Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy, with Dave Hill
Michael Shannon’s well-deserved Oscar nominations in 2009 and 2017 did not result in victories, sadly. But this veteran actor surely deserves an award for musical achievement of a very distinct kind.
No, we’re not referring to Corporal, the folk-rock band Shannon has led since 2007, or to his memorable portrayals of Elvis Presley (in the 2016 film “Elvis and Nixon”) and country legend George Jones (in the 2022 Showtime TV series “George and Tammy”).
Rather, it’s the unnamed R.E.M. tribute band he and Bob Mould Band/Split Single guitarist Jay Narducy have co-led for the past two years.
Their 2024 tour saw them and their moniker-free group reverently performing the long-defunct R.E.M.’s 1983 debut album, “Murmur,” in its entirety, along with other favorites from the R.E.M. songbook.
There are, of course, a good number of number of other R.E.M. tribute acts, including Murmur, Chronic Town, REMnant, Dead Letter Office, STIPE, The REMakes, Men On The Moon and (wait for it!) REMbrant.
But Shannon and Narducy’s February 2024 show at the 40 Watt Club in R.E.M.’s Georgia hometown, Athens, accomplished a singular feat. It not only saw all four of R.E.M.’s original appear on stage together for the first time in 17 years, it also saw three of them — guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer, mandolinist and pianist Bill Berry — perform in different configurations with Shannon and Narducy.
And while he didn’t perform, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe did Berry, Mills and Buck on stage at the end of the night to say how elated the four were to be present together.
Shannon and Narducy’s San Diego-bound new tour finds them paying homage in full to R.E.M.’s third album, 1985’s “Fables of the Reconstruction,” along with other songs from R.E.M.s repertoire.
American comedian Dave Hill will open. He is not to be confused with Dave Hill, the identically-named lead guitarist in the pioneering English glam-rock band Slade, whose musical legacy has been saluted by the cover bands Slyde, Slady, Slade UK, Almost Slayed, Sylde Alive and Bootleg Slade.
8 p.m. Sunday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $44.25-$74.50 (must be 21 or older to attend). bellyup.com
Barabás Lőrinc
Hungary has produced more internationally acclaimed jazz artists than any other former Iron Curtain country, most notably contrabass master Aladar Pege and guitar greats Gabor Szabo and Attila Zoller.
Budapest native Barabás Lőrinc has yet to match the high profiles of his now-deceased countrymen.
But this skilled trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist has made 12 albums as a band leader — including 2015’s memorably titled “Elevator Dance Music” — and collaborated with everyone from top Swiss trumpeter Erik Truffaz to acclaimed Americana troubadour Valerie June.
Lorinc has also composed several orchestra works and is equally steeped in straight-ahead jazz, electronic music, acid-jazz, fusion and more. His San Diego debut concert this weekend, presented by Balboa Park’s House of Hungary, should be notable for several reasons.
Lorinc will perform his extremely atmospheric music, entirely solo, on trumpet, electric keyboards and synthesizers. He’ll also use samples and a looping station to build and expand his songs live, in real time.
Lorinc does all this with his feet and his left arm and hand, having been born without a right arm. His concert here will feature music from his 2023 album, “22,” and his 2019 album, “Algorthythms.”
7 p.m. Saturday. Hall of Nations, 2191 Pan American West Road, Balboa Park. $20-$25 (advance), $30-$35 (at the door). sdmagyar.org
Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion featuring Ringdown
Genre-blurring singer, violinist and composer Caroline Shaw won the fifth Grammy Award of her career on Feb. 2 for “Rectangles and Circumstance,” her gently absorbing second album with the edgy, four-man ensemble Sō Percussion.
Shaw and Sō will perform here together Tuesday with Ringdown, an electro-pop duo that teams Shaw with multi-instrumentalist and producer Dani Lee Parpan. While she and Sō’s recent Grammy win came in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble category, to my ears their work together falls somewhere art songs and the quirkiness of Talking Heads in its most understated moments.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mandeville Auditorium, UC San Diego, La Jolla. $40. artpower.ucsd.edu
Lori Bell
A valuable San Diego jazz scene mainstay, flutist Lori Bell last year earned national acclaim for “Recorda Me — ing Joe Henderson,” which she recorded with her quartet.
With an irable balance of reverence and verve, the nine-song collection pays tribute to the music of the late Henderson. A protean tenor saxophonist, his compositions were wonderfully intricate, sometimes knotty, and always inviting.
He very rarely played flute, but Bell deftly makes such Henderson classics as “Isotope,” “Inner Urge” and “Punjab” her own on her terrific album. She’ll be accompanied this weekend at the all-ages Dizzy’s by a top-notch group that features pianist John Opferkuch, bassist Amar Martin and former Fattburger drummer Kevin Koch.
8 p.m. Saturday. Dizzy’s at Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association, 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. $20. dizzysjazz.com
