Turn it down

The Hangdog Hearts at the Avenue Cafe, Friday, March 6 

The Avenue Café is becoming known for its Americana-punk shows thanks to Steve King. The café’s event manager has a knack for bringing in banjowielding troubadours from across the country. King’s next frenetic-folk show is Friday. Headlining is the Handog Hearts, the rootsy one-man-band project of Indianapolis-based singer/songwriter Austin Stirling. The Hangdog Hearts started as a full band in 2012, but Stirling quickly stripped it down to a solo project and honed his soulful “angry-Gypsy-folk” sound. Its latest release is 2013’s “Under the Floorboards.” Openers at the Avenue are Brother Doug and songwriter James Hunnicutt, a Farmageddon Records artist. Over the years, Hunnicutt, a Washington state native, has recorded or played with a number of rustic-roots bands including Joe Buck Yourself, the Goddamn Gallows and Shooter Jennings, to name only a few.

The Avenue Café, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 18 , $10, 9 p.m., Friday, March 6

Kuniva of D12 at Mac´s Bar, Saturday, March 7

Detroit rapper Von Carlisle, better known as Kuniva, got his start in the hip-hop scene in 1996 when he teamed up with several Detroit rappers, including Eminem, to form the notoriously vulgar hip-hop unit D12. While Eminem hooked up with Dr. Dre in the early 2000s and rocketed into super stardom, Kuniva never left D12 and released two well-received discs with the group. “Devil’s Night,” released in 2001, featured the hit single “Purple Pills” and 2004’s “D12 World” scored a Billboard hit with the single “My Band.” Saturday Kuniva performs a solo show at Mac’s Bar. Openers are Convotronics, Ribcage, Money Haye$, Mark D Beats, AJ Southpaw and Big Sherm. Kuniva dropped his first solo effort, “Retribution…The Mixtape,” in 2010. He’s now promoting his 2014 album, “A History of Violence.” The nine-song disc includes his ode to loyal D12 fans, “Derty Headz.”

Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. All ages, $15, $12 adv., 8 p.m., Saturday, March 7

J. Roddy Walston & the Business at the Loft, Saturday, March 7

J. Roddy Walston & the Business formed in Cleveland, Tenn., in 2002 and developed a high-energy brand of rock ’n’ roll. Its 2013 album “Essential Tremors,” which topped the Billboard alternative rock charts, featured a blend of influences, including old Leon Russell LPs, vintage gospel, classic country and dashes of T-Rex-style glam rock. Walston, the lead vocalist, plays a real piano, not a keyboard. Each tour he lugs along his weighty 1970s Yamaha CP-60 upright. The band has recorded six releases, some on the Vagrant Records label. In March 2013, the band signed to ATO Records. The group headlines an all-ages show Saturday at the Loft. The event is co-hosted by Fusion Shows and 94.1 WVIC. Warming up the stage is Sleepwalkers, a Virginia-based euphonious indie-rock band that echoes Paul McCartney, the Kinks and Peter Gabriel.

The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. All ages, $17, $15 adv., 7 p.m., Saturday, March 7