Berklee educated rocker turned Americana heroine Gillian Welch found the same grittiness she loved about punk in the earnest sorrow of old time Appalachian music. In collaboration with her longtime musical partner David Rawlings, Welch has become known for celebrating the sound of country and bluegrass roots, while imbuing her original songs with dark personality and moody modernity that goes beyond simple imitation. Despite the austere instrumentation, haunting harmonies, and bleak lyrical imagery, Welch views her music as forward looking, and any nostalgia conjured up by her songs will be for toe-tapping and knee slapping.
Thursday 4/24. $37, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 979-1333.