Turn it down

Stefanie Haapala at Mac's Bar

Friday, Nov. 13 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing.

All ages, $10, $8 adv., 7 p.m.

East Lansing-based singer/songwriter Stefanie Haapala headlines Friday at Mac’s Bar, openers are Michigander, Peter J. Hochstedler and Signature Mistakes. Haapala, an MSU student, began writing indiefolk tunes in high school. “I grew up listening to James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Van Morrison,” Haapala said. “But my biggest influences have been the people I have met along the way. Lansing really helped shape my sound and ultimately became the backdrop for the music I create today.” Over the years, her live gigs have evolved from a stripped-down solo set to a fuller lineup. “Today, I play with two or three other members. We are coming into a more amped up live set.” Haapala has released a string of singles and EPs that are available at stefaniehaapala.bandcamp.com.

The Jonestown Crows video release party

Saturday, Nov. 14 @ The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 18kknd, $12, $8 adv., 7 p.m.

Progressive doom-grass band the Jonestown Crows perform Saturday at the Loft. The gig is a video release party for its song, “Whiskey River Ride.” Openers are All Ends Black and Tell Yo Mama. The Jonestown Crows’ vocalist/banjo player Jebadiah Halfhand said the band’s dark Americana sound is powered by a diverse record collection. “My personal influences are Type O Negative, Opeth, Faith No More and the Goddamn Gallows,” he said. “But everyone in the band adds their own influences — Tool, Hank 3, Clutch, Those Poor Bastards, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.” As for the band’s live show? “It’s high-energy, foot-stomping, sacrilegious mayhem,” Halfhand said. “We make it a point to show any crowd our views on the absolute evil and futility of organized religion and to press the fact we’re all going to die — very, very soon.”

Nathan Bell & Marvin Bell at The Robin Theatre

Friday, Nov. 13 @ The Robin Theatre, 1105 S. Washington, Lansing. All ages, $15, 7 p.m.

Pump House Concerts gets out of the Pump House for an evening to present Tennessee-based Americana songwriter Nathan Bell and his poet father Marvin Bell at the Robin Theatre. The duo trades songs and readings. Nathan Bell said this is an atypical gig. “Normally I play as a solo and occasionally with a band,” he said. “I will present my songs with guitar, voice and harmonica. My father will read his poetry, and we will alternate, using similar themes for each song and poem.” Nathan Bell is an acclaimed roots-music wordsmith, while his father served two terms as Iowa's first poet laureate and has penned 23 books. “These new books by Marvin Bell are sending poetry into new and original territory,” wrote critic Judith Kitchen of the Georgia Review. “Bell has redefined poetry as it is being practiced today.”