Rain of Kings

Think of New York's Rain of Kings like this: They pick up where Living Colour left off; an alt-metal sound jacked with heavy guitar (and some purely killer Vernon Reid-like fret-dancing). Also, the acronym is ROK. Badass! Outdoor stage, 5:30 p.m.

RenCen CoolBeanz

RenCen CoolBeanz is pure energy. Dude's live shows can at times make an Andrew W.K. concert look like your mama's living-room bridge club. And while he thrives on energy and crowd reciprocation, he can hold his emcee ground with any rapper in town. No shit. Plus, he finds some of the sickest beats of any hip-hop artist around. Indoor stage, 8 p.m.

The Spiral Effect

Led by Cosmic Slop's organizer Deekah Wyatt (who provides lead singer and guitar duties here), the Spiral Effect molds its love of the Chili Peppers, deep-fried funk and fiery-headed rap into a intense rock and hip hop hybrid that reminds one slightly of the direction Hendrix was heading in. (Stay late and catch their blazing cover of Hendrix's "Machine Gun," which is nothing short of molten.) Outdoor stage, 3:15 p.m.

Tony Coates

Ontario-born Coates is a classic "dude-with-an-acoustic-guitar" singing semi-maudlin tunes in shades of rock 'n' roll, R&B and soul. Mostly he sounds like he wants to be an acoustic Bruno Mars, but every so often he blinds us with a lovely Nick Drake-like passage that can just send you. Indoor stage, 5:45 p.m.

Tunde Olaniran

Flint's Olaniran is a synth-driven pop artist with some great songwriting chops. In fact, everything he's touched thus far (he's released a few demos and one official EP, The First Transgression) seems like it's primed for radio play. Plus, it's all done with a fiercely lo-fi, DIY aesthetic, so he could quite feasibly find a place in the ears of the hip, indie crowd as well as having a shot at the Billboard charts. Indoor stage, 6:30 p.m. 

From 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Ann Arbor Elk Lodge, 220 Sunset Rd., Ann Arbor; cosmicslopfest.com; all ages; $5. Other performers include Armadillo Hotel, Armed & Dangerous, Brothas From Anotha Planet, Pegasus, Black Sheep Behemouth and Doom.

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