Tonight: Nicole Atkins at Tin Angel

Nicole Atkins doesn’t come off as your typical Jersey girl. With artfully two-toned hair and genre-bending anti-folk songs, the singer-songwriter offers the eclectic sensibility of a cultured metropolis dweller, an alternative to the celebrated (yet singular) stylings of other Garden State musicians. Atkins first gained recognition with her 2007 debut, Neptune City, and its major single, “Maybe Tonight.” Though the album was named after her hometown, the music, delightfully, did not sound like the soundtrack for a strip mall or tanning salon. Instead, Atkins did her state quite proud, offering a series of narratives that reflected the lives and untold stories of her neighbors. Her latest record, this year’s Mondo Amore, visits Atkins’ heightened songwriting ability and a wide range of stylistic arrangements—from the bluesy track “My Baby Don’t Lie,” to the closing ballad, “The Tower.” Nicole Atkins performs with Drew Mills at 8 p.m. at Tin Angel; tickets to the 21+ show are $14. —Marielle Mondon