
Friday and Saturday: Shakespeare’s Globe brings its internationally touring production of Hamlet to the Folger for three performances this weekend. 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at 201 East Capitol St. NW. $65–$85.
Saturday: Many modern country-folk acts like to craft their twang-tinged tracks from cramped Brooklyn apartments or open-mic nights on Nashville’s Music Row, but Asheville, N.C., quartet River Whyless makes music straight from the hills of North Carolina. But while the outfit’s spirited take on Americana is rooted in its members’ love-drunk vocals, it really comes to life by virtue of Anderson’s smooth fiddling and a generous sprinkling of clap and stomp percussion. Read more >>> River Whyless performs with Letitia Van Sant and the Bonafides at 9 p.m. at Gypsy Sally’s, 3401 K St. NW. $10–$15. (202) 333-7700. gypsysallys.com. (Carey Hodges)
Saturday: The Capital Fringe Festival closes its ninth iteration this weekend and hosts an evening concert featuring the Lentils, Fat Creeps, and Chain & the Gang. 8:30 p.m. at 607 New York Ave. NW. Free.
Saturday: Canadian rock act Reignwolf performs at Rock & Roll Hotel with Wanted Man. 8 p.m. at 1353 H St. NE. $13–$15.
Sunday: If you take a quick pass by Laura Berman’s colorful layered works currently on display at LongView Gallery, you might mistake them for tissue paper collages from an elementary school art class, albeit with more exact layering and fewer globs of glue. But on closer inspection, you’ll see that they’re monoprints, not collages, and they’re inspired by the stark landscapes of Kansas, not the local schoolyard. Read more >>> The exhibition is on view Wednesdays to Saturdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. at LongView Gallery, 1234 9th St. NW. Free. (202) 232-4788. longviewgallerydc.com. (Caroline Jones)
Sunday: D.C.’s best belly dancers blend movement with jazz music when they perform Petals for Billie, a series of dances set to the music of Billie Holiday, at Source. 7 p.m. at 183514th St. NW. $20.
Sunday: Indie rock creators Saint Rich close the weekend with a show at DC9 featuring Las Vegas folk pop act Rusty Maples. 9 p.m. at 1940 9th St. NW. $10.
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