GRANT-LEE Phillips went solo after Grant Lee Buffalo broke up in 1999, and for music fans who kept up with the singer/songwriter, it’s been a delicious soulful pop journey ever since.
The California-based acoustic artist drapes his latest disc, “Virginia Creeper” with steel pedal guitars, banjos and fiddles to complement his warm, expressive vocals.
The lyrics unveil tales of unrequited love, broken romances and hope – the stories of the ages – with the characters richly revealed in word and song. It also includes a violin-enhanced cover of Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind.”
Phillips, who can be seen as the roving troubadour on “Gilmore Girls” (and played the role of Judas on its Christmas episode), will celebrate his record release along with a four-piece band at Sin-é (150 Attorney St.; [212] 388-0077) tonight and at Northsix (66 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn; [718] 599-5103) tomorrow night.
TONIGHT: The Undertones, new wave rockers from Northern Ireland, recently released “Get What You Need,” and are in America for one of the first times since they opened for the Clash here in 1979. Opening for them at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St.; [212] 219-3006) are Joe Hurley and the Gents and the Prodigals.
TONIGHT PLUS: The Trouble With Sweeney’s disc, “I Know You Destroy,” is an indie pop treat – a standout in the old mailbag. The Philadelphia group performing its melodies at Park Slope’s Southpaw (125 Fifth Ave.; [718] 230-0236) tonight and Pianos (158 Ludlow St.; [212] 505-3733) tomorrow.
TUESDAY: It’s a debate only New York hipsters can have: Why is TV on the Radio’s live show so much different (many say disappointingly different) than its truly amazing debut effort, “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty”?
The CD is a fuzzy, punk-tipped, avant-garde-nodding, very original disc sparkling with flutes and loops and other electronic touches.
Answer the question for yourself at their record release party at Southpaw, along with Coco Rosie.
WEDNESDAY: And now for something else completely different: The East Village Opera Company mashes opera with rock, but it’s not a rock opera.
On their debut album, “La Donna,” the EVOC updates classic Italian opera and Neapolitan folk songs with guitars, layers of strings and all sorts of pop cultural musical influences and stylish arrangements to present a new sort of entertainment, which can move and inspire. It’s back at Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette St.; [212] 539-8770).
THURSDAY: Bill Popp has been playing alt-pop in NYC for 23 years. His father, Daddy Tapes, died in 1986 and Popp has been hosting an annual benefit on his pa’s birthday to raise money for the American Heart Association.
This year’s concert will be at Kenny’s Castaways (157 Bleecker St., [212] 473-98) and features Charm School, Sounds of Ireland, Breaking Laces and Bill Popp and the Tapes, of course. It’s only five bucks!
The CRAIC Music Series, about all things Irish, will finish up with a concert at the Knitting Factory to benefit the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation. You can expect acoustic performances from Langhorne Slim and Mark Geary, gospel-infused soul and funk from Dublin’s Republic of Loose and melodic rock turns from Mr. North.