Music critics' picks

Youngest of 10 siblings raised on the outskirts of Philly, it's no wonder Kurt Vile sings often about a hardscrabble life and fending for himself. On his new (4th) Matador album due out Tuesday, "Smoke Ring for My Halo," the shadowy singer-songwriter tosses out cynical notions like, "My best friend's gone but I got runners-up". Vile's loner demeanor and low-fi ways have won a national following and comparisons to Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen and aptly named groups Suicide and My Bloody Valentine. With the accessibility of "Smoke Ring's" more structured band arrangements and lyrics sheet (first he's ever shared), Vile's base might grow beyond buzz cult. Today, though, he's still playing real good for free with the Violators at an intimate in-store album launch tour. Get there early.

AKA Records, 27 N. 2nd St., 7 tonight, free, 215-922-3855.

- Jonathan Takiff

Alabama native Michael Wayne Atha, better known to hip-hop fans as YelaWolf, has had an unusual rise to prominence. Way back in 2005, the skateboarding MC appeared on the reality TV show "The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott." Eliminated as a contestant, YelaWolf still found a home on Colombia Records in 2007 - though they parted waters later that year. YelaWolf has found success through guest appearances with Big Boi and Raekwon, a national tour with Wiz Khalifa, and his recent signing to Eminem's Shady Records. He's also slated to appear at the fourth annual Roots Picnic in June and plans this summer to release his first studio album in six years. Also performing here, Cyhi The Prynce, who was recently featured on the Kanye West single "So Appalled," and Philly's own Reef the Lost Cauze.

First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 8 p.m. Thursday, $12 advance, $14 day of, all ages, 215-563-3980, www.r5productions.com.

- James Johnson

San Francisco trio Sic Alps is able to fuse '60s psych Nuggets with the lo-fi '90s tape hiss of early Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr and Royal Trux. Its rock resume consists of Henry's Dress, the Ropers, and Comets on Fire, so part of the fun of digging into their noise pop is the tension between the woozy and the sublime, which is especially evident on the latest, "Napa Asylum" (Drag City). They've also recorded for Philly's Siltbreeze Records. Joining this bill of beautiful noise are the Magik Markers and Birds of Maya side project Purling Hiss.

The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., 8 p.m. Tuesday, free, all ages, 215-573-3234, www.alabastertongue.blogspot.com.

- Sara Sherr

Jazz musicians routinely roam the world for inspiration these days, seeking fresh sounds in the homelands of their ancestors or completely alien cultures. Pianist Randy Weston was a pioneer of that approach, however, having built a bridge between America and Africa over a career spanning six decades. He recently recounted his journey in a new autobiography, "African Rhythms," but he continues to add to his story and the music's, evident in the title of his latest CD, "The Storyteller." His quintet lost a key member with the death last year of trombonist Benny Powell, but Weston, on the cusp of his 85th birthday, forges ahead with burning jazz and explosive African rhythms.

Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce streets, 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, $32-$38, 215-893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org.

- Shaun Brady

The Philadelphia Orchestra is fortunate that Atlanta Symphony conductor Robert Spano was available to replace the ill Charles Dutoit. Spano will lead Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte"and the stirring, originally scheduled "Ein Heldenleben" ("A Hero's Life") by Richard Strauss. His soloist remains the orchestra's celebrated principal flute Jeffrey Khaner, who'll come center stage to perform a Flute Concerto written for him by American composer Jonathan Leshnoff. Khaner will also play a lost Vivaldi Concerto for flute dubbed "Il gran Mogol," written in the 1730s but, amazingly, not discovered until last year in the National Archive of Scotland.

Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce streets, 2 p.m. today, 8 p.m. tomorrow and Tuesday, $20-$130, 215-893-1999, www.philorch.org.

- Tom Di Nardo