One day and less than 60 miles separate local performances by three stellar musical acts - two of them at the pinnacles of their respective genres, and one a genre all to himself. Alt-country royalty Wilco will perform at the Adler Theatre in Davenport on Wednesday, June 13, with minimalist-rock pioneers Low opening, while Richard Thompson will play Iowa City's Englert Theatre the night before.

The lyrics that open Low's Drums & Guns are as forceful as singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk is tentative.

"Pretty People," over a stark wave of fuzz, sets the tone for the record: "All the soldiers / They're all gonna die / All the little babies / They're all gonna die / All the poets / And all the liars / And all you pretty people / You're all gonna die."

It's a grim assessment, and the mood doesn't abate for the Minnesota band, known for its minimalist, slow songs and the often-haunting vocal interplay between Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker. (The two are married.) Low's 2005 album, The Great Destroyer, was louder, faster, and more accessible than anything the band had done, but Drums & Guns is a return to glacial pacing, with an experimental sound and a preoccupation with violence.

In a sea of multi-day music festivals trying to make their mark with the ultimate modern-rock lineup, one upcoming festival rises up - literally - like a mountain above all the others. With sponsorship by the oddly suited actuaries at Esurance, the Monolith Festival will debut the weekend of September 14 in Colorado's Red Rock Amphitheatre, an unforgettable natural environment. Five stages will keep things busy for the 9,000 ticketholders, with the Flaming Lips, Cake, Earl Greyhound, Juliette & the Licks, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Kings of Leon, and Flosstradamus among the 50-plus participants.

Now resigned to "classic rock" status, two of the 1980s' biggest arena-rocking bands are back next week with all-new cover collections. Poison passes - thankfully - on the eyeshadow and puckers up with Poison'd on Capitol Records, featuring eight new sessions and other rarities including a take on the Kiss party anthem "Rock & Roll All Nite," from 1987's Less Than Zero soundtrack. The party-people-pleasing set list features Alice Cooper's "I Never Cry," Tom Petty's "I Need to Know," The Cars' "Just What I Needed," and the Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See."