Thursday, June 19

Even if you don’t know Maceo Parker by name, you’ve surely heard his funky saxophone work as a member of Parliament and a key part of James Brown’s band alongside his drumming brother Melvin. The alto, tenor, and baritone sax master has also played on records by Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Dave Matthews Band—and even gets name-checked in Jane’s Addiction’s “My Cat’s Name Is Maceo” (he plays on that one, too). In short, he’s a bad-ass, and one of the most influential funk horn players ever; at 71, his playing still burns with the reckless energy of his youth. Parker plays six shows Thurs.–Sun. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729, jazzalley.com. 7:30. $34.50. DAVE LAKE

Friday, June 20

Seaprog Festival “Prog rock” can be a scary word, conjuring images of Geddy Lee’s terrifying soul patch and beady circular glasses staring you down. But “progressive music” by nature isn’t just bound to one sound or one Canadian space-rock band—it’s an amorphous term that just means “music with roots in psych rock that tries something a little different.” Seaprog—an artist-created festival featuring local proggers—ranges from Midday Veil’s Jungian synth-landscapes to Fang Chia’s jazz odysseys to Super Z Attack Team’s brave use of the Chapman Stick, a relative of the guitar that’s wider and designed for tapping. We promise Lee won’t be there to terrorize anybody. With Autumn Electric and more. Through Sunday. The Royal Room, 500 Rainier Ave. S., 906-9920, seaprog.org. 8 p.m. $60 two-day pass. 21 and up. KELTON SEARS

There is much joy in the music of Paper Bird. Residing at the intersection of Appalachian hymnals and bombastic pop, this Denver-based ensemble holds its own in the vast sea of newgrass. Fronted by charismatic sisters Genny and Esme Patterson, their baroque-folk compositions are reminiscent of those of fellow troubadours the Avett Brothers. At first listen, you’ll be hit with the constant vocal harmonies that drive the songs; upon repetition, a wealth of instrumental ear candy unravels in every piece. Their most recent album, Rooms, has a fitting title; each song is a doorway into a different mood and narrative. One leads to swelling strings, while another holds your hand through a soulful, gospel-inspired arrangement. Between faster-paced anthems and slow-swinging ballads, there’s something for everyone here—including the irrepressible smile you’ll no doubt be wearing by the end. With Home Sweet Home, Pocket Panda. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599, tractortavern.com. 9 p.m. $10. STIRLING MYLES

Saturday, June 21

Tupac and Biggie. Jay Z and Nas. Now we have Wimps vs Posse. The two Seattle indie-rock outfits will face off in the only reasonable way possible—with a cutthroat round of rock-&-roll Family Feud. The smack talk has already been fierce in anticipation. “You know what, Posse? More like posers!” Wimps said in a diss video posted to their Facebook page. Posse was quick to retaliate, with a video in which they use a Wimps T-shirt to clean up spilled Budweiser and Clamato. Forget Death Row versus Bad Boy—this matchup of Help Yourself Records and Beating a Dead Horse Records might change Seattle . . . forever. The Highline. 210 Broadway Ave. E., 328-7837, highlineseattle.com. 
9 p.m. $8. 21 and over. DUSTY HENRY

Cartoonish Canadian Chad VanGaalen’s latest album Shrink Dust is more subdued than his other outings. Ambling at about the pace of a carefree space cowboy, the tunes take on an unexpected country twang, albeit one as strange as anything else the artist has done in his Technicolor career. Lap steel guitar slides alongside weird warblings about monsters and the cosmos, but beyond all the fantastical imagery you get the sense that VanGaalen is dealing with some real stuff. He sings that he’s “weighed my sin” and that he’s going to “fall asleep and disappear/Pop some pills to chase your fear.” But as dark as VanGaalen occasionally gets, you never feel as though you’re drifting too far out of his colorful dream world. With Cousins, Hibou. Tractor Tavern. 9 p.m. $12. 21 and up. KS

Sunday, June 22

Merle Haggard & Emmylou Harris To call this show a special treat is an understatement. On one hand, you have the Okie from Muskogee—a country-music legend and one of the genre’s few remaining authentic outlaws. On the other, you have one of the most important and enduring female country stars ever. They’re sharing a bill for one night only—that’s right, this isn’t some 40-city tour, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Though they’ve spent some 40 years working in the same circles, they haven’t crossed paths often (outside of the star-studded track “Same Old Train,” which won a Grammy in 1999). It’s a shame, really. With Harris’ penchant for collaboration and Haggard’s sensibilities, one can only imagine the magic their collective experience and talent will produce. Joining them will be singer Rodney Crowell, a familiar face to those following Harris’ career; last year, the two teamed up for the Grammy-winning Old Yellow Moon. Modern country music bears but a passing resemblance to its earlier history; this isn’t a knock, it’s just the way things are. If you want to hear the real stuff—and with every passing year, your opportunities to do so diminish—head to Woodinville tonight. With Rodney Crowell. Chateau 
Ste. Michelle, 14111 N.E. 145th St., 425-488-1133, 
ste-michelle.com. $60 and up. 7 p.m. CORBIN REIFF

Monday, June 23

Robyn Hitchcock is a songwriter’s songwriter, an alt-rock icon before there was such a thing. He founded the Soft Boys in 1976 in Cambridge, England, then, nearly a decade later, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, but neither found much commercial success—which is also true of his four decades of myriad solo releases. Critics, however, have long heaped praise on his work, comparing him to Dylan and Lennon for his often surreal lyrics and melancholy melodies. Rolling Stone called his 2013 Love From London “delightful” and “an album Syd Barrett might have made if he’d stayed cogent and seen the end of days.” Columbia City Theater. 8:30 p.m. $20. 21 and over. DL

Back during the golden age of alternative music—the ’90s—Veruca Salt was a glorious kick in the ’nads: “Seether” roared across the airwaves, and singers/ax women Louise Post and Nina Gordon acted like a couple of snarling sirens aiming musical missile-launchers at your ears. Their 1994 debut, American Thighs, rocked big-time, and 1996’s Blow It Out Your Ass It’s Veruca Salt EP offered a similar, beautifully aggressive aesthetic. But things went south after 1997’s Eight Arms to Hold You; Gordon left to launch a solo project while drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack pursued other opportunities. Post kept the band name alive over the years, but without her crackling energy and interplay with Gordon, it just wasn’t the same. But then last year word came that the original lineup was reuniting, and when they recently played on Conan—their first performance together in well over a decade—it was as if nothing had changed. The group released a 10-inch vinyl on Record Store Day featuring two new songs, “It’s Holy” and “The Museum of Broken Relationships,” and the latter shows the four haven’t lost their talent for making crunchy alternative tracks about relationship angst. If this song is an indication of what they have up their sleeve, then sign me up! With The Echo Friendly. Tractor Tavern. 8 p.m. $25. 21 and over. BRIAN PALMER

Tuesday, June 24

Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey are Uh Huh Her, an emo synth-pop duo from Los Angeles. You may know Hailey as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on The L Word, while Boy Meets World fans will recognize her as the cute and overly peppy struggling musician Corinna from the “Shallow Boy” episode. Uh-huh, her. The ultimate synth-pop duo fantasy, Hailey and Grey are not only bandmates, but also partners in life and love. The pair released their third studio album, Future Souls, earlier this year, independent of label backing. Its first single, “Innocence,” is five minutes of moody shoegaze that brings to mind Twin Peaks’ Audrey Horne’s sexy-dancing-by-herself type of swaying. The second single, “It’s Chemical,” features a beautifully haunted, distorted voice singing “We’re chemical dancing/Colors colliding/We’re chemical dancing/Halfway to the beat.” Like the 2004 PJ Harvey album after which the band is named, Souls was self-recorded (in Hailey and Grey’s home studio); and, like Harvey herself, still going strong, Uh Huh Her are proving they’re the babes with the power. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 8 p.m. $18 adv. 21 and over. DIANA M. LE