Big Thief, the Hold Steady, Sunny War (and more) head to Philly this week

Now that February has arrived, things have magically picked up in the live music schedule. Several difficult-to-choose-from shows are happening on Saturday night alone. (And besides those listed here, there’s also MJ Lenderman playing a sold-out show at Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday. He plays PhilaMoca next Friday, but that’s sold out, too.)

Virtuoso folk-punk guitarist Sunny War will mark the release of her new album, Anarchist Gospel, with a Free at Noon show Friday at World Cafe. The artist who got her start busking on Venice Beach in Los Angeles has moved back to Nashville, where she recorded the album. It includes a cover of New Hope duo Ween’s “Baby Bitch” with producer Andrija Tokic, creating a fleshed-out sound with help from contributors Allison Russell, David Rawlings, Jim James, and Chris Pierce, her partner in the duo War & Pierce. She returns to the area to play the Kennett Flash on February 24. Free, noon, 2/3, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., xpn.org.

Indie blues-rock provocateur Jon Spencer came to prominence with Pussy Galore in the 1980s and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in the 1990s. He also recorded steadily with Boss Hog, a punk blues band he formed with his wife, Cristina Martinez. In 2018, he released Spencer Sings the Hits and followed it up with the jolt of last year’s Spencer Gets It Lit!, which features a bang-up band that includes Sam Coomes of Quasi on keys and M. Sord on drums. Those players will back him at Johnny Brenda’s on Thursday and the Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City on Friday. $25, 8 p.m., 2/2, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., johnnybrendas.com. $20, 8 p.m., 2/3, Anchor Rock Club, 247 S. New York Ave., Atlantic City, anchorrockclub.com

A double bill of top-shelf Americana artists with singular talents. The great country-folk songwriter Patty Griffin was last seen in these parts sharing the stage last summer at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden with The Chicks. Griffin, who released an album of demos and home recordings simply called Tape last year, is back on the Jersey side of the river this weekend on a bill with Raul Malo. Malo, the Cuban American powerhouse vocalist, is out on the road without his band The Mavericks, who most recently were heard from on the genre-spanning En Español. $49-$125, 8 p.m., 2/4, Scottish Rite Auditorium, scottishriteauditorium.com.

Since debuting with Masterpiece in 2016, the Brooklyn-based indie band Big Thief have been a productive force, always stretching themselves over the course of five albums as a group, and four more solo efforts by front woman Adrianne Lenker. The quartet stretched out most satisfyingly on last year’s double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, which dug deep into the band’s folk roots. $36, 8:30 p.m., 2/4, Franklin Music Hall, 421 N. 7th St., bowerypresents.com

The Brooklyn-based, Minneapolis-born band The Hold Steady are celebrating their 20th year in existence in 2023, with a new album, The Price of Progress, due in March. The raucous bar band fronted by talk-singing storytelling poet Craig Finn — whose 2022 solo album, A Legacy of Rentals, is a gem — are getting the party started with a trio of East Coast shows this weekend, including a date at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. (And if you’re going steady with the Hold Steady, there’s a link on theholdsteady.net for a three-day pass that also incudes shows in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.) $37.50-$40, 8:30 p.m., 2/4, Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, 1009 Canal St., brooklynbowl.com/philadelphia

This all-ages bill of at least eight hard-core punk acts is a benefit to help pay the medical bills of Matt Summers of the band Shark Attack, who suffered a brain injury in a bike accident in November. In Summers’ absence, Dave Ackerman of Tear It Up will be on lead vocals for Shark Attack. Other bands on the bill include Cold World, Floorpunch, Restraining Order, Raw Brigade, Chemical Fix, and Violent Mind. It’s an early show. 5 p.m., $30, 2/4, Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., utphilly.com.

The daughter of Santana percussionist Pete Escovedo, niece of Texas rock legend Alejandro Escovedo, and the 1980s collaborator with Prince is billing herself as “Queen of Percussion.” She leads her band E-Train into the City Winery for two shows on Wednesday. A portion of ticket and wine sales will go toward the venue’s Still I Rise campaign, with donations made to Black Feminist Future, Black Voters Matter, and In Our Own Voice. 6 p.m. show is sold out. $45-$62, 9:30 p.m., 2/8, City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia