TURN IT DOWN!

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Friday, Oct. 19 @ The Avenue Café, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 21+, $10, 7 p.m.

Since its 2010 formation, the Devil’s Cut has played shows across the map and released a pile of acclaimed LPs via East Grand Records, a local imprint, along the way. Known for his amped-up brand of Americana, songwriter Joe Fox (guitar/vocals) led the charge on each LP, including 2017’s “People Who Let You Down” — the group’s third and final record. Friday, the band plays its last show, a farewell event that also includes performances from Saint, Flatfoot, Jake Simmons & the Little Ghosts, Stop Bobby Hatch and Dead Daughters. Playing over 100 dates each year, the Devil’s Cut reached ears far beyond the Capital City, thanks to its distinct sound that echoes old-school folk, classic Springsteen-esque storytelling and raucous, Replacements-like dynamism. Visit the soon-to-be-defunct band, which also comprises Pat Hogan (bass), Corey Staley (guitar), Derek Vaive (drums) and Matt Waterman (keys), at www.facebook.com/devilscut.

Saturday, Oct. 13 @ The Avenue Café, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 21+, FREE, 8 p.m.

The Stick Arounds, a Lansing-based power pop band, celebrate the release of its new sophomore LP, “Ways to Hang On” (GTG Records), Saturday at the Avenue Café. The free album-release show also features the Gashounds, Indonesian Junk, La La Delivery, and E.Z. Duhzit & the Soul Jar. “The new album was recorded in a studio setting, unlike ‘Mystery Garage,’ our first LP, which was recorded live in front of an audience,” said Matthew Carlson, vocalist/ guitarist of the Stick Arounds. “‘Ways to Hang On’ also sees the Stick Arounds dividing up the songwriting duties between me and guitarist and vocalist Jeff Gower. We each have five songs on the record that we wrote and sing lead on. That approach makes the sound of the new record more diverse and collaborative.”

The new LP, available on CD or orange vinyl, showcases the band’s knack for layering keys, horns and stacks of guitars into one polished-pop sound. The group, which formed five years ago and also comprises drummer Joel Kuiper and guitarist Jason Lantrip, invested much sweat equity into the new disc. “We spent about seven months on-and-off in various studios finishing the work on this record,” Carlson said. “In the summer of 2017, we added Ian Walker as bass player and he was instrumental in much of the engineering and recording on this. While the sound of the record was formed in small part by our shared love for bands like Guided By Voices, Sloan and Teenage Fanclub, it really took shape in rehearsals. Both Jeff and I brought songs to practice expecting them to sound one way and by sharing them with a group of talented bandmates and friends, they took on a life of their own — becoming greater than the sum of their parts.”

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