Pioneering doom metal act Pentagram will perform Tuesday, May 13. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Pentagram

Many of us are still recovering from the Fiesta endurance test, but if you’re a music fan, that’s no reason stay home. Not when this many promising shows are on the horizon. Let’s run ’em down.

Thursday, May 8

Morrissey

Mercurial crooner Morrissey is scheduled to bring his melancholy ballads to a receptive San Antonio audience. The operative word here is “scheduled,” because as fans and foes around the world know, Morrissey is notorious for his frequent cancellations. Despite his rep — and his recent anti-immigrant rhetoric — plenty of folks still love Morrissey for his legendary vocals with The Smiths and his solid solo work. Fans will be looping “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” between now and showtime as both a plea and a prayer. Sold out, 8 p.m., Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com. — DC

Sparta

At the Drive-In co-founder Jim Ward’s Sparta may not have grabbed as much attention as his prior band, but the trio’s shifting lineup has put out an excellent series of post-hardcore albums that showcase a mastery of tension and release. While Ward’s former ATDI bandmates have drifted into more experimental territory with their recent work — like The Mars Volta — he continues to keep it accessible, delivering propulsive, guitar-driven songs packed with hooks aplenty. $20, 7 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 677-9453, facebook.com/therockboxsatx. — Sanford Nowlin

Virtual Limbs, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, The Whale

Noisy San Antonio experimentalists Virtual Limbs are celebrating the release of their new album Big Time Crime. The Krautrock-inspired band is joined on the bill by The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, whose punishing wall of sound makes for an enigmatic and intense live show. Avant-garde jazz project The Whale kicks off what promises to be a boundary-pushing evening. Sure beats getting stood up by Morrissey. Again. $10, 8 p.m., The Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., thelonesomerose.com— Stephanie Koithan

Saturday, May 10

Santiago Jimenez Jr., Chris Cuevas, Chavela

Santiago Jimenez Jr. is a living legend of conjunto music, descended from musical pioneers including his father Santiago Jimenez and his older brother Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez, whom many consider the greatest Tejano accordionist of all time. Santiago Jimenez Jr. lives up to this legacy with three Grammy nominations under his belt, and while he’s from San Antonio, he doesn’t play out all the time. Lonesome Rose proprietor Garrett T. Capps produced Jimenez’s latest album, Still Kicking, in 2021 and frequently appears with him onstage. San Antonio soul acts Chris Cuevas and Chavela will share the bill. $10, 9 p.m., The Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., thelonesomerose.com

Tuesday, May 13

Pentagram

Pioneering U.S. metal act Pentagram has persisted through decades of bad luck, indifference and self-inflicted wounds with lead singer Bobby Liebling remaining as the sole founding member. Thanks to its compelling proto-metal riffage and Liebling’s harrowing vocals, the band is now recognized as one of the foundational purveyors of doom-metal. Liebling’s battled plenty of demons over the years, and he channels them to great effect on the band’s latest album, Lightning in a Bottle, which also boasts a viper’s nest of fuzzed-out guitars and a delightfully acid-drenched aesthetic. $25, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BB

Hermanos Gutiérrez, Adrian Quesada

Sibling guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez may be entirely instrumental, but that doesn’t stop the act from entrancing audiences with hypnotic melodies. The brothers handling six-string duties conjure up desert landscapes that are somehow both desolate and warm — lonely and peaceful. The music belongs in a spaghetti Western that ends with introspection rather than bloodshed. But above all, it’s sexy as hell. $30-$158, 7 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — SK

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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.