Sound check: Josh Turner's platinum country hits at the Arcada
Country boy Josh Turner
The Arcada Theatre hosts a night with Josh Turner and his nearly two decades worth of country excellence and platinum-winning hits. Along with favorites such as “Your Man,” “Why Don't We Just Dance” and “Time Is Love,” Turner is also bringing multi-instrumental powerhouse Emma Borders to the St. Charles stage. 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. $59-$119. (630) 962-7000 or arcadalive.com.
Return of The Mild West
With a pair of singles in rotation and a breezy twist on indie rock, the young musicians in The Mild West are already carving out a name for themselves despite their newer status on the Chicago scene. Heavily dosed with upbeat modern pop-rock (but grounded with a sprinkling of '90s alternative), the band's songs deliver bright beats and funky rhythms buried in ridiculously catchy melodies. After a short writing hiatus, The Mild West returns to the stage packed with potential and loaded with new songs as it welcomes North Carolina's IAMDYNAMITE and Chicago's Dirty Nines to Martyrs' for a Leap Year Eve show this weekend. 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, at Martyrs', 3855 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $10. (773) 404-9494 or martyrslive.com.
Jam-packed Leap Day
Leap Year brings an extra day to February, and BrauerHouse in Lombard is loading it up with live music. Villa Park Punk Night hosts Leap Fest, a celebration of regional punk on the bar stage, featuring Kenosha's Slaughter Party, Stay Up All Night and Fight from Waukegan, Detroit's Hide Behind, and Modern Advances and Real Bad Real Fast, both from the Chicago area. The BrauerHouse Live stage, on the other hand, brings an early show of jumping grooves and hot jams from Tonic Freight Train, Captain Coopersmith and Invisible Cartoons. At 10 p.m. that night, glam metal tribute act Hairbanger's Ball brings favorites from '80s hair rockers Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Poison, Def Leppard and more. Tonic Freight Train ($10-$15) at 7 p.m.; Villa Park Punk Night Leap Fest ($5-$8) at 8 p.m.; Hairbanger's Ball ($10-$15) at 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at BrauerHouse, 1000 N. Rohlwing Road, Lombard. (630) 495-2141 or brauerhouse.com.
Tunes For a Night
Tunes For a Night brings its unifying musical experience to Geneva's Cafe & Barr this weekend. Stacked with artists hand-picked from a number of different musical sources — this performance features Courtney Stone & The Far off Places, Chris Otepka (of Troubled Hubble, The Heligoats & Hemora) and a headlining collaboration between Ben Bollero of Covington Groove, Ryan Cooper of Flowtation and MagnetFunk, Cory Bray of Accidentally on Purpose and Covington Groove and Kevin McMahon of Piece of Cake — the event aims to be an opportunity for fans and musicians to come together in a spirit of camaraderie. Sneaker Heartz, a St. Charles-based nonprofit organization that collects shoes for those in need, will also be on hand accepting donations of lightly worn pairs at the event. 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at Cafe & Barr, 407 S. 3rd St., Geneva. $5. (331) 248-0440 or cafebarr.com.
Radius opening
Celebrate Chicago's newest entertainment space — Radius — with Saturday's grand opening concert, featuring electronic artist Dillon Francis, PARTY FAVOR and a DJ set from Party Pupils. The 55,000-square-foot Radius is making a home in a converted steel factory in Pilsen and will feature nine full-service bars, a mezzanine level for VIP packages, lounges, an outdoor area and space for corporate events, weddings and other large-scale outings. This show kicks off a spring loaded with big draws, including Carl Cox (March 6), Tchami (March 13), Lil Wayne (March 24), Killswitch Engage (April 4), Bad Religion with Chicago's own Alkaline Trio (April 18) and Australian psych-rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (April 24), to name a few. 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at Radius, 640 W. Cermak Road, Chicago. Tickets start at $35. (312) 767-1355 or radius-chicago.com.
• Brian Shamie is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor and local music junkie. Email him at bshamie@dailyherald.com, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter (@thatshamieguy) or Instagram (@chicagosoundcheck). Brian also keeps tabs on the Chicago-area music scene at chicagosoundcheck.com.