Jonathan Tyler has described his band’s major-label debut, Pardon Me, as a “handshake album” – an introduction.

But unlike that description or the apologetic title, there’s nothing polite about the full-bore rock produced by Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights – which will perform at the Redstone Room on July 7.

USA Today concisely summarized the appeal of the band in naming Pardon Me a pick of the week last year: “Did you think they’d quit making bands that groove as hard as they rock? You know, like ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Aerosmith? Listen to this riff-heavy blast, the title track from this band’s debut album, and think again.”

The North Mississippi Allstars’ Keys to the Kingdom – released in February – was recorded and partly written in the wake of the 2009 death of Jim Dickinson, father to the band’s brothers Luther and Cody and a noted producer and musician himself.

But the opening three songs should banish any thought that the album is a somber affair. Even when facing mortality straight-on, there’s a joyful noise inherent in the band’s blues-based music. And that will surely be evident when Luther and Cody Dickinson perform on Friday in a North Mississippi Allstars duo show at the Redstone Room.

From the sturdy blues of album opener “This A’Way” to the angry kiss-off of “Jumpercable Blues” to the gospel-tinged celebration of “The Meeting” featuring guest vocals by Mavis Staples, this is the sort of meaty roots music that earned the band multiple Grammy nominations and a Blues Music Award. The Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot said that the album is the band’s best since its 2000 debut: “The Allstars play with unassuming ardor, letting the rawness seep through the edges of the arrangements. Drummer Cody Dickinson in particular delivers exactly what each song needs, nothing less, and keeps things swinging. It’s the kind of unsentimental yet passionate tribute a musical legend and family cornerstone would surely appreciate.”

Images by Scott Klarkowski from Friday's Michael Bublé set at the i wireless Center.

For more of Klarkowski's work, visit KlarkPhoto.com.

Images by Scott Klarkowski from June 18's John Prine set at the Adler Theatre. Click on any photo for a larger version.

For more of Klarkowski's work, visit KlarkPhoto.com.

For her forthcoming debut album, violinist, songwriter, and singer Skye Carrasco initially thought big. “I had envisioned all these different instruments – piano, trumpet, trombone, string bass, maybe even some accordion,” she said in a phone interview promoting her June 17 Rozz-Tox show.

“It ended up being much simpler that I had originally imagined,” she said. “As I recorded the songs – the vocals and the violin parts – ... and really listened to them a lot, ... we decided that perhaps we should start with some drums and electric bass.”

That’s where it started, and that’s where it ended. The first half of the album – which the Iowa City resident hopes to release this fall – is so lightly adorned that it might escape listeners’ notice until the relative cacophony of “Empty Buckets.” That track signals a distinct change in tone, from elegantly lyrical to abrasive and often discordant.