Rostam Batmanglij and Chris Young in Area Concerts;’Game of Thrones’ Musical Parody at Byham (Thurs., 2/8/18)

1) How much of Vampire Weekend was Rostam Batmanglij? It’s hard to parse, but short answer: a lot. He co-founded the band, produced or co-produced its first three albums, and played myriad instruments on each one. The question will persist after the New York City indie group releases its long-awaited fourth album. Although he departed in 2016, he is collaborating on the new release, working in his man-behind-the-curtain capacity recurrent in other recent projects. These include production credits on Haim’s 2017 album, Something To Tell You, and singles by Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX. However, he’ll be front and center for his show at The Warhol, part of its Sound Series. Rostam, who performs under his first name like Cher and Madonna before him, is promoting his solo debut, 2017’s Half-Light. Vampire Weekend fans will find the lush string arrangements on songs like “Gwan” familiar. Joy Again opens. Sold out. 8 p.m. 117 Sandusky St., North Side. (CM)

2) If you’re craving a little country at this mid-winter time you can catch Chris Young at the Petersen Events Center. Young was the winner of the singing competition show “Nashville Star” on the USA Network in 2006. Since then his albums and songs have done very well on the country charts and he’s been nominated and won several industry awards. His latest album is Losing Sleep which was released in October. Openers are Kane Brown and Lanco. 7:30 p.m. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. (RH)

3) Every step gets farther from reality. First, novelist George R. R. Martin invents an imaginary world for his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Then come the fanfics, and the HBO adaptation “Game of Thrones.” That generates more fanfics, plus countless cosplayers and game players … and somewhere in the process of re-re-reimagining, the Point of Parody is reached. Enter Musical Thrones: A Parody of Ice and Fire. This live show is by no means the only such parody, but it’s reputed to be good and was written by an experienced duo, brothers Jon and Alan Kaplan. They made their initial mark in show biz with Silence! The Musical, a 2002 parody of The Silence of the Lambs. Other Kaplan send-ups followed, until Westeros and Essos loomed inevitably in the crosshairs of destiny. Musical Thrones: A Parody of Ice and Fire has a cast of several and visits Pittsburgh as part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Series. Tonight only. 7:30 p.m. Byham Theater, 101 6^th St., Cultural District. (MV)

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