Pink + The Ting Tings at Madison Square Garden
Whaddaya mean you haven’t read our Hot Seat interview with Pink yet? In which the righteous pop star talks about splitting up with her motorcross-pro husband, making an album about divorce, getting back together with her husband, and learning aerial acrobatics for her current tour? We’re betting on this being a pretty awesome show, if you hadn’t guessed.

Sufjan Stevens at Bowery Ballroom
The second show of doe-eyed indie polymath Stevens’s three-night run. Read our preview here.

Lucinda Williams at Fillmore Irving Plaza
Leather-pants-wearing country-rock rebel Lucinda Williams continues her own three-night run.

Francis and the Lights at Rockwood Music Hall
Becoiffed R&B romantic Francis Farewell Starlite delivers Prince-like, honeyed grooves galore. Check out his Live at TONY performance here for a sneak preview.

Evolving Music at Local 269
Evolving Music presents a compellingly freaky avant-jazz mix, featuring keyboardist James Carney, violist Mat Maneri and more.

This is not a photograph: Mission of Burma

The weather is kind of making it seem like summer out there, but even if it isn’t always cooperating, the summer concert onslaught is here—in force. Check out one of these fine shows this weekend:

Friday
South Street Seaport welcomes a great triple bill tonight: Ribbons and Zaza open for hotly tipped pseudo-shoegazers The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

Auckland pop band The Brunettes headlines a show at the Bell House.

Veteran folkie legend Peter Stampfel plays the Jalopy.

The Apollo showcases a bill stacked with rap legends, from Kool Moe Dee to Slick Rick.

Saturday
Citysol, an annual festival encouraging sustainability, comes correct with sets from Dead Prez with DJ Green Lantern, Shilpa Ray and others. Check out a recent TONY in-office with Shilpa Ray here.

Francis Farewell Starlite grooves at Joe’s Pub. Check out his recent TONY performance here.

Japandroids rock the hell out of Pianos.

And for kids and parents alike? A They Might Be Giants performance at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

Sunday
Today’s Citysol features Rachel Trachtenburg, who pulls double duty with a show later in the day at Governors Island. Check out a recent rooftop performance by Ms. Trachtenburg for TONY here.

The McCarren Pool Parties are back! Without a pool! But, at East River State Park, at least they’ve got a radical lineup of Mission of Burma, Fucked Up and Ponytail.

To cap your weekend off, Ralph Stanley plays the Highline Ballroom. He basically brought bluegrass to the masses, so the least you can do is show up to his gig.

You might remember Francis Farewell Starlite from a Volume Q&A a few months back. If not, he’s the local future-soul crooner whom none other than Kanye West dubbed “a mix between Prince and Phil Collins.” Starlite, the driven perfectionist in charge of Francis and the Lights, stopped by the TONY offices earlier this week to film the haunting solo performance that’s streaming below. The session wasn’t without its stresses—e.g., a bulky rented Wurlitzer, a missing AC adaptor—but we think you’ll be impressed by the results, rendered in elegant black-and-white at the artist’s request. If you like what you see and hear, you can catch a rare unaccompanied piano-and-voice set by Starlite at Joe’s Pub this Saturday (July 11). Francis and the Lights play Music Hall of Williamsburg the following Saturday (July 18).