Atlanta Concerts: One Direction, Skid Row

SATURDAY

Mint Condition

Since the mid-’80s, these Minnesota musicians have been an underrated force, not just as purveyors of smooth R&B, but also jazz, funk and soul. Their most recent album, 2012’s “Music at the Speed of Life,” included appearances from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Prince’s former sax player, Eric Leeds. You can be sure that their live set will include their early ’90s radio hits, “U Send Me Swingin’” and “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes).”

With Tony Toni Tone and Teddy Riley and Blackstreet. Sold out. Wolf Creek Amphitheatre, 3024 Merk Road S.W., Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849, ticketalternative.com.

Skid Row will play its last East Coast date of the year at Wild Bill's.

Skid Row

In the late ’80s the hard rockers from Toms River, N.J., were the grittier alternative to Jersey mates Bon Jovi. They commanded rock radio with hits “Youth Gone Wild” and “18 & Life,” toured with Bon Jovi and fit in with the hair metal debauchery of the times. Frontman Sebastian Bach and the band split in the mid–’90s and Johnny Solinger has handled lead vocal duties since 1999. This show is a bit of a homecoming, since Skid Row’s bassist, Rachel Bolan, and drummer, Rob Hammersmith, live in Atlanta. This is their last East Coast date of the year and is in support of the new, cumbersomely titled EP, “Rise of the Damnation Army — United World Rebellion: Chapter Two.”

With Kickin Valentina and the Swear. 9 p.m. Sept. 27. $20 (advance), $25-$30 (at the door) and $55 (VIP). Wild Bill’s, 2075 Market St., Duluth. 1-800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

Styx

For the second time in four months, Styx will bring its lush 1970s-80s pop-rock to metro Atlanta. The band’s set list at its May performance in Alpharetta contained a dozen classics, including “Come Sail Away,” “Crystal Ball” and those Tommy Shaw favorites “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” and “Renegade.” Shaw, James “JY” Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips (along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo) have performed more live shows since 1999 than all of the previous years of Styx’s career combined. Opening the show is Atlanta mainstay Ed Roland and his side band, the Sweet Tea Project.

8 p.m. Sept. 27. $45-$75. Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater, 201 McIntosh Trail, Peachtree City. 877-725-8849, ticketalternative.com.

SUNDAY

The Head and the Heart

After struggling to pay the rent as street buskers in Seattle, the Head and the Heart broke through in 2011 with their debut album on the hometown Sub Pop Records label (known for Nirvana and Soundgarden). Their engaging indie folk-rock has landed them opening slots for the Dave Matthews Band, the Decemberists and My Morning Jacket. Now, after the release of last year’s second album, “Let’s Be Still,” the six-piece group has graduated to theater-headlining status.

With Belle Brigade. 7 p.m. Sept. 28. $24-$37. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

TUESDAY

Ian Anderson

The venerable singer-flautist-acoustic guitarist for Jethro Tull is a prog-rock icon who will always be associated with “Locomotive Breath” and “Bungle in the Jungle.” But Anderson has released six solo studio albums throughout his career, most recently April’s “Homo Erraticus,” a concept album that follows the life of the fictional Gerald Bostock (popularized on Tull’s 1972 album “Thick As a Brick”). Expect to hear some of Tull’s greatest hits along with Anderson’s new material.

8 p.m. (promptly) Sept. 30. $49.50-$99.50. Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-5000, ticketmaster.com.

Photo: Getty Images

WEDNESDAY

One Direction

In a brilliant move, promoters plopped this stadium trek on sale a few weeks before last Christmas, ensuring a sell-out while the five cheeky Brits were still godlike in the eyes of 14-year-old girls. The mania surrounding the “Best Song Ever” hitmakers has cooled a tad, but still … bring earplugs to combat the squealing. Openers 5 Seconds of Summer are in the midst of their own teen-dream explosion and are nearly as big a draw now as the headliners. Again, earplugs.

7 p.m. Oct. 1. $39.50-$99.50. Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive N.W., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.