Hot Picks: Gary Numan tops this weekend's nightlife, Feb. 24 to 27

HOT PICKS

Friday

Industrial: What do bands such as Tears for Fears, Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson have in common? They all cite synth-pop and industrial musician Gary Numan as an influence in shaping their music.

Two of Numan's songs, "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars," were big hits in 1979. Many of his songs include heavy guitar and synthesizer riffs, which made "Cars" appealing to the metal band Fear Factory who recorded a cover of the song for their 1998 album "Obsolete" and features Numan in a duet with frontman Burton C. Bell.

Nine Inch Nails also covered his song “Metal” during live performances and performed "Cars" with Numan at a concert in 2009.

Numan will perform at Pappy and Harriet's on Friday.

Gary Numan: 7 p.m. Friday, Pappy and Harriet's, 53-688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown. $35. (760) 228-2222. pappyandharriets.com

Thursday

Vocal pop: Pop vocalist Steve Tyrell is no stranger to the McCallum Theatre and is included in each year's schedule. His jazzy renditions of the Great American Songbook with songs like "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra and "Give Me The Simple Life" made famous by Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby have become hits and sold millions of records.

He won a Grammy Award in 2004 as the producer for Rod Stewart's "Great American Songbook: Volume III." Tyrell performs Thursday at the McCallum Theatre.

Steve Tyrell: 7 p.m. Thursday, McCallum Theatre, 73-000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert. $40 to $80. (760) 340-2787. mccallumtheatre.com

Jazz: Adryon de León fronts the Los Angeles-based soul and funk group Orgone, but she always performs Billie Holiday tribute show with a world-class quartet of musicians and is bringing the show to Jazzville at Agua Caliente Casino in Palm Springs on Thursday.

Adryon de León: 7 p.m. Thursday, Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, 401 East Amado Road, Palm Springs. $10 to $65. (888) 999-1995. aguacalientecasinos.com/

Friday

Blues rock: When ZZ Top first hit the rock scene in 1971 with their debut "ZZ Top's First Album," the Texas trio brought the boogie combining Southern music influences and heavy rock and roll. The songs were brash and included a lot of sexual innuendos. During the '80s, the band's music videos were in heavy rotation on MTV.

But ZZ Top suffered a tragedy in 2021 when vocalist and bassist Dusty Hill died after a hip replacement surgery and also suffered from chronic bursitis for several years. The band's longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis is now performing with the band, which is in line of Hill's wishes.

ZZ Top: 8 p.m. Friday, Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage. $90 to $120. (888) 999-1995. aguacalientecasinos.com

Saturday

Comedy: Local comedians Quartez Wynn, Dominic Houghton, Alex Avila and Dacoda Miracle will perform stand-up comedy on Saturday at Coachella Valley Brewing Company's "Laughs and Drafts" event.

There's no cover charge but reserved seating is available for $5 with $25 buckets of beer.

Laughs and Drafts: 7 p.m. Saturday, Coachella Valley Brewing Company, 30-640 Gunther Street, Thousand Palms. Reserved seating $5. (760) 343-5973. cvbco.com

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Hot Picks: Gary Numan tops this weekend's nightlife, Feb. 24 to 27