FRIDAY
Smashing Pumpkins
The band — Billy Corgan, Jeff Schroeder, Mike Byrne and Nicole Fiorentino — released the better-than-expected “Oceania” last fall, and Corgan said a new album is planned for the end of this year. Though he’s the only original Pumpkin left, he remains the band’s centerpiece. Corgan is also steadfast about never becoming a nostalgia act, but fans can expect to hear ’90s favorites “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Cherub Rock” and “Tonight Tonight” snuggled against the new material.
8 p.m. May 10. $30-$45. Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 4469 Stella Drive N.W., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000.
SATURDAY
Rodriguez
Nothing like going from obscurity to Oscar winner in the span of a couple of years, right? The inspiring tale of long-forgotten Detroit musician Sixto Rodriguez was so beautifully captured in the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” that even the Academy Awards had to pay attention. The 70-year-old singer-songwriter continues to sell out venues worldwide and will head back to Europe later this month to charm crowds with his insightful folk-pop.
8:30 p.m. May 11. Sold out. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-524-7354.
2 Chainz
The Atlanta rapper has enjoyed a high-profile breakout since his debut album, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” arrived at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart last summer. The disc spawned the hits “No Lie,” “Birthday Song” and “I’m Different,” while 2 Chainz — who also opened for Nicki Minaj at the Fox Theatre in July — went on to score three Grammy nominations and 13 BET Hip-Hop Awards nominations (he won four). He is now dabbling in acting, too. He popped up on “2 Broke Girls” — playing himself — earlier this season and flexed his acting chops this week on “Law and Order: SVU.”
9:30 p.m. May 11. $25-$50. Wild Bill’s, 2075 Market St., Duluth. 678-473-1000.
Travis Tritt
The Georgia native, who sang the national anthem at the NCAA basketball finals here last month, has racked up a staggering 40-plus chart hits in a career spanning more than 20 years, with songs such as “Help Me Hold On,” “Foolish Pride” and “Best of Intentions” usually making it into his set lists. His appearance at the cozy Bremen venue will be a solo acoustic offering. Tritt recently recorded the Patty Smyth/Don Henley duet “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” with his 15-year-old daughter, Tyler Reese, with plans for release on Father’s Day.
7:30 p.m. May 11. $40-$50. Mill Town Music Hall, 1031 Alabama Ave., Bremen. 770-537-6455.
SUNDAY
Tim McGraw
With Brantley Gilbert and Love and Theft. The most difficult part of going on tour for country superstar McGraw these days is culling a set list from his dozens of hits and still finding room for new tracks. He has several he wants to play from his current album, “Two Lanes of Freedom.” The genial country superstar said in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview that in concert he strives to “build a show visually and sound-wise that I want to hear as a fan and perform as an artist.” He also had high praise for his buddies in Love and Theft and labelmate Gilbert, whom he likens to a young Hank Williams Jr.
7 p.m. May 12. $25-$64.75. Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, 2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000.
WEDNESDAY
The Breeders
On their first tour since 1994, Kim and Kelley Deal, Jim Macpherson and Josephine Wiggs will revisit their watershed “Last Splash” album for its 20th anniversary. Violinist Carrie Bradley, who played on the album that spawned “Cannonball” and catapulted the band to indie darling status, will perform as well. A deluxe anniversary edition of the album, called “LSXX,” was released April 23.
8 p.m. May 15. $20 in advance, $23 at door. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-524-7354.
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