Trampled by Turtles Stampede through Arts Fest; Blitzen Trapper Plays Club Cafe (CPs Sun., 6/8/14)

1) Think Mumford and Sons sped up, and you’ll start to have an idea of what Trampled by Turtles’ music sounds like. For a complete experience, come see the band for free at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. The Duluth, Minnesota-five-piece forgoes percussion for instruments like the banjo, fiddle, and mandolin. They’ve been making music for over ten years and scored a number one hit on the Billboard bluegrass charts with 2010’s Palomino. Stars and Satellites followed, with the Associated Press awarding it the 10th Best Album of 2012. The band released their first live album, Live at First Avenue, last year and, somewhere in between, did a pretty awesome cover of the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” Trampled by Turtles’  newest LP, Wild Animals, will be released July 15. The title track features a slower, yet haunting sound. 7:30–9 p.m. Point State Park, Downtown.

2) A scantily clad woman, deer hunting, and drowning at the local bar—these are all images evoked on Blitzen Trapper’s seventh album, appropriately titled VII. (And that’s just on the first track.) Gritty narratives are typical for Blitzen Trapper, who hail from Portland, Oregon. Just listen to “Black River Killer,” a song which opens with a murder “a little while past the Sunset Strip.” The track comes from the band’s critically acclaimed fourth album, Furr, listed at 13 on Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2008. Frontman Eric Earley writes most of Blitzen Trapper’s dark lyrics. He and his four bandmates are bringing their experimental folk sound to Club Cafe. Massachusetts’ Parkington Sisters, an indie rock quartet of actual sisters, will open. 7 p.m. 56-58 South 12th St., South Side.

3) Norm Nardini, Pittsburgh’s self-proclaimed “uncrowned king of rock n’ roll,” has been an institution of the local music scene since his days as bassist for The Diamonds and later as frontman for the Tigers. Nardini brings his energetic live show to The Boston Waterfront for the weekly Sunday pig/lamb roast. The Boston Waterfront is not a progeny of the Massachusetts city and Pittsburgh’s Waterfront mall. It is an idyllic seafood-and-steakhouse nestled in woods along the Youghiogheny River about 35 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh. The 2010s have seen Nardini still releasing music. In 2011, he also opened for his friend Jon Bon Jovi at the Consol Energy Center. 3–7 p.m. 2422 St. David Dr., McKeesport.

4) 28 North is coming home . . . for a free concert at Hartwood Acres, no less. The band, originally from Pittsburgh, took its name from that notorious hometown road. The band members have since relocated to Los Angeles, where they’ve continued to amass a following. They’ve performed with everyone from Blues Traveler to TV on the Radio, and their newest album, World on Fire, was released April 29. The band combines driving guitars with subtle vocal harmonies to create a heavy sound buoyed by amusing lyrics. 28 North will be playing with 7Horse, a rock and blues duo known for appearing on The Wolf of Wall Street soundtrack. 7:30 p.m. 200 Hartwood Acres, Hampton Township.

5) The Pirates take on the Milwaukee Brewers today in a 1:35 p.m. game at PNC Park.All kids 14 and younger receive a Russell Martin Poster for Kid’s Day. 115 Federal St., North Shore.

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