Critic's Pick: Coyote Motel

First and foremost, Coyote Motel guitarist and frontman Ted Drozdowski is a storyteller and a bluesman. “I’m fascinated with using blues as a foundational point,” Drozdowski tells the Scene. “And I’m also obsessed with storytelling and songs that tell stories.” That’s evident in Coyote Motel’s most recent album, 2024’s The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South. It’s the soundtrack recording for the award-winning musical and cultural documentary of the same name, which Drozdowski wrote, co-produced and stars in, along with the other members of the band. “It tells 10 stories … about the people, places and lore along the Tallahatchie, Mississippi and Cumberland rivers,” he explains. The group’s current lineup — Drozdowski (guitar, lap steel, diddley bow), Sean Zywick (bass), Kyra Curenton (drums) and Laurie Hoffma (theremin, percussion) — will take the stage at The 5 Spot Thursday in the evening’s early slot for a set of “psychedelic roots” music that Drozdowski says will “draw heavily from The River soundtrack,” but will also include material from Coyote Motel’s earlier releases and maybe even some songs by his previous group, Scissormen. Roots-rock singer-songwriter-keyboardist Chip Greene’s band is also on the bill.

6 p.m. at The 5 Spot

1006 Forest Ave.