KINKY FRIEDMAN

11/4 at 7:30 Friedman is a country singer, sure, but he’s also a novelist, politician, columnist, and satirist willing to skewer the American South in which he lives and thrives. The native Chicagoan stops home on this tour behind his new album, The Loneliest Man I Ever Met. $22–$42. SPACE, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. ticketweb.com

ASHLEY MONROE

11/14 at 10 This country singer from Tennessee married White Sox pitcher John Danks in 2013, and Chicagoans have since reaped the benefits in the form of a sure Chicago performance. Here she’ll play behind her critically beloved third album, The Blade, a life-affirming collection of pure-country tunes. Sold out. SPACE, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. ticketweb.com