Stoughton Grammy winner Lori McKenna touring in her home state. Find out where to see her

Let’s start this week with news on two of world’s best songwriters, with shows scheduled in our area.

It’s a busy month for Lori McKenna, Stoughton’s Grammy-winning housewife/mother/songwriter, with her latest album, “1988,” released Friday and her “Town in Your Heart” tour swinging through her home state.

McKenna, who now has three Grammys on her shelf, focused her new album on songs about appreciating family and friends, and things that really matter. You could say that’s pretty much what all her songs are about, but in this case, she’s looking back for perspective, and the album title marks the year she married her husband, Gene.

The new album was produced by Dave Cobb, the most successful producer of country and Americana, and videos of some of the singles are already all over streaming services. McKenna will be playing at Rockport’s Shalin Liu Performance Center on Sunday night (July 23) and that show is sold out. She’ll be performing in Brownfield, Maine, on Friday (July 28) and at the Groton Hill Music Center in Groton on Saturday (July 29). (Tickets range from $59.96 to $70.16 including all service charges. Check grotonhill.org for more information.)

More: Stoughton's Lori McKenna wins third Grammy Award

McKenna announces intriguing fall tour

But last week McKenna also announced an intriguing fall tour, "An Evening With Lori McKenna and Brandy Clark," which arrives at The Wilbur in Boston on Oct. 15. Clark went to college on a basketball scholarship before leaving to pursue her music career.

Clark is an 11-time Grammy nominee who worked as a Nashville songwriter for other artists before embarking on her own singing career. McKenna and Clark became songwriting partners, collaborating via Zoom sessions during the pandemic. More recently, Clark penned the music and lyrics for the musical comedy “Shucked,” which was recently nominated for nine Tony Awards. The Clark-McKenna collaboration most music fans would remember best is 2020’s heartwarming “Remember Me Beautiful.”

Crowell postpones concert

It seemed like a great weekend to catch iconic Americana songwriter Rodney Crowell, who had three dates in the area. Crowell, whose latest album “The Chicago Sessions” came out in May, was scheduled to perform at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on Thursday, The Narrows Center in Fall River on Saturday and the Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro on Sunday night. But late last week the dates were all rescheduled, with the Narrows Center date moved to Dec. 1.

Del Fuegos hold reunion

It was no surprise that the Del Fuegos’ original lineup reunion concert last Saturday at the East Bridgewater Commercial Club was an invigorating celebration of the Boston band’s history. About 350 fans enjoyed the warm summer night amid the sounds that made the Boston rockers such an indelible part of the 1980s music scene, and the Del Fuegos delivered in spades with a 90-minute set that included 20 songs drawn mostly from their first two albums.

What was perhaps surprising was how the setting may have inspired a re-appraisal of the Del Fuegos' sound, highlighting different aspects. In the usual confines of a packed rock club, with the sound compressed and bounced off four walls, the Del Fuegos’ visceral punk-rock kick was always an integral part of the sound. But presented as it was last weekend, wafting into the open air in a sylvan setting, fans seated at tables or sitting in the grass, the sound seemed to open up, allowing every nuance of the band’s influences to shine even more. It was not the hardest rocking, sweat-soaked blitzkrieg of sound some of those club gigs may have been back in their heyday, but rather a laidback, affectionate ramble through the best of their songbook.

Shades of The Band

Most music fans would consider The Band the epitome of Americana music, even if the term wasn’t widely used back when "Music From Big Pink" hit the record stores. My pet theory was that, with their obvious roots in folk, country and 1950-60s rock, the Del Fuegos were what you’d get if The Band had grown up AFTER the punk rock era. That’s how New Hampshire brothers singer-guitarist Dan Zanes, and lead guitarist Warren Zanes, and their bandmates Tom Lloyd on bass and Woody Giessmann on drums did in fact come of age.

The fascination music fans in the ‘80s had with the Del Fuegos came because here was a band with the perfect combination of the raw, unvarnished energy of punk, and the familiar, intoxicating underpinnings of American roots music.

That theory may have been proven when Saturday’s crowd heard old rock covers like “I’m Your Puppet,” “His Latest Flame” and “Walkin’ the Dog,” which seemed totally appropriate in the midst of a Del Fuegos set. Their sound is simply another step in the continuum of American popular music, one colored by a charmingly loosey-goosey lack of pretense.

As Dan Zanes noted a couple of times, Del Fuegos music is meant to be danced to, to sing along with, to have a good time with the community of like-minded music fans. And even if the original members haven’t played together since 2012 (according to my old T-shirt), their success at forging that kind of feel-good vibe is undiminished.

Productive second careers

Since their initial breakup, the Del Fuegos have all had productive after-lives. Dan Zanes and his wife, Claudia, are a popular and acclaimed duo performing and recording children’s music. Warren Zanes earned a Ph.D. in sound and cultural studies, teaches at New York University and has written a Tom Petty biography, as well as this year’s in-depth examination of Bruce Springsteen’s "Nebraska" album.

Lloyd went back to college and obtained a Ph.D. in environmental engineering. Giessmann founded Right Turn, the Watertown-based facility for substance abuse and mental health problems. (Dan Zanes noted that Steve Morell had been the first Del Fuegos drummer until he walked out a club’s back door one night and didn’t return, which is when they rapidly recruited Giessmann.)

The one band member missing from Saturday’s concert was Brother Cleve, and both Zane brothers and Lloyd had comments affectionately remembering the late keyboardist. (At 29 the oldest member of the group, his mates nicknamed him "Grandpa.") At the EB show, Caleb Taxiera filled the keyboard role and did a marvelous job supporting and gelling with the core quartet.

Recapping a reunion

The concert began with a down-home shamble through “The Longest Day,” with Dan Zanes, 61, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, a bright green shirt with white polka dots and a black vest, and looking like a Key West poet on this humid night. It soon became apparent that the wide-open spaces lent the band’s music a different feel, and “Shame” seemed to really emphasize their folk-rock roots. “Back Seat Nothing” provided the patented raw Del Fuegos energy, but in a more nuanced manner.

The band’s roots rock legacy seemed to bust out on “Sound of Our Town,” and the midtempo potboiler “Hold Us Down” suggested Dan Zanes’ songwriting has had a social edge for years. The slow, desolate ballad “Have You Forgotten” portrayed love gone wrong with pathos. But the rowdy rocker “Night on the Town” restored the party atmosphere, and gallop through “Hand in Hand” kept the momentum.

Taxiera’s keyboards were especially apt on the smooth, soulful “Wear It Like a Cape,” and when Lloyd sang a buoyant take on the old Elvis Presley hit “His Latest Flame,” joy reigned over the crowd so much nobody minded if he missed a few notes.

“Mary Don’t Change” probably displayed the band’s raw punk-rock grit the best. Dan Zanes’ duet with wife Claudia on “I’m Your Puppet” brought the house down once fans heard her incredible vocal power, and most of the crowd rewarded her with a standing ovation at its finish. Claudia Zanes definitely had the best voice in East Bridgewater on Saturday night, and fans might have voted it the best voice in Massachusetts after her joyous guest spot.

The Del Fuegos capped off their set with a gently bumping “Don’t Run Wild,” and then a frenetic charge through “Nervous and Shakey." The three-song encore included a magnificent version of “I Still Want You,” enhancing all of the song’s dark, sensual, even mystical tones. The old R&B hit “Walkin’ the Dog” became loose-limbed rock, and then the night ended in a jangly rock rendition of “It’s Alright.”

Luke Combs sets up at Gillette

FRIDAY: Roomful of Blues is the attraction for the free concert at the Ruth Gordon Ampitheater in Quincy. The big Luke Combs country tour lands at Gillette Stadium for two nights; The Avett Brothers and Gary Allan are among Friday’s openers. Rocker Bret Michaels tops the bill at The Xfinity Center, with Night Ranger and Jefferson Starship opening. Grateful Dead alumnus Phil Lesh & Friends at Leader Bank Pavilion. The Little River Band’s infectious grooves at The South Shore Music Circus. Acoustic bluesman Guy Davis at The Fallout Shelter. Country dudes Cody Bondra and Tyler Morris a potent combo at Soundcheck Studios. Craig Carter & The Hurricane at The C-Note. Flatland Cavalry’s alt-country at The Sinclair. Nigerian singer/rapper Rema at The House of Blues. Acoustic Nomads at Club Passim. A tribute to Biggie Smalls at Brighton Music Hall. DJ Paul Oakenfold at Big Night Live.

SATURDAY: Unforgettable Fire offers a night of U2 music at The South Shore Music Circus. The Luke Combs lineup at Gillette Stadium has Brent Cobb and "Yellowstone" heart-throb Lainey Wilson opening. The nation’s premier Rolling Stones tribute, The Blushing Brides, returns to The C-Note. Sam James brings his country-soul to Brighton Music Hall. L.A. punk-ska rockers Goldfinger take over The House of Blues, with local Big D and the Kids Table opening. Disco revivalists Booty Vortex at Soundcheck Studios.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND: Sunday is hot, with Matchbox 20 at The Xfinity Center; the country-rocking Mavericks take over South Shore Music Circus; Lainey Wilson’s headlining show at the Cape Cod Melody Tent is already sold out. Monday, One Direction alumnus Louis Tomlinson opens two nights at MGM Music Hall; Canadian DJ Kid Koala gets down at Brighton Music Hall. Tuesday finds Boy George & Culture Club grooving at The Xfinity Center; Duane (son of Dickey) Betts and his band arrive at Soundcheck Studios; and dazzling cross-genre star Billy Strings opens a two-night stand at Leader Bank Pavilion. Wednesday, Old 97s frontman Rhett Miller sings at City Winery; German indie rockers The Giant Rooks hit the Paradise Rock Club; British popster Cat Burns comes to Brighton Music Hall; the female electro-rock trio Le Tigre performs at Royale; and, of course, the Aldous Collins Band keeps Roht Marine shaking. Looking ahead, July 27 has songwriter supreme Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit at Roadrunner.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: McKenna back in town this weekend, will return to Boston in October