Ween has played many of the metro area’s biggest venues, from its brilliant double-bill with the Flaming Lips at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2006 to multinight stints at the Boulder Theater and Fillmore Auditorium. Now the winking, subversive duo is taking on Broomfield’s 1stBank Center, a space seemingly perfectly suited to the size and voracity of its ever-expanding fan base. Tickets for the Oct. 31 show are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($40-$45, TicketHorse)
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings play retro- flecked soul music so authentic you can feel the sweat dripping from the short, fiery singers’ brow. Touring behind funky new record “I Learned the Hard Way,” the band will stop by the Ogden Theatre on Sept. 28 with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Tickets for the big double-bill are on sale at 10 a.m. Monday. ($30.50- $35, Ticketmaster)
Rodney Carrington is a musical comedian for the country set, though lately the Texas native has leaned more on the musical side of the fence with all-song albums devoid of his signature stand-up. That’s likely fine with Carrington’s fans, who will still get plenty of both when Carrington stops by the Paramount Theatre on Sept. 18. Tickets are on sale today. ($49.50, TicketHorse)
George Thorogood’s bluesy rock anthems are staples of FM radio for a reason: The former minor league ball player infuses simplistic riffs with snarling vocals and the sort of dive-bar attitude that recalls a wilder time in America. He plays Sept. 18 at the Fillmore Auditorium. Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($35, live- )
Hot Rize, the influential bluegrass act often counted among the fathers of today’s newgrass and progressive bluegrass movements, will get together for an Oct. 31 show at its hometown camp of the Boulder Theater. Tickets for the show, with guests Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers, are on sale. ($32.50-$40, bouldertheater )
Helmet, the influential alt-metal band, will stop by the Bluebird Theater on Oct. 8, with tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Monday ($17-$20, Ticketmaster). Also announced this week for the Bluebird: troubador Justin Townes Earle (Oct. 7, $12-$16), indie dance-rockers !!! (Sept. 9, $20-$22) and Boulder power trio Rose Hill Drive ($15-$17). Visit for more information.
