Mario Matteoli

Mario Matteoli, “Sun Keeps Beatin’ Down”
When the Weary Boys rolled through Lawrence a year ago, the band made quite an impression with its crowd-pleasing concoction of Sun Records country, old-timey busking and Cajun fiddling. Since then, bandleader Mario Matteoli has gone solo, trading in his former band's electrifying rumpus for the pensive balladry of his idols Townes Van Zandt and Doug Sahm. That doesn't mean Matteoli's performances are any less fun; they're just aging gracefully toward the Willie Nelson end of the spectrum (minus 50 years and a shit-ton of pot). He'll bring a hot-licking band along for his eponymous Kansas City debut.