For Your Ears

Aaron Carter
Launchpad
Sunday at 8 p.m.
$15-65
All ages

Aaron Carter, American teen icon of the early 2000s, will grace the stage this month during his first tour in eight years, the After Party tour. Here’s hoping Carter will perform such timeless classics as “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It),” “Bounce” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq.”

For Your Consideration: “Summertime (ft. Baha Men)” is the perfect storm of cheaply produced beats and bad lyrics, including the highlight “check out the hunnies through my brand new shades.”

The Story So Far, Stick to Your Guns, Such Gold, Rotting Out,
Heart to Heart
Launchpad
Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.
$17
All ages

The Story So Far has helped lead the recent pop-punk revival, helmed alongside artists The Wonder Years and Man Overboard, that has been bubbling throughout the East and West Coast. TSSF play fast and with a bite, cutting straight to the chase before hitting each huge chorus.

For Your Consideration: The Story So Far’s “The Glass” is all about building toward an emotional and musical release, with the track’s first two minutes grinding away before lyricist Parker Cannon shouts a concluding and repeating “now you’re gone.”

August King, Skate Joy, E.N. Hawkins, No Altars, Supreme Verdict, Hazel Ra
Blackwater Music
Friday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.
$7-10
All ages

Young local musicians collide with varying results at this year’s Winterfest at Blackwater Music. On one side is August King, a hip-hop artist with as much street cred as someone who once played for the Rio Rancho High tennis team can have; on the other side is E.N. Hawkins, a small blues/jazz group that plays well and has a decent amount of fun doing so.

For Your Consideration: E.N. Hawkins’ “Whiskey Women” is a sprightly blues rock track, lead by a loud lead guitar and a wailing lead vocalist.

The Shadowmen, Mr. Right & The Leftovers, Shit Outta Luck
Low Spirits
Friday, Dec. 13 at 9 p.m.
Ticket price at door
21

Come in an ugly sweater and enjoy some rockabilly at Low Spirits’ second annual Ugly Xmas Sweater Party. There’s a surprising number of local rockabilly groups in the city and The Shadowmen’s fast and traditional approach helps them stand out amongst the bunch.

For Your Consideration: The Shadowmen’s rendition of The Jiants’ 1959 track “The Tornado” is a lively and faithful cover, with a spirited stand-up bass and a rolling snare drum.

B-Side Players
Low Spirits
Sunday, Dec. 22 at 9 p.m.
$12
21

San Diego natives B-Side Players perform a light and fun array of reggaeton, coloring their nine-man band with a flush of strings, percussion and horns. Although B-Side Players never quite reinvent the wheel of the genre, they write songs that never fail to be endearing, even with songs titled “Like a Spliff.”

For Your Consideration: “New Uprising” opens with a warm collective of horns and strings, as frontman Karlos “Solrak” Paez leads the up-tempo song.

Blood on the Dance Floor; Heavygrinder; Farewell, My Love; The Relapse Symphony; Haley Rose
Sunshine Theater
Sunday, Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
$16
All ages

Ring in the holidays this year with a mug of hot chocolate, time with your loved ones and a healthy helping of crunkcore with Blood on the Dance Floor. This Florida-based duo got their start mixing flat beats and screaming incoherent lyrics on Myspace in 2007 and has made it big today playing new flat beats and screaming incoherent lyrics on YouTube.

For Your Consideration: “Scream for My Ice Cream” is an earlier track in Blood on the Dance Floor’s distinguished repertoire of songs, including dozens and dozens of cringe-worthy lyrical innuendos.