ARTS Pick: Lucero

When Lucero formed in 1998, the band knew it wanted to redefine the metal and punk landscape its members had been working in their Tennessee hometown. With a heart for country music, they hunkered down to chart a new direction, with one setback: “The trick there was that we couldn’t really play our instruments,” says Ben Nichols (lead singer and guitarist). But the seven-piece act stuck with it, and after years of touring, he says they “went from sad bastard country rock to soul and R&B, and we realized we were a Memphis band and came by it honest.”

Friday, June 30. $22-25, 8:30pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4980.

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