A pair of iconic singers will hit Seattle’s KeyArena for separate shows on Friday and Saturday night, sure to bring thousands of fans to the downtown venue.
First up is Lionel Richie, as he continues his All the Hits All Night Long Tour. The 1980s pop star will hit the arena at 7:30 tonight.
The tour, Richie’s first in more than a decade, already has found him visiting far flung venues in New Zealand, Indonesia and Dubai. He’ll roll on through the U.S. this summer, starting his long run of American dates with the Seattle show.
As the name of his tour name, Richie plans to play his biggest hits, including “All Night Long,” “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “Hello.”
Despite his lack of recent touring, Richie has kept busy the last few years. In 2012, he released “Tuskegee,” an album that reworked his past hits as country songs and earned his first No. 1 record in years. He’s now working on a follow-up to that success.
Cee Lo Green will open for Richie. The pop star is famous for hits like “Crazy” and “Forget You!” So get to the show on time.
Tickets are $36.03 to $141.23 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Then at 8 p.m. Saturday, James Taylor brings his All-Star Band to KeyArena, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer returns to the stage.
The prototypical singer-songwriter, Taylor hit it big in the 1970s with heartfelt tunes such as “Fire and Rain,” “Country Road” and “You’ve Got a Friend” — the last of which, admittedly, was written by his friend, singer-songwriter Carole King.
Taylor, who’s found success throughout his career covering songs by other greats, has gone into full-blown appreciation mode in recent years, releasing “Covers” in 2008 and “Other Covers” in 2009.
Expect to hear some of his own best-loved songs, along with plenty of covers, when he comes to Seattle.
Tickets are $76.68 to $97.15 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
A couple of smaller acts will move through Seattle’s Neptune Theatre in the coming days as well.
The Faint kick things off with a show at 9 tonight.
The group helped put the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska, on the map at the turn of the millennium with its stylish New Wave revivalism, showcased on albums like “Danse Macabre” and “Blank-Wave Arcade.”
While that attention garnered write-ups in Time magazine, the group never fully cracked through into the mainstream. Instead it became a cult favorite.
The group’s productivity has waned in recent years, with the albums “Fasciniinatiion” in 2008 and this year’s “Doom Abuse” treading similar ground as its earlier work.
Tickets are $25 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Then, Victor Wooten will bring his jazz-bluegrass fusion to the Neptune Theatre at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The pop prodigy was playing shows with his brothers by age 5, tackling tracks by James Brown and Curtis Mayfield. Wooten then struck out on his own, hitting it big when he paired with Bela Fleck in Nashville.
As a member of the Flecktones, Wooten won Grammy nominations and recorded hit albums. He eventually started releasing albums of his own, including 2005’s “Soul Circus,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart.
Tickets are $26.50 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Finally, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s will play the Crocodile in Seattle at 9 p.m. Saturday.
The buzzed-about Midwestern band has released a string of albums for both indie rock and major labels, showcasing the group’s penchant for bittersweet melodies.
Tickets are $13 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
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