Common Warehouse Live, December 2
The most natural heir to Curtis Mayfield's legacy of socially conscious and intrinsically soulful Chicago music (sorry, Kanye), Common doubles down on this year's Nobody's Smiling, tackling his hometown's record-setting epidemic of gun violence head-on. That's not all that's on his mind -- he even drops in a reference to Hell on Wheels, the AMC historical drama he's starred on since 2011 -- but the way he seethes with righteous anger on "Kingdom" and "No Fear" is a reminder that when he on his game, Common is one of the best MCs in hip-hop. Has been for a while, too. CHRIS GRAY
Melissa Etheridge Bayou Music Center, December 2
Even before Melissa Etheridge was one of the first mainstream musicians to come out as a lesbian, she was one of the few female rockers to register at all in the '80s. Her 1988 hit single "Bring Me Some Water" eventually paved the way for the likes of Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin and Jewel, who all enjoyed great success with a similar (if less brusque) folk-derived style about the same time Etheridge became a superstar herself on 1993's multi-platinum Yes I Am.
Now a breast cancer survivor and second-time newlywed at 53, Etheridge released 12th studio album This Is M.E. in September, collaborating with several top R&B and pop producers like Jerry Wonder and Jerrod Bettis. With Alexander Cardinale. CHRIS GRAY
Ryan Adams Bayou Music Center, December 3
Ryan Adams is a rock and roll sponge, possibly a Britpop savant, Gram Parsons acolyte or Grateful Dead noodler depending on what mood he's in. However, he will have turned 40 by this visit to Houston, and no longer deserves to be defined by such aesthetic hair-splitting. His latest album and 13th since leaving Whiskeytown in the late '90s, the spartan and relatively pristine Ryan Adams, is some of the most rewarding and challenging music of Adams's career. CHRIS GRAY
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