TUESDAY, MAY 14

Prepare for a night of loud and heavy music at Merriweather Post Pavilion when metal band Slayer performs. The bill also features performances from fellow thrashers Lamb of God, Amon Amarth, and Cannibal Corpse. Gates 5 p.m., show 6 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $39.50+.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

Drummer Jamal Moore has performed with a slew of pop and R&B artists, and just last month, he debuted his own tunes. His new album Voyager shows off a sound that’s spacey and electronic, but rooted in soul. See for yourself at Union Stage. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $13-$15.

THURSDAY, MAY 16

Multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova has been releasing records as My Brightest Diamond for nearly a decade. At Rock & Roll Hotel, she’s joined by Tunde Olaniran, a Flint, Mich., native who makes playfully proud music. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $20 advance, $22 day of show.

FRIDAY, MAY 17

Laura Gibson performed the very first Tiny Desk Concert back in 2008. Since then, the singer-songwriter has expanded her sound with more expansive, expressive arrangements and gotten an MFA in writing. City Winery D.C. Doors 6 p.m., show 8 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $16.

Jessica Pratt’s shadowy third album, Quiet Signs, is one of the year’s most critically acclaimed releases so far. Toronto musician Joseph Shabason, who has appeared on records by Destroyer and the War on Drugs, opens. The Miracle Theatre. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 8 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $15.

Now 25, multi-instrumentalist Molly Tuttle became the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year award back in 2017. She’s joined by Alabama-raised country artist Dee White. Pearl Street Warehouse. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m. 21+, accessible venue. $18.

SATURDAY, MAY 18

Now 14 albums into his career, singer-songwriter Damien Jurado returns to a sparser sound on his recently-released record In the Shape of a Storm. Anna St. Louis opens: On her proper debut, If Only There Was a River, the singer applies a folk approach to create superb songcraft. U Street Music Hall, 7 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $20.

On Uniform Distortion and Uniform Clarity, both released last year, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James explores what impact excess and restraint can have on songwriting. For Saturday’s full band show, he’s joined by Amo Amo. Two-night passes are also available for both Friday and Saturday night performances. 9:30 Club, 6 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $41.

The anonymous Philadelphia-based HIRS Collective makes rock music, but also has an explicit social justice goal: to fight for and defend those who face violence, marginalization, and oppression. On last year’s Friends. Lovers. Favorites., they’re joined by collaborators with a shared sense of purpose. Oakland’s Coherence and NØ MAN of D.C. also perform. Comet Ping Pong, 10 p.m. All ages, accessible venue. $12.

D.C.’s own White Ford Bronco brings two sets of ‘90s covers to U Street Music Hall this weekend. If you can’t make Friday’s 10:30 p.m. set, no sweat—they perform again Saturday night. 10:30 p.m., 18+ (ages 18-20 by advance ticket only), accessible venue. $22-$25.

Tim Kasher’s Cursive has been making emo-leaning indie rock for over two decades; on last year’s Vitriola, the group brings back cello to enormously emotional effect. Rounding out the bill, emo stalwarts mewithoutYou and the Appleseed Cast open. Black Cat, 8 p.m. All ages, venue accessible. $25.

SUNDAY, MAY 19

Founded by Rick Maguire as a solo project, Pile recently released its seventh LP, Green and Gray, an album of anxious tracks that doesn’t stay in one sonic lane long. Hardcore band C.H.E.W. and D.C. experimentalists Mock Identity also perform. Songbyrd. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m. All ages, inaccessible space. $17.

MONDAY, MAY 20

Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck regularly fill arena-sized venues; as Filthy Friends, the duo, in concert with Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch, recently released its second studio album, Emerald Valley. Dressy Bessy also performs. U Street Music Hall, 7 p.m.. All ages, accessible venue. $20.

This post has been updated with the correct date for Cursive’s show.