CARTER AS CARTER: Georgia-born singer-songwriter-producer Tyler Carter is headed to Velvet Jones on Saturday night—as Tyler Carter. Carter, whose first foray into music was with the metalcore band Woe, Is Me in 2010 but departed soon thereafter, founded the ongoing band Issues (releasing a new album this year) and has also branched out into his solo career, with the new album “Moonshine” dropping this year. His metal-ish tendencies have softened in recent years, revealing more pop and R&B leanings expanding his musical menu. Saturday at 8 p.m. Velvet Jones, 423 State St. Tickets are $15 to $17, 965-8676, www.velvet-jones.com.
BIG ROCK SOUND, CLOSE-UP: For a friendly big rock ‘n’ roll sound in an intimate space, head to SOhO tonight to catch headliner Young Million, a homegrown band celebrating the release of its debut feature-length album, “Chasing Threads.” The band, led by the Brothers Million—singer-guitarist Kyran and guitarist Michael—and with Nate Modisette and Erich Riedl, bass and drums—cut the album in Santa Barbara’s state-of-the-art Sound Design studio, and drew on the mixing expertise of Ryan Williams (Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots) and mastered by Ryan Williams (Led Zeppelin, The Killers). For the most part, the byword in the studio was “live,” with all aboard tracking in classic rock mode. Now comes the live item, onstage. Openers at SOhO are Glossaries, Noble Grizwald, and Kyle Nicolaides. Tonight at 8 p.m. SOhO, 1221 State St. (upstairs) Tickets are $8 to $10. 962-7776, www.sohosb.com.
MUSIC MATTERS: The next week is a busy one for the UCSB Music Department, with a series of events in its “Winter Concert Series” worth taking note of. Tonight, downtown at
Trinity Episcopal Church, the Chamber Choir and Women’s Chorus offers up a wide-ranging program, including J.S. Bach, Schoenberg, Hindemith, Handel, Holst and the world premiere of director Tylor Reece’s own “Pray Not!.” On Saturday night at the music department’s central Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, the ever-popular Middle East Ensemble, directed by the multi-idiomatic Scott Marcus and now in its 30th year, presents a concert of music and dance, featuring Persian vocalist Reza Mahini and others. Monday night at LLCH brings along a gathering of the University’s gifted faculty for a program of solo and chamber music. Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, pianists Natasha Kislenko and Robert Koenig, violinist Ertan Torgul, violist Jonathan Moerschel and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel will take on a program of music by Ernst von Dohnányi, Xavier Montsalvatge’s and Ravel. And on Wednesday, the Jon Nathan-directed USCB Jazz Ensemble takes to the house of Lehmann, with a program called “Then and Now,” spanning jazz historical classics and their updated variations. music.ucsb.edu/news/purchase-tickets
