Music notes: Keith Urban to light up the United Center
Country idol
Australia and country music don't seem like an easy match, but Aussie superstar Keith Urban has managed to make it work. Urban, who supplements his recording and touring work by being a judge on the Fox television show “American Idol,” brings his Light the Fuse Tour to Chicago this weekend.
7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison, Chicago. Tickets start at $35. Go to ticketmaster.com.
Local star
Suburban resident and alt-country hero Robbie Fulks will perform this weekend in Arlington Heights. Fulks is one of the best singer-songwriters around, and his most recent album, “Gone Away Backward,” has garnered some of the strongest reviews of his career. (Rolling Stone magazine recently named it one of the 10 best country records of 2013.) Fulks embraces the conventions of traditional country music, but with a contemporary attitude and wit. He's also an engaging (and often very funny) presence on stage, so this is a show suburbanites should definitely consider.
8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $24. Go to metropolisarts.com.
Power pop
The Bradburys, a Chicago band that champions the power-pop sound of such local favorites as Material Issue and Cheap Trick, will play its first show of 2014 this weekend in the suburbs. The Bradburys have been delivering catchy guitar rock for more than a decade.
10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at Austin's Fuel Room, 481 Peterson, Libertyville. $7. Go to austinsaloon.com.