The Romany Rye.

Giving you the music a day early:

The second Google result for The Romany Rye is from the blog Hear Ya, proclaiming “The Romany Rye fills a void left by Ryan Adams and The Cardinals.” Later the posting notes the band’s “8-song debut, Highway 1, Look Back Carefully, is a piece of breezy Americana that falls somewhere between the solo work of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Ryan Adams and The Cardinals.” Beyond the Ryan “Don’t-Call-Him-Bryan” Adams comparisons, The Romany Rye is an alt country band fronted by Los Angeles folk rocker Luke MacMaster and consisting of four Little Rock guys: Ryan Hitt, Judson Spillyards, Joshua Spillyards and Whitman Bransford. The Rye visits White Water Tavern, headlining a “hometown” gig that includes Velvet Kente, a Little Rock outfit fronted by the first-name only Joshua that combines afrobeat rhythms with folk guitar and soulful vocals.

In case you haven’t heard of Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights yet, the Dallas-bred blues rock outfit is returning to Little Rock and Sticky Fingerz yet again. No word on the opening act, but expect the music at 9 p.m. with cover $10 for the 21-and-up show. And, in case you need some Tyler talking points, here are the highlights: Recently signed to Atlantic Records, Tyler and bandmates have opened for AC/DC, Kid Rock and ZZ Top, and will have their music featured on the new HBO series Boardwalk Empire. And the music? It’s the heavy rock of Led Zeppelin hanging out with the bluesier side of The Rolling Stones with a touch of Southern soul and gospel.

The critically and commercially acclaimed Southern hip-hop group Nappy Roots is paying a visit to Little Rock with a show at Revolution Music Room. The music will start at 9 p.m. for the 18-and-up show with tickets $10 in advance and $15 day of show. Formed in 1998, the five-man collective from Kentucky have released a number of albums, including their 3-million-album selling Watermelon, Chicken, & Grits debut in 2002. The outfit’s newest album is the June release The Pursuit of Nappyness, the group’s artistic response to the country’s recent economic struggles. The opening acts for Skinny Deville, Fishscales, Big V, B. Stille and Ron Clutch are Little Rock energetic pop crunk crew EKG, and DJ G Force, a local DJ switching over to VJ G Force for a night of video DJing. It’s an 18-and-up show with tickets $10 in advance and $15 day of show. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Edgefest veterans Drowning Pool, a Texas band known for their aggressive yet melodic blend of hard rock, return to Little Rock for a show at Juanita’s. The opening bands are Osceola’s Finding Jimmy Hoffa, a five piece concerned with creating hard-charging slices of heavy rock-flavored Southern grunge, and Sychosys, a Southern-flavored metal band influenced by bands such as Pantera, Black Label Society and Black Sabbath. The doors open at 8 p.m. with the show starting at 8:45 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance and $18 day of show for the all-ages concert.

Here’s The Romany Rye in action with their “All the Boys”: