New York City Live Music Calendar for August and September 2011

The latest, most updated version of this calendar has moved to New York Music Daily.

As always, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this daily.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC; this is a list of good shows, many of which we will go see ourselves. We focus on edgy, entertaining stuff: if you’re looking for Grizzly Bear or Justin Bieber, you’re in the wrong place.

8/1, 8:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon and brilliant free jazz drummer Barry Altschul, probably revisiting Irabagon’s recent Pharaoh Sanders homage at Cornelia St. Cafe $10 followed at 10 by his much funnier, satirical band Mostly Other People Do the Killing (separate admission, $10).

8/1 midnight-ish the Kottonmouth Kings – yeah, they’re sort of the reggae version of Cypress Hill, but they’re still fun – at Highline Ballroom, $22 adv tix highly rec.

8/2 the classic concert film Chronicling the Zaire ’74 concert wit hJames Brown, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and others from the team behind When We Were Kings at the IFC Center (the former Waverly at 6th Ave/W 3rd St), click for showtimes.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/2 gamelan orchestra Yowana Sari play 7 PM at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/2, 7:30/9:30 PM veteran bassist Rufus Reid leads a killer quartet including Bobby Watson and JD Allen playing the cd release show for his new one at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail., this will sell out

8/2, 8 PM the Mingus Orchestra plays Washington Square Park, free.

8/2, 9 PM eerie theatrical noir gypsy/Americana band Not Waving But Drowning at Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene

8/2, 10 PM smart guitar-driven Sephardic-tinged rock with Sway Machinery at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec.

8/2 country siren Michaela Anne and her band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/3 Ethiopian groove unit Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/3, 7 PM Luminescent Orchestrii multi-multi-instrumentalist Sxip Shirey and Raya Brass Band at the Cooper Square Hotel Penthouse, $15; 8/10 Raya Brass Band is at Radegast Hall at 9.

8/3, 8 PM quietly torchy, cleverly lyrical, sometimes oldtimey chanteuse Miwa Gemini and band at Bruar Falls, free.

8/3, 8 PM intense, ferocious Americana/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Union Hall, $10.

8/3, 8 PM Balkan trumpeter Ben Holmes leads a quartet at Barbes.

8/3, 8:30 PM subtle, eclectic, sophisticated Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Hill Country

8/3, 10 PM Cambodian psychedelic pop revivalists Dengue Fever at Southpaw $15 gen adm.; 8/4 they’re at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center for free.

8/4 Chilean cumbia sensation Chico Trujillo at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.; they’re at le Poisson Rouge at 11ish the same night for $8 less if you get advance tix.

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4-7, 7:30/9:30 PM the Dr.Lonnie Smith Nonet at the Jazz Standard, $30 tix highly rec.

8/4, 7:30 PM Aretha Franklin at Coney Island, free, Surf Ave/W 21st St. next to Cyclones Stadium. Get there early – it will be pandemonium.

8/4, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with charismatic, allusive, frequently haunting multi-keyboardist/chanteuse Rachelle Garniez followed by eclectic, gypsy-tinged, darkly rustic multi-instrumentalist band Kotorino at 10 and then sharply lyrical, playfully clever art-rockers the Snow at 11 at Barbes

8/4, 8 PM charming yet badass Americana harmony sirens the Sweetback Sisters at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/4-6 Nicholas Payton’s XXX Band plays tunes from the trumpeter’s new album Bitches at Iridium, $27.50

8/4, a twangy guitar summit with the eclectic Bill Kirchen and surf rockers Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s, 9ish, $15.

8/4, 9:30 PM at Smalls check out this awesome lineup: Brian Charette – organ , Joel Frahm – tenor sax , Brian Landrus – clarinet , Mike DiRubbo – alto sax , Itai Kriss – flute , Jochen Rueckert – drums

8/4, 9:30 PM Canadian darkwave siren NLX at Caffe Vivaldi. She’s also at LIC Bar at 9 on 8/29.

8/5, 6:30 PM, free, Chepe & Su Conjunto Tipico play oldschool Dominican merengue followed at 8 by a screening of the minor league baseball documentary film Sugar at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised .

8/5, 7 PM Tom Waits-ish Nashville gothic singer Mark Growden at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/5, 7 PM Curtis MacDonald, alto sax leads a quintet featuring Jeremy Viner, tenor sax; Bobby Avey, piano, Chris Tordini, bass; Adam Jackson, drums at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W 17th St, $17 adv tix rec.

8/5, 7:30 PM one of the western world’s premier Middle Eastern ensembles, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/5, 8 PM a roots reggae triplebill with the Rootsetters, Tronika and the Hard Times at Shrine.

8/5, 9 PM a “monster jam” kicking off with Americana songstress the Tara Lynne Band, then the hauntingly intense, smartly lyrical Sometime Boys with special guest singer Heidi Weyhmueller at 10 at the Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene.

8/5, 9 PM Timbre play eclectic atmospheric harp-based chamber pop at Pete’s

8/5, 9:30 PM noir Americana pop band Little Embers followed by exhilarating Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon playing their cd release show at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/5 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM.

8/6, 7 PM supersonic yet soulful electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

8/6, 8 PM Trio con Brio Copenhagen play Sorensen, Beethoven and Schubert at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud.

8/6, 8 PM Charisa the Violin Diva at Cin-M-Art Space on Murray St.

8/6, 8:30 PM excellent, tuneful, fearlessly funny Philly punk band Emily Pukis & the Vagrants play Union Hall, $12. They cover Zombie by the Cranberries (remember that top 40 song with all the hiccupping?) and renamed it Sodomy.

8/6 jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas – a fearless, charismatic, frequently hilarious performer – plays the cd release show for his characteristically eclectic new cd Dirty Draws Volume Three at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix highly rec.

8/6, 9 PM ska-punks King Django followed by the satirical, entertaining Yiddish Princess at Fontana’s

8/6, 9 PM satirical Chinese-American hip-hop crew the Notorious MSG play the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/6 Ellery Eskelin, tenor saxophone;  Gary Versace, organ;  Gerald Cleaver, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, 9/10:30 PM, $15.

8/6, 10 PM Unsteady Freddie’s reliably awesome monthly surf rock shindig at Otto’s starts with the aptly named, percussive Bongo Surf, the ferociously tuneful North Shore Troubadours and then the eclectically fun Tarantinos NYC a little after midnight.

8/6, 10 PM hilarious hip-hop satirist Schaffer the Darklord at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

8/6 punk/rockabilly/surf guitar monster Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

8/6 and 8/12, 11 PM Pogues cover band Streams of Whiskey at Paddy Reilly’s

8/7, 2 (two) PM pianist Daniel Kelly (Bang on a Can All-Stars, Duets with Ghosts) plays the first in a series of special Brooklyn house concerts booked by art-pop goddess Greta Gertler, who knows a thing or two about good piano. Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/7, 3 PM the Amernet String Quartet play Haydn, Janacek and Schubert’s Death & the Maiden at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud

8/7, 7 PM haunting hypnotic Sephardic soundscapes and rock songs with Galeet Dardashti and Divahn at Pier One on the upper west.

8/7 innovative Greek-American electric blues guitarist Spiros Soukis at Lucille’s, 8 PM

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 10 PM the Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra do their charmingly tongue-in-cheek oldtimey/swing stuff at Bruar Falls

8/7, 10ish excellent Boston honkytonk rockers Girls Guns & Glory play songs off their highly anticipated forthcoming album Sweet Nothings at Rodeo Bar

8/8, 8:30 PM bassist Chris Tordini’s Tiger Blood with Jeremy Viner , tenor sax, clarinet; Sasha Brown, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Jim Black, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

8/8, 9 PM trombonist Pete McGuinness’ Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/8, 9:30 PM bizarre segues, good doublebill: gypsy punk with Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood followed at 10:30 by the lush, oldtimey sounds of the Parkington Sisters

8/8, 11 PM haunting intense southwestern gothic band And the Wiremen upstairs at the Delancey, free.

8/8, midnight, hellraising retro 60s country crew the Jack Grace Band at the Ear Inn

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/9, 7 PM the reliably charming, oldtimey Moonlighters at Washington Park, 5th Ave & 4th St., Park Slope

8/9, 7 PM vibraphone/harp/percussion new music ensemble Percussia at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/9,  7 PM accordionist Uri Sharlin leads a Balkan band at Barbes followed by Slavic Soul Party.

8/9, 7:30 PM a free screening of the classic early 70s soul music concert film Wattstax at the Lincoln Center Atrium, early arrival advised

8/9-13, 7:30/9:30 PM guitarist Ed Cherry leads an intriguing trio with killer B3 organist Pat Bianchi at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/9, 8 PM classic-style roots reggae with Taj Weekes and then Black Uhuru’s Mykal Rose at Highline Ballroom, $18 adv tix rec.

8/9, 8 PM Elisa Flynn and Jose Delhart play songs from her auspicious, haunted new historical song cd at the Way Station, 683 Washington Avenue, Broooklyn

8/9, 8 PM purist new jazz with saxophonist Marcus Strickland with drummer Eric Harland at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

8/9 the NYCSlickers play bluegrass at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/10 psychedelic Afrobeat/funk band Mamarazzi on the terrace at the Museum of the City of NY, 6 PM, $15 incl. museum adm. plus a drink!

8/10, 7 PM pianist Moonhee Hwang plays Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann at WMP Concert Hall, $10

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/10, 7:30 PM legendary nylon-string jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini plays solo at Smalls

8/10, 8:30 PM alto saxophonist Sarah Manning – whose 2010 album Dandelion Clock is one of the most transcendent and intense jazz releases of recent years – leads her combo at Caffe Vivaldi, early arrival highly recommended.

8/10 8:30 PM Mamie Minch and Jolie Holland’s cool oldtime Americana project Midnight Hours at Hill Country

8/10-11 darkly amusing Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside, 9 PM; 8/24 they’re at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/10 tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/10, 11 PM eclectic, completely original psychedelic funk/Afrobeat band the Peoples Champs at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 5:30 PM highly regarded Americana songwriter James Maddock on the plaza at the World Financial Center.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 8 PM oudist Rachid Halihal’s absolutely brilliant, hypnotic, hauntingly slinky pan-Arabic ensemble Layali El Andalus at Barbes.

8/11, 8 PM oldschool soul duo Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays purist Steve Cropper-style guitar; she works the ethereal sultry tip for an classic wee-hours vibe.

8/11, 9 PM sly funk siren Shayna Zaid and the Catch at the small room at the Rockwood followed eventually at 11 by Cuddle Magic – who purportedly play lush, intriguing chamber pop despite their twee-sounding name – and then at midnight by the aptly titled Kickin Grass  who play sizzling modern bluegrass at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 9 PM the funniest guy in oldschool funk and soul, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative at Zebulon

8/11, 9 PM jazz trombonist Rick Parker leads a quintet at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/11, 9:30ish theatrical, amusing, satirical Americana harmonists the Reformed Whores at Union Hall, $8.

8/11, 10 PM funk extravaganza the MK Groove Orchestra at Spike Hill.

8/11 newschool garage rock with the Detroit Cobras at Maxwell’s, 10 PM.

8/11, 10:30ish Buckcherry at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $25 gen adm. Would you spend $25 on a band that does a song called Too Drunk to Fuck that’s not by the Dead Kennedys? If so, their so-garish-it’s-funny metal is for you.

8/11 careening southwestern gothic/C&W band the Newton Gang at Rodeo Bar, 11ish.

8/11, 11 PM Habibi play thoughtful, pensive cinematic instrumentals at Bruar Falls, $7

8/12, 6:30 PM, free, Zikrayat play a set of classic Egyptian film music from the 50s and 60s followed by a screening of Ahmed Abdalla’s 2009 film Heliopolis at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised.

8/12, 7ish Tito Puente alums the NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars play several sets of blazing latin jazz at the Leather Lounge, 454 W 128th St, $20 adv tix avail., call for info 917-559-1779

8/12, 7 PM country chanteuse Drina Seay at Lakeside.

8/12, 7:15 PM SisterMonk play gypsy funk at Caffe Vivaldi.

8/12, 7:30 PM austere but fun chamber pop band Pearl & the Beard at at the Cooper Square Hotel Penthouse, 25 Cooper Square (3rd Avenue between 5th and 6th streets), $15.

8/12, 8 PM lyrical rocker and velvety singer Randi Russo – whose new album Fragile Animal is at the top of our Best of 2011 list – at the newly renovated, reopened Sidewalk

8/12, 8 PM fiery, sardonic Jesus & Mary Chain style garage-punk band Des Roar followed eventually around 10:30 by the Detroit Cobras at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

8/12, 8 PM jazz bass legend Henry Grimes leads his Now Quartet through the cd release show for his new one featuring Dave Burrell on piano, Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Roberto Pettinato on saxes at Black River Cultural Center, 345 Lenox Ave (127/128), $15

8/12, 9 PM Tris McCall at Littlefield. By day, he chronicles boring corporate pop music for a suburban New Jersey newspaper; at night, he sheds his skin, plugs in his keyboard and becomes one of the most acerbic, tuneful songwriters out there.

8/12, 9 PM Satabdi Express play Indian-inspired guitar jazz followed at 10:30 by Balkan brass behemoth Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy.

8/12, 9 PM Korean vocalese chanteuse Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, tenor sax, bass clarinet; Ike Sturm, bass; George Schuller, drums; Seung-Hee, voice, compositions; Toru Dodo, piano followed at 10:30 PM by jazz chanteuse Nina Moffitt and her quartet, $15 at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/12, 9 PM sea shanty band the Mercantillers at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club

8/12, 10 PM the reliably charming, harmony-driven oldtimey Moonlighters play Halyards Bar, 406 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, free.

8/12, 10 PM clever, funny hip-hop/Americana band Under the Elephant at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

8/13, 1 and 3 PM pioneering new-music string quartet Ethel play a free show on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free. Followed at 5 PM by the Ebony Hillbillies, who charmingly and rustically remind how important black musicians and groups were in the development of oldtime country music.

8/13, 7 PM Brooklyn’s best band, tuneful anti-gentrification punk rockers the Brooklyn What – sort of the teens equivalent of what the Dead Boys were in the 70s – at Europa, dirt cheap, $8.

8/13, 7 PM amazingly period-perfect retro 60s Bakersfield country band the Dixons at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/13 smart, terse, tuneful Americana songwriter Kelley Swindall at the soon-to-be-closed Banjo Jim’s, 7 PM.

8/13, 7 PM cleverly choreographed, irresistible retro rock parody band Witches in Bikinis back at Coney Island after some trials, playing in front of the Wonder Wheel on the boardwalk.

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 9 PM a monster triplebill at Freddy’s: Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner, Brooklyn’s own man in black, John Pinamonti and charismatic noir rocker Tom Warnick & World’s Fair at Freddy’s.

8/13, 9 PM high-energy indie guitar/drums duo Eleanor, the fiery shoegaze/noiserock Highway Gimps and Let Me Crazy at Tommy’s Tavern in Greenpoint

8/13, 9 PM soundtrack mini-orchestra Morricone Youth at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/13, 9 PM Songs of the Weimar Era by somebody who knows them – Sanda Weigl on vocals, with her longtime collaborator Anthony Coleman on piano at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/13, 9 PM Bliss Blood and Al Street’s torchy, luridly menacing duo project Evanescent at the Way Station, 683 Washington Avenue at Prospect Place, Ft. Greene; 8/14 they’re at Red Hook Bait & Tackle, 320 Van Brunt St at Clinton Wharf in Red Hook.

8/13 lyrically dazzling, charmingly intense acoustic songwriter Linda Draper at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club, Kent Ave. betw. N 10/11, Williamsburg, 9 PM

8/13, 9:10 (that’s right: ten past nine PM) casually smart lo-fi garage rock girl duo the Fools followed eventually at 10:30 PM by haunting yet jaunty songwriter Erin Regan along with some longtime Sidewalk hanger-on types on a daylong bill at Goodbye Blue Monday.

8/13, 9:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser – whose 2010 album Pieces of Old Sky is one of the most quietly riveting of recent years – leads a trio with Michael Bates on bass and Jeff Davis on drums at I-Beam.

8/13, 10 PM Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers returns to his roots doing his excellent lyrical soul/blues thing at Two Boots Brooklyn.

8/13, 10 PM New Orleans brass band Shake the Devil Off play Halyards Bar, 406 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, free

8/14, 4:45 PM Michael Bower plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

8/14, 6 (six) PM pianist Jeremy Mage (Elysian Fields, Wunmi) plays a special Brooklyn house concert booked by art-pop goddess Greta Gertler, who knows a thing or two about good piano. Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM Cuban son montuno powerhouse Los Soneros de Oriente at Pier One on the upper west.

8/14, 8 PM tango/jazz bassist Pedro Giraudo leads his sextet at Barbes followed by gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel.

8/14, 9 PM roots reggae/rocksteady legend Delroy Williams with his band at Shrine

8/15 Queen Latifah at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised.

8/15, 8 PM torchy jazz-pop songwriter Abby Payne at the small room at the Rockwood

8/15 and 8/17,8:30 PM Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar trio play hypnotic Indian jazz at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

8/15, 9 PM trombonist Mike Fahie leads his Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/15, 10 PM a killer dark, thoughtful rock night upstairs at the Delancey: intensely lyrical, charismatic, sometimes hilarious keyboardist/retro songwriter Rachelle Garniez followed by the unhinged grand guignol ferocity of Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and then pensive, glimmering, psychedelic soundscape mastermind Thomas Simon. It’s like it’s Small Beast and it’s 2009 again.

8/16, 6 PM the Tickled Pinks play charming three-part harmony oldtimey swing and other styles on the terrace at the Museum of the City of NY, 6 PM, $15 incl. museum adm. plus a drink

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/16, 9 PM imaginative tuneful intense bass/piano jazz with Satoshi Takeishi and Shoko Nagai at Korzo.

8/16-21 eclectic jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman’s Mischief & Mayhem with Nels Cline on guitar, Todd Sickafoose on bass and Jim Black on drums at the Vanguard, sets 9/11 PM.

8/16, 10:30 PM diverse, anthemic Americana rockers the Minerva Lions at the big room at the Rockwood

8/16, 11 PM Afuche play Afrobeat at Bruar Falls, $6

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25.

8/17, 8/10 PM pianist Vijay Iyer leads a trio at the Stone, $10, get there early, this will sell out.

8/17 Austin’s irresistible oldschool soul groove machine Mingo Fishtrap at the Bell House, 8:30 PM, grab a free mp3 at their site.

8/17, 8:30 PM innovative Indian classical chamber ensemble Karivaka (FKA Tiger Lilies) with violinist Trina Basu and cellist Amali Premawardhana at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/17, 9 PM the members of slinky sly funksters Chin Chin do their side projects all on one stage: keyboardist Wilder Zoby’s own band, drummer Torbitt Schwarz’s Lil Shalimar, and trombonist Dave Smith’s sexy Smoota at the 92YTribeca, $10 gen adm.

8/17, 9 PM Khaled – not the Algerian rai star but the edgy NYC worldbeat multi-instrumentalist – at Shrine

8/18, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with Bakersfield-style country twanglers Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, the Texas honkytonk and zydeco of the Doc Marshalls and haunting intense original acoustic Nashville gothic/bluegrass of Frankenpine at Union Hall, $7.

8/18, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler solo at Waltz-Astoria, 24th and Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, N to Ditmars Blvd. and a six block walk.

8/18, 8:30/10:30 PM cutting-edge, soulful jazz guitarist Mike Baggetta with Camron Brown on bass and Jeff Hirschfield on drums at the Bar Next Door.

8/18, 9 PM the jangly, Big Star-ish Nu-Sonics followed by the legendary, unstoppable psychedelic Band of Outsiders at Trash Bar, $7.

8/18, 10 PM fiery female-fronted punk/pop trio Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, $8 adv tix rec.; they’re at Maxwell’s on 8/19 at 8 for $10

8/19, 7 PM torchy oldtime Americana quartet the Dirty Urchins at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/19 literate, funny songwriter Jonathan Coulton – who doesn’t get enough props for his more serious songs – plays the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Jewel, boarding at 7 PM at the heliport at the FDR and the East River, departing at 8, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/19, 7:30 PM indie powerpop sensation New Atlantic Youth at Spike Hill, note that there’s a $7 cover

8/19, 7:30/9:30 PM Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; Yasushi Nakamura,bass; Rudy Royston, drums at the Bar Next Door.

8/19, 8 PM plaintive, haunting yet soaring Americana chanteuse Jan Bell at Pete’s

8/19, 8 PM Bliss Blood and Al Street’s luridly menacing duo project Evanescent at Barbes.

8/19, 8 PM Mamie Minch and Jolie Holland’s exciting new oldtime project Midnight Hours followed at 10:30 by the Two Man Gentlemen Band at the Jalopy.

8/19, 8 PM pianist Julien Quentin plays improvisations, Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz and works by Part and Auerbach at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud

8/19, 9 PM wild crazy female-fronted gypsy band Fishtank Ensemble at Union Hall, $10.

8/19 torchy intense theatrical oldtimey chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15 gen adm.

8/19, 9 PM Tali Ratzon and band play her Middle Eastern and reggae-tinged worldbeat songs at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/19, 9 PM oldschool country harmonies with the Calamity Janes at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.

8/19 tuneful, atmospheric Britpop/shoegaze band Caveman plays the cd release show for their new one at the Cameo Gallery, time TBA

8/19, 9:30 PM a rare free show by oldtime Americana siren Jolie Holland – whose new album rocks surprisingly hard – at Hill Country – can she get the tourists there to shut up for once?

8/19 cleverly amusing New Orleans pianist Bill Malchow and the Go Cup All Stars at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/19, midnight, African roots reggae legend Tiken Jah Fakoly at SOB’s $25 adv tix highly rec., this will probably sell out. He’s also headlining Central Park Summerstage on 8/20 around 5:30, early arrival around 3 PM a must.

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/20, 6 (six) PM bassist Mimi Jones leads a quartet with Camille Thurman, sax; Luis Perdomo, keys;  Justin Faulkner, drums  at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

8/20 ageless ska/rock/soul party machine the Slackers play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Star of Palm Beach, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, $30 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/20, 7 PM Trini jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles leads his group at Jackie Robinson Park, W 148th and Bradhurst Ave., free

8/20, 8 PM an intense gypsy/stringband doublebill with Fishtank Ensemble and Copal at Drom, $14 adv tix highly rec. Dunno who’s playing first, but it doesn’t matter, they’re equally good.

8/20, 8 PM Brother Num and his band play roots reggae at Shrine followed eventually at 11 by Ivoirian star Sekouba and his reggae massive

8/20, 8 PM a killer oldtimey/Americana acoustic night at the Bell House with the Resurrectionists, Woodpecker and satirical faux-country girls Menage a Twang.

8/20 Plastic Beast feat. members of Admiral Porkbrain, Magpie and Plastic Beef play worldbeat jamband music with special guest singers Kirsten Williams, Liza Garelik of the Larch and others at Freddy’s, 8 PM

8/20, 8 PM Liberty Ellman (guitar) Vijay Iyer (piano) Matt Maneri (violin) Stephan Crump (bass) Damion Reid (drums) at the Stone, $10; followed at 10 by trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson with David Virelles (piano) Joe Sanders (bass).

8/20, 8 PM pensive female-fronted Americana band Little Embers at Spike Hill.

8/20, 9 PM Staten Island’s one and only jug band, the Wahoo Skiffle Crazies play Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/20, 10 PM dark tuneful intense drummer-fronted rock en Espanol band New Madrid at Fontana’s

8/21, two ambitious solo piano house concerts booked by another excellent keyboardist, Greta Gertler. At 2 PM Deidre Rodman and then at 6 Jordan Shapiro (Project/Object, Astrograss). Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/21 country chanteuse Karen Hudson and band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/22 really oldschool soca with Mighty Sparrow and oldschool 80s dancehall reggae with Shaggy at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised

8/22, 7:30 PM symphony orchestra the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/22, 8ish funny ukelele tunes with Julia Nunes at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall, $TBA.

8/22, 9 PM Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra – who do pretty amazing big band covers of Bjork songs – at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

8/22 creepy indie band Deerhunter at Webster Hall, 10ish. If you’re going to miss the Eels, these guys are very similar.

8/22 bluegrass fiddler Vincent Cross and Good Companyat Rodeo Bar, 10ish. They’re also at the small room at the Rockwood on 8/23 at six PM.

8/23, 7 PM Yeti Camp featuring the compositions and violin playing of Dana Lyn plus Mike McGinnis (clarinet), Clara Kennedy (cello), Dan Lippel (guitar) and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party at Barbes

8/23, 7ish salsa legend Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/23-28 the JD Allen Trio at the Vanguard, 7:30/9:30 PM. This is a good year for good artists and composers winning awards: tenor sax powerhouse Allen has been long, long overdue for his Downbeat #1 Rising Star award this year. His trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums hit a lot of transcendent notes back in May at le Poisson Rouge.

8/23-24, 7:30/9:30 PM sensational Colombian jazz harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda leads his trio with Andrea Tierra on vocals at the Jazz Standard, $20 – they absolutely slayed at Madison Square Park earlier this year.

8/23, 8 PM cleverly lyrical, tuneful Americana rocker Marcellus Hall & the Hostages at Union Hall, $8 adv tix rec

8/24, 7ish early hip-hop stars the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/25, 5:30 PM NYC’s own hypnotic Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

8/25 terse, soulful expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues, 7 PM; he’s at Lucille’s at 8 the following night.

8/25 Raya Brass Band at sundown at Tompkins Square Park followed by a screening of the film The Godfather.

8/25, 8 PM clever chamber-pop bandleader/cellist Serena Jost at Barbes followed at 10 by funk Afrobeat-flavored band the People’s Champs, who absolutely kicked ass at the Mafrika Festival last month.

8/25, 8:30 PM theatrical noirish songwriter Anais Mitchell at  Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/25, 9:30 PM electric blues guitar sensation Ana Popovic – who definitely can get the tourists here to shut up because she’ll blast them out – at Hill Country, $17 adv tix rec.

8/25, 9:30 PM Moshav play Israeli roots reggae at the Canal Room, $12 adv tix. avail.

8/26, 6:30 PM, free, Los Crema Paraiso play their original update on Venezuelan vallenato followed by Big Mandrake’s hard-hitting ska-en-Espanol at at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised

8/26 smart, lyrical Irish-American rock legends Black 47 play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the heliport at 23rd St.and the FDR, $25 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/26, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/26, 8 PM extraordinary Middle Eastern jazz with Amir ElSaffar (trumpet, maqam vocals, santour) Ole Mathisen (tenor and soprano saxophone) Zafer Tawil (oud) Nasheet Waits (drums) at the Stone, $10. ElSaffar is also there on 8/28 at 10 with his Within/Between group: Jen Shyu (voice) Liberty Ellman (guitar) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)

8/26, 9 PM garage punk guitar genius Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman in a rare trio show with Art and Steve Godoy, at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec., this will sell out. He’s at Maxwell’s the next night and that will sell out as well. 

8/26 torchy captivating original Americana siren Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood, 9 PM

8/26, 10 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler followed at 11 by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland playing the cd release show for their long-anticipated new one Hymns for the Dreadful Night at Barbes.

8/26 dark intense minimalist occasionally Middle Eastern-inflected indie rockers the Mast at Pete’s, 10 PM

8/26 western swing with baritone crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/26 ecstatically funky punk/free jazz brass band Moon Hooch play the Knitting Factory, midnight – one of the most original bands in town, a lot of fun.

8/27 because NYC public transit will shut down at noon, ostensibly because of the “hurricane,” it’s safe to say that everything happening this weekend is cancelled. What a scam.

8/29, 8:30 PM pianist Melody Fader (that’s her real name) plus Emily Popham Gillins, violin and Hamilton Berry, cello play Brahms, Chopin and Berio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 incl. a drink.

8/29, 9 PM the Carlberg/Urie City Band play tunes from Nicholas Urie’s excellent new album of big band jazz interpretations of classic Bukowski poems at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

8/29, 10 PM oldtimey chanteuse/uke player Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar.

8/30, 7:30/9:30 PM the Ron Carter Big Band playing original compositions from the iconic bassist’s new Great Big Band album at the Jazz Standard, $30 tix avail., reserve now, this will sell out every night.

8/30-31 fascinating tuneful piano-based free jazz with Pilc/Moutin/Hoenig at the Blue Note, 8/10:30 PM, $10 seats avail.

8/30 a reggae vocal doublebill: Bankie Banx followed by popular 90s reggae crooner Barrington Levy at B.B. King’s, 8 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

8/30, 11 PM sultry chanteuse Marilyn Carino – Paula’s big sister – does her Little Genius project at the small room at the Rockwood

8/31 cutting edge melodic jazz with the John Farnsworth Quintet at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free.

8/31-9/1, 7:30/10 PM Mikarimba feat. Mika Yoshida, marimba; Steve Gadd, drums; Eddie Gomez, bass; Stefan Karlsson, keys play imaginative marimba jazz at Drom, $30 adv tix rec

8/31, 8 PM graceful but often chilling and intense jazz vocalist/composer Jen Shyu solo at the Stone followed by jazz drum genius Tyshawn Sorey at 10, even if he’s playing solo too he’s worth hearing.

8/31, 8:30 PM jazz chanteuse Natalie John followed by Chilean-American tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana leading a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi.

9/1-3, 8 PM and 9/4, 3 PM a sort of chamber music Bang on a Can style marathon at Bargemusic with Phyllis Chen and her toy piano, the intense Balkan flavored Grneta Duo+, American Modern Ensemble, cello rockers Deoro and others playing music by Chen, Bob Marley, Messiaen, a Robert Paterson world premiere and more, $25/$20 srs./$15 stud.

9/1, 8 PM charismatic, intensely funny, eclectic accordionist/chanteuse and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez at Barbes followed at 10 by jazz from Litvakus & the Svetlana Shmulyian Band, straight from Lithuania.

9/1-4 McCoy Tyner leads a trio at the Blue Note, sets 8/10:30 PM, $20 standing room avail.

9/1, 8:30 PM ubiquitously good jazz bassist John Hebert leads a quartet with eclectic pan-Asian chanteuse Jen Shyu;  Andy Milne, piano;  Billy Drummond, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/1, 8:30 PM jangly, tuneful, socially aware Americana rocker Amy Speace at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15

9/1, 9 PM Hazmat Modine’s oldtime blues guitar powerhouse Michael Gomez leads his band at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.

9/1 the Alien Surfer Babes – three silver-suited women backed by ferocious surf band the Octomen – at Williamsburg gay bar Sugarland on N 9th St. (Driggs/Roebling), 10 PM

9/2 a Microscopic smaller-than-septet evening at Barbes starting at 7 with the Spokes (Andy Biskin – clarinet, Curtis Hasselbring – trombone, Phillip Johnston – soprano sax) and at 8:30 the Joel Forrester/Phillip Johnston duo celebrating their new live duo album at Barbes, $10 cover.

9/2, 7:30 PM “fabulous and flamboyant pianist Kathleen Supové, and renegade guitar maestro James Moore” at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

9/2 pyrotechnic Australian jazz guitarist JC Stylles plays the cd release show for his new one Exhilaration & Other States with an organ trio at Smalls, 7:30/10 PM.

9/2 and 9/20, 8 PM terse thoughtful Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues. He’s also at Lucille’s on 9/9 and 9/23 at 8 PM

9/2 a killer female-fronted gypsy-flavored rock doublebill with Hudost and Raquy & the Cavemen at Bowery Electric, 9ish.

9/2, 9 PM Gunsling Birds play brooding, cinematic instrumentals at Pete’s followed at 10 by the austere chamber sounds of Horse’s Mouth

9/2, 9 PM eclectic, artsy, hauntingly lyrical acoustic Americana band the Sometime Boys at Branded Saloon followed by a country/bluegrass jam.

9/2, 10ish “Brooklyn’s #1 regressive rock act,” stoner metal parody band Mighty High at Lit, $6.

9/2 darkly funny yet poignant Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside, 11 PM.

9/2, 11 PM Finotee play roots reggae and rocksteady at Shrine

9/3, 3 PM long-running Nashville gothic legends Ninth House play what might be their farewell show on the boardwalk at Coney Island near Cha Cha’s and the WonderWheel – follow the sound!

9/3, free slinky downtempo/shoegaze band El Jezel at Cake Shop, 8 PM

9/3, 8 PM Unlimited Force Band play roots reggae and rocksteady at Shrine.

9/3, 8:30 PM lyrical jazz pianist Eri Yamamoto leads a trio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/3, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza this month at Otto’s is a characteristically good one with the Rebel Surfers at 9, Strange But Surf at 10, Thee Icepicks at 11 and the Isotopes sometime around midnight.

9/3, 9 PM Bad Buka’s “gypsy punk meltdown” at Mehanata. They’re also at Spike Hill at 9 on 9/15.

9/3, 10 PM popular, eclectic retro C&W hellraisers M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy, $10.

9/3, 11 PM darkly rustic, eclectic, Eastern European flavored chamber-rock band Kotorino at Pete’s.

9/3, 11 PM the K-Holes play ferocious guitar-fueled dreampop/noiserock followed by the campy, comedic Hunx & His Punx at the Mercury, $10

9/4, 1 and 3 PM pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg play Bach, John Adams and others with a string ensemble on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour.

9/4-5 Manu Chao at Terminal 5 is sold out.

9/4, 9ish Senegalese-flavored roots reggae band Meta & the Cornerstones – who absolutely slayed opening for Tiken Jah Fakoly last month in Central Park – at Sullivan Hall, $10.

9/4, 9 PM surf rockers Thee Icepicks return to Otto’s followed by Venice Beach Muscle Club playing surf music jams.

9/4, 10ish charismaric African roots reggae bandleader Sekouba at Zebulon.

9/5, 6 PM the irrepressible oldtime jazz trombonist/ukulelist J. Walter Hawkes at LIC Bar

9/5-6, 8/10 PM oldschool style Cuban jazz pianist Elio Villafranca & the Jass Syncopators plus dancers at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seating avail.

9/5, 9 PM the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/6 the Microscopic Septet play their devious originals as well as Monk tunes from their excellent new all-Monk cd Friday the 13th at the Gershwin Hotel, 3 sets starting at 7, $20 gen adm.

9/6, 8 PM the queen of Coney Island phantasmagoria, Carol Lipnik and Spookarama at the small room at the Rockwood.

9/6, 8 PM blues guitar powerhouse Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

9/6-10 jazz sax legend Dave Liebman celebrates his 65th birthday at Birdland, sets 8:30/11 PM; 9/6-7 with a smaller combo and 9/8-10 his big band, $30 seats avail.

9/7, 8:30 PM catchy, lyrical, edgy, socially conscious folk-pop duo Left on Red at Southpaw, $10

9/7 dark lyrical, sometimes minimalist third-stream jazz pianist/composer Michel Reis at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:30 PM.

9/7, 8:30 PM Francophile jazz bassist Dan Loomis leads a quartet with Shane Endsley, trumpet; Robin Verheyen , tenor saxophone; Jared Schonig, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/7, 9 PM fiery Balkan jams with Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall; they’re also here on 9/24 from 4 to 7.

9/7, 9 PM psychedelic soul songwriter Nick Howard at the Canal Room, $12

9/7, 10 PM avant garde violinist/vocalist C. Spencer Yeh at the Manhattan Inn piano bar, 632 Manhattan Ave. at Nassau Ave., Greenpoint.

9/7, 11 PM edgy, fearless soul/folk songwriter Jo Williamson at the small room at the Rockwood

9/8 Earth Wind & Fire at South St. Seaport, 6 PMish, free.

9/8, 6:30 PM a screening of Konrad Aderer’s new documentary Enemy Alien about “the fight to free Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a gentle but indomitable Palestinian-born human rights activist detained in a post-9/11 sweep of Muslim immigrants” which goes completely meta when the filmmaker himself becomes a target of the gestapo, because of this film. At Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. in the financial district, sugg. don. but “no one turned away.”

9/8, 7:30 PM Will Frampton plays György Kurtág and György Ligeti works for solo viola at the Tank, $10

9/8, 8 PM the Chiara String Quartet plays Robert Sirota’s riveting, intense 9/11 Triptych plus Richard Danielpour’s String Quartet No. 6 (Addio), free, at Trinity Church, 8 PM, early arrival advised.

9/8, 8 PM theatrical, historically aware oldtimey songwriter Poor Baby Bree at Bowery Poetry Club

9/8, 8:30ish stampeding outlaw country/paisle.y underground rockers the Newton Gang followed by jangly country siren Alana Amram & the Rough Gems’ cd release show at Southpaw, $8.

9/8, 9 PM dark, fiery bluegrass innovators Frankenpine – whose debut album is one of the year’s best – at Lakeside.

9/8-9, 9 PM ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock does his powerpop thing opening for literate glamrock legend Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail. Hunter is also playing there at 10 on 9/15-16.

9/8, 10ish bluegrass harmony band the NYCity Slickers play the cd release show for their new one at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

9/8, 10:30 PM searing, improvisational Balkan crew Veveritse Brass Band plus special guest Balkan vocal quartet Black Sea Hotel at the Jalopy, $5.

9/8, 11 PM gypsy punk/psychedelic rockers Yula Beeri & the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood

9/9-29 it’s the 2011 NY Gypsy Festival at Drom. The best deal is the ridiculously cheap $45 festival pass which gives you admission to 8 concerts. Individual tix are also available and highly recommended because these concerts routinely sell out.

9/9, 5:30 PM “”Crimes and Passion: Love and the Criminal Underworld in Spanish 17th Century Song” performed by New York Continuo Collective – a semi-staged performance of Spanish baroque music, interweaving popular tunes with courtly songs and featuring reconstructions of jácaras and folias” at Carriage House Center for the Arts, 149 E 38th St., rsvp req.  – please put “September concert” in the title of your email.

9/9, 7 PM Kent Tritle leads the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine singing a cappella and accompanied works by Bach, Mendelssohn and Tallis, as well as The Best Beloved by Chris DeBlasio, at the Greene Space, $20 incl. a glass of wine!

9/9 avant garde pioneers Pauline Oliveros, Joan La Barbara, and Rhys Chatham, who got their start in the 70s at the Kitchen, celebrate the venue’s 40th anniversary there, 8 PM, $10. The 9/10, 8 PM program is Tony Conrad, Laurie Spiegel, and Rhys Chatham.

9/9, 8 PM eclectic chamber ensemble Either/Or play new works by Richard Carrick, Hans Thomalla and Keeril Makan at Issue Project Room, $10

9/9, 8 PM UK gypsy punk chanteuse Gabby Young & Other Animals play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix or $45 festival pass highly rec.

9/9, 8 PM anthemic, hard-rocking, intensely lyrical rockers Wormburner at the Mercury $10 gen adm.

9/9, 8ish the Brooklyn What at Bowery Electric followed by the Happy Problem at 9ish

9/9 the Calamity Janes at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish

9/9, 8 PM Afrobeat jams with Afuche at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

9/9, 8 PM baroque chamber ensemble Repast play Buxtehude, Bach, Schmelzer and Erlebach at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

9/9, 9ish haunting atmospheric goth/Americana siren Marissa Nadler plays stuff from her excellent new album at Bowery Ballroom

9/9, 9/10:30 PM pianist Kris Davis leads a group including Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Paul Motian, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

9/9, 9 PM Lichtman’s Brain Cloud play western swing followed at 10:30 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra – whose latest album of rare 1920s New York and Chicago jazz is kick-ass – at the Jalopy, $10.

9/9, 9ish, Legendary Shack Shakers side project the Dirt Daubers – who do a kick-ass acoustic hillbilly/gospel/bluegrass thing – at Union Hall, $10.

9/9, 9 PM artsy female-fronted acoustic Americana band Armistead at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/9, 10 PM psychedelic funk and Afrobeat with the Peoples Champs at Barbes

9/9 Chinese-American hip-hop sensations the Notorious MSG at Southpaw, 10 PM, $10.

9/9, 10:30 PM blazing Indian brass band Red Baraat at the Mercury, $15 adv tix avail.

9/9, 11 PM bluesy oldschool soul frontwoman Bethany St. Smith & the Gun Show at Lakeside.

9/9 the NY Ska Jazz Ensemble play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, 11:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

9/9 torchy jazz/pop songwriter Abby Payne plays the video release show for her new one at Brooklyn Fire Proof, time TBA.

9/10, 4 PM the Classical Fusion Chamber Ensemble and choir play a 9/11 memorial concert at Broadway Presbyterian Church, 114th/Bwy., free

9/10, a genuinely classy move by the NY Phil: for their 7:30 PM performance of Mahler’s Symphony #2, the NY Philharmonic is offering priority ticket access to the families of 9/11 victims, first responders and survivors. Those individuals may request a pair of free tickets in advance by e-mailing concertfornewyork@nyphil.org by September 1, so hurry if you qualify and you like Mahler. If there are any remaining tickets, they’ll be distributed for free, first-come, first-serve, one pair per person at 4 PM on the plaza at Lincoln Center the day of the show. Limited seating on the plaza is also available for those who prefer to watch a live projection outdoors. The concert will be telecast in the U.S. on PBS’s Great Performances at 9 PM on 9/11 and webcast at nyphil.org at 9 PM EDT on 9/11 as well.

9/10, 7 PM old reliable free jazz luminaries Matana Roberts’ COIN COIN and Dave Burrell, Michael Formanek & Steve Swell at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

9/10, 8 PM the inaugural concert by NYC’s newest orchestra, the West Side Chamber Orchestra, led by oboeist Kathy Halvorson, features an intriguing Germanic pre-Romantic bill with Beethoven’s 1st Symphony, Mozart’s Piano Concerto #20 K.466 with pianist Francine Kay as soloist, and a Symphony, Op.3 No. 1, of the “little-known but refreshing Franz Beck, a contemporary of Mozart” at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 346 W 20th St. (8/9), $20/$15 stud/srs.

9/10, 8 PM ridiculously eclectic Montreal klezmer accordionist/multi-instrumentalist Socalled at Drom, $10 adv tix rec

9/10, 8:30 PM fiery improvisational oldtime Americana guitarist/songwriter Will Scott at 68 Jay St. Bar; he’s also there on 9/24 at 8.

9/10, 9ish clever, entertaining funk-rockers Shayna Zaid & The Catch at Tammany Hall (the former Annex space), $10

9/10, 9:30 PM hypnotic, danceable Afrobeat with Washington, DC’s Funk Ark and then Zongo Junction at Southpaw, $10.

9/10, 10 PM well-liked, reliably tuneful, fun, female-fronted janglerock/powerpop veterans Palomar at Spike Hill, $7.

9/10, 10 PM Brooklyn Qawwali Party – a 14-piece brass-driven band who get into funk and dub as much as they do qawwali – at Barbes

9/10, 9 PM fearless, cynical punk/garage rockers Des Roar open for the luridly menacing Kid Congo Powers & the Pink Monkey Birds at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

9/10, 9 PM charismatic New Orleans funk/soul big band Brother Joscephus & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at Hiro Ballroom, $20 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

9/10, 10 PM Thunda Vida play dub reggae at Shrine.

9/10, 10 PM the crazy guy who invented dub, Lee Scratch Perry at B.B. King’s, $22 adv tix highly rec.

9/10 LES surf/punk/soul guitar legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside 10:15ish. They’re also at Rodeo Bar on 9/29 at 10ish.

9/10, 10:30 PM high-energy, smart oldtimey country band the Calamity Janes at the Jalopy, $10

9/10, midnight the Hsu-Nami at Arlene’s. Perfect choice of midnight Saturday night band – sizzling Taiwanese-flavored art-metal instrumentals with rustic, eerie erhu fiddle as the lead instrument.

9/10, midnight Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at the Parkside. They play Hank Williams covers at Otto’s on 9/14, 11PM. The 15th they’re doing their own stuff opening for Jimmie Dale Gilmore at Maxwell’s for $20.

9/11, 11 AM (that’s an hour before noon) pianist Eric Blanchard plays a 9/11 memorial concert at the French Consulate, 934 5th Ave.

9/11, 3 PM pianist Gila Ducat-Lipton plays a 9/11 memorial concert of American composers at the Church of the Ascension, 221 West 107th (Columbus/Amsterdam), free

9/11, 3:30 PM Wordless Music Orchestra conducted by Ryan McAdams play a memorial concert including William Basinski’s ambient “The Disintegration Loops, dpl 1.1,” Ingram Marshall’s “Fog Tropes II” for strings and tape, Osvaldo Golijov’s “Tenebrae” for string quartet, and Alfred Schnittke’s “Collected Songs Where Every Verse is Filled With Grief.” The line forms at 3 at the Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, free w/museum adm.

9/11, 5 PM eclectic, Balkan-tinged guitarist/composer Jay Vilnai plays the cd release show his new Shakespeare Songs cycle at Barbes

9/11, 7 PM the annual Musicians for Peace concert at Merkin Concert Hall with the Juilliard String Quartet, Kinan Azmeh, shakuhachi virtuoso Kojiro Umezaki, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra, $35 seats avail.

9/11 members of the NY Phil perform music by David Amram, Brahms, Samuel Barber, Chopin, Lera Auerbach, Liszt, Schumann, Laura Kaminsky (New York Premiere), Astor Piazzolla, Jon Deak (World Premiere), Wagner, Drew Hemenger (World Premiere), Sean Hickey, Simon Mulligan (New York Premiere), Justin Tokke, Franco Alfano (American Premiere) at Symphony Space, 7 PM, free, early arrival advised.

9/11, 7 PM jazz pianist Amina Figarova and band play the NYC premiere of her 9/11-themed September Suite at the Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, $20

9/11 Tyshawn Sorey’s combo, Taylor Ho Bynum and Defunkt Millennium (THE Defunkt?!?) at 7 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

9/11, 8 PM oudist Scott Wilson plus bellydancers play a 9/11 memorial show at Ciao Stella, 206 Sullivan (Bleecker/W 3rd)

9/11, 8ish an appropriately assaultive cauldron of noisy outsider jazz at Death by Audio with trumpeter Peter Evans, Toucher, the Library Is On Fire, the Weasel Walter/Marc Edwards Group and Talibam, dirt cheap at $7.

9/11, 9:30 PM dark, rustic female-fronted soul group MotherMoon at Pete’s

9/11, 11 PM Washington DC Afrobeat band the Funk Ark – whose new album is amazing – at Shrine.

9/12, 1 PM the Bordeaux String Quartet play a free show at 211 E 70th St. betw 2nd/3rd Aves.

9/12, 2 and 7:30 PM the Jupiter Symphony players perform Beethoven – String Quartet in F Major Op. 14 No. 1; von Herzogenberg – Piano Quartet No. 2 ; Brahms – Clarinet Quintet in B minor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail

9/12, 5:30 PM pianist Octavio Brunetti and violinist Elmira Darvarova play Piazzolla at Symphony Space, $20

9/13, 8 PM Steve Earle at the Town Hall, $35 tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/13, 8PMish bassist Peter Hook of Joy Division and his band at Irving Plaza, $26.50.

9/12 a free show by Swingadelic at Maxwell’s, 9 PM.

9/13, 8:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser – whose 2010 album Pieces of Old Sky is one of the most quietly intriguing efforts of previous years – leads a trio at I-Beam, $10 sug. don.

9/13, 9 PM pensive piano jazz with the Jacob Garchik Trio with Jacob Sacks and Dan Weiss at Korzo

9/13, 10 PM creepy retro garage rockers X-Ray Eyeballs at Death by Audio, $7

9/14, 5:30 PM violinist Elmira Darvarova and pianist Tomoko Kanamaru play works by Clara Schumann, Lera Auerbach, Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Yui Kitamura and more at Symphony Space, $20.

9/14, 7 PM Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble – who blend classic Jewish and Afro-Cuban themes seamlessly and imaginatively – at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, $10.

9/14, 7 PM the Afiara Quartet, pianist Michael Brown, harpist Bridget Kibbey, violinist Hye-Jin Kim, soprano Sarah Wolfson and baritone Thomas Meglioranza perform a program TBA at the Greene Space, $15 incl. a glass of wine!

9/14, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s reliably interesting Reflections Series kicks off its Fall 2011 season at WMP Concert Hall with a program that ponders heavy spiritual concerns with music by Auerbach, Messiaen, Beethoven and Copland, $35 adv tix rec.

9/14, 7:30 PM innovative Indian guitarist Susmit Sen (of prog rockers Indian Ocean) at Drom, $20 adv tix rec.

9/14, 8 PM haunting acoustic gothic Americana/bluegrass band Bobtown at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/14 punk klezmer legends the Klezmatics, 8 PM Highline Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec

9/14, 8 PM smart,tuneful saxophonist Patrick Cornelius and A.D.D – Miles Okazaki – guitar , John Chin – piano , Jason Stewart – bass , Luca Santaniello – drums – at Smalls.

9/14, 8:30 PM an especially good, eclectic acoustic Americana triplebill with Frankenpine, Mason Porter and Wissahickon Chicken Shack at Southpaw, $10.

9/14, 9 PM smart, lyrically-driven, Aimee Mann-esque rockeres Elizabeth & the Catapult at Littlefield

9/14, 11ish hilariously x-rated punked-out girl group Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Don Pedro’s

9/15, 6 PM pianist Simon Mulligan plays Mendelssohn, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Ricky Ian Gordon (New York premiere), Steven Rydberg (New York premiere), and his own own arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at Symphony Space, $20.

9/15 atmospheric anthemic Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7 PM, leaving at 8 from the heliport at the FDR and 23rd St., $20 adv tix. avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

9/15, 7 PM Tahani Rached’s new documentary These Girls, about young homeless women in Cairo, screening for free at AAFSC, 150 Court St., downtown Brooklyn, any train to Borough Hall

9/15, 8 PM wild Italian/gypsy string band madness with Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

9/15, 8 PM legendary Middle Eastern-flavored noiserock instrumentalists Savage Republic at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $15 gen adm.

9/15, 8 PM jazz guitar genius Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by another eclectic jazz-inclined picker, Georgian Ilusha Tsinadze and his band.

9/15, 8:30 PM original Afrobeat party band Ikebe Shakedown at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival advised.

9/15, 8:30 PM catchy intense rock en Espanol trio New Madrid followed by funky groove unit L’il Shalimar at Bowery Electric

9/15, 9 PM Al Duvall – whose oldtimey, innuendo-packed, pun-infused ragtime songs are as smart as they are hilarious – and the sultry, eclectic oldtimey/swing/blues quartet the Roulette Sisters plus a circus sideshow at the Jalopy, $10.

9/15-16 Ian Hunter at City Winery, 9 PM, $35 standing room avail.

9/15, 9 PM innovative jazz drummer/composer Nathaniel Smith leads a quartet with Jake Saslow – saxophones; Linda Oh – bass; Kerong Chok – piano at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/15, 9:30 PM janglemeister guitar rocker/crooner Sam Sherwin at Sullivan Hall, $10

9/15, 10 PM Bad Buka play gypsy punk (emphasis on the punk) at Spike Hill.

9/16, 6 PM psychedelic dub latin reggae band El Pueblo at the small room at the Rockwood; 9/24 they’re at Shrine at 8.

9/16, 7 PM tuneful jazz alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe with his group at Miles Cafe, $20 incl. drink and snacks

9/16, 7:30 PM clarinetist Eileen Mack leads a new-music ensemble at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

9/16, 8 PM absurdly eclectic, smart Russian/tango/Balkan/jazz string band Ljova & the Kontraband at Barbes.

9/16 sultry Moonlighters frontwoman Bliss Blood at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish

9/16, 8 PM Roulette’s grand reopening party at their new digs in Brooklyn with Shelley Hirsch and Fred Frith, Marc Ribot’s noir soundtrack project (who slayed this past spring at the New School), and adventurous string quartet Ethel, $35, this may sell out.

9/16, 8 PM a killer oldtime Americana triplebill with the Plunk Bros. (Boo Reiners and Bob Jones) followed at 9 by the cosmopolitan, jazz-inclined Matt Munisteri and then the rustic Weal and Woe at 10 at the Jalopy, $10

9/16, 8 PM flamenco funk band Carmelo & Freak Fandango Orchestra at Drom $10 adv tix rec.

9/16, 8:30 PM Canadian darkwave chanteuse NLX at Caffe Vivaldi

9/16, 9/10:30 PM eclectic pan-Asian jazz chanteuse/composer Jen Shyu plays the cd release show for her new one at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

9/16, 9ish a cool, diverse Brazilian doublebill with MaracatuNY and Nation Beat at the 92YTribeca, $10 gen adm.

9/16-17, 10/11:30PM majestic yet funk jazz piano titan Marc Cary’s Focus Trio at Smoke uptown,$30 plus drink minimum.

9/16, 10ish eerie bluespunk with the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar.

9/16, 10 PM dark 80s-style goth/pop pianist/singer Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

9/16, 11 PM Mr. Action & the Boss Guitars play surf classics, rarities and surfed-up 60s pop covers at Lakeside

9/16, midnight the NY Gypsy All-Stars play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

9/16, 1 AM (actually wee hours of 9/17) psychedelic latin reggae groove band El Pueblo at the small room at the Rockwood

9/17 starting at half past noon, bluegrass in Madison Square Park with Della Mae, the Donna Hughes Band at 1:30, the Cherryholmes Brothers at 2:30, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike at 3:30 and at 4:45 the Nashville Bluegrass Band (it’s tempting to ask, which one?).

9/17, 8 PM high energy acoustic Americana with the Strung Out String Band followed by the Calamity Janes and then Alex Battles at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/17, 8 PM eclectic pianist Roger Davidson with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

9/17, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony kicks off its 2011-12 season with a typically eclectic program: Gershwin: Lullaby; Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14; Barber: Adagio; Strayhorn: Take the A Train; Shefi: Golden Sky; Menotti: Sebastian Suite; Dai: TBA (World Premiere) at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg. don.

9/17, 9ish hellraising, politically astute Americana rockers the Hangdogs reunite for a benefit for bassist/guitarist Mick Hargreaves. A longtime valuable presence on the NYC Americana and surf music scene, Hargreaves was critically injured in an assault this past summer – here’s wishing you a full recovery, Mick. To help you can visit Crossroads Music in Amagansett, Long Island and leave a check made out to Michael Hargreaves or cash in the jar by the register, donate online using John Hanford’s website or mail a check to Hargreaves’ parents’ home: Bob & Peggy Hargreaves, 10 Braddock Court, Coram, NY 11727

9/17, 9/10:30 PM plaintive, atmospheric, worldbeat jazz grooves from trumpeter Pam Fleming & Fearless Dreamer at Parlor Jazz in Brooklyn, $30 includes both sets plus open wine bar.

9/17, 9ish two legendary/obscure NYC garage rock institutions: Johnny Chan & the New Dynasty 6 followed by les Sans Culottes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

9/17, 10 PM multi-instrumentalist and latin rock maven Ani Cordero at Pete’s

9/17 punk energy, Americana tunefulness – Spanking Charlene play the single release for their new one Canarsie (just out on Little Steven Van Zandt’s label) at Lakeside, 11 PM.

9/18, noon, classical orchestra the Knights play Schubert’s Octet, Ginastera’s Impressiones de la Puña and works by Osvaldo Golijov and Russell Platt at the Greene Space, $20 tix includes “light snacks and beverages,” one assumes that means no wine.

9/18, 3 PM cellist Winona Zelenka plays works for solo cello by Bach, Britten and Cassado at Symphony Space, $20.

9/18, 4 PM Canadian darkwave singer NLX followed by Kiri Jewell’s fiery retro 80s pop/rock band AwShocKiss at LIC Bar

9/18, 6:30 PM Daniel Brondel plays an organ concert at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

9/18, 8 PM Pauline Oliveros on accordion and Ione on vocals playing Improvisations on Njinga, the Queen King and St. George and the Dragon at the Stone, $10, early arrival a must.

9/18, 8 PM imaginative, unpredictable guitarist Nick Demopoulos’ project Exegesis with Gretchen Parlato, Danton Boller and Tomas Fujiwara plays the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10.

9/18, 8:30 PM warmly soaring country chanteuse Drina Seay with Homeboy Steve Antonakos on guitar followed at 9:30 by Boo Reiners and Elena Skye from Demolition String Band upstairs at 2A

9/19, 5:30 PM Samuel Magill (cello), Linda Hall (piano) and Elmira Darvarova (violin) play a program of obscure works by French early Romantic composer Pierre de Breville at Symphony Space, $20.

9/19, 7:30 PM composer Xavier LeRoy leads an octet playing his minutely textured music/dance piece More Mouvements für Lachenmann at the Alliance Francaise, 55 East 59th St., $20

9/19, 8 PM the Amerigo Trio (with Inbal Segev on cello) play Beethoven – Serenade Op. 8, Bohuslav Martinu – Three Madrigals and Erno von Dohnanyi – Serenade Op.10 at Symphony Space, $20.

9/19, 9 PM the Noriko Ueda Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/19, 10 PM oldschool hip-hop persona Big Daddy Kane with a live band (?!?) at B.B. King’s, $18 adv tix. rec

9/20, 7 PM Americana/jazz violin virtuoso/composer/chanteuse Jenny Scheinman at Barbes. She’s also here on 9/27.

9/20, 8 PM retro 90s Jamaican reggae-pop crooner Barrington Levy’s show has been moved from B.B. King’s to Highline Ballroom, all tix honored.

9/20, 9ish eclectic vintage sounds with the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

9/20 interestingly weird avant/indie/pop band Deerhoof at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11 PM, $17 gen adm.

9/21, 8 PM lyrical country crooner Jesse Lenat at 68 Jay St. Bar.

9/21, 8:30 PM drummer Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys feat. Jon Irabagon, alto sax; Alexis Marcelo, piano; Peter Bitenc, bass; at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/21, 9 PM the Reefer Round Jazz Orchestra at Radegast Hall

9/21-22 Beirut at Terminal 5, 9 PM, $27 adv tix onsale now.

9/21, 10 PM the Woes and Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion at Union Hall, $8.

9/22, 6 PM Carol Lipnik & Spookarama plus the Neerdowells at Cornelia St. Cafe, $7 includes a drink, not bad!

9/22 Michael Gomez of Hazmat Modine leads his own band at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish.

9/22, 8 PM multistylistic accordionist Alex Meixner at Barbes.

9/22, 9 PM pensive, intense but sometimes fun and jaunty lyrical songwriter Erin Regan at Sidewalk followed eventually at 11 by the equally intense and even more surreal Daniel Bernstein.

9/22, 9 PM psychedelic jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton leads a quartet with Matt Clohesy- bass; Obed Calvaire- drums; Donny McCaslin- saxophone at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

9/23, 6 (six) PM intense alto saxophonist/composer Sarah Manning leads a small combo at Caffe Vivaldi

9/23 four killer lyrically-charged performers at Sidewalk: the quietly edgy, catchy Linda Draper at 7, oldtime guitar genius Lenny Molotov at 8:20, intense outsider anthem siren Randi Russo at 9 and the quirky punkish Sprinkle Genies at 10:20.

9/23, 8 PM atmospheric, haunting soundscapes by Spooky Ghost at the small room at the Rockwood

9/23, 8 PM longtime downtown star multi-reedman (and guitarist) Doug Wieselman leads a quartet with Gina Leishman – reeds; Jim Pugliese – drums and Don Falzone – bass at Barbes followed at 10 by Spanglish Fly, who put a new spin on classic 60s latin soul and are probably the funnest Friday night band in town right now.

9/23 Sameer Gupta’s amazing, hypnotic Indian-flavored jazz group with Marc Cary on piano at Baruch College Auditorium, 23rd St. and Lex., time/price TBA.

9/23, 9 PM poignant, soaring Americana songwriter Jan Bell & the Maybelles followed by the jazzier but equally edgy Miss Tess at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/23 Taiwan’s atmospheric pan-Asian worldbeat ensemble A Moving Sound at Drom, 9:30 PM, $12 adv tix rec.

9/23, 10ish snide oldschool Williamsburg punk rock band the Live Ones at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

9/23, 10 PM the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. “He’s like that Cash boy, but good.” – Jerry Lee Lewis.

9/23, 10 PM Canadian big band jazz composer Daniel Jamieson’s DanJam Orchestra at Miles Cafe, $15 plus $10 min.

9/23, 10 PM psychedelic funk/soul with Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at Sullivan Hall, $10.

9/24 Renaissance at NJPAC in Newark is sold out. Good for them.

9/24, 3 PM at Madison Square Park, bluegrass with 3 Penny Acre followed at 4 by the rustic oldtimey/Appalachian folk sounds of Jay Ungar & Molly Mason.

9/24 clarinet virtuoso and tango connoisseur Thomas Piercy plays Caffe Vivaldi with his group, 6 PM.

9/24, 7 PM alto saxophonist Marc McDonald and his small group at Miles Cafe, $20.

9/24 intense, hilarious anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What pay tribute to their late, great guitarist Billy Cohen at Trash Bar with King Cake and New Atlantic Youth opening at 8.

9/24, 8 PM the original NYC gypsy brass punks, Zlatne Uste followed by legendary Macedonian chanteuse Esma Redzepova – the “Queen of the Gypsies” – and her band at Drom, $30 adv tix rec., this will sell out fast.

9/24, 8 PM sultry 1930s/1940s French chanson revivalists Les Chauds Lapins followed at 10 by ageless acoustic party band the Jug Addicts at Barbes

9/24, 8 PM Disappear Fear play imaginative, socially conscious electric worldbeat including songs from their new Phil Ochs covers album at the People’s Voice Cafe.

9/24, 9 PM country, blues and a little countrypolitan/pop on a diverse triplebill with Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides, brilliant guitarist Will Scott and then Megan Palmer & the Top Flights at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/24, 9/10:30 PM Middle Eastern-flavored jazz pianist Armen Donelian leads a group with Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophone; Mike Moreno, guitar; Dean Johnson, bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

9/24, 9:30ish charismatic, intense, danceable cumbia/skaragga monsters Escarioka at Mehanata

9/24, 10ish charismatic, intense, often very funny, inimitable punk rockers the Brooklyn What return to their monthly residency at Trash with a vengeance. Watch this space for other good bands who will be on the bill.

9/24, 10:30 PM reliably amusing oldtimey Canadian family band the Ukuladies at the Jalopy, $10.

9/25, 4:45 PM Toronto organist Ian Sadler plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

9/25 ferocious Polish Balkan/gypsy band Dikanda at le Poisson Rouge, 8 PM, $20

9/25, 8 PM the New School Afro-Cuban Jazz Band at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, $10

9/25, 8 PM Hungarian Balkan/jazz/funk guitarist Csaba Toth Bagi at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

9/26-27, 7:30/9:30 PM Grace Kelly and Phil Woods join forces to represent two generations of jazz sax at Dizzy’s Club, early arrival/res rec., this will probably sell out.

9/26-27, 8ish dark dreampop instrumentalists Mogwai at Webster Hall rescheduled from this spring, $34 adv tix still available at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/26, 9ish oldtime swing revivalists Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies – maybe the most unselfconsciously romantic, charming band in town right now – at Rodeo Bar.

9/26, 9 PM the Delphian Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/27, 8 PM Afrobeat band Zongo Junction followed by Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

9/27, 8 PM dark Middle Eastern-tinged instrumentalist Sir Richard Bishop opens for the Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $30 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM, this may sell out.

9/27-10/2, sets 8/10:30 PM, a copy of latin jazz pianist Michel Camilo’s new album Mano a Mano just arrived here and it is one elegant, smartly tuneful record. He’s at the Blue Note leading a trio, $25 standing room avail.

9/27-10/2 lyrical jazz pianist Bill Charlap leads a trio with Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums at the Vanguard, sets 9/11 PM.

9/27, 9:30 PM Ed Cherry – guitar , Pat Bianchi – organ , McClenty Hunter – drums at Smalls.

9/28-10/2, 7:30/9:30 PM Gerald Wilson leads the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra playing his Legacy Suite at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

9/28, 8:30ish a killer eclectic triplebill with desert blues-influenced Chicago band Pillars and Tongues, Bay area gypsy/balkan supernova A Hawk & a Hacksaw and gypsy punk band Dark Dark Dark at the Bell House, $13 adv tix very highly rec. They’re at Drom on 9/29 at 8 for the same price.

9/28, 9 PM intense and funny grasscore band Larry & His Flask at Union Hall, $10.

9/29, 8 PM haunting, torchy oldtimey duo Evanescent at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/29, 8 PM the Minerva Lions open for Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad at Brooklyn Bowl, tix absurdly cheap at $7. Remember how the Nokia Theatre was charging $30 for the same kind of bill earlier in the year?

9/29, 8 PM violinist Jessica Pavone’s haunting Hope Dawson Is Missing project followed by clavinet player Magda Mayas with Tony Buck at Roulette, $15/$10 stud/srs.

9/29, time TBA, well-liked Americana rockers the Felice Bros. at Webster Hall, $20.

9/29, 8:30 PM pianist Jacob Sacks leads a quintet with Jacob Garchik, trombone; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Thomas Morgan, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

9/29, 10 PM the funky, aggressively entertaining Underground Horns at Barbes

9/30 and 10/1 at 8 PM, and 10/4 at 7:30 PM Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Dvorak’s Symphony #7 plus a Corigliano choral work at Avery Fisher Hall, $33 tix avail.

9/30, 8 PM oldschool Fania style salsa with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra at SOB’s $15

9/30, 8:30 PM the Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano followed by high-energy oldtimey Americana band the Wiyos at Southpaw, $10.

9/30 sizzling electrified bluegrass and original country with Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 9:30ish

9/30, 9:30 PM noirish French songwriter Louis-Ronan Choisy at Drom, $15 gen adm.

9/30, 10 PM Nation Beat drummer/bandleader Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes.

10/1, 8 PM the Four Bags – who blend jazz, classical and the Beatles with deadpan wit – at Barbes followed at 10 by crazy rustic Mexican banda Banda Sinaloense de los Muertos.

10/1, 9/10:30 PM Dave Liebman and Sam Newsome play Steve Lacy and Thelonious Monk with Gregg August, bass; Otis Brown III, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

10/1, 9:30 PM legendary jazz drummer Chico Hamilton celebrates his 90th birthday and new album with a show at Drom leading a sextet with Nick Demopoulos (guitar), Paul Ramsey (fender bass), Evan Schwam (saxophone, flute, piccolo), Mayu Saeki (flute, alto flute, piccolo), Jeremy Carlstedt (percussion, drums), $12 adv tix highly rec.

10/1, 10ish long-runnning original punk-pop band the Vibrators at Union Hall – the venues keep getting smaller, they keep playing the nostalgia angle – $13 adv tix rec.

10/2 noon-6 PM the Atlantic Antic outdoor festival with bands TBA, Atlantic Ave. from 4th Ave. to Hicks St

10/2, 3 PM the Ariel String Quartet play Mozart, Brahms and Janacek at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

10/2-3, 9 PM multi-instrumentalist and longtime Aimee Mann collaborator Jon Brion makes songs out of loops,live, at le Poisson Rouge, $20 gen adm.

10/2 midnight-ish all-female noise-punk legends Erase Errata at Glasslands

10/3, Shellac at the Bell House is sold out, but $17 adv tix are still avail. for the 10/4 show.

10/4, noon-4 PM pianists Adonis Gonzalez, Jed Distler, and Axel Tosca play Thelonious Monk at the World Financial Center, free.

10/5-6, 7:30 PM and 10/7 at 11 AM (yikes!) Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Bach: Concerto for 2 violins; Berg: Violin Concerto; Brahms: Symphony #3 at Avery Fisher Hall, $31 tix avail.

10/5, 8 PM Afrobeat with Zongo Junction and Toubab Crewe at le Poisson Rouge, $14 adv tix rec.

10/5, 9 PM two irrepressible, fearlessly funny tunesmiths: Susan Hwang & the Relastics at Sidewalk followed eventually at 11 by Nan Turner & the One Night Stands at Sidewalk

10/6, 7:30 PM Portland, Maine banjoist/songwriter Putnam Smith followed by bouzouki-led oldtime Americana band Spuyten Duyvil at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15.

10/6, 8 PM if there’s any conductor alive who GETS the towering angst of the Russian Romantics, it’s Valery Giergiev. He conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra playing Tschaikovsky’s Symphonies #1 and #6 at Carnegie Hall, $24 tix supposedly available. They do the rustic, intense 2nd and 5th Symphonies at 2 PM on 10/9, the playful, animated 3rd and 5th at 8 on 10/10 and on 10/11 at 8 they’ll have pianist Danil Trifonov playing Prokofiev: Three Selections from Romeo and Juliet; the completely angst-driven Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and the ambitious and totally enjoyable Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 written when the composer was 19.

10/6, 8ish an excellent, high-energy eclectic bill with bluegrass monsters Thy Burden, followed by ska from the Rudie Crew & the Times at Union Hall, $8

10/7, 7 PM country chanteuse Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Lakeside

10/7, 9 PM ageless British country punks the Mekons at the Bell House, $18 adv tix. rec.

10/8, 8 PM, free, Mos Def with the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players conducted by Alan Pierson at 1368 Fulton St., Brooklyn: compositions include Mos Def arr. Derek Bermel, “Life in Marvelous Times” (2008) and other songs incl. Frederick Rzewski’s Coming Together.

10/8, 8 PM sensational eclectic Luminescent Orchestrii violinist Sarah Alden with her band at 68 Jay St. Bar.

10/8, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20

10/8, 9:30 PM the Woes and O’Death at the Bell House, $12.

10/8, 9/10:30 PM bassist Petros Klampanis leads a group with Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Lefteris Kordis, piano; John Hadfield, percussion; Greg Osby, alto saxophoe; Sara Serpa, voice; Andre Matos, guitar at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

10/9, 4:45 PM organist Benjamin Kolodziej plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

10/9, 8:30 PM Ilusha Tsinadze, guitar, vocals; Rob Hecht, fiddle; Liam Robinson, accordion; Chris Tordini, bass; Richie Barshay, drums; Jean Rohe, vocals at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

10/9, 9 PM Al Stewart plays an acoustic duo show at City Winery, $30 tix avail. Reputedly his chops (pretty sensational back in the 60s when he was an acoustic folk guitarist) are better than ever – and he reputedly plays a lot of the oldschool stuff along with Year of the Cat and Time Passages, ad infinitum. Wonder what he thinks of City Winery’s hideous homemade wine.

10/10, 7 PM Jake Schepps’ Expedition Quartet plays Bartok at Barbes.

10/11, 8:30 PM reedwoman/composer Jessica Valiente’s Las Mas Valiente feat. Rick Faulkner, trombone; Anna Milat-Meyer,, bass; Yasuyo Kimura, congas; Victor Rendón, drums; Chiemi Nakai, piano at at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

10/12, 7 PM, free at the World Financial Center, Mos Def with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, dynamically eclectic chanteuse Mellissa Hughes and other special guests joining members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic for an adventurous bill including Derek Bermel’s arrangements of Mos Def’s original songs, 19th century shape note singing and works by David T. Little, Frederick Rzewski, and Ljova Zhurbin.

10/12, 8 PM Americana chanteuse Jan Bell at 68 Jay St. Bar

10/12, 8 PM a solid oldtimey Americana doublebill: the Calamity Janes followed by Crooked Still at the Bell House, $16 gen. adm.

10/13, 7:30 PM cellist Madeleine Shapiro plays recent works for cello and electronics including several premieres at the Tank, $10

10/13, 8:30 PM singer/composer Sara Serpa leads her potent third stream-ish quintet feat. André Matos, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Ben Street, bass; Ted Poor, drums playing the cd release show for her terrific, innovative new album Mobile at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

10/13 10ish Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Maxwell’s, $15

10/14, 7:30 PM the Mivos String Quartet with Nathan Koci on accordion play at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10

10/14, 8:30 PM imaginative garage rock/country/psychedelic band Those Darlins at the Bell House, $13 adv tix rec.

10/14, 9 PM, the Pricks, Smoke DZA, Big KRIT, Curren$y and Method Man at the Nokia Theatre, $32.50 adv tix rec. They call this the “smokers tour.”

10/14, 9 PM trumpeter Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra plays the cd release show for MTO Plays Sly Stone at the 92YTribeca, $TBA.

10/14 high-energy Americana rock vets Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM

10/15, 8 PM Aurora Flores y Zon Del Barrio with special guest Yomo Toro at Flushing Town Hall, $25

10/15, 8 PM Eighth Blackbird plays new works by Timo Andres, Bruno Mantovani, Amy Beth Kirsten, Mayke Nas, Fabien Svensson, Dan Visconti and Caleb Burhans at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/15, 8 PM the NYU Symphony Orchestra at the Loewe Theatre, 35 W 4th St., program TBA.

10/15, 9 PM funny, lyrically driven oldschool country music with the Jack Grace Band at 68 Jay St. Bar.

10/15, 11 PM Afrobeat crew Ikebe Shakedown followed by funk orchestraTurkuaz playing the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10

10/16, noon, a marathon concert hosted by the JACK quartet and featuring performances by Dither Electric Guitar Quartet, New York Virtuoso Singers, Imani Winds, Talea Ensemble, Prism Saxophone Quartet, and many others at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/16 pianist Peter Hill plays Bach, Messiaen and Takemitsu at le Poisson Rouge, 6:30 PM, $20 adv tix rec.

10/17, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Smetana – From My Homeland; Gyrowetz – Divertissement in A Major; Suk – Piano Quartet in A Minor; Brahms – String Sextet in B Flat at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

10/17, 7:30 PM new music ensemble Either/Or plays new works by Raphaël Cendo, Hans Thomalla, Richard Carrick, Erin Gee, Keeril Makan and Jonny Greenwood at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/18, 8 PM composer/pianist Michael Hersch plays the NY premiere of his piece From The Vanishing Pavilions – which confronts vanishing living space in New York – with Miranda Cuckson, viola and Julia Bruskin, cello at Merkin Concert Hall, $20.

10/19, 9 PM dark pensive goth-tinged songwriter Nina Nastasia at the Mercury $12.

10/19, midnight-ish hypnotic dreampop/shoegaze instrumentalists the Big Sleep play Party Xpo in Bushwick as part of a good idea – the Un-CMJ.

10/21, 8 PM, the NYU Philharmonia at the Loewe Theatre, 35 W 4th St., program TBA. They’re also here on 12/5.

10/22, 7 PM the American Composers Orchestra plays New York premieres of music by Ruby Fulton, Paul Yeon Lee, Ryan Gallagher, Andrew Norman, and Suzanne Farrin at the World Financial Ctr., free

10/22, 8 PM popular Americana chanteuse Gillian Welch at the Beacon Theatre, $35 tix avail.

10/22, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony play Kiah: TBA (World Premiere); Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85; Hanson: Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg. don.

10/22, 9 PM big anthemic new oldschool country band Yarn at Hiro Ballroom, $15, tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

10/23, 4:45 PM organist Douglas Kostner plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

10/23 ride the waves with surf rock legend Dick Dale aboard the Jewel, boarding at the heliport at 23rd St. and the FDR at 6, leaving at 7, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

10/23, 8 PM Bulgarian folk flute virtuoso Theodosii Spassov and Vlada Tomova’s Balkan Tales at Symphony Space, $30

10/24, 8:30/10:30 PM the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria at Dizzy’s Club, $20

10/27, 7:30 PM innovative improvisationally inclined jazz guitarist Soren Raaschou leads his Trio with guest Travis Laplante on tenor sax at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

10/27, 8:30 PM dark Americana-tinged lyrical songwriter Jessi Robertson at Southpaw, $10.

10/27, 11 PM guitarist Steve Schiltz’ atmospheric, plaintive shoegaze/anthem band Hurricane Bells at the Mercury $10.

10/28, 9 PM twangy noir guitar soundscapes with Jim Campilongo followed by alt-country siren Alana Amram at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, $5.

10/29, 8:30 PM Simon Shaheen, who may be this era’s greatest oud player, plays Middle Eastern classics by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, the Rahbani Bros. and Farid Al-Atrache with special guest vocalist Nidal Ibourk and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble at Roulette, $25, early arrival advised.

10/29, 9 PM fiery paisley underground/country band the Newton Gang at 68 Jay St. Bar

10/29-30, 9 PM kick-ass new garage/psychedelic rock with Spindrift and the Black Angels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. 10/31 the Black Angels play there at 11 PM, $20 adv tix. avail. at the Mercury box office 5-7 PM M-F.

10/29, 9 PM the Infamous Stringdusters and Yonder Mountain String Band at the Nokia Theatre, $25 adv tix rec.

10/29 sardonic dark garage/punk rockers Obits at Glasslands.

10/29 the Midnight band play roots reggae at SOB’s at…guess…midnight! $TBA

10/30, 7:30 PM the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players play songs of freedom by Schnittke, Pärt, Shostakovich, and Gubaidulina at the Shorefront Y, 3300 Coney Island Ave, Coney Island, $15.

10/31, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform a killer (ha ha) program including Stravinsky’s playful Histoire du Soldat; Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre; Moussorgsky – Songs & Dances of Death; Rimsky-Korsakov – Piano Trio in C Minor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

10/31, midnight creepy minor-key harmonica blues with Stringbean & the Stalkers at the Ear Inn

11/2-3, 7:30 PM the NY Phil and Philip Glass Ensemble play Glass’s live soundtrack for the 1982 Godfrey Reggio film Koyaanisqatsi along with a screening of the movie at Avery Fisher Hall, $35 tix avail.

11/3, 7:30 PM, the Brooklyn Philharmonic plays racy cartoon scores by Shostakovich and Vyacheslav Artyomov accompanying those cartoons (with live Russian voiceovers) at the Millennium Theater, 1029 Brighton Beach Ave., Brooklyn, $10 tix avail.

11/3, 8:30 PM ecstatic, intense gypsy/Balkan/Mediterranean brass band Mucca Pazza at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival advised.

11/3 ferociously intense, politically aware, tuneful female-fronted noiserock/punk band Bugs in the Dark play the cd release show for their new one at Bruar Falls.

11/4, 8 PM two generations of free jazz: Marty Ehrlich and his group plus the Peter Evans Quintet at Roulette, $15

11/5 Boston’s eclectic powerpop/punk-pop/ska crew the Have Nots at the Knitting Factory.

11/6, 4 PM ambitious classical sextet An Die Musik play Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Schubert plus Aesop fables musicalized by Jerzy Sapaiyevski (but not by Rachelle Garniez?!?) at Merkin Concert Hall, $13

11/7, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Mendelssohn – Konzertstück No. 1 in F Minor; Schumann – String Quartet No. 2; Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

11/8 grasscore pioneers Slim Cessna’s Auto Club at the Mercury, 10 PM, $10.

11/10, 9 PM British retro soul sensations Fitz & the Tantrums at Terminal 5, $35, all ages, adv tix available at the Mercury box ofc 5-7 PM weekdays.

11/12, 10ish the Cryptkeeper 5 followed by noir ska/punk/swing band Tri-State Conspiracy’s cd release show at Webster Hall, $15 adv tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

11/17 well-loved harmony-driven Americana trio Red Molly – whose new lineup is just as captivating as the previous one – at the big room at the Rockwood, 7:30 PM.

11/18, 7:30 PM the Ekmeles vocal ensemble with Katelyn Clark on harpsichord play at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10

11/18, 9:30 PM punkish rockers the Hard Nips open for  lovable Japanese lo-fi legends Shonen Knife at the Bell House, $12

11/19, 8 PM guitarishly and harmonically sizzling urban Americana duo the Kennedys at First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $25 adv tix rec.

11/21, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Frohlich – Serenade in D Major; Clara Schumann – 3 Romances; Kirchner – Piano Quartet in C minor; Brahms – – String Quintet No. 1 at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

11/22, 8 PM, free, the Mannes Orchestra plays Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Ben Ringer conducting, and Prokofiev’s Suite No. 1 from Romeo and Juliet, Ester Yoon conducting, at Symphony Space, free.

12/1, 7:30 PM brilliantly tuneful and lyrical acoustic songwriter Carolann Solebello (ex-Red Molly) at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15.

12/5, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform a program of obscure French Romantic treats: Reicha – Wind Quintet in E minor; Farrenc – Quintet No. 1 in A minor; Saint-Saens – Piano Quartet in Bb Major at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

12/8, 7:30 PM Nicole Atkins and band at Symphony Space, $30 includes a glass of wine

12/9, 7:30 PM composers Molly Thompson and Lukas Ligeti and supporting cast TBA at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

12/9, 8 PM John Zorn gets one of those Miller Theatre “composer portraits,” with an absurdly good cast of classical and Stone types – cellist Fred Sherry, violinist Jennifer Koh, drummer Kenny Wollesen, pianist Stephen Gosling, the Talea Ensemble and others playing a bill of world premieres, 116th St/Bwy., $25

12/16, 7 PM Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Philharmonic playing Alexandre Lunsqui: Fibres, Yarn, and Fabric (world premiere); Magnus Lindberg: Gran Duo; HK Gruber: Frankenstein! at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, $35 adv tix rec. The program repeats on 12/17 at 8 at Symphony Space, $21 adv tix rec.

12/21 it’s Make Music Winter. Inspired by Phil Kline’s famous Gulf War-era interactive antiwar composition Unsilent Night, the Make Music NY organizers are working to schedule another citywide day/night of interesting, free live music. Pure genius. Watch this space for updates.

12/22, 8:30 PM eclectic composer/viola virtuoso Ljova Zhurbin plays on a cinematic bill featuring amazing gypsy band Romashka and guests at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival a must.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays in August the Quavers – who mix trippy downtempo art-rock with indie pop – play Barbes early at 7 PM, sometimes with special guests. 8/8 they have Ben Kaufman and members of haunting, gypsy/klezmer-tinged Barbez. In September Chicha Libre returns to their regular residency here starting at around 9:30.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in September Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Tuesdays in September clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays at Caffe Vivaldi the Five Deadly Venoms play bluegrass at 9 PM.

Tuesdays in September the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

9/7 and following Wednesdays in September, free organ concerts resume at 1:10 PM sharp on at St. Ann’s Church on Montague St. in downtown Brooklyn.

Wednesdays in August Meah Pace, Rev. Vince Anderson’s slinky, poignant harmony vocalist, does her own set of soul music with the Rev’s longtime baritone sax star Paula Henderson upstairs at the National Underground, 9 PM

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

8/10 and subsequent Wednesdays in August multi-instrumentalist Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood at midnight. He’s played brilliantly on so many Americana and singer-songwriter albums it’s not funny; it’ll be interesting to hear him do his own stuff.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays 8/11, 18 and 25, 9ish, oldschool Williamsburg legends the Old Rugged Sauce play classic vocal and guitar jazz from the 30s and 40s at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club. They’re literally a trip back to a better, more relaxed century.

Thursdays 9/15, 9/22 and 9/29, 9:30ish well-liked eight-string guitar improviser Charlie Hunter plays Sycamore Bar in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, $10

Thursdays and Fridays in August at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays and frequently throughout the week starting at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in August at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.

Fridays 9/2 and 9/9, 9/16, half past midnight soulful saxophonist Ken Fowser – who really knows how to create a late-night vibe – leads a quintet at Smoke uptown. 9/23 and 9/30 they’re here at half past eleven.

Saturdays in September at 3 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic. Usually it’s solo classical piano, with the occasional string ensemble. Note that these are billed as “family concerts” – it’s not known how the staff deal with screaming little brats. Early arrival is highly advised; doors are at 2:30.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays at 5 PM starting on September 17 through November 20 there are free organ concerts on the recently restored organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 110th St./Broadway by an A-list of international performers.

Sundays in September, starting 9/26 there are free organ concerts at 5:15 PM at St. Thomas Church, 5th Ave. and 53rd St. The big Skinner organ’s days are numbered: it’s a mighty beast, so see it before it’s gone. The weekly series (with breaks for holidays) features an extraordinary, global cast of performers.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his wild, ecstatic 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in September at 9 gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel plays Barbes. He’s holding on to the edgy, danceable spirit of Django Reinhardt while taking the style to new and unexpected places. He’s also very popular: get there early.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

New York City Live Music Calendar for July and August 2011 Plus Other Events

As always, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this obsessively.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC; this is a list of good shows, many of which we will go see ourselves. We focus on edgy, entertaining stuff: if you’re looking for Grizzly Bear or Justin Bieber, you’re in the wrong place. We try to be descriptive rather than using all kinds of superlative adjectives.

7/2, 1 and 3 PM Jed Distler leads a 40-piece ensemble playing Terry Riley’s In C on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

7/2 Roy Ayers and the Jazz Mafia Symphony at Central Park Summerstage, get there by 7 PM or else you probably won’t get in.

7/2, 7 PM creepy intense cool chanteuses: Lorraine Leckie solo followed by Carol Lipnik and Spookarama doing her covers project at 8 at Banjo Jim’s

7/2, 7:30 PM lyrical songwriter Niall Connolly plays the big room at the Rockwood

7/2, 8 PM blistering bluegrass jamband Thy Burden’s cd release show at Union Hall, free.

7/2, 8:30 PM torchy noir German songwriter Sophie Hunger at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

7/2 intense gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata, 9 PM.

7/2, 10 PM oldschool vallenato/cumbia hellraisers Very Be Carefulat Barbes.

7/3 the reliably intense, charismatic anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What at Fort Tilden in the Rockaways, time TBA.

7/3, 8 PM new music ensemble Transit plays an intriguing evening of new electroacoustic works by Tristan Perich, Lesley Flanigan (very highly recommended) and Daniel Wohl at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown, Broadway at Fulton, free.

7/5, 7:30/9:30 PM Dario Boente & Proyecto Sur play tango nuevo jazz at the Jazz Standard, $20

7/5, 8 PM classic boricua sounds with the Lavoe All Stars and Cantando Renzo Padilla at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx, St. Ann’s Ave and E 144th Street, 6 train to Brook Ave.

7/6, 6 PM African and Afro-Cuban sounds with the Edmar Castaneda Trio plus special guest Andrea Tierra and then the Lionel Loueke Trio at Madison Square Park, free.

7/6 pianist Osmany Paredes’ latin jazz quartet at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

7/6, 7 PM pianist Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble playing latin/Jewish jazz – real cool stuff – at the Triad Theatre, 158 W. 72nd St., 2nd Fl.., just west of Broadway, $10

7/6, 8 PM intense, powerful Afrobeat/desert blue siren Khaira Arby at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

7/7, half past noon trombonist Art Baron leads a small combo at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.

7/7, 5:30 PM Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca at the World Financial Center, free.

7/7, 7 PM My Brightest Diamond at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/7, 7 PM edgy comedic musical chicks Mel & El (their album is called She’s My Bitch) put on their latest show Mel & El: Our Time of the Month (Flight of the Conchords as done by Tammy Faye Starlite, maybe) at the 92YTribeca, $15.

7/7, 7:15 PM torchy, no-nonsense piano chanteuse Jeanne Marie Boes at Caffe Vivaldi

7/7, 8 PM smartly multistylistic retro keyboardist/singer and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez (whose most recent album we named best of the year) at Barbes followed at 10 by eclectic Virginia hellraisers the No BS Brass Band.

7/7, 8 PM cello rockers Deoro plays Bach, Ravel, Messaien, Bizet, Michael Brecker and Randy Wolff at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud. On 7/8, same time, same price, the band returns, playing an acoustic set from their Kingston Morning reggae-rock album.

7/7, 8ish hip-hop/rock at the downstairs space at Webster Hall with White House Band, Mickey Factz, Tunde Olaniran, Rocky Business, Nyle vs. the Naysayers, Ra the MC and Mahogany, no idea who’s playing when but if you’re into this stuff, check it out.

7/7, 8:30 PM extraordinary oudist Tareq Abboushi plus percussionist Hector Morales at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

7/7, 8:30 PM the Court Yard Hounds (that’s sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks) at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/7, 9 PM filmmaker/hilarious satirical bandleader Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative (his funk band feat. members of Burnt Sugar) at Zebulon

7/7, 9 PM quirky, rustic cello rockers Pearl & the Beard at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $12 adv tix avail. til 7 PM weekdays at the Mercury.

7/7 captivating Americana chanteuse Megan Reilly with her band at Lakeside, 9 PM.

7/7, 9 PM smart, original, eclectic Americana songwriter Kelley Swindall at Banjo Jim’s

7/7 midnight smart oldtimey chanteuse/swing guitarist Miss Tess at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/8, 7:30 PM a killer dark Jewish jazz/instrumental doublebill with Anthony Coleman’s Sephardic Tinge followed by Barbez – whose latest album, a homage to Holocaust poet Paul Celan, is absolutely transcendent – at le Poisson Rouge, $12 gen adm.

7/8 smart new tuneful guitar jazz with the Brent Canter Group: Brent Canter – guitar , Noah Preminger – tenor sax , Adam Klipple – organ , Matt Clohesy – bass , Greg Ritchie – drums, 7:30 PM at Smalls

7/8, 8 PM Noah & the Megafauna play lush Tom Waits-ish stuff at Barbes followed at 10 by the high-energy oldtimey Baby Soda Jazz Band.

7/8, 8 PM Ocote Soul Sounds play trippy live dub cumbia at Bowery Poetry Club

7/8 tight, soaring oldschool honkytonk band Yarn – with a horn section – at Southpaw, 9ish, $12.

7/8 haunting soulful 60s soul/rock lyrical songwriter Dina Rudeen at the Jalopy, 9 PM, $5

7/8, 9 PM badass Australian country songwriter Kasey Chambers at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

7/8, 9 PM veteran Cali-Mex rockers Los Lobos at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/8 dark rock chanteuse Nicole Atkins & the Sea at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $12 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

7/8, 10 PM El Pueblo, one of the most eclectic and dubwise reggae-en-Espanol bands around, at Shrine

7/8 the Jack Grace Band bring their oldschool 60s country cool and crazed antics to Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

7/8 clever, sardonically amusing Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Kenny’s Castaways, 10 PM

7/8, 11:30 PM a rare and truly intense Ecuadorian skaragga triplebill at Drom with M.A.K.U, rustic frenetic Chota Madre and the psychedelic, reggae-tinged Bachaco at half past one in the morning, $10

7/8, midnight, sly acoustic jam band Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/9, 1 (one) PM SAS Orchestra – a 12 piece orchestra playing music of legendary Pittsburgh no wave/funk outfit Stick Against Stone at Von King Park in Bed Stuy (Marcy between Greene & Lafayette).

7/9, 4 PM a cool melodic punk triplebill with the Ovens, Homewreckers and Little Victory at ABC No Rio.

7/9, 4 (four) PM an auspicious start to the night with the Jordan Young organ trio with Jordan Young – drums , Joe Sucato – tenor sax , Brian Charette – B3 organ at Smalls

7/9, 5 (five) PM at Barbes: Day in Pictures with Matt Bauder on reeds; Justin Walter on trumpet, Kris Davis on piano, Jason Ajemian on bass and Chad Taylor on drums, followed at 8 by tango bass maven Pedro Giraudo’s sextet. Day in Pictures are also here on 7/16.

7/9, 7 PM politically aware indie rocker Ted Leo & the Pharmacists play South St. Seaport

7/9, 7:30 PM late golden-age hip-hop with Raekwon, Smif-N-Wessun, Joell Ortiz, Skyzoo, Neek the Exotic & Large Professor, no idea who’s opening or headlining, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/9, 7:30 PM smart, tuneful, literate, Aimee Mann-inflected chamber pop band Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Mercury, $12 gen adm.

7/9, 8:30 PM torchy jazz/pop pianist/songwriter Abby Payne at Caffe Vivaldi

7/9, 9 PM creepily haunting, intense female-fronted trip-hop/goth band Vespertina – who put on one of the best shows we’ve seen all year – at the Delancey, followed eventually at 11 by hypnotic groovy shoegaze/downtempo band El Jezel

7/9, 9/10:30 PM multi-reed paradigm-shifter Matana Roberts leads a quintet with Daniel Levin – cello, Shoko Nagai – piano, Thomson Kneeland – bass, Tomas Fujiwara – drums, at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/9, 9 PM low-key, rustic the Weal and the Woe, haunting newschool bluegrass/gothic Frankenpine and kick-ass country band the Flanks play the tail end of the latest Brooklyn County Fair extravaganza at the Jalopy, $10; the whole thing starts during the day at the Urban Meadow just around the corner around noon with half-hour sets by a ton of bands.

7/9, 9 PM hilarious fake French garage rockers les Sans Culottes at Coco 66, $10

7/9 Jazzimodo – sort of the Chilean Goldfrapp – at Drom, 9:30 PM, only $5.

7/9, 10 PM ferocious female-fronted noise/art-rock/funk powerhouse System Noise at the Parkside, $5.

7/9, 10 PM Rockers Galore play roots reggae at Shrine.

7/9, 10 PM ska jazz sax legend Dave Hillyard & the Rocksteady 7 at Two Boots Brooklyn

7/9, rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

7/10 it’s the Mafrika festival at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem, an all-day extravaganza of global African-influenced music starting at 10 AM?!!? with Brazil’s Quenia Ribeiro & Samba Samba, rocksteady/reggae band Finotee, Makane Kouyate & Denbaya, the Dakar All-Stars, Afrobeat band Super Hi-Fi, hip-hop with Skotch Davis, kora virtuoso Yacouba Diabate, Sekouba, the Band Droids, eclectic psychedelic funksters the People’s Champs, Soul of Anubis and Ethiopia’s Arki headlining.

7/10 Les Chauds Lapins play a Bastille Day show at E. 60th Street near Park Ave., 2 PM – sultry vocals, chiming ukuleles and lots of innuendo, in French.

7/10, 3 (three) PM the Hard Nips play the Fulton Stall Market at South St. Seaport. Imagine if Shonen Knife had been born 20 years later and were better musicians. Their album is titled I Shit U Not.

7/10, 7 PM hypnotic African sounds on the water: Abdoulaye Alhassane and the Deep Sahara Band at Pier One on the upper west.

7/10, 7 PM Crepuscular Activity with Yukari on flutes and up-and-coming drummer Carlo Costa at Downtown Music Gallery.

7/10, 8 PM the Microscopic Septet’s reliably eclectic, devious Joel Forrester plays the piano to accompany the silent films: Brats with Laurel & Hardy, The High Sigh by Buster Keaton, and Diary of a Rarebit Fiend by Windsor McCay at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

7/10, 9 PM drummer Jordan Young leads his excellent jazz quartet at the Fat Cat.

7/11, 7 PM 40Twenty with Vinnie Sperraza – drums; Jacob Sacks – piano; Jacob Garchik – trombone, and Dave Ambrosio – bass play melodic jazz with third-stream tinges followed at 9:30 PM by incomparably fun, danceable latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly at Barbes

7/11, 7:30 PM Bjorkestra frontwoman Becca Stevens’ Band at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/11, 9 PM cleverly haunting, intense Americana/art-rock/punk songwriter Raquel Bell at Pete’s.

7/11, 9 PM oldtimey night at Local 269: the Cornell Bros. Washtub Band followed by the Shaggy Dolls at 10.

7/11, 9 PM trombonist David White leads his Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

7/11 hypnotic pensive indie songwriter Bill Callahan f.k.a. Smog at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 gen adm; 7/12 he’s at Bowery Ballroom, same time, same price.

7/12, 7 PM interesting solo guitarists: Tim Heap at Local 269 followed by Homeboy Steve Antonakos. Antonakos is also at Banjo Jim’s solo on 7/25 at 9.

7/12, 7:30 PM a characteristically eclectic cross-pollinating show with string quartet Brooklyn Rider plus shakuhachi virtuoso Kojiro Umezaki at the Schimmel Center at Pace Univ. 3 Spruce St. downtown, free tix avail. starting at 5 PM.

7/12-17 pianist Marcus Roberts leads a trio with Rodney Jordan and Jason Marsalis at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

7/12, 8 PM oldschool NYC rock supergroup the Peaceniks – with Patti Rothberg and Utopia’s Moogy Klingman – at Banjo Jim’s

7/12-16, 8:30/11 PM Pablo Zeigler’s tango nuevo project with cantante Sandra Luna at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

7/12, 9:30 PM the Dave Gibson Group play the cd release show for their excellent new soul-jazz cd End of the Tunnel with Dave Gibson – trombone , Julius Tolentino – alto sax , Jared Gold – organ , Anwar Marshall – drums at Smalls

7/13 noirish soul/rock band Shenandoah & the Night at Bryant Park, free, 6 PM

7/13, 7 PM jazz bass powerhouse Christian McBride & Inside Straight at Madison Square Park, free.

7/13, 7 PM a Jonathan Schwartz tribute at Rockefeller Park featuring a huge cast of jazz luminaries incl. John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, Bill Charlap, Meredith D’ambrosio, Tony DeSare, Rebecca Kilgore, Hilary Kole, Jay Leonhart, Tony Monte, Bucky Pizzarelli, Tierney Sutton and others, no idea who’s playing when but the band should be killer.

7/13, 9 PM blistering improvisational Balkan madness with Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall

7/13, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

7/13, 11 PM golden-age hip-hop stars Pharoahe Monch & Black Rob, OGC (from Fab 5), Helta Skeltah,, Smif & Wessun, Black Moon at B.B. King’s

7/14, 7 PM Patti Smith at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/14, 8:30 PM haunting noir southwestern gothic chanteuse Kerry Kennedy and Ghostwise, at Public Assembly, free – a good choice if you can’t make it to Patti Smith.

7/14 drummer Tim Kuhl leads a group feat. Michael Formanek, bass; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Jonathan Goldberger, guitar; Frantz Loriot, viola; Jonathan Moritz, saxes playing the cd release show for his new one at 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe.

7/14, 10 PM melodic adventurous jazz improv with Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock and Tyshawn Sorey at the Stone, $10

7/14, 10 PM eclectically captivating Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood. Then she goes next door and plays a set with the Dirty Urchins in the big room at midnight.

7/14, 10 PM scorching, fun glampunk/noiserockers the K-Holes at Union Hall, $8.

/14, 10 PM dubwise Brazilian-influenced roots reggae band Kiwi at Maxwell’s, $8

7/14, 10 PM New Madrid play Spike Hill. Catchy, hook-driven rock en Espanol from this drummer-led band with a genuinely dark 80s feel.

7/14, 10:30 PM wild improvisational Balkan madness with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10.

7/14 the Snow’s clever lyrical frontman Pierre de Gaillande sings his own hilariously accurate translations of classic Georges Brassens songs at 10:30 PM at Barbes.

7/15, 6 PM haunting acoustic Nashville gothic band the Whispering Tree at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/15, 6:40 PM (six forty in the evening) sultry, ferociously lyrical, hilarious oldtimey siren Kelli Rae Powell at the American Folk Art Museum (new location, 2 Lincoln Center, across Amsterdam from the main Lincoln Center plaza)

7/15, 8 PM crazy funky brass band the Underground Horns at Barbes followed at 10 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra playing rare 1920s hot jazz classics from Harlem and Chicago from their pretty amazing new album.

7/15, 8 PM art-rock multi-instrumentalist/composer Christina Courtin at Bowery Electric

7/15, 8 PM Colorform followed by Cementhead – awful segue, good bands – at Local 269. The first play chamber pop while a band member paints; the second are an oldschool Williamsburg power trio with savage post-Johnny Marr guitar.

7/15, 8 PM notable free jazz trumpeter Nate Wooley leads a quintet with Josh Sinton (bass clarinet) Matt Moran (vibes) Dan Peck (tuba) Harris Eisenstadt (drums) at the Stone, $10.

7/15, 9 PM indie pop maven Kendall Meade brings her gorgeously tuneful most recent project Mascott out of mothballs at Rock Shop, $10 adv tix rec.

7/15, 9 PM a cool roots reggae doublebill with Khalilah and Melekel at Shrine.

7/15, 9ish Colombian band Frente Cumbiero play live dub cumbia at Sycamore Bar in Ditmas Park.

7/15, 9:30 PM best doublebill of the year? Maybe. Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies followed by the Syd Barrett-ish Black Angels at Maxwell’s, $20 adv tix absolutely required, at either the club or Other Music in Manhatan, this will sell out.

7/15 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at 11 at Lakeside.

7/15 ferocious Pogues cover band Streams of Whiskey play Paddy Reilly’s at 11; they’re back here on 7/22 at 8:30 opening for the Prodigals (who are also back here on 7/29 at 11 – got it?)

7/15, half past midnight Kris Davis on piano and Barry Altschul on drums plus guests TBA at the Blue Note, $10, best lineup they’ve had here in months.

7/16, half past noon, classic pop maven Elisa Peimer and her band followed by Americana rockers Whisperado on Governor’s Island, free, follow the sound

7/16, 4 PM C&W/Brazilian dance band Nation Beat, sultry Nina Simone-influenced worldbeat siren Meklit Hadero and then Arturo O’Farrill’s latin jazz quartet at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance.

7/16, 5 PM a typical brilliant eclectic triplebill at Barbes: sax player Matt Bauder’s Day in Pictures with Kris Davis on piano followed at 8 by the psychedelic south Asian trance jazz of Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet and then at 10 by Colombian band Frente Cumbiero who play live dub cumbia

7/16, 7ish PM-ish the Black Angels play their hypnotic eerie psychedelic rock at South St. Seaport.

7/16, 7 PM charismatic, ferociously lyrical NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

7/16, 7 PM tuneful alto saxophonist Marc McDonald leads his Quartet with the reliably excellent Jim Ridl on piano at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and snacks

7/16, 7:30 PM percussionist/composer Alessandra Belloni leads an all-female quintet with Jessica Valiente on reeds and Eve Sicular on drums playing Belloni’s mystical sea goddess tribute at the NY Open Center, 22 East 30th St., $25.

7/16 as usual, the month’s best rock night is at Trash Bar starting at 8 with the Highway Gimps – the missing link between Motorhead and My Bloody Valentine – quirky upbeat indie duo Eleanor, Let Me Crazy, legendary Dead Milkmen frontman Joe Jack Talcum, the ferociously tuneful, charismatic anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What, and Grand Rapids sometime around midnight.

7/16, 8 PM creepy Nashville gothic siren Lorraine Leckie followed by the quieter but equally captivating Kelley Swindall at Otto’s

7/16, 8 PM high-energy soul legend Andre Williams with Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies at Brooklyn Bowl, $8.

7/16, 8 PM Brother Num, frontman of the Nu Afrika Project plays roots reggae at Shrine.

7/16, 8:30 PM guitarist Travis Reuter – who just put out a tremendously enjoyable new free-ish, atmospheric jazz album – leads a quintet at I-Beam, $10

7/16, 9 PM intense, politically aware, eclectic gypsy punk/latin band Rupa & the April Fishes at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

7/16, 9 PM, melodically ornate, goth-inflected pianist/songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/16, 9:30 PM the recently revamped and reinvigorated retro soul band the One and Nines at Maxwell’s, $8

7/16, 10 PM guitarist Dave Benjoya’s eclectic gypsy/latin/klezmer band Magpie at Freddy’s.

7/16, 10:30 PM Patti Smith guitarist (and powerpop maven) Lenny Kaye followed by garage rock legends the Fleshtones‘ cd release show at the Mercury $12 adv tix rec.

7/16 clever, funny, fiery Americana punk band Spanking Charlene – playing stuff from their auspicious forthcoming Where Are the Freaks album – at Lakeside, 11 PM.

7/16, 11 PM torchy, hypnotic, downtempo keyboard soul/pop trio Mattison in the back room at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, $5.

7/17, 7 PM free jazz sax legend George Garzone and the Fringe at MOMA’s Summergarden, free with $20 admission.

7/17 noir guitar maven Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the 23rd St. heliport and the East River, $20 tix available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc. Ostensibly this is the “danceable” set.

7/17 Pink Martini at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/17 a cool bluegrass doublebill at Rodeo Bar starting at 9ish with Rhode Island’s Filthy Still followed by Brooklyn’s exhilarating Thy Burden at 10:30 or so

7/17, 9:30 PM ferociously literate and side-splittingly funny ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell at the Jalopy, $10.

7/18, 7 PM concertina virtuoso Padraig Rynne at Barbes followed at 9:30 by Spanglish Fly’s bugalu party.

7/18, 9 PM smart, intense, anthemic noir rocker Alice Texas at LIC Bar.

7/18, 9 PM the Yaozeki Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

7/18 the K-Holes play fiery dark eclectic punk/garage/swamp rock at Death by Audio, midnight-ish

7/19 the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/19-24, 7:30/9:30 PM lyrical jazz pianist Fred Hersch leads a trio at the Vanguard

7/19, 7:30ish 80s hip-hop legend (and LL Cool nemesis) Kool Moe Dee at Queensbridge Park, F to 21st St.

7/19, 8 PM two excellent jazz acts for the price of less than half of one: the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra followed by bassist Ben Williams & the Checkout at the 92YTribeca, $12 gen adm.

7/19, 9 PM dark lyrical rocker Randi Russo – whose new album Fragile Animal is our pick for best of 2011 so far – at Pete’s followed at 10 by the Dive Bar Dukes. Too funny. Not that the Dive Bar Dukes are a bad band – they’re actually a lot of fun – it’s just one extreme to the other.

7/19, 9 PM intense yet subtle pan-Asian jazz chanteuse/composer Jen Shyu at Korzo.

7/19, 10 PM Balkan/jazz trumpeter Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel play their assaultive, intense improvs at Local 269, $7

7/19, 10 PM talented avant garde guitarist Gyan Riley with adventurous guzheng virtuoso Wu Fei at the Stone, $10. Fei is also solo at MOMA’s Summergarden on 7/21 at 5:30, free w/$20 museum adm.

7/19 it appears that the Toots & the Maytals show at Brooklyn Bowl is sold out. He’ll also be there on 7/25 and $26 tix are still available.

7/20 haunting psychedelic Iranian/American rock with the Mast, 8 PM at Mehanata; 7/28 they’re at Bar 4 in Park Slope at 9

7/20 eclectic tuneful female-fronted new wave/art-rock band Changing Modes – responsible for our pick for best song of 2010 – 9 PM at Fontana’s

7/20 desert blues legends Tinariwen at Highline Ballroom, 9 PM, $27 adv tix rec.

7/20, 9 PM impressively diverse Hammond B3 organ jazz grooves with the Brian Charette Trio at the Fat Cat.

7/20, 10 PM Baron Misuraca’s Vampire Lounge (twisted versions of “lounge classics”) followed at 11 by the Apehangers playing Joe Meek-style surf music at Otto’s

7/20, 10 PM San Juan Hill play latin soul with funk, Caribbean and Brazilian influences at Bowery Poetry Club, it’s a dance party for sure

7/20 the charming but biting oldtimey swing sounds of Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

7/21-22 the Jazz Passengers’ Bill Ware’s Vibes Trio at Puppets Jazz Bar, 6 PM; on 7/23 they take over the midnight slot.

7/21, 7 PM the Plumbers play “”Tex-Mex-Calypso-billy” at Sinatra Park, Sinatra Dr. btwn 4th & 5th Sts in Hoboken.

7/21, 7 PM purist expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues. He’s also here on 7/23 and 7/24, same time.

7/21, 8 PM a killer modern roots reggae triplebill with Ilamawana, Kevin Kinsella (ex-John Brown’s Body) and Groundation at Hiro Ballroom, adv tix $30 at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/21 ecstatic Eastern European dance mashup band Balkan Beat Box, 8 PM at Brooklyn Bowl, $12.

7/21, 8 PM piano virtuoso Nurit Tilles followed at10 by the pipa/sax/komungo wildness of Min Xiao-Fen, Jane Ira Bloom and Jin Hi Kim at the Stone, $10

7/21, 8 PM 21st century style garage rock night with Plastic Traps, the Boom Bang and the Vandelles at Union Hall, $8.

7/21, 8 PM thoughtful guitar jazz with Tin/Bag (Kris Tiner, trumpet & Mike Baggetta, guitar) with the James Ilgenfritz Group at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 7th Ave, Park Slope), $15 ($10 stud/srs).

7/21, 8 PM free jazz pianist Rema Hasumi plays the Gershwin Hotel, $10.

7/21, 8:30 PM dizzyingly eclectic Deoro feat. world music siren Dina Fanai at the big room at the Rockwood

7/21, 9 PM period-perfect, hilariously literate oldtimey songwriter Al Duvall and sultry 1920s style harmony sirens the Roulette Sisters plus some sideshow freaks (evicted from Coney Island by swindler developers?) at the Jalopy, $10

7/21 Lucinda Williams at the Beacon, 9 PM, $39.50 tix avail. at the box office – most likely sold out by now.

7/21, 10 PM a kick-ass surf music doublebill with the The Tarantinos NYC – who just keep getting better and better and more diverse – followed by the Octomen at Sugarland, 221 N 9th St. in Williamsburg, $5

7/22, 7 PM it’s been a good year for good bands winning contests. WNYC put on a “battle of the bands” contest and Queens Indian jazz band Charanams won! They’re playing the Greene Space to celebrate, $15 cover includes a beer

7/22, 7:30/9:30 PM Cuba’s excellent, original Joven Jazz Quartet – who blend oldschool Afro-Cuban beats and modern arrangements – at Drom, $TBA, adv tix highly rec.

7/22, 8 PM charming, harmony-driven oldtimey Hawaiian swing band the Moonlighters at Barbes.

7/22, 8 PM Los Chantas Tango Quartet play a free show at the Queens Theatre in the Park incl. dance lessons for the milonga-challenged, res. req. to 718-760-0064.

7/22 Brooklyn’s #1 regressive rock act, Spinal Tap style metal spoof Mighty Highat the Fortune Cookie Lounge under Lucky Cheng’s, 9 PM

7/22, 9/10:30 PM bassist Carlo DeRosa’s Cross-Fade with Mark Shim, tenor sax; Vijay Iyer, piano; Marcus Gilmore, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

7/22, 9:45 PM Australian darkwave sensation Wendy Rule at Caffe Vivaldi

7/22 NYC’s pre-eminent alt-country crew Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

7/23, 4 PM fast fearless politically-aware hardcore with Desikilibrio, Adelitas and Huasipungo at ABC No Rio.

7/23, the A-Bones and the Greenhornes play a garage rock Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Queen of Hearts, boarding at 7, departing at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, adv tix $30 available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/23, 8 PM sitar virtuoso Ikhlaq Hussain at the Gershwin Hotel, $25/$20 stud.

7/23, 9/10:30 PM intense, smartly lyrical pianist Michael Cain leads a trio with Lonnie Plaxico – bass, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/23, 10 PM authentic oldschool rocksteady band the Bluebeats at Two Boots Brooklyn

7/23, midnight, hilarious theatrical hip-hop personality Schaffer the Darklord at Arlene’s.

7/24, 6 (six) PM AwShockKiss play fiery tuneful female-fronted anthemic rock with an 80s vibe that’s not cheesy at LIC Bar

7/24, 7 PM eclecic violist Ljova joins Octavio Brunetti’s Apeadero Sur Tango Orchestra for a night of tangos on Pier 84, free.

7/24, 8 PM a killer doublebill at le Poisson Rouge with reliably menacing retro rocker Reid Paley followed by Frank Black, and probably some collaboration between the two. This will sell out – $20 adv tix a must.

7/24 Susan Mitchell – violinist to the stars, and a star in her own right – with ubiquitous guitar genius Homeboy Steve Antonakos at Caravan of Dreams, E. 6th St. off 1st Ave., 8 PM.

7/24, 8 PM LES powerpop vets Beat Rodeo at the small room at the Rockwood

7/24, 8:30 PM fiery, lyrical jazz pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Dave Liebman, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/24, 8:30 PM hypnotic cello/vibraphone duo Goli at 9:30. followed at 9:30 by Petaluma Vale’s classical harp stylings at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/25 one of the most captivating, underrated composers in jazz, alto flugelhornist Scott Reeves leads a jazz orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM – free and highly recommended.

7/25, 9 PM David Honeyboy Edwards – the last guy to see Robert Johnson alive – at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

7/25, 10 PM guitarist Joel Harrison and sarodist Anupam Shobhakar lead an adventurous south Asian jazz quintet at 55 Bar.

7/25, 10:30 PM Cuban jazz legends Sierra Maestra at SOB’s, $20 adv tix highly rec.

7/25 Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies play charming oldtimey and country songs at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

7/26 Brazilian nocturnes and grooves with Forro in the Dark in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/26, 7 PM NYC’s only black old time string band, the Ebony Hillbillies at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

7/26 Grupo Los Santos with saxophonist Paul Carlon and Hazmat Modine’s Pete Smith on guitar at Miles Cafe, 7 PM, $20 includes a drink and snacks

7/26-31 understatedly soulful chanteuse Claudia Acuna leads her amazing quintet with Marc Cary on piano and Juancho Herrera on guitar at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

7/26, 7:30 PM the Matt Herskowitz Trio plays Bach, Schumann and Chopin at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

7/26, 8:30 PM clever lyrical songwriters Joe McGinty and Ward White at Bowery Electric.

7/26, 9 PM the Five Deadly Venoms play bluegrass at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/26 guitarslinger/janglemeister Sam Sherwin plays the cd release show for his new one Iodine Cocktails at Sullivan Hall, 9:30 PM

7/27, 6 PM clever, comedic Erin & Her Cello at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free

7/27, 7:30 PM dark hypnotic songwriter Marissa Nadler at the Mercury; 7/30, 9 PM she’s at at Littlefield, both shows are $12

7/27 rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/27, 7:30 PM the Black Earth Boys feat. kora virtuoso Juldeh Camara followed by Billy Bragg at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center.

7/27, 8 PM powerhouse classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Rupert Boyd team up as a duo, and share the bill with the cutting-edge flute/efx duo Flutronix at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

7/27, 8 PM smartly aware, tuneful Americana rocker Amy Speace at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/27, 8:30 PM Ollabelle spinoff the Silver Hollers play oldtime Americana at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/27, 9 PM deliciously creepy noir psychedelic soundtrack instrumentals with Mojo Mancini (feat. John Leventhal from Rosanne Cash’s band plus Brian Mitchell from Dylan’s touring band) at the big room at the Rockwood, $10

7/27, 9 PM eclectic powerhouse Malian chanteuse Oumou Sangare at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

7/27,9 PM Niger’s desert blues legends Etran Finatawa at the 92YTribeca, $22 adv tix highly rec.

7/27, 9 PM trumpeter Ben Syversen’s noisy, intense free jazz outfit Cracked Vessel at Freddy’s.

7/27, 9:30 PM arguably the most ecstatically fun live band in NYC, “turbo tropical cumbia tangomuffins (?)” Escarioka at Bowery Electric.

7/28, the Roulette Sisters’ sultry oldtime music maven Mamie Minch at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

7/28, 8 PM trombonist Joseph Bowie’s legendary Defunkt – who tore up clubs all over town in the 80s, and are reputedly as groovalicious as ever – at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

7/28, 8 PM Pauline Oliveros (accordion) Rosi Herlein (violin, voice) at the Stone, $10, get there early if you want to get in.

7/28 Budos Band play a concert cruise aboard the Queen of Hearts, leaving from 40. West Houston St. at West Side Highway at 8 PM sharp, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/28, 8 PM vocal jazz quintet Detour Ahead butcher schlocky pop hits by Lady Gag, Duran Duran, Kiss and others at the Gershwin Hotel, $10 – could be hilarious, could be hell.

7/28 first-class up-and-coming country siren Drina and the Deep Blue Sea, 9 PM at Banjo Jim’s

7/28, 9 PM smart, funny, female-fronted, indelibly NYC urban pop band Delusions of Grand Street at Fontana’s.

7/28, 9:30 PM powerhouse melodic postbop jazz with Ralph Bowen – tenor sax , Jim Ridl – piano , Kenny Davis – bass , Billy Drummond – drums at Smalls.

7/28, 10:30 PM big buzz band New Atlantic Youth – a powerpop spinoff of the Brooklyn What – at Rock Shop, $8

7/29, 7:30 PM brilliant, soulful Lebanese multi-instrumentalist/composer Bassam Saba and his ensemble followed by eclectic, fearless Malian siren Oumou Sangare at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/29, 7:30 PM hilarious, virtuosic oldtimey/grasscore band The Devil Makes Three at the Mercury, $12 adv tix very highly rec.

7/29, 8 PM excellent eclectic danceable doublebill: Brazilian/C&W band Nation Beat followed by the Mexican-American Go-Go’s, Pistolera, playing the cd release for their new one El Desierto y La Ciudad at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

7/29, 8 PM the monthly ska extravaganza returns to Trash Bar with the Fighting 405, Big Shots, Scrapers, 45 Adapters, Unit 6 and Hub City Stompers sometime around midnight.

7/29, 8 PM in case you can’t make it out to Barbes for deliriously fun, danceable latin soul bugalu revivalists Spanglish Fly‘s Monday residency this month, they’re playing SOB’s for just $10

7/29, 8 PM avant garde piano star Sarah Cahill plays the world premiere of Paul Dresher’s new piece “Two, Entwined” at the Stone.

7/29 an amazing lineup led by guitarist Mary Halvorson: Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; John Hebert , bass; Ches Smith, drums, 9/10:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

7/29, 9/10:30 PM percussionist Adam Rudolph leads a globally astute octet with Joseph Bowie – trombone; Graham Haynes – cornet/flugelhorn; Brahim Fribgane – oud; Kenny Wessel – guitars; Peter Apfelbaum – flute/tenor saxophone; Jerome Harris – acoustic bass guitar/slide guitar; Matt Kilmer – percussion at the Jazz Gallery, $20

7/29-30 the Eels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $30 gen adm., adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7, this may sell out.

7/29, 9ish the Night Beats play ominous lo-fi psychedelic garage rock at Maxwell’s

7/29, 9 PM Iranian indie rock with Raam (frontman of Hypernova) and Radio Tehran at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec.

7/29, 9 PM Big Star-influenced janglerockers the Nu-Sonics at Freddy’s.

7/29 Canadian bluegrass stars Luther Wright and the Wrongs – the folks responsible for the bluegrass version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall – at Rodeo Bar 10ish

7/30, 4 PM psychedelic, rustic, horn-driven blues/klezmer/minor-key band Hazmat Modine followed by Steven Bernstein’s Millennian Territory Orchestra (no idea if they’re doing their Sly Stone set or not) at the World Financial Center plaza.

7/30, 6 PM a cool country doublebill: Rhett Miller followed by the always hilarious Hayes Carll at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance

7/30, 6 PM Indian brass band Red Baraat, go-go godfather Chuck Brown and Dr. John & the Lower 9/11 at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/30, 7:30 PM comedic and virtuosic Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/30, 7:30/9:30 PM a cool B3 trio with Jacam Manricks – alto sax; Gary Versace – organ; Matt Wilson – drums at the Bar Next Door

7/30, 9 PM ecstatically fun, intense gypsy punk/metal cumbia/rock en Espanol band Escarioka – one of our favorites – at Mehanata.

7/30, 9/10:30 PM Ralph Alessi – trumpet, Kris Davis – piano, Ingrid Laubrock – saxophone, Tom Rainey – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/30, 9:30 PM baritone western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Hill Country

7/30, 10 PM Kiwi plays roots reggae with dub and Brazilian tinges at Shrine.

7/30 the Pretty Babies (Tammy Faye Starlite’s twisted, funny Blondie cover band) at Lakeside, 11 PM

7/31 French gypsy rockers Watcha Clan followed by Israeli Middle Eastern/Indian jam band Yemen Blues at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 3 PM highly advised.

7/31, 4 PM the Raveonettes at the Beekman Beer Garden (formerly Water Taxi Beach) at Pier 17 at South St. Seaport.

7/31, 4:45 PM a dual organ recital by Steven Distad and Robert Frazier playing Eben, Paulus, Widor and Liszt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

7/31 the NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars play sizzling salsa jazz at 6:30 PM at Grant’s Tomb, 122nd St. and Riverside Drive, free. When’s the last time you saw a concert at Grant’s Tomb?

7/31, 7 PM stars of the NYC Balkan underground: Patrick Farrell (accordion) and Ben Holmes (trumpet) at Barbes followed at 9 by gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel.

7/31, 9ish oldtime hot jazz with the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

7/31, 1 AM (actually wee hours of 8/2) El Pueblo plays eclectic dub reggae en Espanol at the small room at the Rockwood

8/1, 8:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon and brilliant free jazz drummer Barry Altschul, probably revisiting Irabagon’s recent Pharaoh Sanders homage at Cornelia St. Cafe $10 followed at 10 by his much funnier, satirical band Mostly Other People Do the Killing (separate admission, $10).

8/1 midnight-ish the Kottonmouth Kings – yeah, they’re sort of the reggae version of Cypress Hill, but they’re still fun – at Highline Ballroom, $22 adv tix highly rec.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/2 gamelan orchestra Yowana Sari play 7 PM at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/2, 7:30/9:30 PM veteran bassist Rufus Reid leads a killer quartet including Bobby Watson and JD Allen playing the cd release show for his new one at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail., this will sell out

8/2, 8 PM the Mingus Orchestra plays Washington Square Park, free.

8/2, 10 PM smart guitar-driven Sephardic-tinged rock with Sway Machinery at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec

8/3 Ethiopian groove unit Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/3, 8 PM intense, ferocious Americana/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Union Hall, $10

8/3, 10 PM Cambodian psychedelic pop revivalists Dengue Fever  at Southpaw $15 gen adm.; 8/4 they’re at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center for free

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4 Chilean cumbia sensation Chico Trujillo at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.; they’re at le Poisson Rouge at 11ish the same night for $8 less if you get advance tix.

8/4, 8 PM charming yet badass Americana harmony sirens the Sweetback Sisters at the big room at the Rockwood

8/4, a twangy guitar summit with the eclectic Bill Kirchen and surf rockers Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s, 9ish, $15.

8/5, 7 PM Tom Waits-ish Nashville gothic singer Mark Growden at the small room at the Rockwood

8/5, 7:30 PM one of the western world’s premier Middle Eastern ensembles, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/5, 8 PM a roots reggae triplebill with the Rootsetters, Tronika and the Hard Times at Shrine.

8/5, 9:30 PM noir Americana pop band Little Embers followed by exhilarating Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon playing their cd release show at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/5 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM.

8/6 jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas – a fearless, charismatic, frequently hilarious performer – plays the cd release show for his characteristically eclectic new cd Dirty Draws Volume Three at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix highly rec.

8/6, 9 PM satirical Chinese-American hip-hop crew the Notorious MSG play the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/7, 7 PM haunting hypnotic Sephardic soundscapes and rock songs with Galeet Dardashti and Divahn at Pier One on the upper west

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 10ish excellent Boston honkytonk rockers Girls Guns & Glory play songs off their highly anticipated forthcoming album Sweet Nothings at Rodeo Bar

8/8, 8:30 PM bassist Chris Tordini’s Tiger Blood with Jeremy Viner , tenor sax, clarinet; Sasha Brown, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Jim Black, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/9, 7 PM vibraphone/harp/percussion new music ensemble Percussia at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/9-13, 7:30/9:30 PM guitarist Ed Cherry leads an intriguing trio with killer B3 organist Pat Bianchi at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/9, 8 PM classic roots reggae with the Abyssinians and Black Uhuru’s Mykal Rose at Highline Ballroom, $18 adv tix rec.

8/9, 8 PM purist new jazz with saxophonist Marcus Strickland with drummer Eric Harland at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/10, 11 PM eclectic, completely original psychedelic funk/Afrobeat band the Peoples Champs at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 5:30 PM highly regarded Americana songwriter James Maddock on the plaza at the World Financial Center.

8/11, 8 PM oldschool soul duo Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays purist Steve Cropper-style guitar; she works the ethereal sultry tip for an classic wee-hours vibe.

8/11, midnight, North Carolina’s Kickin Grass play sizzling modern bluegrass at the small room at the Rockwood

8/12, 8:30ish the Detroit Cobras at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

8/12, 9 PM Tris McCall at Littlefield. By day, he chronicles boring corporate pop music for a suburban New Jersey newspaper; at night, he sheds his skin, plugs in his keyboard and becomes one of the most acerbic, tuneful songwriters out there.

8/12, 9 PM Korean vocalese chanteuse Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, tenor sax, bass clarinet; Ike Sturm, bass; George Schuller, drums; Seung-Hee, voice, compositions; Toru Dodo, piano at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/12, 10 PM clever, funny hip-hop/Americana band Under the Elephant at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

8/13, 1 and 3 PM pioneering new-music string quartet Ethel play a free show on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 7 PM Brooklyn’s best band, tuneful anti-gentrification punk rockers the Brooklyn What – sort of the teens equivalent of what the Dead Boys were in the 70s – at Europa, dirt cheap, $8

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 9 PM a monster triplebill at Freddy’s: Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner, Brooklyn’s own man in black, John Pinamonti and charismatic noir rocker Tom Warnick & World’s Fair at Freddy’s.

8/13, 9 PM soundtrack mini-orchestra Morricone Youth at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/14, 4:45 PM Michael Bower plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM Cuban son montuno powerhouse Los Soneros de Oriente at Pier One on the upper west

8/15 Queen Latifah at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised.

8/15 and 8/17 Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar trio play hypnotic Indian jazz at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25.

8/18, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with Bakersfield-style country twanglers Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, the Texas honkytonk and zydeco of the Doc Marshalls and haunting intense original acoustic Nashville gothic/bluegrass of Frankenpine at Union Hall, $7.

8/18, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler solo at Waltz-Astoria, 24th and Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, N to Ditmars Blvd. and a six block walk

8/19, 7 PM torchy oldtime Americana quartet the Dirty Urchins at the small room at the Rockwood

8/19, 9 PM wild crazy female-fronted gypsy band Fishtank Ensemble at Union Hall, $10.

8/19 torchy intense theatrical oldtimey chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15 gen adm.

8/19, midnight, African roots reggae legend Tiken Jah Fakoly at SOB’s $25 adv tix highly rec., this will probably sell out. He’s also headlining Central Park Summerstage on 8/20 around 5:30, early arrival around 3 PM a must.

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/20 ageless ska/rock/soul party machine the Slackers play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Star of Palm Beach, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, $30 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/20, 8 PM a killer oldtimey/Americana acoustic night at the Bell House with the Resurrectionists, Woodpecker and satirical faux-country girls Menage a Twang.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/22 really oldschool soca with Mighty Sparrow and oldschool 80s dancehall reggae with Shaggy at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised

8/22, 7:30 PM the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/22 creepy indie band Deerhunter at Webster Hall, 10ish. If you’re going to miss the Eels, these guys are very similar.

8/23, 7ish Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/23-28 the JD Allen Trio at the Vanguard, 7:30/9:30 PM. This is a good year for good artists and composers winning awards: tenor sax powerhouse Allen has been long, long overdue for his Downbeat #1 Rising Star award this year. His trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums hit a lot of transcendent notes back in May at le Poisson Rouge.

8/24, 7ish the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/25, 5:30 PM NYC’s own hypnotic Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

8/26 smart, lyrical Irish-American rock legends Black 47 play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the heliport at 23rd St.and the FDR, $25 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/26, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/26, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler followed at 1 by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland playing the cd release show for their long-anticipated new one Hymns for the Dreadful Night at Barbes

8/26, 9 PM garage punk guitar genius Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman in a rare trio show with Art and Steve Godoy, at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec., this will sell out.

8/27, 1 PM day one of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has Tia Fuller and James Carter at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem

8/28, 1 PM day two of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival with the Gerald Clayton trio, Ali Jackson and the Archie Sheppp Quartet at Tompkins Square Park.

8/28, 3 PM accordion-driven klezmer quintet Danzanova at Bargemusic $25/$20 stud/srs.

8/30, 11 PM sultry chanteuse Marilyn Carino – Paula’s big sister – does her Little Genius project at the small room at the Rockwood

8/31 cutting edge melodic jazz with the John Farnsworth Quintet at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free.

8/30-31 fascinating tuneful piano-based free jazz with Pilc/Moutin/Hoenig at the Blue Note, 8/10:30 PM, $10 seats avail.

9/4, 1 and 3 PM pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg play Bach, John Adams and others with a string ensemble on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour.

9/4 Manu Chao at Terminal 5 is sold out but the 9/5, 8 PM show still has $35 tix avail.

9/8-9 plus 9/15-16, 9 PM Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

9/9 Chinese-American hip-hop sensations the Notorious MSG at Southpaw, 10 PM, $10.

9/11, 7 PM at Symphony Space, free, a 9/11 memorial concert, “will feature appearances by some of New York’s most illustrious artists, actors, athletes and politicians!” How about Melora Creager of Rasputina, one of the few artists unafraid to acknowledge that 9/11 was an inside job engineered by Dick Cheney? How about Mike Piazza and John Kerry? And if there are any politicians in the house who benefited from the police state tactics that the Bush regime put into effect that fall, we encourage you to vent your frustration as sadistically as possible.

9/13, 8 PM Steve Earle at the Town Hall, $35 tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/15, 8 PM the recently regrouped Klezmatics at Highline Ballroom.

9/16-17 majestic yet funk jazz piano titan Marc Cary’s Focus Trio at Smoke uptown

9/20 interestingly weird avant/indie/pop band Deerhoof at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11 PM, $17 gen adm.

9/21-22 Beirut at Terminal 5, 8 PM, $27 adv tix onsale 7/8.

9/23 Sameer Gupta’s amazing, hypnotic Indian-flavored jazz group with Marc Cary on piano at Baruch College Auditorium, 23rd St. and Lex., time/price TBA

9/27, 8 PM Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

9/27, 8 PM dark Middle Eastern-tinged instrumentalist Sir Richard Bishop opens for the Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $30 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM, this may sell out.

9/28, 8:30ish a killer eclectic triplebill with desert blues-influenced Chicago band Pillars and Tongues, Bay area gypsy/balkan supernova A Hawk & a Hacksaw and gypsy punk band Dark Dark Dark at the Bell House, $13 adv tix very highly rec.

10/1, 10ish long-runnning original punk-pop band the Vibrators at Union Hall – the venues keep getting smaller, they keep playing the nostalgia angle – $13 adv tix rec.

10/22, 8 PM popular Americana chanteuse Gillian Welch at the Beacon Theatre, $35 tix avail.

11/17 well-loved harmony-driven Americana trio Red Molly – whose new lineup is just as captivating as the previous one – at the big room at the Rockwood, 7:30 PM

12/21 it’s Make Music Winter. Inspired by Phil Kline’s famous Gulf War-era interactive antiwar composition Unsilent Night, the Make Music NY organizers are working to schedule another citywide day/night of interesting, free live music. Pure genius. Watch this space for updates.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his wild, ecstatic 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays in August the Quavers – who mix trippy downtempo art-rock with indie pop – play Barbes early at 7 PM

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Mondays in July Spanglish Fly, with their sultry retro 60s latin soul vibe, play Barbes at 9:30 PM while Chicha Libre is off doing other things

Also Mondays in July Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Tuesdays at 7 PM in July it’s a classical piano series playfully titled Upright Piano Brigade, an A-list of classical talent playing the brand-new Sauter piano at Barbes.

Tuesdays in July clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in July the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays in July Andy Shernoff of the Dictators and the Masterplan plays Lakeside early at 7 PM. Working up new material, no doubt. Worth checking out if edgy oldschool NYC rock is your thing

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Wednesdays in July at midnight, multi-instrumentalist Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood. He’s played brilliantly on so many Americana and singer-songwriter albums it’s not funny; it’ll be interesting to hear him do his own stuff.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in July at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in July at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.

Saturdays at 1 PM continuing through August (except for August 13), at 1 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic – early arrival advised. Usually these are piano recitals, with the occasional string ensemble.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

The Make Music NY 2011 Schedule – Our Top Picks

Here’s a list of the most interesting acts we could find who’re playing this year’s Make Music New York, Tuesday, June 21. The official schedule is here. We’ll update this page as we get word of other quality acts playing around town that day. Be aware that as in years past, even the official list has massive gaps in it: there will be hundreds, maybe thousands of artists who aren’t listed who will be participating. This is your chance to discover random performers who might become your favorites (or not) during your lunch hour, or on the way home – or, if you’re like us, you might think of playing hooky that day. A few observations: 1) there seem to be considerably fewer performers listed this year than last; 2) most of the people who played it last year aren’t playing this year, at last according to the calendar (which can be interpreted many different ways), and 3) there are far fewer locations listed this year, compared to 2010, at least according to the official calendar. Which is also open to interpretation.

Remember that the excellent free Punk Island shows on Governors Island are on Sunday, June 19, not the 21st.

We’ve done our best to list performances with good sonics: every year, dozens of good performers find out how impossible it is to compete with the eardrum-shattering alarms that go off when city bus doors open, or with the subway rumbling overhead. If the Sediment Club was playing under the Manhattan Bridge, we’d be there – the din would only enhance what they do. But last year, there was an unamplified acoustic guitar duo down there. Go figure.

At noon catchy, hypnotic Afrobeat band Emefe play Tavern on the Green, Central Park West at 67th St; at 3:30 they move to the corner of Battery Place and State Street Plaza downtown (just follow the sound of the horns); at 7 they navigate up to the Winery at 257 W 116th St.

At noon Barmaljova – a rare performance by extraordinary violist/composer Ljova Zhurbin and his equally extraordinary singer wife Inna Barmash – outside the old Astor Wines & Liquors space on St. Mark’s Place, just west of Lafayette St.

Also at noon, Zap & the Naturals play reggae at K. Printing Inc., 355 Lenox Ave. uptown.

Also at noon, eclectic jazz guitarist Nick Demopoulos – inventor and virtuoso of the smomid, sort of a cross between an electric oud and a bass. He’s at Pentatonic Guitars at 139 Franklin St. in Greenpoint; at 6:30, he moves to Supercore at 305 Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg.

1 PM a “griot summit” hidden way up at Wave Hill Park in the Bronx (675 W 252nd St.) featuring a tremendously skilled, entertaining group of African artists: balafonist Famoro Dioubate and kora players Salieu Suso, Lankandia Cissoko and Yacouba Sissoko.

1 PM ambient downtempo chanteuse Lulla at Tea Lounge, 837 Union St. in Park Slope.

2 PM classical pianist Taka Kigawa has scored the coveted Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park! Nice work Taka!

3 PM heavy metal under the BQE: just the way it used to be, Union Ave. and N 8th St. in Williamsburg. The show starts with SOS at 3, Wizardry at 4, the punk/hardcore of Thinning the Herd at 4, darkly psychedelic La Otracina at 6, then Exemption and Krystaleen split the remaining hour from 7 to 8.

4 PM one of our favorites, eclectic roots reggae band Zion Judah at Peach Frog, 136 N 10th St. in Williamsburg.

4 PM the avant-garde Red Light Ensemble, hilarious furry-suited oldtime swing xylophone jazz band the Xylopholks (will they survive the heat?) and Shakuhachi Ensemble, with trumpeter Leif Arntzen squeezed in there somewhere, at the Cornelia St. Cafe.

4 PM torchy pianist/singer Jeanne Marie Boes at the Athens Triangle, 3221 Newtown Ave. in Astoria.

4 PM several reggae acts playing 366 Myrtle Ave. in Ft. Greene: Terry Lyons, Kemston, Hotta Lava and Tayazawan.

4 PM rootsy rockers Whisperado followed at 6 by fearless, fiery, lyrically-driven pop siren Elaine Romanelli at Jackson Hewitt, 28-17 Steinway St. in Astoria.

4 PM the David Glukh klezmer ensemble at the NYPL Spuyten Duyvil branch, 650 W 235th St. in the Bronx.

4 PM the Pitch Blak Brass Band at Water St. Restaurant, 66 Water St. in Dumbo.

4 PM Tschaka Tongy play reggae at K. Printing Inc., 355 Lenox Ave. uptown.

4 PM the Caribian Ricans play reggae and ska at Society Coffee, 2104 Frederick Douglass Blvd. uptown; at 6 PM they’re at Hunts Point Park, Lafayette Ave. and Edgewater Road in the Bronx.

4:45 PM the Fools – tuneful, lo-fi all-girl garage-pop duo – at the junk shop at 106 N 3rd St. in Williamsburg.

5 PM cool concept: “Unsung Greats: ‘Where is the Outrage?’ Musical and poetic commentary on the need for continuous strikes and other forms of mass protests. The purpose: To ignite and excite the spirit of revolution in our communities and the world.” Today Yemen: tomorrow Wall Street. At the community garden at 312 E 4th St.

5 PM Thunda Vida plays reggae and ska at the Whole Foods at 98th and Columbus Ave.

5 PM lyrical jazz pianist Deanna Witkowski plays the Winery at 257 W 116th St.

5:30 PM the lush, sweeping, intoxicating NY Arabic Orchestra plays Bryant Park.

6 PM smartly lyrical, Aimee Mann-esque songwriter Andrea Wittgens at Fort Tryon, Riverside Dr. and Dyckman St.

6 PM carnivalesque Balkan brass outfit Hungry March Band marching around Highline Park, 10th Ave. and 16th St.

6 PM Alarm Will Sound’s Alan Pierson conducts some kind of ensemble playing Rzewski and Beethoven at 246 Spring St. – ostensibly WQXR is involved.

6 PM the Birdhive Boys play bluegrass at Verde at 216 Smith St. in Carroll Gardens.

6 PM the Renaissance Street Singers at 108 Christopher St. in the West Village.

6 PM Pastor Murtlene Sampson sings gospel with piano accompaniment at Brower Park, 1040 Park Place in Bed-Stuy.

6 PM Tribal Legacy play reggae and ska at Sans Souci Restaurant & Bar, 330 Myrtle Ave. in Ft. Greene.

6 PM jazz flutist Carlos Jimenez plays the Riverdale branch of the NYPL, 5540 Mosholu Ave. with his group.

6 PM at Goodbye Blue Monday, someone or something called Meatloaf Sucks. Do they mean the big fat guy, or the hamburger creation?

6:30 PM pioneering avant-garde string quartet Ethel at the Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St.

6:30 PM the Kaufman Center’s student avant garde ensemble Face the Music plays their home base at 129 W 67th St.

7 PM smart guitar jazz with a sometimes sardonic, cynical edge:  Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord at Beer Table, 427 7th Ave. in Brooklyn.

7 PM Num & Nu Afrika play their annual reggae show at Drastadub Studios, 31 W 127th St. uptown.

7 PM Americana rock siren Karen Hudson at her usual haunt, Indian Hill Cafe, 600 W 218th St. in Washington Heights. Honkytonk singer Orville Davis follows at 9.

7 PM the Brooklyn Brass Quintet at the Central Park entrance to the Columbus Circle subway.

7:30 PM Ill Rendition plays reggae at Joloff, 930 Fulton St. in Ft. Greene.

8 PM oldschool Brooklyn indie rock legend John Hovorka at Russell & Driggs Ave. in Greenpoint

8 PM Bill Popp & the Tapes at Tompkins Square Park. This may be the best gig he’s ever had – not bad, considering that various versions of this band have been around for 30 years. He’s not bad either, in a Beatlesque powerpop way. You are destined to see him one of these days whether you realize it or not – why not now?

New York City Live Music Calendar for June and July 2011 Plus Other Events

Click here for an updated concert calendar for July and August 2011.

As always, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this obsessively.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC; this is a list of good shows, many of which we will go see ourselves. We focus on edgy, entertaining stuff: if you’re looking for Lady Gag or Fleet Foxes, you’re in the wrong place. We try to be descriptive rather than using all kinds of superlative adjectives.

6/1, 7:30 PM adventurous pianist Alexandra Joan winds up her entertainingly counterintuitive Kaleidoscope Series with a program of original material and improvisations featuring jazz guitarist Peter Mazza, Thomson Kneeland on bass and Timothy Hayward on sax at WMP Concert Hall, 31 W 28th St., $25

6/1, 7:30 PM dark incisive classical composer/pianist Fernando Otero and cellist Inbal Segev play Bach, Kodály, and Otero at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

6/1, 8 PM delightfully fun, quirky, counterintuitive all-female indie pop band the Walking Hellos at Fontana’s.

6/1, 10 PM, intense frontwoman Wendy Griffiths and her powerfully tuneful 80s punk/new wave influenced Changing Modes – who recorded our pick for best song of 2010 – at Sullivan Hall, $10.

6/1 midnight-ish big sprawling funk band Turkuaz at Southpaw, $5.

6/2, noon, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free.

6/2, half past noon Klezmatics violin powerhouse Alicia Svigals’ Klezmer Fiddle Express at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave./10th St.

6/2, 2:30 PM acoustic guitarist Don DeMarco plays instruments similar to those in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in their musical instruments section, free w/museum adm

6/2, 7 PM fiery noir cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap at Banjo Jim’s followed eventually at 9 with the psychedelic folk of the Peaceniks feat. Moogy Klingman and Patti Rothberg at Banjo Jim’s.

6/2, 7 PM gorgeously lyrical jazz quintet the Flail at the Fat Cat. They’re also at Smalls at 9:30 on 6/16.

6/2, 8 PM smartly multistylistic retro keyboardist/singer and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez (whose most recent album we rated best of the year) at Barbes.

6/2, 8 PM legendary, brilliant first-wave Irish punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers make their Brooklyn debut at Europa, $20. They’re at the Gramercy Theatre the following night for an extra $13 – that’s how much Live Nation is ripping you off for this one.

6/2, 8 PM the Da Capo Chamber Players’ 40th anniversary concert at Merkin Concert Hall feat. Pierrot lunaire, OP. 21 by Arnold Schoenberg, with guest soprano, Lucy Shelton; the world premiere performance of Gravity by George Tsontakis (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); the New York premiere of Midnight Rounds by Keith Fitch (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); Tres Lent as well as And…They’re Off! by Joan Tower (who was the ensemble’s founding pianist), $20 adv tix very highly rec., this should sell out.

6/2 country and bluegrass night with the Wicked Messengers, Freshly Baked and Dang-It Bobbys at Freddy’s, 8 PM.

6/2, 8 PM guitar funkmeister Askold Buk followed at 9 by Jimmy Buffett’s legendary first lead guitarist Roger Bartlett at P&G Bar on the upper west.

6/2, 8 PM the New Amsterdam Symphony plays Bizet’s Carmen Suite, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and Brahms’ Symphony #2 at Symphony Space, $20

6/2, 8:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser leads a quartet with Russ Lossing, piano; Eivind Opsvik, bass; Paul Motian, drums; Samuel Blaser, trombone playing the cd release show for his latest one at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/2, 8:30 PM new music ensemble Sybarite5 play the Lincoln Center Atrium at 65th/Bwy, letting their ipod shuffle choose the pieces they’ll be performing, early arrival advised.

6/2, 9 PM Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative at Zebulon. The legendary filmmaker also writes absolutely hilarious, subtly provocative, socially aware songs that skewer all kinds of stereotypes. He’s backed by a killer funk band comprised of members of Burnt Sugar.

6/2, 10 PM atmospheric, pensive rock anthems with Hurricane Bells feat. Steve Schiltz (ex-Longwave and Scout) at Culturefix on Clinton St.

6/2, 10 PM a solid oldtime country doublebill with Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues followed by Alex Battles & Whisky Rebellion at the Jalopy, $10

6/2 powerpop/psychedelic guitar monsters Devi at Arlene’s, 11 PM recording a live album! Get your screams on vinyl!

6/2, midnight, dark female-fronted soul band MotherMoon at Spike Hill.

6/3, 7 PM ferocious, hilarious, theatrical, Beatlesque lyrical songwriter Walter Ego at Banjo Jim’s feat. some of NYC’s best guests (secret – we won’t give it away).

6/3, 7:30 PM the Prism Quartet plays world premieres by works by David Rakowski, Lisa Bielawa, Perry Goldstein, Matthew Levy, and Cara Haxo at Symphony Space, $20

6/3, 8 PM filmmakers Suki Hawley, Mike Galinsky and David Beilinson’s documentary the Battle for Brooklyn, which confronts the destructive effects of gentrification, notably the graft and fraud-ridden Atlantic Yards arena and parking-lot project where private property was illegally seized by a real estate swindler through an eniment domain claim. At the Brooklyn Heights Cinema; also screening 6/9 at 9 PM at Myrtle Avenue Hill in Ft. Greene Park, free; and on 6/11, 8 PM at Indie Screen, 285 Kent Ave., Williamsburg. A weeklong run begins on 6/17 at Cinema Village in Manhattan.

6/3, 8 PM torchy noir Americana siren Lily & the Parlour Tricks followed by oldschool soul revivalist/crooner Eli Paperboy Reed at Southpaw, $12 gen adm.

6/3, 8 PM grease up your pompadours: Smokey Hormel’s western swing band, retro rock chanteuse Eilen Jewel and Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys at the Bell House, $12 adv tix rec.

6/3, 9 PM Caithlin De Marrais – one of the most unselfconsciously riveting singers in any style of music – sings her plaintive, tersely compelling songs at Pete’s

6/3, 9/10:30 PM Ingrid Laubrock, tenor sax; Ralph Alessi, trumpet; Kris Davis, piano; Tom Rainey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

6/3, 10 PM the funniest oldschool country band around, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. They’re also at Barbes on 6/10 at 10.

6/3, 10:30ish eclectic Afrobeat/funk band Mamarazzi – whose new album is excellent – at Zebulon

6/3, 10:30 PM organist Jared Gold and trombonist Dave Gibson lead a quintet at the Fat Cat

6/3 ferocious Nashville gothic rockers Ninth House play Sathony in Astoria, 11 PM.

6/3 wry, literate Nashville gothic with Maynard & the Mustiesat Lakeside, 11 PM.

6/3, 11 PM wild intense original bluegrass band Thy Burden at Spike Hill.

6/3, 11 PM horn-driven funk band the Kickdown at Bowery Poetry Club, $10

6/3, 11:30 PM ecstatic Brazilian funk/reggae/maracatu band Dende & Hahahaes at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/4, 3:30 PM charismatic, literate NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at the Howl Festival, Tompkins Square Park; on 6/8 he’s at Bar 82 with his trio at 9.

6/4 Blitz the Ambassador at the Brooklyn Museum, free w/museum adm.

6/4, 6:30 PM intriguing dark 80 style dreampop band Teletextile at Ft. Useless in Bushwick

6/4, 6:30 PM, free, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble play Gershwin: Lullaby for Strings; Barber:Adagio for Strings; Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12, “American” at Flushing Town Hall, tix req., early arrival advised.

6/4, 7 PM Nashville gothic goddess – and indie film star – Lorraine Leckie at Banjo Jim’s

6/4 a blast from the past – legendary oldschool Williamsburg punk/indie rockers FF (which stands for Fat Fuck) at Lakeside, 7 PM.

6/4, 7 PM powerhouse blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff – the rare guy who plays a lot of notes but doesn’t waste any – at Terra Blues.

6/4, 8 PM oldschool rocksteady with the Forthrights, kick-ass third generation ska with the Scofflaws and early 80s British band Bad Manners for those who like their ska on the pop side, $15 at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

6/4, 8 PM Bamba Sacko play African roots reggae at Shrine followed at 10 by the reggae/rocksteady of Finotee.

6/4, 8 PM the Moonlighters’ wickedly smart, torchy Bliss Blood plus Jim Fryer on trombone at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Avenue (corner of 30th St.) in Long Island City

6/4, 10 PM catchy powerpop rockers Elk City followed by sprawling acoustic Americana band the Woes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; the Woes are at Sunny’s at 10 the following night for free.

6/4, 8 PM the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at NJPAC in Newark, $25 seats avail.

6/4, 8 PM bossa jazz siren Sasha Dobson’s country band Chola followed by Banda Sinaloense de los Muertos at Barbes. Chola are also here Mondays in June at 8 PM starting on the 13th.

6/4, 8 PM witty jazz guitar star Matt Munisteri at the Jalopy, $10.

6/4, 8:30 PM hypnotic marimba/cello duo Goli at Caffe Vivaldi followed by bluegrass band the Five Deadly Venoms (who are also here on 6/7 and 6/28 at 9:45)

6/4, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza with Connecticut’s surprisingly agile Clams, high-intensity Reverb Galaxy, the diverse, country-tinged Matt Rae Trio and the Octomen (excellent fiery surf trio) at midnight-ish.

6/4 intense gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata, 9 PM

6/4, 9/10:30 PM drummer Ralph Peterson’s brilliant B3 band the Unity Project plays the cd release show for their spectacularly good new one with Pat Bianchi, organ; Josh Evan, trumpet; Wayne Escoffery, tenor sax at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

6/4, 10 PM, 90s Detroit rock cult figures the Dirtbombs at the Bell House, $20

6/4, 10 PM cowpunk with the Nightmare River Band at Spike Hill.

6/4, 11 PM eclectic Selegalese flavored roots reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

6/5, repeating on 6/ 12, and 6/19 the NY Scandia Symphony at the Billings Lawn in Ft. Tryon Park uptown, 2 PM. This extraordinary and clever ensemble plays a Frank Foerster piece called Summer in Ft. Tryon Park which has to be heard to be appreciated, along with works by numerous brilliant obscure Scandinavian composers.

6/5, 3 PM harpsichordist Elaine Comparone and The Queen’s Chamber Band play world premieres by Michael Cohen, Stephen Kemp, Elodie Lauten, David J. MacDonald & Eugene W. McBride at St. Mark’s Church, 10th St./2nd Ave., $25.

6/5, 5 PM oldtimey doublebill with irrepressible trombonist J. Walter Hawkes and then his sultry swing bandmate Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies at LIC Bar, 5

6/5, 6 PM B3 groove organist Ehud Asherie’s No Bass Hit Trio ft. Harry Allen & Chuck Riggs at the Fat Cat

6/5, 7:30 PM trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet w/ Angelica Sanchez (piano), John Lindberg (bass) and Pheeroan akLaff (drums) at le Poisson Rouge, adv tix $15 rec.

6/5, 8 PM deviously fun new music duo Anti-Depressant (violinist Jennifer Choi and pianist Kathy Supove) play Galapagos, $15/$10 stud.

6/5, 8 PM slinky low-register retro Cuban band Gato Loco – with baritone guitar, baritone sax, tuba and bass – at Bowery Poetry Club

6/5, 8 PM tuneful Americana harmony band the Bowmans at the small room at the Rockwood

6/5, 8 PM composer Eve Beglarian and her new band Brim at Galapagos, $15.

6/5, 8:30 PM bassist Petros Klampanis plays the cd release show for his eclectic new one with a scary-good lineup feat. Megan Gould , violin; Heather Paauwe, violin; Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, viola; Yoed Nir, cello; Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Magda Giannikou, guest vocalist at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/5, 9 PM Steve Wynn’s indie rock supergroup the Baseball Project at City Winery , $25 seats avail.

6/5, 9 PM gypsy pop band Occidental Gypsy – “Found somewhere on the music tree between John Pizzarelli and Caravan Palace” – at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St.

6/5 hilarious, diverse satirical cowpunk rockers Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar 10ish

6/6, 6:30 PM an interfaith 9/11 commemorative concert at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown with pianist Simone Dinnerstein playing Bach’s English Suite as well as two of his Chorale Preludes – BWV 639 and 147, free but rsvp reqd

6/6, 7:30/9:30 PM Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band at Dizzy’s Club, $20, better reserve now, these guys sell out fast.

6/6 arguably the first-ever guitar jazz triplebill at the Mercury with the astonishingly smart, intense, original, bluesy Marvin Sewell at 8, Liberty Ellman at 9 and then Moroccan-inspired Dave Fiuczynski at 10, $15.

6/6, 8 PM stars of the NYC Balkan underground, trumpeter Ben Holmes and trio followed by at 9:30 by Chicha Libre at Barbes.

6/6, 9 PM the New Yorkestra big band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

6/6-7 the Melvins at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

6/6, 9 PM the New Yorkestra big band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

6/6, 9 PM at Otto’s a screening of the 1982 punk rock movie Ladies & Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains starring Diane Lane, Laura Dern, Paul Simonon, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and others from the era.

6/6, 10:30 PM Middle Eastern-tinged violist Dina Maccabee and her group at Pete’s

6/7, 6:30 PM, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival a must.

6/7, 6:30 PM the Tomsk Chamber Orchestra plays Tschaikovsky and Shostakovich at Symphony Space, $30

6/7, 7 PM ICE pianist Jacob Greenberg at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party.

6/7, 7:30ish oldschool hip-hop with EPMD at Betsy Head Playground, Livonia Ave. & Strauss St., Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5 to Saratoga Ave.

6/7, 7:30 PM Rose of the Compass – recorder player Nina Stern, with Glen Velez, frame drum, and Ara Dinkjian, oud – play an intriguing set of music from the Mediterranean to the Balkans at the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

6/7, 8 PM Carol Lipnik & Spookarama play the cd release show for their hypnotic, haunting new one M.O.T.H. at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/7, 8ish energetic lo-fi guitar/drums duo Eleanor followed by the Highway Gimps – the missing link between Motorhead and My Bloody Valentine – at Tammany Hall in the old Annex space on Orchard St., $5

6/7, 8 PM McCoy Tyner – who’s still got the most powerful left hand in jazz – leads a trio with Gary Bartz and Bill Frisell at Highline Ballroom, $35

6/8, 8 PM fiery literate steampunk songwriter Kelli Rae Powell at Southpaw.

6/8, 8 PM 60s soul legend Eric Burdon & the Animals at B.B. King’s, $35 adv tix a must.

6/8, 8 PM soulful, soaring country/rock siren Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at Bruar Falls, $6.

6/8, 9 PM Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns at Radegast Hall – if anybody can get all the douches to shut up and listen, this oldtimey New Orleans siren can.

6/8, 10 PM Sistermonk play their high energy gypsy funk at Shrine

6/8, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

6/8 Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy makes a rare small room appearance at midnight at the Delancey, $25, this will sell out fast, get adv tix at the club

6/9, half past noon the Arturo O’Farrill latin jazz group at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.

6/9, 7:30 PM intense Balkan-influenced songwriter Alina Simone at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/9, 8 PM irrepressible, fun ska-pop band Across the Aisle at Otto’s

6/9, 9 PM dark compelling historically-fixated songwriter Elisa Flynn at the Way Station, 683 Washington Ave, Brooklyn (at Prospect Place; 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza).

6/9, 9:30 PM lush, atmospheric, socially aware, Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon play the cd release show for their new one at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/9 Chicago blues guitar/piano legend Lucky Peterson at 10 PM at Terra Blues

6/9  Afrobeat crew Ikebe Shakedown’s cd release show, 10 PM at Southpaw, $10 gen adm.

6/9, 9 PM honkytonk hellraisers the Steamboat Disasters at Freddy’s

6/9, 10 PM Banda Magda play their cosmopolitan gypsy/Mediteranean/latin accordion-driven songs at Drom, $10 gen adm

6/9, 10ish the twangy, clever Trailer Radio at Rodeo Bar.

6/9, 10:30 PM careening Balkan brass intensity with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10

6/10-12 the global-themed Brooklyn Folk Festival is $20 per day; the best deal if you’re making a weekend out of it is the three-day $55 pass available at the Jalopy, who are hosting night one. Nights two and three are at BWAC, 49 Van Brunt St. in Red Hook. Too many awesome artists to list: Peter Stampfel, the Roulette Sisters, Elizabeth Butters, Uncle Monk, Black Sea Hotel, Radio Jarocho, the Newton Gang and many more, the complete lineup is here.

6/10, 7 PM smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson at Lakeside.

6/10, 7:30 PM all-girl punk/no wave legends the Bush Tetras at le Poisson Rouge, $12 adv tix rec.

6/10, 8 PM assaultive hilarious Chinatown hip-hop pioneers the Notorious MSG’s cd release show at the Brooklyn Bowl, only $5.

6/10, 8 PM Koleurz play French African roots reggae at Shrine.

6/10 dreamy shoegaze soundscapes from Balun followed by the film NY Non-Fiction at Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand St. at Essex, 8 PM, $10

6/10, 8 PM Gyan Riley (Terry’s talented guitarist kid) at Barbes followed by the Jack Grace Band at 10

6/10, 8 PM Lisle Atkinson & Neo Bass play bass arrangements of Ellington feat. guests pianists at Symphony Space, $25 adv tix rec.

6/10, 8 PM antique Americana harmony band Ollabelle (all original members) at City Winery, $20 standing room tix avail.

6/10, 8 PM terse oldschool Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s.

6/10, 9 PM sharp, tuneful, Aimee Mann-esque literate rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

6/10 Cuban reggaeton siren Telmary Diaz with a live band at BAM Cafe, 9:30 PM – early arrival advised, this will sell out.

6/10 Vietnamese psychedelic rock revivalists Dengue Fever, 10 PM at Highline Ballroom.

6/10 baritone country crooner/bandleader Dale Watson at Maxwell’s 10ish, $10 (note separate admission from earlier NRBQ concert).

6/10, 10 PM the Hard Times play reggae at Two Boots Brooklyn.

6/10 midnight the Peoples’ Champs play their psychedelic mix of funk and Afrobeat at the small room at the Rockwood

6/10, midnight, witty guitar star of a million bands Homeboy Steve Antonakos plays his own wry Americana stuff at Banjo Jim’s

6/10, midnight, clever fun retro 80s synth-disco duo Hank & Cupcakes at the Mercury, $10.

6/11 Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis and Josh Roseman & The King Froopy All Stars at Central Park Summerstage – be aware that they’re opening for a popular, lame jam band from the 90s and that you may not be able to get in unless you show up before 3.

6/11, 4:30 PM baritone Austin honkytonk crooner Dale Watson at Madison Square Park, free

6/11, 6 PM singer-songwriter satirists the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood.

6/11, 7 PM lyrical jazz pianist Mika Pohjola at Miles Cafe with his quartet, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

6/11, 7:30/9:30 PM eclectic Middle Eastern-tinged jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

6/11, 8 PM an amazing psychedelic dub reggae doublebill (say that five times fast) with Dub Is a Weapon and Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad at Brooklyn Bowl, $7.

6/11, 8 PM oldtimey/Americana/indie band Dastardly – sort of very funny version of Mumford & Sons – at Pete’s. They’re at Spike Hill at 9 on 6/12.

6/11, 8 PM psychedelic steampunk/gypsy band the Wyld Old Souls’ cd release show at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

6/11 a good roots reggae doublebill at Shrine starting at 8 PM with Num & Nu Afrika followed at 9 by the Pressers.

6/11, 8 PM Mississippi hill country blues guitar genius Will Scott (who’s got an excellent new album out) plays a NYC show at 68 Jay St. Bar to kick off his latest European tour.

6/11, 9 PM ecstatically fun, intense gypsy punk/metal cumbia/rock en Espanol band Escarioka – one of our favorites – at Mehanata

6/11 haunting noir Americana crooner Mark Sinnis (of Ninth House) plays the cd release for his new one The Undertaker In My Rearview Mirror at Duff’s Bar in South Williamsburg, 9 PM.

6/11, 9 PM Taj Weekes & Adowa – who are about the best thing happening in roots reggae right now – at the 92YTribeca, $14 gen adm.

6/11, 9/10:30 PM the cleverly lyrical John McNeil/Bill McHenry jazz group at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/11, 10 PM oldtime country harmony hellraisers Those Darlins at Maxwell’s, $10.

6/11, 10 PM hellraising Irish band Jameson’s Revenge at Connolly’s

6/11 LES rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

6/11, 11 PM clever, funny faux-French garage rockers Les Sans Culottes at Freddy’s.

6/11 high-energy all-girl country harmony band Those Darlins, 11 PM at Maxwell’s.

6/11 we are not making this up – L’il Kim shares the stage with transvestite Amanda Lepore at gay bar Club 57, 311 W 57th St.(8th/9th Ave), $15 before midnight.

6/12 hellraising country harmony women Those Darlins at 2:45 PM followed by the intensely charismatic retro nuevo funkster Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at 4:30 at Madison Square Park, free.

6/12, 3 PM a toy piano festival at Bargemusic feat. Phyllis Chen, Karlheinz Essl, Konrad Kaczmarek, John McDonald, Matthew Malsky and others, $25/$20 srs/$15 stud.

6/12 ska on the water: Royal City Riot and the Toasters play a concert cruise aboard the Jewel, leaving at 7 PM sharp from behind the heliport at 23rd & the FDR, $25 adv tix. available at the Highline Ballroom box office.

6/12, 7:30 PM cutting-edge string quartet Brooklyn Riderwith Silk Road Project shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki at the Schimmel Auditorium at Pace University downtown (Spruce St. between William/Nassau), 2 free tix per person available starting at 5 PM at the box office. Then Brooklyn Rider sprint up to Bleecker St. to le Poisson Rouge where they’re playing with Christina Courtin for $15 at 10:30.

6/12, 8 PM Syrian pop star Omar Souleyman at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15 adv tix available at the Mercury til 7 PM weekdays

6/12, 8 PM alt-country pioneer and Flatlanders honcho Joe Ely at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.

6/12, 8:30-midnight PM Sousalves’ Songwriters from Hell at Banjo Jim’s featuring (in order) Maya Solovey, Katie Dixon, Kerry Davis, Sousalves, Alan Merrill, Benjamin Cartel and finally Liz Tormes headlining at half past eleven.

6/12, 8:30 PM trumpeter Sarah Wilson plays the cd release for her new one with Myra Melford, piano; Ben Goldberg, clarinet; Jerome Harris, bass; Matt Wilson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/12, 9 PM killer doublebill: torchy intense chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show plus the phenomenally charismatic soul man/guitarist Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at Maxwell’s, $18 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

6/12, 9 PM cowpunks Nightmare River Band open for nine-piece grasscore jam band Old Man Markley at Union Hall, $10

6/12, 10 PM lyrical, dark Texas Americana rocker John Pinamonti at Sunny’s in Red Hook

6/12, 11:30 PM innovative new big band jazz with Ensemble Denada at Drom, $15 gen adm.

6/13, 6:30 PM an interfaith 9/11 commemorative concert at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown with Bach’s Sonata #2 in D Major for Harpsichord and Cello performed by harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper and cellist Fred Zlotkin, free but rsvp reqd.

6/13, 8:30 PM pianist Melody Fader leads a string trio playing Beethoven, Berio, Chopin, Carter, and Dvorak’s Dumky Trio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/13, 9 PM the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra – one of the world’s most interesting – makes a rare Brooklyn appearance at Tea Lounge in Park Slope. Don’t miss it if big band jazz is your thing

6/13, 10:30 PM Oran Etkin does his West African jazz thing followed by eclectic captivating Moroccan jazz/soul chanteuse Malika Zarra and her band at Joe’s Pub, $12

6/13 gypsy rocker Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/14, 6-9 PM the Museum Mile Festival features free admission at most every museum starting at 103rd St.

6/14, 7 PM fearless mostly female klezmer powerhouse Isle of Klezbos at the community garden at 520 E 12th (Ave. A/B); in case of rain, it’s at Bluestockings Bookstore on Allen St. just south of Stanton.

6/14, 8 PM witty, stinging lyrical tunesmith Marcellus Hall (of White Hassle) at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

6/14, 8 PM the Sirius Quartet play world premieres by Mikael Karlsson and Fung Chern Hwei at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

6/14, 9:45 PM bluegrass with the Sleepy Hollow String Band at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/14 dark politically aware jazz/pan-Asian chanteuse/pianiast Jen Shyu at Korzo, 10 PM.

6/14, 10:20 PM ethereal dark art-rockers Elysian Fields play the cd release show for their new one at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

6/15, 7 PM twangy, tuneful Texas-flavored alt-country band Two Cent Revival play. their cd release show at the Rockwood.

6/15, 7:30 PM adventurous new music quartet Cadillac Moon Ensemble plays Luciano Berio and others including two world premieres at Culturefix, 9 Clinton St., free

6/15 the Dictators’ ageless Andy Shernoff at 7 followed eventually by the soul/garage sounds of the Solid Set at 9 at Lakeside.

6/15, 7:30 PM smartly tuneful jazz pianist Art Hirahara solo at Smalls

6/15, 7:30 PM violinist Veronique Mathieu plays works by Csickso and Shepherd followed by fearless avant ensemble Lunatics at Large performing works by Raoul Pleskow, Frederick Tillis, Elizabeth Bell, Steven Gerber and Marilyn Bliss at Symphony Space, $11.

6/15, 8 PM endlessly surprising, astonishingly intense piano virtuoso Kathleen Supove plays Julia Wolfe – Compassion; Lainie Fefferman – Barnacles (NY premiere); Alvin Curran – Inner Cities (selections); Michael Gatonska – A Shaking of the Pumpkin; Frederic Rzewski – Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$25 stud.

6/15, 8 PM John Zorn plays a rare duo show with Tyshawn Sorey on drums at the Stone, their calendar doesn’t say it’s any more than $10. Could be a lot of fun. Get there early.

6/15, 9 PM New Orleans band the Grand Street Stompers play the cd release show for their new one at Radegast Hall.

6/16 the Northside Festival in Williamsburg kicks off – in reality what that means is that whatever bands all the Williamsburg clubs happened to have on their calendar this week are part of it. Last year’s was badly attended and didn’t have many good bands, pretty much what you’d expect in this part of town. There are a few choice shows including Beirut on 6/16 at 8:30 and Guided by Voices on 6/18 at 7 at McCarren Park, both of which are SOLD OUT but you might be able to get close enough to hear anyway.

6/15, 9:30ish the eclectic, funny, ferociously tuneful instrumental rockers TarantinosNYC at Otto’s.

6/15 a rare non-stadium show by edgy, lyrical powerpop siren Patti Rothberg at the Bitter End, of all places, 10 PM

6/16, half past noon baritone saxophonist Claire Daly leads a quartet at at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.

6/16-19 James Farm (the new quartet with featuring saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland) at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $35, res. very highly rec., this will sell out quickly.

6/16, 7:30 PM the highlight of the American Composers’ Association’s multiple nights at Symphony Space looks to be this one,with works by Christopher Shultis, Jody Rockmaker, Joyce Hope Suskind, Lewis Nielson, Barbara Jazwinski, and Glenn Stallcop. Performers include Esther Lamneck, clarinet, Falko Steinbach, piano, Martin Schuring, oboe, and Lynne Aspnes, harp, $11.

6/16, 7:30 PM violinist Emilie-Anne Gendron and pianist Yelena Grinberg play Liszt, Bartók, Kurtag, Schubert, Saint-Saëns at WMP Concert Hall, $25.

6/16 flutist Ransom Wilson’s new music ensemble Le Train Bleu at Galapagos, 7:30 PM, $15.

6/16-19, 7:30/9:30 PM Jamaican jazz/reggae piano legend Monty Alexander & the Harlem Kingston Express at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail. Note that the 6/15 show is sold out.

6/16, 8 PM eclectic, witty jazz guitarist Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by bluegrass mandolin monster Andy Statman ($10 cover).

6/16, 8:30 PM Mamie Minch and Jolie Holland’s oldtimey supergroup Midnight Hours at the Jalopy, $10

6/16, 8:30 PM eclectic electric guitar powerhouse Joel Harrison leads a quartet with Anupam Shobhakar, sarod; Stephan Crump, bass; Satoshi Takeishi, percussion at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

6/16 subtle, psychedelic, completely original roots reggae/dub/worldbeat band Kiwi  followed by John Brown’s Body – who absolutely slayed on 4/20 at Highline Ballroom – at Maxwell’s, 9 PM $15.

6/16 Esquela – the new Americana rock project from the Yayhoos’ Keith Christopher with powerhouse singer Rebecca Frame – at Lakeside, 9 PM.

6/16, 9 PM Garth Stevenson – who creates songs live from loops using his bass and a pedal – followed by intricate “American mystic music” acoustic guitarist John Shannon at the 92YTribeca, $10 gen adm.

6/16 electric bluegrass/country/rock guitar/mandolin monsters Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

6/16 dark lyrical songwriter Daniel Bernstein & the Everybody Knows at Fontana’s, 10 PM.

6/17 the third annual Istanbulive Turkish music festival at Central Park Summerstage features iconic songwriter/freedom fighter/filmmaker Zulfu Livaneli (sort of the Turkish Bob Dylan), early arrival, i.e. 3 PM at the latest, highly advised.

6/17, 7 PM the Shannon Baker/Erica Seguine Jazz Orchestra at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

6/17, 8 PM keyboardist Kate Mattison’s sultry downtempo soul/pop band Mattison opens for Kathryn Calder of the New Pornographers at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

6/17, 9 PM soul/groove band the Del-Reys followed by potently politically aware third-wave ska/soul legends the Slackers at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix highly rec.

6/17, 9/10:30 PM dark 80s-style goth/pop pianist/singer Kristin Hoffmann.at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/17 wickedly tuneful, fearless, funny, socially aware all-girl janglerock/folk band Left on Red play Bar 82 at 10

6/17 surf music classics and obscuities with the Boss Guitars at Lakeside, 11 PM.

6/17, 11:30 PM clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski and his band the NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

6/18, 7 PM charismatic, literate NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

6/18, 7 PM Metal Mountains (Helen Rush and Samara Lubelski’s ethereal project) followed by Thurston Moore’s Whiteout and then legendary 1960s psychedelic garage band Bardo Pond, no idea how many original members are left, at le Poisson Rouge, $10 gen adm.

6/18, 7:30 PM tuneful death-obsessed indie pop pianist/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith at the Mercury, $10.

6/18, 7:30 PM salsa dura doublebill: La Excelencia and the Larry Harlow Latin Legends Big Band at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/18 the highlight of the Northside Festival is at Trash Bar starting at 8 with the Highway Gimps, the Viennagram at 9, Gunfight at 10, the Brooklyn What – NYC’s most intense, funny, socially aware rockers, and the Shapes (the Texas psychedelic pop band?) at midnight.

6/18, 8 PM for all you percussion fans: imagine tarantella sorceress Alessandra Belloni and Bahian groove monster Dende on the same stage. It’s gonna happen – wow. A summer solstice show with John LaBarbera on guitar and Steve Gorn on reeds, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, $25

6/18, 8 PM trumpeter Nate Wooley does double duty: first, premiering Atemwende” by Yugoslavian composer Bojan Vuleticwith the Mivos string quartet, then in a duo cd release performance with fellow trumpeter Peter Evans at Issue Project Room, free.

6/18, 8 PM Irish acoustic punk band Box of Crayons celebrate Bloomsday with the cd release show for their new album Dublin Over at Freddy’s

6/18, 9 PM hauntingly lyrical, intense Americana songwriter James McMurtry at the Bell House, $15. He’s also at Maxwell’s on 6/17 at 7:30 for the same price.

6/18, 9 PM yet another good diverse roots reggae doublebill at Shrine with 6th Degree followed at 10 by Zion Judah.

6/18, 9 PM funny, fearless oldschool style punk rockers the Live Ones, Boston’s Cortez and hilarious metal spoof Mighty High at Cake Shop

6/18 vibraphone-based Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica play the cd release show for their hypnotic, psychedelic new one Third River Rangoon at Otto’s – definitely the classiest band ever to play this dive.

6/18, 9 PM eclectic country juggernaut M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy, $10.

6/18, 10:30 PM dark gypsy/goth rock and then slinky Cuban sounds with low-register instruments: Yula Beeri & the Extended Family followed by Gato Loco at Littlefield, $10

6/18 fearlessly fun Americana-punk rockers Spanking Charlene – winners of the Sirius/XM best unsigned band contest, now on Little Steven Van Zandt’s label – at Lakeside, 11 PM

6/19, 11 AM this year’s Bang on a Can Marathon – a NYC institution – at the World Financial Center.

6/19 this year’s free Punk Island festival at Governors Island happens two days in advance of Make Music NY as the yuppies are shitting their pants at the thought of loud, nonconformist music being played anywhere near their “luxury” apartments. This year, it’s been put together by the folks at ABC No Rio, a cool, eclectic, completely non-corporate lineup with bands as diverse as Humanwine, Fashion Week, Star Fucking Hipsters and Yula & the Extended Family. Take the free ferry which leaves every hour on the half hour from the old Shaolin ferry terminal (to the north of the new one). This year, they’re letting you bring food and drinks but be careful how you hide that booze, since it’s verboten – security is probably going to paw through your stuff, so wrap it up tight. After all, as the MMNY site reminds you, “The Trust for Governors Island reserves the right to deny access to the island at its discretion.” Let’s take over the island! Bust the trust!

6/19, 2 PM, free, extraordinary painter/performance artist Theresa Byrnes, guitarist Ronny Drayton, curator/producer Shantrelle Lewis, and actress Marie Claudine Mukamabano address issues of survival over adversity: sexual assault, illness, genocide, and a son’s incarceration, exploring the question of “how we continue after facing the unthinkable.” Moderated by musician K. Neycha Herford at Danny Simmons’ Corridor Gallery, 334 Grand Ave btwn Gates & Greene, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, C to Clinton-Washington (G train not running)

6/19 a rare solo set by saxophone adventurer Matana Roberts at Downtown Music Gallery, 6 PM.

6/19, 8 PM Abbie Gardner of Red Molly does her gorgeously torchy jazz stuff at the Jalopy followed at 9:30 by haunting oldtime Nashville gothic/bluegrass band Bobtown

6/19, 9:30 PM rustic, lyrical Americana songwriter Andrew Vladeck’s dual cd/book release show at Joe’s Pub, $12.

6/19 soaring Americana with banjo player Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Rodeo Bar 10ish

6/19, 10 PM terrorist jazz with Peter Evans, Trumpet; Moppa Elliot, bass; Kassa Overall, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/20 indie classical orchestra the Knights play the world premiere of Lisa Bielawa’s Templehof Etude, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony plus a Morton Feldman piece at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, 7:30 PM, early arrival advised.

6/20 Piaf scholar/noir accordion siren Marni Rice at 9 at Small Beast at the Delancey followed eventually at 11 by the magnificently intense, ferocious, gypsy rock/art-rock of Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble.

6/20, 9 PM the JC Sanford Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope. They absolutely killed here last fall.

6/20, 10 PM tuneful danceable funk/Afrobeat band Mamarazzi at the Mercury, $15.

6/21 is Make Music NY. We’ve cherrypicked the best shows and put up a separate page here since there are so many of them. Nice to see that the very last band on the list is Zion Judah, one of our favorite reggae bands.

6/21, 1 PM Louis Andriessen’s Hoketus performed by two groups TBA at Federal Hall downtown

6/21, 7ish Talib Kweli at Red Hook Park (bordered by Hicks and Henry in Red Hook – same directions as if you’re going to the Jalopy: F to Carroll St., exit front of Brooklyn-bound train. Left on Smith, right on 1st Place, continue as 1st Place becomes Summit. Go over the BQE, make a U-turn, continue on Summit).

6/22, 7 PM at Alwan for the Arts, a panel discussion: Detained Without Cause – Muslims’ Stories of Detention and Deportation in America. “The post-9/11 emergence of Islamophobic media hysteria, oppressive law enforcement tactics and increasing surveillance in the name of security is a package sold to the public as the inevitable cost of freedom. Learn what that cost really means in human terms: the stories of fellow New Yorkers disappeared from our communities during the first months after the terrible events of 9/11.” Free and open to the public, early arrival advised.

6/22, 7 PM alt-country chanteuse Tift Merritt at Madison Square Park, free.

6/22, 7:30/9:30 PM eclectic pan-latin bassist Pedro Giraudo leads his jazz orchestra at the Jazz Standard,  $20.

6/22, 8 PM eclectic, poignant yet quirkly funny art-rock keyboardist Greta Gertler solo at the Gershwin Hotel, a benefit for the homeless, $15

6/22, 8 PM Pete Rock (of Pete Rock & CL Smooth) opens for psychedelic vibraphone jazz legend (and brilliant film composer) Roy Ayers at Highline Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

6/22, 8 PM a Roy Nathanson doublebill at the Stone: first his Sotto Voce quintet, then his Akhenaten Ensemble featuring vibroharp and trumpet, $10. He’s a NYC institution and an unbeatable raconteur, somebody you should see at least once.

6/22, 9 PM the Japonize Elephants play gypsy punk at Freddy’s.

6/22, 9 PM powerhouse soul-infused songwriter Jo Williamson at LIC Bar.

6/23 this year’s four-day Undead Jazz Festival begins. Some amazing shows: 6/23 at le Poisson Rouge with pianist Satoko Fuji’s lyrical Ma-Do quartet followed by Marc Ribot solo and Orrin Evans’ gritty, cerebral, intense Tarbaby; also on 6/23, haunting trumpeter Amir ElSaffar as well as lyrical pianists Kris Davis and Gerald Clayton each leading a band at Sullivan Hall; 6/25 pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen’s Dim Sum and then later Jeremy Udden’s plaintive Americana jazz band Plainville at Homage Skate Park, 151 Smith St., in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn; and all kinds of great stuff scattered around on closing night. They’re doing it by neighborhood: West Village on day one, Gowanus for the next two and then Williamsburg. Your best bet the best deal is the four-day pass for $50 which works out to $12.50 a night, a real steal for these A-list shows. There are also two-day passes ($35), single-day passes ($25) and single tix to the 6/24 show at the Bell House (not included in the two-day pass), all available at the Poisson Rouge box office. Too many acts to list individually: the full calendar is here.

6/23, 7 PM the Vijay Iyer Quintet at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

6/23, 7:15 PM oboeist Keve Wilson leads an ensemble at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/23 Greensboro, NC’s deliriously fun, lickety-split, witty oldtimey banjo/euphonium band Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Littlefield, 8 PM, $10; they’re at the Rockwood at midnight on 6/24.

6/23, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano expert Phyllis Chen at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Nation Beat drummer Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band.

6/23, 8 PM drummer Mike Pride’s always interesting, psychedelic jazz band From Bacteria To Boys at the Stone, $10

6/23, 8/10:30 PM vocal jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott celebrates his 85th birthday at the Blue Note, $20 “seats” avail. His show last year at the Charlie Parker Festival was characteristically shattering – he’s still got it.

6/23-24, 8 PM this era’s biggest surf band, Los Straitjackets at City Winery, $20.

6/23, 8 PM hypnotic, sometimes lush, sometimes austere new music quintet Build play the Gershwin Hotel, $10.

6/23, 9 PM one of the year’s best doublebills – haunting, hypnotic duo AE (Eva Primack and Aurelia Shrenker) who interpolate Appalachian and Balkan music, followed by badass oldtimey sirens the Roulette Sisters at 10:30 at the Jalopy, $10

6/23 Shane Endsley, trumpet; Gerald Clayton, piano; Matt Brewer, bass; John Ellis, tenor sax at Cornelia St Cafe, 9/10:30 PM, $15.

6/23, 9:30 PM Palestinian-American oudist Tareq Abboushi’s Shusmo project at Joe’s Pub, $15.

6/24, 6 PM coy, fun Israeli dance-pop duo Hank & Cupcakes at Union Square on the south side of the park

6/24, 7 PM cinematic Microscopic Septet pianist Joel Forrester’s Secret Identity with Claire Daly on baritone sax, Vito Dieterle on tenor, David Hofstra on bass, and Matthew Garrity on drums at the Gershwin Hotel, $5.

6/24, 7 PM Octavio Brunetti’s Apeadero Sur Tango Orchestra at Hudson River Park, 44th St. and the Hudson

6/24, 7:30 PM Badwagon (the Bad Plus plus Jason Moran’s Bandwagon) make their world premiere followed by Roy Hargrove’s quintet at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/24, 8 PM unstoppably romantic, effervescent, razor-sharp Hawaiian swing band the Moonlighters at Barbes followed at 10 by the Jug Addicts.

6/24, 8ish swirling dreampop band Zaza, Quiet Light and noir psychedelic rock legend Martin Bisi at Littlefield, $8.

6/24, 8 PM new music ensemble Transit play world premieres by Pat Muchmore, Daniel Felsenfeld and Ryan Brown at St. Peter’s Church, 346 W 20th St. (8th/9th), $15

6/24, 8:30 PM Canadian darkwave/goth chanteuse NLX at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/24, 9ish intense, potently lyrical, dark songwriter Erin Regan at Goodbye Blue Monday.

6/24, 9 PM Greta Gertler’s lush, gorgeously tuneful orchestrated rock band the Universal Thump at Bowery Electric, $12

6/24, 9 PM cult legend soul/blues harpist/belter Syl Johnston at the Bell House, $20.

6/24, 9 PM garage rock night with Electric Mess and the Insomniacs at Union Hall, $8

6/24, 10 PM intense Irish party band Shilelagh Law at Connolly’s.

6/24, 10 PM Tall Tall Trees at Pete’s followed at 11 by Tumbling Bones and their similar ramshackle oldtimey country/blues sound.

6/24 original 2/3 female (2 girls, 1 guy) rockabilly/surf rockers Catspaw at the Fortune Cookie Lounge under Lucky Cheng’s, 10:30 PM, $5

6/24 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM

6/25 popular British soul revivalists Fitz & the Tantrums followed by James Brown-influenced soul/funk vet Lee Fields & the Expressions at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival, i.e. 4 PM at the latest highly advised.

6/25, 5:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jacam Manricks leads a trio at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

6/25, 7:15 PM chamber-pop band BoxFive followed by cello/marimba duo Goli at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/25, 7:30 PM snarling garage-punk band Des Roar – of Ted Bundy Was a Ladies Man notoriety – at the Mercury

6/25, 8 PM slinky, haunting vintage Middle Eastern/East African group Sounds of Taraab at Barbes.

6/25, 8 PM the Undead Jazz Festival at Littlefield is sort of the Stone transplanted to the Gowanus, with Jeff Lederer’s Sunwatcher, Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman, the Darius Jones Trio, Anthony Coleman Trio w/ Brad Jones and Satoshi Takeshi, and Jamie Saft’s New Zion Trio, $25 adv tix rec.

6/25, 8 PM the London Souls’ third-rate fifth-generation garage rock followed by the Heavy, who do oldschool funk/soul vamps with lots of loops and samples, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/25, 8 PM the CCB Reggae Allstars play Marley’s Rastaman Vibration in its entirety plus other Marley hits at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

6/25, 8ish tuneful, high-energy ska-punk with King Django at Shrine.

6/25, 10:30 PM ornate, intense, amazingly tuneful art-rock/metal band Of Earth – fresh off a world tour opening for Guns & Roses?!? at Local 269, $7. Their excellent album is now available for free download.

6/26, 3 PM Renaissance ensemble Parthenia play “an intimate collection of early English art songs for voice, viols and lute, illustrating Renaissance life and love” including music by Dowland, Purcell and Henry VIII at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

6/26, 7 PM a characteristically eclectic triplebill at Barbes – Yukie and Ryoji playing classic tango and tango nuevo on bandoneon and guitar followed by at 8 by Ben Holmes, Curtis Hasselbring and Marcus Rojas playing brass trio improvisations and then at 10 gypsy punk band the Japonize Elephants.

6/27, 7 PM the Ossia Chamber Players perform interesting new works by Rubin Kodheli, Theo Bleckmann, Michael Gatonska, Daniel Wohl and Kono Michi at le Poisson Rouge.

6/27, 8 PM eclectic, always interesting jazz bassist Dave Holland leads a quintet at the Highline Ballroom, $25.

6/27 charming oldtimey swing and hillbilly sounds with Daria Grace & the Prewar Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

6/27, 9 PM the Schumacher Group plays innovative third-stream big band jazz at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

6/27, 9:30 PM drummer Ari Hoenig leads an intriguing quartet with intense, Middle Eastern influenced guitarist Gilad Hekselman at Smalls

6/28, half past noon up-and-coming jazz pianist Emmet Cohen at 1 NY Plaza downtown, free. He’s also at the World Financial Center plaza at 5:30 on 6/30.

6/28, 5:30 PM the NY Gypsy All-Stars in the parking lot out back of City Winery, free.

6/28, 7 PM maverick viola virtuoso Ljova with the Fernando Otero Quintet at Klavierhaus, 211 W 58th St., $20. Moody Argentinian pianist Otero tore up le Poisson Rouge his last time there; Ljova is always up for a challenge and maybe some serious jousting.

6/28-7/3, 7:30/9:30 PM the Kenny Garrett Quartet at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

6/28, 10 PM dark steampunk siren Jolie Holland plays the cd release show for her latest one at Bowery Ballroom, $15 adv tix highly rec.

6/28-7/2, 11 PM alto saxophonist Sharel Cassity leads a quartet at Dizzy’s Club, $10 seats avail.

6/29, 7 PM a spectacularly good new music doublebill at Galapagos: Mivos Quartet play world premieres by Tristan Perich and Samson Young followed by Redshift Ensemble’s highly anticipated Arctic Sounds suite incorporating found sounds from the rapidly disappearing great white north, $15 gen adm., early arrival highly rec.

6/29, 7 PM short sets by powerpop goddess Patti Rothberg and ex-Utopian Moogy Klingman followed by two sets by the Peaceniks at the big room at the Rockwood, $10

6/29, 7 PM latin jazz piano legend Larry Harlow & Latin Legends Big Band at Soundview Park in the Bronx, 6 train to Morrison Ave/Soundview

6/29, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

6/29, 7 PM a Bernard Herrmann 100th Birthday celebration conducted by Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (?!?) conductor John Mauceri at the Greene Space, $20 includes a glass of wine.

6/29, 8 PM Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra – who just put out a sizzling album of classic/obscure 1920s swing jazz tunes – at Highline Ballroom, $10 adv tix very highly rec.

6/29, 8 PM hard-hitting psychedelic powerpop trio Devi play outdoors at the Grove St. Path train station in Jersey City, free

6/29, 8:30 PM the monthly ska-xtravaganza has found a new home at Southpaw. This month’s lineup is the Big Takeover, Cosmolingo, The Rudie Crew, the Times and King Django, $10, note that this is 21 and over

6/29-7/3 the annual Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz festival at Birdland, sets 8:30/11 PM, $30 seats avail., too many artists to list here but it’s a good lineup as always.

6/29, 10 PM Beninghove’s Hangmen play the release show for their new noir jazz cd at Drom, $10 gen adm

6/29 Paleface – the original sardonic 90s white funk/hip-hop guy – at Rodeo Bar 10ish. 6/30 he’s at Southpaw at 10:30 followed by dark soul/rock chanteuse Shenandoah & the Night for $10.

6/30, 7 PM Ehud Asherie plays solo piano followed at 9:30 PM by tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger’s fascinating, tuneful Quintet at Smalls.

6/30, 7 PM Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

6/30-7/3 one of the leading lights of jazz piano, Gerald Clayton leads a trio at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 ($30 Fri-Sat).

6/30, 8 PM Burritos-style country band Whisperado followed by a birthday show by classic pop maven Elisa Peimer at Kenny’s Castaways, free, birthday cake also available (we think).

6/30, 8 PM film historian/Yiddish culturist Eve Sicular (Metropolitan Klezmer’s awesome drummer) presents “The Celluloid Closet of Yiddish Film: A Yingl Mit a Yingl Hot Epes a Tam?” addressing gay subtext in classic Yiddish celluloid. Free outdoor video/multimedia presentation at Le Petit Versailles Garden, 346 E Houston at Ave C.

6/30, 8:30 PM intense, crystalline-voices singer/composer Sara Serpa leads a quintet with Andre Matos, guitar; Pete Rende, piano; Matt Brewer, bass; Tommy Crane, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/30, 9 PM fearless charismatic dark oldtimey siren Kelli Rae Powell at Freddy’s followed at 10 by a one-off NYC show by Wytchhyker, Electric Six frontman Joshua Darsky’s old “stoner pop” band.

6/30, 9:30 PM Nellie McKay’s surreal, twisted one-woman biographical show about the execution of convicted murderer Barbara Graham (who was probably innocent) in California in 1956, $20, this will sell out, adv tix a must. “Good people think they’re always right.”

6/30, 10:15 PM tuneful Americana siren Julia Haltigan plays the big room at the Rockwood

If you’re looking for weekly events for June or July, scroll down to the bottom of this page.

7/1, 8:30 PM roots reggae legends Steel Pulse at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/1, 9 PM a clever melodic trio with JD Allen, tenor sax; Michael Bates, double bass; Jeff Davis, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

7/1, 9 PM dark intense rock songwriter Elisa Flynn at Banjo Jim’s playing new “19th Century Songs” from her ep and a bunch of new ones “about bears, speaking in tongues, and murder…nothing but murder.”

7/1, 10 PM oldschool vallenato/cumbia hellraisers Very Be Careful at Bowery Poetry Club; they’re at Barbes 7/2 at 10.

7/2, 1 and 3 PM Jed Distler leads a 40-piece ensemble playing Terry Riley’s In C on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

7/2 Roy Ayers and the Jazz Mafia Symphony at Central Park Summerstage, get there by 7 PM or else you probably won’t get in.

7/2, 7 PM creepy intense cool chanteuses: Lorraine Leckie solo followed by Carol Lipnik and Spookarama doing her covers project at 8 at Banjo Jim’s

7/2, 7:30 PM lyrical songwriter Niall Connolly plays the big room at the Rockwood

7/2, 8 PM blistering bluegrass jamband Thy Burden’s cd release show at Union Hall, free.

7/2, 8:30 PM torchy noir German songwriter Sophie Hunger at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

7/2 intense gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata, 9 PM.

7/3 the reliably intense, charismatic anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What at Fort Tilden in the Rockaways, time TBA.

7/3, 8 PM new music ensemble Transit plays an intriguing evening of new electroacoustic works by Tristan Perich, Lesley Flanigan (very highly recommended) and Daniel Wohl at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown, Broadway at Fulton, free.

7/5, 7:30/9:30 PM Dario Boente & Proyecto Sur play tango nuevo jazz at the Jazz Standard, $20

7/5, 8 PM classic boricua sounds with the Lavoe All Stars and Cantando Renzo Padilla at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx, St. Ann’s Ave and E 144th Street, 6 train to Brook Ave.

7/6, 6 PM African and Afro-Cuban sounds with the Edmar Castaneda Trio plus special guest Andrea Tierra and then the Lionel Loueke Trio at Madison Square Park, free.

7/6 pianist Osmany Paredes’ latin jazz quartet at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

7/6, 7 PM pianist Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble playing latin/Jewish jazz – real cool stuff – at the Triad Theatre, 158 W. 72nd St., 2nd Fl.., just west of Broadway, $10

7/6, 8 PM intense, powerful Afrobeat/desert blue siren Khaira Arby at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

7/7, half past noon trombonist Art Baron leads a small combo at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.

7/7, 5:30 PM Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca at the World Financial Center, free.

7/7, 7 PM My Brightest Diamond at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/7, 7 PM edgy comedic musical chicks Mel & El (their album is called She’s My Bitch) put on their latest show Mel & El: Our Time of the Month (Flight of the Conchords as done by Tammy Faye Starlite, maybe) at the 92YTribeca, $15

7/7, 8 PM cello rockers Deoro plays Bach, Ravel, Messaien, Bizet, Michael Brecker and Randy Wolff at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud. On 7/8, same time, same price, the band returns, playing an acoustic set from their Kingston Morning reggae-rock album.

7/7, 8ish hip-hop/rock at the downstairs space at Webster Hall with White House Band, Mickey Factz, Tunde Olaniran, Rocky Business, Nyle vs. the Naysayers, Ra the MC and Mahogany, no idea who’s playing when but if you’re into this stuff, check it out.

7/7, 8:30 PM extraordinary oudist Tareq Abboushi plus percussionist Hector Morales at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

7/7, 8:30 PM the Court Yard Hounds (that’s sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks) at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/7, 9 PM filmmaker/hilarious satirical bandleader Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative (his funk band feat. members of Burnt Sugar) at Zebulon

7/7, 9 PM quirky, rustic cello rockers Pearl & the Beard at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $12 adv tix avail. til 7 PM weekdays at the Mercury.

7/7 midnight smart oldtimey chanteuse/swing guitarist Miss Tess at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/8 tight, soaring oldschool honkytonk band Yarn – with a horn section – at Southpaw, time TBA $12

7/8, 9 PM badass Australian country songwriter Kasey Chambers at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

7/8, 9 PM Los Lobos at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/8 dark rock chanteuse Nicole Atkins & the Sea at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $12 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

7/8 midnight sly acoustic jam band Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/9, 7 PM politically aware indie rocker Ted Leo & the Pharmacists play South St. Seaport

7/9, 7:30 PM late golden-age hip-hop with Raekwon, Smif-N-Wessun, Joell Ortiz, Skyzoo, Neek the Exotic & Large Professor, no idea who’s opening or headlining, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/9, 9/10:30 PM multi-reed paradigm-shifter Matana Roberts leads a quintet with Daniel Levin – cello, Shoko Nagai – piano, Thomson Kneeland – bass, Tomas Fujiwara – drums, at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/11, 7:30 PM Bjorkestra frontwoman Becca Stevens’ Band at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/11, 9 PM cleverly haunting, intense Americana/art-rock/punk songwriter Raquel Bell at Pete’s

7/11 hypnotic pensive indie songwriter Bill Callahan f.k.a. Smog at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 gen adm; 7/12 he’s at Bowery Ballroom, same time, same price

7/12-16, 8:30/11 PM Pablo Zeigler’s tango nuevo project with cantante Sandra Luna at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

7/13 noirish soul/rock band Shenandoah & the Night at Bryant Park, free, 6 PM

7/13, 7 PM jazz bass powerhouse Christian McBride & Inside Straight at Madison Square Park, free.

7/13, 11 PM golden-age hip-hop stars Pharoahe Monch & Black Rob, OGC (from Fab 5), Helta Skeltah,, Smif & Wessun, Black Moon at B.B. King’s

7/14, 7 PM Patti Smith at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/14 drummer Tim Kuhl leads a group feat. Michael Formanek, bass; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Jonathan Goldberger, guitar; Frantz Loriot, viola; Jonathan Moritz, saxes playing the cd release show for his new one at 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe.

7/16, 4 PM C&W/Brazilian dance band Nation Beat, sultry Nina Simone-influenced worldbeat siren Meklit Hadero and then Arturo O’Farrill’s latin jazz quartet at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance

7/16, 5 PM-ish PM the Black Angels at South St. Seaport.

7/16, 7:30 PM percussionist/composer Alessandra Belloni leads an all-female quintet with Jessica Valiente on reeds and Eve Sicular on drums playing Belloni’s mystical sea goddess tribute at the NY Open Center, 22 East 30th St., $25

7/16, 8 PM high-energy soul legend Andre Williams with Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies at Brooklyn Bowl, $8

7/16, 10:30 PM Patti Smith guitarist (and powerpop maven) Lenny Kaye followed by garage rock legends the Fleshtones cd release show at the Mercury $12 adv tix rec.

7/17 Pink Martini at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/19 the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free

7/19, 7:30ish 80s hip-hop legend (and LL Cool nemesis) Kool Moe Dee at Queensbridge Park, F to 21st St.

7/19, 8 PM two excellent jazz acts for the price of less than half of one: the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra followed by bassist Ben Williams & the Checkout at the 92YTribeca, $12 gen adm.

7/19-24 lyrical jazz pianist Fred Hersch leads a trio at the Vanguard, 9/11 PM

7/19, 10 PM Toots & the Maytals at Brooklyn Bowl, $26. He’ll also be here on 7/25.

7/20 desert blues legends Tinariwen at Highline Ballroom, 9 PM, $27 adv tix rec.

7/21 ecstatic Eastern European dance mashup band Balkan Beat Box, 8 PM at Brooklyn Bowl, $12.

7/21, 8 PM 21st century style garage rock night with Plastic Traps, the Boom Bang and the Vandelles at Union Hall, $8.

7/21, 8 PM thoughtful guitar jazz with Tin/Bag (Kris Tiner, trumpet & Mike Baggetta, guitar) with the James Ilgenfritz Group at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 7th Ave, Park Slope), $15 ($10 stud/srs)

7/21 Lucinda Williams at the Beacon, 9 PM, $39.50 tix avail. at the box office – may be sold out by now.

7/23, 9/10:30 PM intense, smartly lyrical pianist Michael Cain leads a trio with Lonnie Plaxico – bass, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/24, 7 PM eclecic violist Ljova joins Octavio Brunetti’s Apeadero Sur Tango Orchestra for a night of tangos on Pier 84, free.

7/24, 8:30 PM fiery, lyrical jazz pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Miguel Zenon, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/26 Brazilian nocturnes and grooves with Forro in the Dark in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/26-31 7:30/9:30 subtle, soulful latin chanteuse Claudia Acuna leads her brilliant intense quintet at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

7/27, 6 PM clever, comedic Erin & Her Cello at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free

7/27, 7:30 PM dark hypnotic songwriter Marissa Nadler at the Mercury; 7/30, 9 PM she’s at at Littlefield, both shows are $12

7/26, 7:30 PM the Matt Herskowitz Trio plays Bach, Schumann and Chopin at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

7/26, 8:30 PM clever lyrical songwriters Joe McGinty and Ward White at Bowery Electric

7/27 rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/27, 7:30 PM the Black Earth Boys feat. kora virtuoso Juldeh Camara followed by Billy Bragg at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center.

7/27, 8 PM smartly aware, tuneful Americana rocker Amy Speace at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/28 Budos Band play a concert cruise aboard the Queen of Hearts, leaving from 40. West Houston St. at West Side Highway at 8 PM sharp, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/29, 7:30 PM brilliant, soulful Lebanese multi-instrumentalist/composer Bassam Saba and his ensemble followed by eclectic, fearless Malian siren Oumou Sangare at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/29, 7:30 PM hilarious, virtuosic oldtimey/grasscore band The Devil Makes Three at the Mercury, $12 adv tix very highly rec.

7/29, 8 PM excellent eclectic danceable doublebill: Brazilian/C&W band Nation Beat followed by the Mexican-American Go-Go’s, Pistolera, playing the cd release for their new one El Desierto y La Ciudad at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

7/29, 9/10:30 PM percussionist Adam Rudolph leads a globally astute octet with Joseph Bowie – trombone; Graham Haynes – cornet/flugelhorn; Brahim Fribgane – oud; Kenny Wessel – guitars; Peter Apfelbaum – flute/tenor saxophone; Jerome Harris – acoustic bass guitar/slide guitar; Matt Kilmer – percussion at the Jazz Gallery, $20

7/29-30 the Eels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $30 gen adm., adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7, this may sell out.

7/30, 4 PM psychedelic, rustic, horn-driven blues/klezmer/minor-key band Hazmat Modine followed by Steven Bernstein’s Millennian Territory Orchestra (no idea if they’re doing their Sly Stone set or not) at the World Financial Center plaza.

7/30, 6 PM a cool country doublebill: Rhett Miller followed by the always hilarious Hayes Carll at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance

7/30, 6 PM Indian brass band Red Baraat, go-go godfather Chuck Brown and Dr. John & the Lower 9/11 at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/30, 7:30 PM comedic and virtuosic Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood

7/30, 9 PM ecstatically fun, intense gypsy punk/metal cumbia/rock en Espanol band Escarioka – one of our favorites – at Mehanata.

7/30, 9/10:30 PM Ralph Alessi – trumpet, Kris Davis – piano, Ingrid Laubrock – saxophone, Tom Rainey – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20

7/31 French gypsy rockers Watcha Clan followed by Israeli Middle Eastern/Indian jam band Yemen Blues at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 3 PM highly advised.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/2, 8 PM the Mingus Orchestra plays Washington Square Park, free

8/3 Ethiopian groove unit Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4, 7:30 PM Vietnamese psychedelic rockers Dengue Fever at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free

8/4, a twangy guitar summit with the eclectic Bill Kirchen and surf rockers Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s $15.

8/5, 7 PM Tom Waits-ish Nashville gothic singer Mark Growden at the small room at the Rockwood

8/5, 7:30 PM Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free

8/9 classic roots reggae with the Abyssinians and Black Uhuru’s Mykal Rose at Highline Ballroom

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 1 and 3 PM pioneering new-music string quartet Ethel play a free show on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25.

8/18, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with Bakersfield-style country twanglers Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, the Texas honkytonk and zydeco of the Doc Marshalls and haunting intense original acoustic Nashville gothic/bluegrass of Frankenpine at Union Hall, $7.

8/19, 9 PM wild crazy female-fronted gypsy band Fishtank Ensemble at Union Hall, $10

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/22, 7:30 PM the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/23, 7ish Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/24, 7ish the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey

8/27, 1 PM day one of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has Tia Fuller and James Carter at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem

8/28, 1 PM day two of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival with the Gerald Clayton trio, Ali Jackson and the Archie Sheppp Quartet at Tompkins Square Park.

8/31 cutting edge tuneful jazz with the John Farnsworth Quintet at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free.

9/4, 1 and 3 PM pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg play Bach, John Adams and others with a string ensemble on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

9/8-9 plus 9/15-16, 9 PM Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

9/15, 8 PM the recently regrouped Klezmatics at Highline Ballroom

9/27, 8 PM Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

9/27, 8 PM dark Middle Eastern-tinged instrumentalist Sir Richard Bishop opens for the Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $30 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM, this may sell out

WEEKLY EVENTS

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his wild, ecstatic 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays in June at 9 PM at the Brooklyn Bowl Afrobeat band Zongo Junction and funk orchestra Turkuaz play a doublebill, sometimes with an opening act at 8; 6/13 the opener is reggae band Buru Style. $5 cover.

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in June the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in June Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Tuesdays at 7 PM from May through July it’s a classical piano series playfully titled Upright Piano Brigade, an A-list of classical talent playing the brand-new Sauter piano at Barbes. May artists include Michael Brown on May 3; Evan Shinners on May 10; Tanya Bannister on May 17; Gregg Kallor on the 24th and William McNally on the 31st.

Tuesdays in June clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in June the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in June at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in June at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel the Fat Cat.

Saturdays in June through August, 1 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic – early arrival advised. Usually these are piano recitals, with the occasional string ensemble. Note that there is no concert on August 13.

Saturday nights in June, 9:30 PM Tammy Faye Starlite stars in Chelsea Madchen: An Evening with Nico at the Duplex, Duplex (61 Christopher St. at 7th Ave.), $15 plus 2 drink min. Less one of Starlite’s venomously hilarious parodies than an exploration of Nico the individual: “Nico was, and remains, a heroine and emblem for these dark days of civil unrest and our unceasing fascination with sybaritic self-destruction and the willful deconstruction and annihilation of beauty,” says Tammy Faye. “I’ve got the songs, the accent and the hair down and am working tirelessly on the cheekbones.” Let’s see if she’s learned to sing flat.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

New York City Live Music Calendar for May and June 2011 Plus Other Events

Once again, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this constantly.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC: this is a list of edgy, entertaining stuff – if you like Lady Gag or Fleet Foxes, you should stay at home and hide under the covers, this is music for intelligent people. We try to be descriptive rather than using all kinds of superlative adjectives.

5/1 an amazing free outdoor lineup at the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival (two blocks from the Path station – just follow the sound to Washington St.) – intense, smart chamber-rockers Bern & the Brights at 1 PM, Tammy Faye Starlite’s hilarious Blondie cover band the Pretty Babies at 2, Steve Wynn’s hall-of-fame caliber Baseball Project at 3 and the legendary Ian Hunter – still going strong at 72! at 4.

5/1, 4:45 PM organist Scott Foppiano plays a welcome NYC return engagement at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

5/1, 6 PM a fun, entertaing new music/third-stream jazz doublebill with cellist Jody Redhage followed by the playful Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

5/1, 7 PM smart, edgy, lyrical indie rock songwriter Tara Jane O’Neil at the Mercury, $12.

5/1, 8 PM at Union Pool: Apocalypse Five and Dime presents We Shall Not Be Moved: The New York Five & Dime Sit Down Strikes of 1937, A One-Act Musical written by Phil Andrews starring Josh Lerner and Kate followed by the Stagger Back Brass Band – the Spinal Tap of brass band music –  plus singers Xavier, Sara Lucas, Sarah Gordon (of Yiddish Princess) and Michele Hardesty doing socialist song classics.

5/1, 8 PM psychedelic African soul duo Amadou & Mariam, free, at the Cooper Square Hotel, 25 Cooper Sq., one assumes in the lobby.

5/1, 8 PM oldschool and new rustic Cuban sounds on low-register instruments by Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club

5/1 the hilarious Uncle Leon & the Alibis – NYC’s answer to David Allan Coe – at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/2, 7 PM at the Greene Space, free: “Even as violent crime rates in New York have dropped dramatically in the past 15 years [due to NYPD brass’ manipulation of crime stats and their refusal to investigate crimes, rather than any real drop in crime], this controversial police procedure continues to divide law enforcement and community groups. Is ‘stop-and-frisk’ an effective preemptive strategy for crime prevention or a case of racial profiling? The Greene Space presents panelists on both sides of the issue in a discussion about how ‘stop-and-frisk’ affects New Yorkers in their everyday lives.”

5/2, 7 PM eclectic trombone god Josh Roseman’s Water Surgeons feat. Josh Roseman – trombone, bass guitar; Curtis Hasselbring – trombone, guitar; Jacob Garchik – trombone, accordion and Barney McAll – keyboards at Barbes followed at about 9:30 by Chicha Libre. They’re also here on 5/9, same time.

5/2, 8 PM Gutbucket and Pitom play gypsy/klezmer/jazz-tinged noisy groove stuff at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $8 “includes snacks.”

5/2, 8/10:30 PM Jane Wiedlin of the Go Go’s joins the surviving members of the Les Paul Trio at Iridium, $30. A crazy idea that just might work – she’s fun and always had the best voice in the band.

5/2, 9 PM Gary Morgan & Pan-Americana play eclectic big band jazz at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/2 at the big room at the Rockwood, 10:30 PM the Chris Morrissey Group – Ben Wendel- sax, Nir Felder- guitar, Mark Guiliana- drums, Pete Rende- piano, Chris Morrissey- bass followed by Sean Hutchinson’s Still Life at 11:30 – Henry Hey- keys, Chris Tarry- bass, Sean Hutchinson- drums

5/3, 7 PM Phil Kline and an A-list of downtown indie classical types – Matt Boehler on bass, Kathleen Supove on piano, Todd Reynolds on vionlin, Ashley Bathgate on cello – play songs by Kline, David Lang, Meredith Monk, Elliott Sharp at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 W 37th St. betw 9th and 10th Aves., free, res. req. to 212-868-4444.

5/3, 7:30 PM darkly retro eclectic accordionist/chanteuse Rachelle Garniez – whose most recent album we rated best of the year – at Doma Cafe, 17 Perry St. at 7th Ave

5/3, 7:30 PM guitar orchestra Los Angeles Electric 8 play Javanese songs, Balinese kecak chants, and music by Mantle Hood and Wayne Siegel at the Tank, $10

5/3-8 7:30/9:30 PM Ron Carter, bass; Rodney Jones, guitar; Frank Kimbrough, piano; Carl Allen, drums; Ron Blake, tenor saxophone at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

5/3, 8 PM Bulgarian accordion monster Peter Ralchev and his quartet play a very rare NYC show at Drom, $15 adv tix very highly rec.

5/3-4, 8 PM Bruce Cockburn & Jenny Scheinman at City Winery, $35 seats avail.

5/3 the completely original tuneful hip-hop-jazz marching brass band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at SOB’s, 9:30 PM $15 adv tix highly rec.

5/3 Americana banjo star Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

5/3, 10ish hypnotic, pounding dreampop/goth/psychedelic instrumental trio the Big Sleep at Glasslands, $10

5/4, 7:30 PM the American String Quartet play Beethoven, Schubert and Shostakovich at the lovely old-world Fabbri Library, 7 E 95th St., $35.

5/4, 7:30 PM, free, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proudly presents the 4th annual concert, Korea 21: Music Here and Now at Symphony Space – it seems to be more corporate pop-oriented, but might be worth stopping in to see what the buzz is about.

5/4, 7:30 PM drummer Mike Pride’s imaginative, psychedelically tuneful From Bacteria to Boys at the Knitting Factory, $10.

5/4, 8 PM dark female-fronted dreampop/shoegaze Teletextile followed by lyrical anthemic Canadian band Wintersleep – who are a singer short of greatness – at Union Hall, $10.

5/4, 8 PM guitar funk virtuoso Askold Buk at P&G Bar on the upper west

5/4, 8 PM the Dan Weiss Trio featuring Jacob Sacks and Eivind Opsvik at Littlefield, $10.

5/4, 9 PM intense improvisational Balkan group Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall

5/4 cutting-edge conscious Senegalese/American hip-hop with Blitz the Ambassador and his Afrobeat band playing their cd release show at SOB’s, 9 PM $12 adv tix rec.

5/5, 1 PM Isabelle Demers plays the organ at Trinity Church, free

5/5, 7:30 PM catchy jangly rock en Espanol outfit Cordero at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

5/5, 8 PM retro keyboard goddess Rachelle Garniez – arguably the most cleverly amusing and charismatic accordion-wielding songwriter on the planet – followed at 10 by Matuto who are sort of an acoustic Nation Beat, mixing Brazilian and bluegrass influences.

5/5, 8 PM this year’s funnest Cinco de Mayo show with Chicha Libre and Banda de los Muertos de Quisqueya at Littlefield, $10.

5/5, 8 PM the all-female 17-piece Main Squeeze Orchestra conducted by Walter Kuehr, the self-styled “Hugh Hefner” of the accordion world plays Kurt Weill at Drom, $15 adv tix highly rec.

5/5, 8 PM the Curtis Institute of Music’s 20/21 ensemble plays a Joan Tower retrospective at the Miller Theatre at Columbia, 116th/Bwy., $20.

5/5, 8 PM devious songwriters Maria Sonevytsky and Susan Hwang (both of the Debutante Hour), and World Inferno’s Franz Nicolay among others at Goodbye Blue Monday

5/5, 8:30 PM Lebanese trumpet star Ibrahim Malouf and oud virtuoso Brahim Fribgane at the Lincoln Center Atrium at 65th and Broadway, early arrival advised. Malouf is also playing a duo show with pianist Frank Woeste at Alwan for the Arts on 5/6 at 9 PM, $20/$15 stud/srs.

5/5, 9 PM third-wave and second-wave ska with the Hub City Stompers and playful 80s ska-pop vets Bad Manners at Maxwell’s, $16 adv tix avail.

5/5, 9 PM menacing instrumental Israeli heavy metal/surf music with Eyal Maoz’ Edom at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/5, 9:30 PM torchy noir rock with Mad Juana at Bowery Electric.

5/5, 10 PM compelling, frequently creepy art-folk chanteuse Larkin Grimm at Union Pool.

5/5, 10 PM Roger Bartlett at P&G Bar on the upper west – is this the the guitarist who was Jimmy Buffett’s one-man road band back in the 70s?

5/5, 11:30 PM Spanglish Fly with their sultry retro 60s latin soul vibe at Southpaw for Cinco de Mayo

5/6 Tift Merritt at City Winery is sold out – good for her.

5/6, 7 PM subtle, vivid classic tango chanteuse Maria Cangiano followed by Gabriel Alegria’s Afro-Peruvian Septet’s weekly Friday gig at Tutuma Social Club on 56th St.

5/6, 7 PM Esquivel revivalists Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

5/6, 7:30 PM the NOW Ensemble playing Judd Greenstein, Patrick Burke, Mark Dancigers, and Sean Friar followed by the Chiara String Quartet playing Jefferson Friedman quartets with electronic efx at le Poisson Rouge, $20

5/6, 7:30 PM the Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens in a joint appearance tackling the Brahms Piano Quintet, the world premiere of Fang Man’s Images of Lake Erie, Joan Tower’s Dumbarton, and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Ghosts in the Dream Machine. at Symphony Space, $30.

5/6, 8 PM two reverends who have nothing to do with religion: Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band play rustic acoustic Americana followed by Rev. Horton Heat playing semi-urban electric Americana at the Bell House, $22 adv tix rec. Rev. HH is also at Highline Ballroom on 5/8.

5/6 a tres bon cajun festival at the Jalopy starting with a Leadbelly style guitar workshop at 6:30 followed at 8 by the Big Road Blues Band, Catahoula Cajun Band, Empty Bottle Ramblers, Magnolia Cajun Band and then a midnight jam, $12 adv tix rec., $25 for the workshop.

5/6  MotherMoon -a smart, tuneful, sometimes haunting soul-influenced female-fronted band, like Cat Power but less precious, or Katie Elevitch in a less amped moment, at Spike Hill, 8 PM, note that there is a $6 cover.

5/6, 8:30 PM at Coco 66 a slamming triplebill with gypsy punks Kagero followed by Raya Brass Band at 9:30 and the equally ferocious West Philadelphia Orchestra at 10:30, $10

5/6 Caithlin De Marrais – one of the most unselfconsciously riveting singers in any style of music – sings her plaintive, thoughtful, compelling songs at 8:30 PM at Littlefield, $12. Sort of like a more rocking My Brightest Diamond.

5/6, 9 PM noir-tinged 2/3 female original rockabilly/surf trio Catspaw at Otto’s

5/6, 9 PM the wry, funny uke/bass project 2 Man Gentlemen Band and the ecstatic, improvisational Infamous Stringdusters at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

5/6, 9/10:30 PM fiery, innovative pianist Gerald Clayton leads a quintet with Dayna Stephens – saxophone, Chris Dingman – vibraphone, Joe Sanders (Fri)/Matt Brewer(Sat) – bass, Marcus Gilmore – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20

5/6, 9 PM Doll Parts (accordion-driven Dolly Parton covers with three-girl harmonies) followed by twistedly funny all-girl country parody band Menage a Twang at Union Hall, $10

5/6, 10 PM a killer dark triplebill at Banjo Jim’s with haunting, vivid Americana siren Jan Bell’s band the Maybelles followed at 11 by equally haunting, harmony-driven Nashville gothic band Bobtown and then the Just Desserts playing killer gypsy jazz at midnight. Wow.

5/6 the hellraising Jack Grace Band play classic 60s style country from their excellent most recent album Drinking Songs for Lovers at Barbes, 10 PM. They’re also at Rodeo Bar on 5/14 at 10ish.

5/6, 10 PM scorching, fun glampunk/noiserockers the K-Holes’ cd release show at Cake Shop

5/6, 10 PM Brooklyn’s own intense man in black, John Pinamonti at Sunny’s in Red Hook.

5/6 eerie electric bluespunk with the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar 10ish.

5/6, 11 PM the wild, intense Pitch Black Brass Band at Bowery Poetry Club, $10

5/7, 4 (four) PM fearlessly lyrical pop/rock siren Elaine Romanelli at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/7, starting at 6 PM Rachael Bell and Derrick Barnicoat (frontwoman and brilliant percussionist of late great ominous psychedelic art-rockers Norden Bombsight) atat the Red brick school house on the corner of Prince and Mott providing a soundtrack to Daphane Park’s ambitious tea ceremony art/performance installation. Part of some New Museum series. Bell says “Art/Food/Drink/Music/Tea/Other, wash your feet.”

5/7, 7 PM a killer Americana quadruple bill starting with Apocalypse Five and Dime, the Roulette Sisters at 8, Roosevelt Dime at 9 and the Wiyos at 10 at Bowery Electric, $8.

5/7, 7 PM Nashville gothic maven – and indie film star – Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at Banjo Jim’s.

5/7, 7 PM supersonic yet soulful electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues.

5/7, 7 PM the Gregorio Uribe Big Band at the Fat Cat.

5/7 starting at 7 the NYC Ukefest at the Ailey Theatre, 405 W 55 St (9th Ave) feat all kinds of global ukulele talent including les Chauds Lapins.

5/7, 8 PM Romanian gypsy siren Sanda Weigl – whose intense new album Gypsy in a Tree is one of the year’s best – at Barbes followed by faux Mexican banda Banda Sinaloense De los Muertos (a bunch of jazz luminaries having fun with banda themes) at 10ish

5/7, 8 PM up-and-coming Americana multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Sarah Jarosz’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.

5/7 the cajun festival at the Jalopy continues with a bunch of workshops for stringed and accordion musicians followed by Cleoma’s Ghost at 8, Jesse Lege & the Bayou Brew at 9:15 and Zydegroove at 10:45, $12 adv tix rec., $25 for the workshops.

5/7, 8 PM comedic, smart Texas ukelele cover girl Julia Nunes at Rock Shop in Gowanus $15

5/7, 8 PM repeating 5/8, 3 PM Mark Peskanov, violin, Eric Jacobsen, cello and Steven Beck, piano play Haydn – Piano Trio in C minor; Ravel Piano Trio in A minor; Schubert: Piano Trio at Bargemusic, $35.

5/7, 8 PM, repeating on 5/8, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays The Whydah Returns (world premiere) by Aaron Dai; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D and Tschaikovsky’s 5th Symphony at St. Paul’s Church, 315 West 22nd St., sugg don. $20

5/7 haunting original bluegrass/Americana band Frankenpine at the Brooklyn Museum.

5/7, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza at Otto’s starting with Tsunami of Sound, Jason James & the Bay State Houserockers, the Tarantinos NYC and then sometime after midnight the Spytones.

5/7, 9 PM fearlessly funny Williamsburg punk rock vets the Live Ones at at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

5/7, 9/10:30 PM Dave Liebman, saxophone; Dan Tepfer, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Rob Garcia , drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

5/7, 10 PM eclectic Selegalese flavored roots reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

5/7, 10 PM ska trombone star Kevin Batchelor’s Grand Concourse feat. featuring members of the Skatalites, Rocksteady 7, Stingers & Westbound Train at Two Boots Brooklyn

5/7 LES rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish

5/7 crazy, virtuosic Capt. Beefheart cover band Admiral Porkbrain at Freddy’s, 11 PM.

5/7, midnight, cello metal with Stratospheerius at P&G Bar on the upper west

5/8, 6 PM amazing, improvisational, soulful pianist Jean-Michel Pilc plays an extremely rare small club duo show with Perry Smith on guitar at Caffe Vivaldi

5/8, 6 PM eclectic Ethiopian/jazz/Middle Eastern instrumentalists Blue Moon Ensemble play Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

5/8, 6 PM the Brooklyn Salsa Orchestra at the Brooklyn Bowl; they’re also here on 5/15

5/8, 7 PM stars of the NYC free jazz underground: Andy Haas (who has an excellent new album out), Will McEvoy on bass and David Gould on drums – at Downtown Music Gallery.

5/8, 7:30/9:30 PM the Juilliard Jazz Quintet w/Ron Carter, Rodney Jones, Frank Kimbrough, Carl Allen & Ron Blake at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

5/8, 8 PM Americana rock crew the Felice Bros at the Bell House, $20.

5/8, 10 PM hilarious, scathingly aware hip-hop parody Schaffer the Darklord at Cake Shop

5/8, 10 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Cal Folger Day at Spike Hill.

5/9, 6:30 PM a screening of the powerful documentary Gasland, a terrifying look at how hydrofracking – a dangerous natural gas drilling technique whose legalization was spearheaded by Dick Cheney in 2006 – pollutes drinking water nationwide with radioactive waste including radium. At the Museum of the City of NY, tix $12/$8 stud/srs, res req to 917-492-3395

5/9, 7 PM Michaela Anne sings down-to-earth, smart, tuneful Americana at Banjo Jim’s. She’s also at Caffe Vivaldi on 5/17 at 7:15 PM.

5/9, 7:30/9:30 PM oldschool soul/jazz siren Catherine Russell and phenomenal band at Dizzy’s Club, $20

5/9, 8/10:30 PM Matt Guitar Murphy at the Blue Note, $10 seats avail. Octogenarian Chicago blues guitar legend who suffered a stroke onstage a few years ago and finished the song before he decided to take a break. If he’s even a fraction of his old self he’s worth seeing.

5/9, 9 PM the Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/10, 7 PM the king of the catchy literate rock anthem, Willie Nile and his band at Joe’s Pub, $25.

5/10, 7:30 PM opening night of the Mata new music Festival  at le Poisson Rouge with ACME , L’Arsenale and Hu Jianbing and Bao Jian, $20.

5/10 drummer Jamire Williams’ large-ish band Erimaj with ERIMAJ featuring Jamire Williams, Jason Moran, Corey King, Chris Turner, Matt Stevens, John Ellis and Vicente Archer at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $20

5/10 Monty Python/Bonzo Dog Band’s Neil Innes at Highline Ballroom, 8 PM.

5/10, 8 PM a solid hip-hop extravaganza feat. DP One, J Period, Boogie Blind, Jean Grae and Pharaoh Monche at the Brooklyn Bowl, $15

5/10, 11 PM the Gowanus Reggae and Ska Society aka GRASS play instrumental Marley covers at Spike Hill; 5/14 they’re at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/10, 11 PM powerfully tuneful, catchy, lyrical acoustic rocker Jennifer O’Connor at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; she’s also at Maxwell’s on 5/15 at 6 PM for two bucks less.

5/10, 5/12, 5/14 Pharaoh Sanders leads a quartet at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

5/11 the NY Funk Exchange plays the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the 23rd St. heliport and the East River, $20 tix available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

5/11, 7:30 PM day two of the Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge continues with Angelica Negrón, the Dither guitar quartet, Cantori NY, Chris Danforth and the Danforths, bassist Florent Ghys, hosted by everybody’s favorite Q2 personality, Nadia Sirota.

5/11 up-and-coming trumpeter Dominick Farinacci leads a quintet with Dan Kaufman – piano; Yashushi Nakamura – bass; Lawrence Leathers – drums; Keita Ogawa – percussion at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $20

5/11, 8:30 PM Jacam Manricks – first-rate composer and alto player – and band at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

5/11, 9 PM third-wave NYC garage rock legends the New Dynasty Six (presumably without Johnny Chan) at Lakeside.

5/11 Mike LeDonne leads a B3 trio at the Fat Cat, 9 PM.

5/11, 10 PM chanteuse/pianist Lorrie Doriza’s noir/goth art-rock band Vespertina – like the Dresden Dolls, but genuinely menacing instead of cute – play the cd release show for their highly anticipated new one The Waiting Wolf at Bowery Poetry Club, $10.

5/11, 10 PM up-and-coming rock guitar star Rony Corcos – sort of an Israeli version of early Thalia Zedek – at Banjo Jim’s followed at 11 by torchy Americana singer Cal Folger Day.

5/11 tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

5/12 Renee Anne Louprette at the organ at Trinity Church, 1 PM, free.

5/12, 7:30 PM dark rustic klezmer-tinged rockers Barbez plays songs from their new cd Force of Light, guitarist/frontman Dan Kaufman’s homage to Holocaust survivor and poet Paul Celan at the ACFNY auditorium, 11 E 52nd St (between 5th and Madison), free but res. req. to 212-319-5300 ext. 222.

5/12, 7:30 PM closing night of the Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge features Metropolis Ensemble, $20.

5/12, 8 PM fiery, brilliantly lyrical, politically fearless Iraqi-American rocker Stephan Said and His Magic Orchestra at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

5/12, 8 PM Cuarteto La Catrina play Mexican and Puerto Rican composers at Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec.

5/12, 8:30 PM Melvin Van Peebles with Laxative at Zebulon – the great filmmaker (Sweet Sweetback’s Badass Song) is also an extraordinarily funny, charismatic presence on the mic, and the funky band behind him (Paula Henderson of Burnt Sugar on baritone sax!) is kick-ass.

5/12, 8:30 PM unpredictably brilliant sax titan Jon Irabagon leads a quintet with Jon Ralph Alessi, trumpet; Jacob Sacks , piano; John Hebert , bass; Mike Pride, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/12, 9ish olschool East Coast hardcore hip-hop with Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Mobb Deep at the Nokia Theatre, $35 tix avail.

5/12, 10 PM noir cabaret/gypsy punk band Not Waving but Drowning at Drom playing the cd release show for their mysterious new one on a killer bill with slinky Middle Eastern/trance string band Copal, $10 adv tix rec.

5/12, 9/10:30 PM amazing Middle Eastern jazz with Hafez Modirzadeh – saxophones, Amir ElSaffar – trumpet, Vijay Iyer – piano, Ken Filiano – bass, Royal Hartigan – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

5/12, 10 PM sly acoustic jamband Tall Tall Treesat the small room at the Rockwood; they’re also here on 5/26

5/12, 10 PM torchy smart bossa/jazz chanteuse Sasha Dobson plays with a trio at Barbes.

5/12, a very cool doublebill at Drom: 10:30 PM, hauntingly psychedelic violin-driven Middle Eastern/Balkan flavored dancefloor grooves with Copal and theatrical gypsy/steampunk band Not Waving But Drowning at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec., not sure who’s playing when but they’re both good.

5/12, 10:30 PM blazing chromatic Balkan tonalities with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10.

5/13 Americana guitarmeister Chris Erikson & the Wayward Puritans at Lakeside, 7ish

5/13, 7 PM cello-driven world music band Deoro  feat. chanteuse Dina Fanai at the small room at the Rockwood – their show here in December was off the hook.

5/13, 7:30 PM oldtime hokum blues and hillbilly music with the Second Fiddles at Hill Country

5/13 sharply literate, often hilarious Americana charmer Robin Aigner with her band at Barbes 8 PM followed by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland’s cd release show

5/13, 8 PM Mara Milkis – violin; Jerzy Wujtewicz – cello; and RAfal Lewandowski – cello – play works by F.Chopin, K. Szymanowski, W. Lutoslawski, K. Penderecki, R. Twardowski, Alicja. Jonas at Bargemusic, $35, you know the Greenpoint classical posse will be out in effect for this one.

5/13, 9 PM phantasmagorical noir siren Carol Lipnik & Spookarama at Banjo Jim’s.

5/13, 9 PM amazingly period-perfect retro 60s Bakersfield country band the Dixons at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

5/13, 9 PM Kiwi play Brazilian-flavored psychedelic dub reggae at Shrine.

5/13, 9 PM Canadian goth siren NLX at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/13, 10:30 PM adventurous bassist Joris Teepe with his combo at the Fat Cat.

5/13, midnight, witty guitar star of a million bands Homeboy Steve Antonakos plays his own wry Americana stuff at Banjo Jim’s

5/14, 11 AM (yes, starting an hour before noon) the free Wall to Wall Sonidos festival at Symphony Space feat. Arturo O’Farrill’s Sacred Concert for his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra based on settings of Jewish, Islamic, Gospel, and Afro-Cuban texts; a work for shakuhachi and string quartet [Colorado Quartet] from Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez; a world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Cuarteto para cuerdas no. 2 [La Catrina Quartet]; Tania León [Harlem Quartet]; new works by Fernando Otero (with dancers); and performances by Continuum, Damocles Trio, Poulenc Trio, Ray Vega, Gabriel Alegria, and many others.

5/14, 6 (six) PM dark Americana songwriter Abbie Barrett at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/14, 7:30 PM terse, intense classical/jazz pianist Michel Reis leads a trio at Puppets Jazz Bar in Park Slope

5/14, 8 PM the Underground Horns – a “6 piece brass band that plays afro funk bhangra new orleans salsa grooves” – at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s western swing thing.

5/14, 8 PM Hell’s Kitchen Country: Gene Yellin (guitar), Mark Farrell (mandolin) and Bill Christophersen (fiddle) play bluegrass classics and obscurities at Orchard House Cafe, 58th St/1st Ave., $10

5/14 dark 80s goth/art-rock influenced chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi, 9:30 PM

5/14, 9 PM one of the year’s best triplebills: sultry, funny oldtimey harmony crew the Roulette Sisters at 9, ferociously literate, witty, psychedelic/new wave rockes the Larch at 10 and Pinataland’s Dave Wechsler’s solo Tyranny of Dave project at 11 at the new Freddy’s.

5/14 dark original bluegrass/Nashville gothic band Frankenpine at 9 PM at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by M Shanghai String Band,$10.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM allstar postbop ensemble the Cookers – who absolutely tore up the Charlie Parker Festival last year – at Iridium, $30.

5/14, 9 PM percussionist Najib Bahri’s El Amal plays a musical/dance tribute to Tunisia at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud/srs.

5/14 carnivalesque Luminescent Orchestrii frontman Sxip Shirey does his solo thing Joe’s Pub, 9 PM, $15.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM Marty Ehrlich, reeds; Ray Anderson, trombone; Brad Jones, bass; Matt Wilson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM the Oliver Lake Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20

5/14, 10 PM Fish Out of Water play ska at Shrine followed at 11 by punk dub band the Band-Droidz.

5/14, 11:30 PM clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski and his band the NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10 adv tix rec; they’re also here on 5/19 at 10:30

5/15, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra plays Handel – Music for the Royal Fireworks; Haydn – Concerto in C major for Cello and Orchestra; Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sugg don, reception to follow.

5/15, 3 PM the East of the River accordion-and-recorder ensemble play an intriguing Balkan/Middle Eastern/Appalachian/avant program at Bargemusic, $35

5/15, 6 PM Trio Caveat feat. free jazz trombone monster Steve Swell, James Ilgenfritrz and Jay Rosen followed at 7 by guitarist Xander Naylor’s fiery PinkBrown trio at Downtown Music Gallery.

Bill Christophersen (fiddle) play bluegrass classics and obscurities at Orchard House Cafe, 58th St/1st Ave., $10

5/15, 7 PM Mari Kamura, violin and Svetlana Bukvich-Nichols, keyboards play the world premiere of Bukvich-Nichols’ Sabih’s Dream, inspired by an Arabian horse farm plundered during the Balkan wars and then repopulated by the surviving horses. At the American Festival of Microtonal Music, at the Church of St. Luke-in-the-Fields, 487 Hudson St., $12/$10 stud/srs.

5/15, 7 PM the Four Bags – Mike McGinnis: sax/clarinet Brian Drye: trombone Jacob Garchik: accordion Sean Moran: guitar at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel

5/15, 7:30 PM Geogian slide guitarist Ilusha Tsinadze – who blends traditional sounds from his home country with jazz and blues – doing a cd release show at Joe’s Pub, $15.

5/16, 8 PM Koran Agan plays gypsy jazz at Banjo Jim’s.

5/16, 9 PM the Floor Models (baritone guitarist Val Opielski of the Walking Hellos, plus electric cellist Meg Schedel) plus worldbeat group Citizen Casey  at 10 at Small Beast upstairs at the Delancey

5/16, 9ish austere, smart chamber-pop band Pearl & the Beard at Littlefield, $5.

5/16, 9 PM latin/third stream big band Michael Webster’s Leading Lines at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/17 frontwoman/guitarist Debra of scorching powerpop/jamband Devi at Lucky 7 Tavern in Jersey City.

5/17, 7 PM Meredith Monk performs with vocal ensemble and violinist Todd Reynolds’ quartet at the cd release show for her new one Songs of Ascension at the Greene Space, $20, also streaming live on Q2.

5/17 one of our favorite bands, the sly, irrepressible, ur-NYC Jazz Passengers celebrate Roy Nathanson’s 60th birthday with special guests Marc Ribot and Marty Ehrlich at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $25

5/17 Tariq Ali, renowned author of From Cairo to Madison: The Arab Revolution and a World in Motion discusses the ongoing revolution throughout the Arab world, 8 PM at Galapagos, free.

5/17, 8:30 PM intriguing, captivating jazz trio Minerva’s cd release show feat. JP Schlegelmilch, piano; Pascal Niggenekemper, bass; Carlo Costa, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/18, 7:30 PM the most intensely focused, most powerful jazz composer of the moment, tenor saxophonist JD Allen and his Trio play the cd release show for their new one Victory! following a screening of Mario Lathan’s documentary short film about the album at le Poisson Rouge, $15, adv tix necessary, this will sell out. Wish you were alive to see Coltrane in 1963? Don’t miss this one. We have heard the forthcoming album and it is amazing.

5/17, 7/9 PM the prototypical downtown NYC accordion chanteuse, Phoebe Legere with her quintet playing the cd release show for her new one Ooh La La Coq Tail at Iridium, $20.

5/17, 8 PM “international vocalist night” at Local 269 starting at 8 with jazz singer Seung-Hee, Afro-Peruvian jazz specialist Sofia Rei at 9, bop-tinged Israeli chanteuse Tammy Scheffer at 10 and Hildegunn Gjedrem at 11, $7

5/18-22 ancient ageless drummer Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth band with Jaleel Shaw – alto saxophone; Martin Bejerano – piano; David Wong – bass at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $35

5/18 lyrical janglerock songwriter Paula Carino with her velvet voice, double entendres and wickedly catchy tunes plays with her new trio at 8 at Fontana’s.

5/18, 8 PM Kris Davis – one of the most original, emotionally vivid and lyrical pianists in jazz or anything – plays Barbes with Ingrid Laubrock -saxophone; Matt Maneri -viola; Trevor Dunn -bass, and Tom Rainey – drums, note that there is a $10 cover.

5/18, 8 PM avant percussion luminary Lukas Ligeti’s cd release show at Issue Project Room, $10

5/18 and 5/19 at 8 PM, concluding on 5/21 at 8:30 PM, violinist Aaron Berofsky and pianist Phillip Bush perform the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin at Merkin Concert Hall, $18 single concert tix avail., $40 for a three-day pass

5/18 jazz guitar monster Matt Munisteri’s new band the Syncopatin’ Detonators at Hill Country, 8:30 PM.

5/18, 9 PM saxophonist Benjamin Drazen – whose latest cd Inner Flights is one of the year’s best – at the Fat Cat with his quartet

5/18 solid oldschool garage rock and soul with the Solid Set at Lakeside, 9 PM

5/18 The Devil Makes Three’s hilarious, satirical, tuneful grasscore at Maxwell’s,9 PM, $10.

5/18, 10 PM Jon Irabagon’s Outright feat. Ralph Alessi (trumpet) Jacob Sacks (piano) John Hebert (bass) Tom Rainey (drums) at the Stone, $10

5/19, 7:30 PM the Trinity Choir sings music of Elena Ruehr at Trinity Church.

5/19, 8 PM an auspicious duo show with jazz singer/composer Sara Serpa and pianist/composer Kris Davis at the Gershwin Hotel, $10. Serpa’s recent album with Ran Blake was shatteringly poignant, but she can also be playful and fun (her last solo album was titled “Beach” in Portuguese). Davis is the rare performer who gets good reviews in the NY Times and deserves them – she pushes the envelope but never loses sight of the tune or the emotion she’s set out to capture.

5/19 the NY debut of genre-busting Belgian big band Flat Earth Society at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free, 8:30 PM, early arrival (i.e. an hour early) advised. 5/20 at 8 PM they play the US premiere of their original score to Ernst Lubitsch’s silent film the Oyster Princess plus improvisations accompanying archival film clips at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave (at 37th St) in Astoria, Queens, $15.

5/19, 8:30 PM pianist Dan Tepfer and tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger in an intriguing duo show at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/19, 9 PM powerful soul/Americana chanteuse Jo Williamson at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/19, 9 PM a solid Americana rock triplebill with Trailer Radio, the Lonesome Prairie Dogs and American String Conspiracy at Banjo Jim’s

5/19, 9:30 PM clever, tongue-in-cheek faux torch-song trio the Debutante Hour followed by gypsy rocker Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at Party Xpo in Bushwick, $8

5/19, 9:30 PM alt-country chanteuse Karen Hudson with her band at Lakeside playing songs from her forthcoming Late Bloomer cd.

5/19, 10 PM this era’s finest country music voice, Laura Cantrell plays the cd release show for her new one at Hill Country, $15.

5/19, 10 PM a solid oldschool country doublebill with Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion followed by Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Southpaw, $10

5/19, 10 PM klezmer/bluegrass legend Andy Statman at Barbes.

5/20, 7 PM tuneful alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe and quartet at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

5/20, 7:30 PM flutist Margaret Lancaster performs Steenhuisen, and Kampela works presenting “varying states of psycho-emotional, romantic, and spiritual deprivation,” and Wil Smith, Matthusen and JacobTV works offering the “proactive responses” of redemption and enlightenment. Plus Eric km Clark’s Deprivation Choir playing a choral work requiring the singers to perform both blindfolded and unable to hear each other or themselves. At First Presbyterian Church, 124 Henry St, Brooklyn Heights, 2/3 to Clark St.; A/C to High St.; R/4/5 to Borough Hall, $10.

5/20 Boston New Orleans brass band hellraisers the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble with Josh Roseman and Kenny Wollesen at Barbes, 8 PM; 5/22 they’re at the Stone at 10.

5/20, 8 PM Frank Kimbrough – piano; Scott Robinson – reeds; Ray Drummond – bass’ Matt Wilson – drums; play a Monk-themed concert at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC, on Chambers just east of the Highway, $25/$15 stud/srs.

5/20, 8 PM Shelley Nicole’s Blakbushe play their guerrilla funk stuff at Banjo Jim’s – hope the cops aren’t going by with the decibel meter on.

5/20, 9 PM artsy cello-rock band Colorform play Teneleven – “at live performances and rehearsals, NYC artist Sarah Valeri draws and paints her unique artwork.” That’s one way to get a lot of painting done!

5/20, 9 PM multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at the 92YTribeca, $12 gen adm.

5/20, 9 PM adventurous Tiptons sax quartet leader Jessica Lurie with her own Ensemble at BAM Cafe.

5/20, 9:30 PM killer triplebill: oldschool latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly, funky Afrobeat innovators Ikebe Shakedown and classic Fania era salsa stylists Bio Ritmo at Sullivan Hall, $10 gen adm.

5/20, 10 PM Black Lion & the Akinyoumba band play African roots reggae at Shrine.

5/20, 10:30 PM organist Jared Gold leads a quintet at the Fat Cat

5/20 surf music classics and obscuities with the Boss Guitars at Lakeside 11 PM

5/20 Boston New Orleans brass band hellraisers the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble with special guest trombonist Josh Roseman and drummer Kenny Wollesen at Barbes, one assumes after 11; 5/22 they’re at the Stone.

5/20, 11:30 PM NYC’s answer to Spinal Tap, Satanicide at the Mercury, $12 adv tix rec.

5/20, midnight, long-running NYC blues guitar vets Loyoyo play a reunion gig of sorts at Banjo Jim’s

5/21 the Master Gnaoua Musicians plus sintir star Hassan Hakmoun at the Alliance Francaise is sold out.

5/21, 7 PM charismatic, literate NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

5/21, 7ish original gypsy punks World Inferno at Webster Hall, $21 adv tix rec.

5/21, 7:30 PM hypnotic, intense, rustic minor-key blues/klezmer/reggae jam band Hazmat Modine play the cd release for their new one Cicada at le Poisson Rouge, $12 adv tix rec

5/21, 7:15 PM killer songwriter triplebill: blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun, lyrically intense Americana chanteuse Carolann Solebello (ex-Red Molly) at Caffe Vivaldi followed at 9:45 by sharp, often haunting countrypolitan singer Hope DeBates & North Forty.

5/21, 8 PM fearless, funny, intense anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What -our pick for NYC’s best rock band right now – play their monthly show at Trash starting at 8 with No One & the Somebodies, Space Ghost Cowboys and then the Brooklyn What at around 10.

5/21, 8 PM legendary bassist Bob Cunningham and his quartet at First Acoustics Coffeehouse in Brooklyn Heights, $25 adv tix rec

5/21, 8:30 PM the latest Brooklyn County Fair starts at 8:30 with southern soul siren Dina Rudeen’s cd release show for her spectacularly good new one The Common Splendor followed eventually at 10:30 by JD Duarte’s ferocious, fun, intense country/paisley underground crew  the Newton Gang.

5/21, 8:30 PM cult favorite Bulgarian art-rockers Diana Express play Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec.

5/21, 9 PM stark acoustic southern gothic with the Handsome Family at the 92YTribeca, $16 adv tix rec.

5/21, 9 PM the Cookers’ legendary pianist George Cables leads a trio at Puppets Jazz Bar, $20 plus $10 min.

5/21, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

5/21, 9 PM an intriguing quartet at the Cornelia St. Cafe with Mike Baggetta – guitar; Jason Rigby – saxes; Eivind Opsvik – bass; George Schuller – drums, $15.

5/21 Spanking Charlene – playful and clever X-inflected LES Americana rockers at Lakeside, 11 PM

5/22, 2 PM future stars of the avant garde Face the Music plays Missy Mazzoli’s masterpiece Death Valley Junction, Judd Greenstein’s hip-hop indie classical piece What They Don’t Like; Gregory Huebner’s Cuban Impressions; Jacob TV’s Syracuse Blues string quartet mashup plus gospel-tinged chamber piece by Paul Schoenfield at PS 142, 100 Attorney St., $15, all proceeds to benefit the school.

5/22, sets at 3 PM and 7 PM composer Ellen Fullman at Issue Project Room’s new digs at 110 Livingston St. in downtown Brooklyn. Accompanied by David Gamper, Theresa Wong, David Douglas, & Sean Meehan, Fullman plays her “long stringed instrument” consisting of wires extended from wall to wall for an otherworldly sound that’s sort of a cross between a harp and a church organ, $15, early arrival highly advised.

5/22, 7 PM Saints and Tzadiks – that’s Susan McKeown, Oran Etkin and Erik Della Penna – at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel

5/22, 8 PM NYC’s very own competitive gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara with the Momenta Quartet and bassist/multi-instrumentalist all-around good guy Shahzad Ismaily at le Poisson Rouge, 8 PM $15 adv tix rec.

5/22 the NYCity Slickers play soaring bluesgrass with harmonies at Rodeo Bar 9ish

5/23 chamber music ensemble Time for Three at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM.

5/23 new music string quartet adventurers ETHEL plus special guest piano powerhouse Kathleen Supové play world premieres by Andy Akiho, Rick Baitz, Anna Clyne, Judd Greenstein, Matt Marks, Randal Woolf at Merkin Concert Hall, 8 PM, $25 seats avail., $15 stud/srs.

5/23 charming oldtimey swing and hillbilly sounds with Daria Grace & the Prewar Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/23, 9 PM the playful, eclectic Joshua Shneider Easy-Bake Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

5/23, 11 PM smart, lyrical soul chanteuse Stephanie Rooker and guitarist Ben Tyree at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/24-29 vocal jazz vet Ernestine Anderson with Houston Person, Lafayette Harris, Lonnie Plaxico & Willie Jones III at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

5/24 trumpeter David Weiss’ Point of No Departure with J.D. Allen – tenor saxophone; Nir Felder – guitar; Matt Clohesy – bass at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $20

5/24, 8 PM Eliza Rickman plays her haunting hypnotic intense songs at the small room at the Rockwood. She’s also at Goodbye Blue Monday on 5/25 at 11.

5/24, 8 PM Booker T. Jones – you know who he is, right? – without the MGs at the Bell House, $25.

5/24-26, 8 PM the Keys to the Future piano festival: 14 new composers, 8 pianists – at the Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street (at Pitt), $20. The 5/24 lineup is pianists Marina Lomazov, Stephen Gosling, Blair McMillen, Tatjana Rankovich and Joseph Rubenstein playing Tobias Picker, Nikolai Kapustin, Jacob Ter Veldhuis aka Jacob TV, Bruce Stark, Heather Schmidt, Joe Dudell, Karen Tanaka and Joseph Rubenstein; the 5/25 program is Amy Briggs, Marina Lomazov, Lisa Moore and Jenny Chai performing works of György Ligeti, George Crumb, Timothy Andres, Martin Bresnick, Frederic Rzewski, Lera Auerbach and Nikolai Kapustin; closing night, 5/26 features Stephen Gosling, Eric Huebner, Molly Morkoski and Joseph Rubenstein playing John Adams, György Ligeti, Magnus Lindberg, Gerard Beljon, Josquin des Prez (arr. Wuorinen), Barbara White, Nikolai Kapustin, Tobias Picker and Joseph Rubenstein.

5/24 hypnotic postpunk guitar legends Band of Outsiders at Lakeside, 9 PM.

5/24, 10 PM dark fearless surrealistically funny former Norden Bombsight frontwoman Raquel Bell does a solo show at Pete’s.

5/24, midnight, El Pueblo play Caribbean/Puerto Rican influenced dub reggae at Sullivan Hall, $10

5/25 consistently captivating yet completely unpredictable indie classical orchestra the Knights at Lincoln Center’s Kaplan Penthouse.

5/25, 7:15 PM lyrical, tuneful, Aimee Mann-inflected songwriter Andrea Wittgens at Caffe Vivaldi.

5/25 pianist Emilio Solla Y La Inestable De Brooklyn presents Suite Piazzollana with a killer nonet feat. John Ellis, Alan Ferber, Sara Caswell, accordionist Victor Prieto and others at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $20

5/25, 7:30 PM wild gypsy punks Kagero, Kendra Morris, YC the Cynic, Afrobeat band Zongo Junction and funk orchestra Turkuaz at the Knitting Factory, $8 tix highly rec., this may sell out.

5/25, 8 PM austere hypnotic imaginative composer/violinist Ana Milosavljevic at the Stone followed by eclectic ex-Ethel violin powerhouse Todd Reynolds, $10.

5/25-28 piano jazz titan Kenny Barron leads a quartet at Birdland, 8:30/10:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

5/25, 8:30 PM trombonist David White leads his jazz orchestra at Symphony Space, $25 adv tix rec.

5/25, 9 PM Diana Jones – Americana singer who follows in Jan Bell’s footsteps, but mining more of the traditional than the original – at Joe’s Pub $12.

5/25-26, 9:30 PM ferocious bassist Omer Avital returns to his old stomping grounds, Smalls with his band

5/26, 1 PM Yoon-Kyung Shin, viola plus others TBA, program TBA, at Trinity Church, free.

5/26, 7 PM haunting indie rock siren Elisa Flynn – who has an auspicious new album examining 19th century historical events – at Banjo Jim’s.

5/26, 7:30 PM Deviant Septet – who are hell-bent on fulfilling Igor Stravinsky’s dream of creating a repertoire for violin, bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion – play Stravinsky’s complete L’histoire du Soldat plus world premieres by Ruben Naeff and Stefan Freund at at Greenwich Music House School, 46 Barrow St. (Bedford and Bleecker), $15

5/26, 8 PM arguably the two most vital, original new music ensembles in NYC: the swirling, psychedelic Dither guitar quartet and austere, ghostly, gorgeously atmospheric Redhooker at Merkin Concert Hall, $25.

5/26, 8 PM NYC’s most popular big band, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and bassist Ben Allison and band at Littlefield, $16

5/26, 8 PM playful, clever toy piano specialist Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

5/26, 10 PM hilariously filthy punk/garage rockers Custard Wally at Don Pedro’s

5/26, 10:30 PM gypsy punks the West Philadelphia Orchestra followed by haunting, hypnotic, psychedelic Turkish band Raquy & the Cavemen at Drom, $12 adv tix rec.

5/26, 11 PM Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at the big room at the Rockwood.

5/28, 8 PM the new oldtimey supergroup with Mamie Minch, Jolie Holland and JC Hopkins at 68 Jay St. Bar

5/28, 8 PM roots reggae, Afrobeat, desert blues and soul with the inspiring Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone at the Bell House, $20.

5/28, 8 PM Transit (Daniel Wohl (composer), David Friend (piano), Joe Bergen (percussion), Andie Springer(violin), Evelyn Farny (cello), and Sara Budde (clarinet) play an intriguing lineup of works including 3 world premieres by Christopher Mayo, Charlie Piper, Marc Bowden, Ryan Carter, Jason Cady and Daniel Wohl at Tenri Cultural Institute, 34A W. 13th St., $15

5/28, 9 PM gypsy rock/skaragga/metal cumbia monsters Escarioka at Mehanata. We’ve been calling them the best live band in NYC for a couple of years, now the rest of the world is finally starting to catch on.

5/28, 9 PM Brooklyn stoner rock avatars Strange Haze – who have yet another great new single out – at Matchless, $5

5/28, 9 PM exhilarating, anthemic, sweepingly majestic, socially aware Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at Bowery Electric.

5/28 sly, funky chanteuse Shayna Zaid & The Catch, 10 PM at the small room at the Rockwood

5/28, 10:30 PM ukelele player/lyricist/sultry chanteuse Kelli Rae Powell at the Jalopy, $10.

5/28 dark female-fronted noir soul band Shenandoah & the Night play their ep release show at Spike Hill, 11:30 PM, note the $7 cover.

5/30, 6:30 PM an interfaith 9/11 commemorative concert at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown with the Chiara String Quartet performing Robert Sirota’s riveting, haunting, iconic 9/11-themed Triptych, free but rsvp reqd

5/30, 7:30/9:30 PM Mexican chanteuse Magos Herrera leads a quintet playing classic torchy Mexican film songs from the 1930s and 40s at Dizzy’s Club, $20

5/30 Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Barber: Adagio for Strings; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, free, time TBA (guessing 8ish), early arrival advised.

5/30, 8:30 PM eclectic, often haunting pan-Asian-tinged Jen Shyu’s Jade Tongue with Jen Shyu, compositions, vocals, piano, moon lute, erhu, lakado, dance; David Binney, alto saxophone; Thomas Morgan, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

5/31, 7:30 PM spectacular percussionist Nathan Davis with his cutting-edge crew International Contemporary Ensemble at le Poisson Rouge, free with rsvp

5/31, 7 PM George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars at B.B. King’s, $37.50 adv tix rec.

5/31-6/1 trumpeter Sean Jones leads a quintet at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30, $20

5/31, 8 PM new music ensemble Tribeca Monsters! feat. music of Steward Copeland, Michael Gandolfi, Dylan Mattingly, Marc Mellits, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Jacob TV at Galapagos, $15.

If you’re looking for weekly events for May or June, scroll down to the bottom of this page.

6/1, 7:30 PM adventurous pianist Alexandra Joan winds up her entertainingly counterintuitive Kaleidoscope Series with a program of original material and improvisations featuring jazz guitarist Peter Mazza, Thomson Kneeland on bass and Timothy Hayward on sax at WMP Concert Hall, 31 W 28th St., $25

6/1, 7:30 PM dark incisive classical composer/pianist Fernando Otero and cellist Inbal Segev play Bach, Kodály, and Otero at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

6/1, 8 PM delightfully fun, quirky, counterintuitive all-female indie pop band the Walking Hellos at Fontana’s.

6/1, 10 PM, intense frontwoman Wendy Griffiths and her powerfully tuneful 80s punk/new wave influenced Changing Modes – who recorded our pick for best song of 2010 – at Sullivan Hall, $10.

6/1 midnight-ish big sprawling funk band Turkuaz at Southpaw, $5.

6/2, noon, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free

6/2, 7 PM fiery noir cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap at Banjo Jim’s followed eventually at 9 with the psychedelic folk of the Peaceniks feat. Moogy Klingman and Patti Rothberg at Banjo Jim’s.

6/2, 8 PM smartly multistylistic retro keyboardist/singer and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez (whose most recent album we rated best of the year) at Barbes.

6/2, 8 PM legendary, brilliant first-wave Irish punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers make their Brooklyn debut at Europa, $20. They’re at the Gramercy Theatre the following night for an extra $13 – that’s how much Live Nation is ripping you off for this one.

6/2, 8 PM the Da Capo Chamber Players’ 40th anniversary concert at Merkin Concert Hall feat. Pierrot lunaire, OP. 21 by Arnold Schoenberg, with guest soprano, Lucy Shelton; the world premiere performance of Gravity by George Tsontakis (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); the New York premiere of Midnight Rounds by Keith Fitch (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); Tres Lent as well as And…They’re Off! by Joan Tower (who was the ensemble’s founding pianist), $20 adv tix very highly rec., this should sell out.

6/2, 8:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser leads a quartet with Russ Lossing, piano; Eivind Opsvik, bass; Paul Motian, drums; Samuel Blaser, trombone playing the cd release show for his latest one at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/2, 8:30 PM new music ensemble Sybarite5 play the Lincoln Center Atrium at 65th/Bwy, letting their ipod shuffle choose the pieces they’ll be performing, early arrival advised.

6/2, 9 PM Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative at Zebulon. The legendary filmmaker also writes absolutely hilarious, subtly provocative, socially aware songs that skewer all kinds of stereotypes. He’s backed by a killer funk band comprised of members of Burnt Sugar.

6/2, 10 PM atmospheric, pensive rock anthems with Hurricane Bells feat. Steve Schiltz (ex-Longwave and Scout) at Culturefix on Clinton St.

6/2 powerpop/psychedelic guitar monsters Devi at Arlene’s, 11 PM recording a live album! Get your screams on vinyl!

6/2, midnight, dark female-fronted soul band MotherMoon at Spike Hill.

6/3, 7 PM ferocious, hilarious, theatrical, Beatlesque lyrical songwriter Walter Ego at Banjo Jim’s feat. some of NYC’s best guests (secret – we won’t give it away).

6/3, 8 PM filmmakers Suki Hawley, Mike Galinsky and David Beilinson’s documentary the Battle for Brooklyn, which confronts the destructive effects of gentrification, notably the graft and fraud-ridden Atlantic Yards arena and parking-lot project where private property was illegally seized by a real estate swindler through an eniment domain claim. At the Brooklyn Heights Cinema; also screening 6/9 at 9 PM at Myrtle Avenue Hill in Ft. Greene Park, free; and on 6/11, 8 PM at Indie Screen, 285 Kent Ave., Williamsburg. A weeklong run begins on 6/17 at Cinema Village in Manhattan.

6/3, 8 PM torchy noir Americana siren Lily & the Parlour Tricks followed by oldschool soul revivalist/crooner Eli Paperboy Reed at Southpaw, $12 gen adm.

6/3, 8 PM grease up your pompadours: Smokey Hormel’s western swing band, retro rock chanteuse Eilen Jewel and Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys at the Bell House, $12 adv tix rec.

6/3, 9/10:30 PM Ingrid Laubrock, tenor sax; Ralph Alessi, trumpet; Kris Davis, piano; Tom Rainey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

6/3, 10 PM the funniest oldschool country band around, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. They’re also at Barbes on 6/10 at 10.

6/3 ferocious Nashville gothic rockers Ninth House play Sathony in Astoria, 11 PM.

6/3 wry, literate Nashville gothic with Maynard & the Mustiesat Lakeside, 11 PM.

6/3, 11 PM wild intense original bluegrass band Thy Burden at Spike Hill.

6/3, 11 PM horn-driven funk band the Kickdown at Bowery Poetry Club, $10

6/3, 11:30 PM ecstatic Brazilian funk/reggae/maracatu band Dende & Hahahaes at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/4 Blitz the Ambassador at the Brooklyn Museum, free w/museum adm.

6/4, 6:30 PM, free, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble play Gershwin: Lullaby for Strings; Barber:Adagio for Strings; Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12, “American” at Flushing Town Hall, tix req., early arrival advised.

6/4, 7 PM Nashville gothic goddess – and indie film star – Lorraine Leckie at Banjo Jim’s

6/4 a blast from the past – legendary oldschool Williamsburg punk/indie rockers FF (which stands for Fat Fuck) at Lakeside, 7 PM.

6/4, 8 PM Bamba Sacko play African roots reggae at Shrine followed at 10 by the reggae/rocksteady of Finotee.

6/4, 8 PM sprawling acoustic Americana band the Woes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; they’re at Sunny’s at 10 the following night for free.

6/4, 8 PM the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at NJPAC in Newark, $25 seats avail.

6/4, 8 PM bossa jazz siren Sasha Dobson’s country band Chola followed by Banda Sinaloense de los Muertos at Barbes. Chola are also here Mondays in June at 8 PM starting on the 13th.

6/4, 9/10:30 PM drummer Ralph Peterson’s brilliant B3 band the Unity Project plays the cd release show for their spectacularly good new one with Pat Bianchi, organ; Josh Evan, trumpet; Wayne Escoffery, tenor sax at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

6/4, 8:30 PM hypnotic marimba/cello duo Goli at Caffe Vivaldi followed by bluegrass band the Five Deadly Venoms (who are also here on 6/7 and 6/28 at 9:45)

6/4, 10 PM, 90s Detroit rock cult figures the Dirtbombs at the Bell House, $20

6/4, 10 PM cowpunk with the Nightmare River Band at Spike Hill.

6/5, repeating on 6/ 12, and 6/19 the NY Scandia Symphony at the Billings Lawn in Ft. Tryon Park uptown, 2 PM. This extraordinary and clever ensemble plays a Frank Foerster piece called Summer in Ft. Tryon Park which has to be heard to be appreciated, along with works by numerous brilliant obscure Scandinavian composers.

6/5, 3 PM harpsichordist Elaine Comparone and The Queen’s Chamber Band play world premieres by Michael Cohen, Stephen Kemp, Elodie Lauten, David J. MacDonald & Eugene W. McBride at St. Mark’s Church, 10th St./2nd Ave., $25.

6/5, 7:30 PM trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet w/ Angelica Sanchez (piano), John Lindberg (bass) and Pheeroan akLaff (drums) at le Poisson Rouge, adv tix $15 rec.

6/5, 8 PM deviously fun new music duo Anti-Depressant (violinist Jennifer Choi and pianist Kathy Supove) play Galapagos, $15/$10 stud.

6/5, 8 PM slinky low-register retro Cuban band Gato Loco – with baritone guitar, baritone sax, tuba and bass – at Bowery Poetry Club

6/5, 8 PM tuneful Americana harmony band the Bowmans at the small room at the Rockwood

6/5, 8 PM composer Eve Beglarian and her new band Brim at Galapagos, $15.

6/5, 8:30 PM bassist Petros Klampanis plays the cd release show for his eclectic new one with a scary-good lineup feat. Megan Gould , violin; Heather Paauwe, violin; Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, viola; Yoed Nir, cello; Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Magda Giannikou, guest vocalist at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/5, 9 PM Steve Wynn’s indie rock supergroup the Baseball Project at City Winery , $25 seats avail.

6/5, 9 PM gypsy pop band Occidental Gypsy – “Found somewhere on the music tree between John Pizzarelli and Caravan Palace” – at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St.

6/5 hilarious, diverse satirical cowpunk rockers Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar 10ish

6/6, 6:30 PM an interfaith 9/11 commemorative concert at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown with pianist Simone Dinnerstein playing Bach’s English Suite as well as two of his Chorale Preludes – BWV 639 and 147, free but rsvp reqd

6/6, 7:30/9:30 PM Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band at Dizzy’s Club, $20, better reserve now, these guys sell out fast.

6/6 arguably the first-ever guitar jazz triplebill at the Mercury with the astonishingly smart, intense, original, bluesy Marvin Sewell at 8, Liberty Ellman at 9 and then Moroccan-inspired Dave Fiuczynski at 10, $15.

6/6, 8 PM stars of the NYC Balkan underground, trumpeter Ben Holmes and trio followed by at 9:30 by Chicha Libre at Barbes

6/6-7 the Melvins at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

6/7, 6:30 PM, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival a must.

6/7, 7 PM ICE pianist Jacob Greenberg at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party.

6/7, 7:30ish oldschool hip-hop with EPMD at Betsy Head Playground, Livonia Ave. & Strauss St., Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5 to Saratoga Ave.

6/7, 7:30 PM Rose of the Compass – recorder player Nina Stern, with Glen Velez, frame drum, and Ara Dinkjian, oud – play an intriguing set of music from the Mediterranean to the Balkans at the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

6/7, 8 PM Carol Lipnik & Spookarama play the cd release show for their hypnotic, haunting new one M.O.T.H. at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/8, 8 PM fiery literate steampunk songwriter Kelli Rae Powell at Southpaw.

6/8, 8 PM 60s soul legend Eric Burdon & the Animals at B.B. King’s, $35 adv tix a must.

6/8, 8 PM soulful, soaring country/rock siren Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at Bruar Falls, $6

6/8, 10 PM Sistermonk play their high energy gypsy funk at Shrine

6/8, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar

6/9, 7:30 PM intense Balkan-influenced songwriter Alina Simone at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/9, 9 PM dark compelling songwriter Elisa Flynn at the Way Station, 683 Washington Ave, Brooklyn (at Prospect Place; 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza)

6/9 oldschool Fania-style salsa band Bio Ritmo followed by Afrobeat crew Ikebe Shakedown’s cd release show, 9 PM at Southpaw, $10 gen adm.

6/9, 10 PM Banda Magda play their cosmopolitan gypsy/Mediteranean/latin accordion-driven songs at Drom, $10 gen adm

6/9, 10ish the twangy, clever Trailer Radio at Rodeo Bar.

6/10, 7 PM smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson at Lakeside.

6/10, 8 PM assaultive hilarious Chinatown hip-hop pioneers the Notorious MSG’s cd release show at the Brooklyn Bowl, only $5.

6/10, 8 PM Koleurz play French African roots reggae at Shrine

6/10, 8 PM Gyan Riley (Terry’s talented guitarist kid) at Barbes followed by the Jack Grace Band at 10

6/10, 8 PM Lisle Atkinson & Neo Bass play bass arrangements of Ellington feat. guests pianists at Symphony Space, $25 adv tix rec.

6/10, 8 PM antique Americana harmony band Ollabelle (all original members) at City Winery, $20 standing room tix avail.

6/10, 8 PM terse oldschool Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s.

6/10, 9 PM sharp, tuneful, Aimee Mann-esque literate rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

6/10 Cuban reggaeton siren Telmary Diaz with a live band at BAM Cafe, 9:30 PM – early arrival advised, this will sell out.

6/10 Vietnamese psychedelic rock revivalists Dengue Fever, 10 PM at Highline Ballroom.

6/10 baritone country crooner/bandleader Dale Watson at Maxwell’s 10ish, $10 (note separate admission from earlier NRBQ concert).

6/10, midnight, witty guitar star of a million bands Homeboy Steve Antonakos plays his own wry Americana stuff at Banjo Jim’s

6/10, midnight, clever fun retro 80s synth-disco duo Hank & Cupcakes at the Mercury, $10.

6/11 Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis and Josh Roseman & The King Froopy All Stars at Central Park Summerstage – be aware that they’re opening for a popular, lame jam band from the 90s and that you may not be able to get in unless you show up before 3.

6/11, 6 PM singer-songwriter satirists the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood.

6/11, 7:30/9:30 PM eclectic Middle Eastern-tinged jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

6/11, 8 PM an amazing psychedelic dub reggae doublebill (say that five times fast) with Dub Is a Weapon and Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad at Brooklyn Bowl, $7

6/11, 8 PM psychedelic steampunk/gypsy band the Wyld Old Souls’ cd release show at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

6/11 a good roots reggae doublebill at Shrine starting at 8 PM with Num & Nu Afrika followed at 9 by the Pressers.

6/11, 8 PM Mississippi hill country blues guitar genius Will Scott (who’s got an excellent new album out) plays a NYC show at 68 Jay St. Bar to kick off his latest European tour

6/11 haunting noir Americana crooner Mark Sinnis (of Ninth House) plays the cd release for his new one The Undertaker In My Rearview Mirror at Duff’s Bar in South Williamsburg, 9 PM.

6/11, 9/10:30 PM the cleverly lyrical John McNeil/Bill McHenry jazz group at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/11, 10 PM oldtime country harmony hellraisers Those Darlins at Maxwell’s, $10.

6/11, 10 PM hellraising Irish band Jameson’s Revenge at Connolly’s

6/11 LES rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

6/12, 3 PM a toy piano festival at Bargemusic feat. Phyllis Chen, Karlheinz Essl, Konrad Kaczmarek, John McDonald, Matthew Malsky and others, $25/$20 srs/$15 stud.

6/12, 7:30 PM cutting-edge string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Silk Road Project shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki at the Schimmel Auditorium at Pace University downtown (Spruce St. between William/Nassau), 2 free tix per person available starting at 5 PM at the box office.

6/12, 8 PM alt-country pioneer and Flatlanders honcho Joe Ely at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.

6/12, 8:30-midnight PM Sousalves’ Songwriters from Hell at Banjo Jim’s featuring (in order) Maya Solovey, Katie Dixon, Kerry Davis, Sousalves, Alan Merrill, Benjamin Cartel and finally Liz Tormes headlining at half past eleven.

6/12, 8:30 PM trumpeter Sarah Wilson plays the cd release for her new one with Myra Melford, piano; Ben Goldberg, clarinet; Jerome Harris, bass; Matt Wilson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/12, 9 PM killer doublebill: torchy intense chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show plus the phenomenally charismatic soul man/guitarist Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at Maxwell’s, $18 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out

6/12, 9 PM wry, often brilliantly funny Chicago oldtimey/Americana/indie band Dastardly at Spike Hill.

6/12, 10:30 PM string driven smart eclectic doublebill: violinist/composer Christina Courtin and our favorite string quartet, Brooklyn Rider at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

6/12, 11:30 PM innovative new big band jazz with Ensemble Denada, $15 gen adm.

6/13, 6:30 PM an interfaith 9/11 commemorative concert at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown with Bach’s Sonata #2 in D Major for Harpsichord and Cello performed by harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper and cellist Fred Zlotkin, free but rsvp reqd.

6/13, 8:30 PM pianist Melody Fader leads a string trio playing Beethoven, Berio, Chopin, Carter, and Dvorak’s Dumky Trio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

6/13, 10:30 PM Oran Etkin does his West African jazz thing followed by eclectic captivating Moroccan jazz/soul chanteuse Malika Zarra and her band at Joe’s Pub, $12

6/13 gypsy rocker Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/14, 9:45 PM bluegrass with the Sleepy Hollow String Band at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/14 dark politically aware jazz/pan-Asian chanteuse/pianiast Jen Shyu at Korzo, 10 PM.

6/14, 10:20 PM ethereal dark art-rockers Elysian Fields play the cd release show for their new one at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

6/15, 7 PM twangy, tuneful Texas-flavored alt-country band Two Cent Revival play. their cd release show at the Rockwood.

6/15 the Dictators’ ageless Andy Shernoff at 7 followed eventually by the soul/garage sounds of the Solid Set at 9 at Lakeside.

6/15, 7:30 PM violinist Veronique Mathieu plays works by Csickso and Shepherd followed by fearless avant ensemble Lunatics at Large performing works by Raoul Pleskow, Frederick Tillis, Elizabeth Bell, Steven Gerber and Marilyn Bliss at Symphony Space, $11.

6/15, 8 PM endlessly surprising, astonishingly intense piano virtuoso Kathleen Supove plays Julia Wolfe – Compassion; Lainie Fefferman – Barnacles (NY premiere); Alvin Curran – Inner Cities (selections); Michael Gatonska – A Shaking of the Pumpkin; Frederic Rzewski – Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$25 stud.

6/16 flutist Ransom Wilson’s new music ensemble Le Train Bleu at Galapagos, time/$ TBA.

6/16-19, 7:30/9:30 PM Jamaican jazz/reggae piano legend Monty Alexander & the Harlem Kingston Express at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail. Note that the 6/15 show is sold out.

6/16, 8 PM eclectic, witty jazz guitarist Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by bluegrass mandolin monster Andy Statman ($10 cover).

6/16, 8:30 PM eclectic electric guitar powerhouse Joel Harrison leads a quartet with Anupam Shobhakar, sarod; Stephan Crump, bass; Satoshi Takeishi, percussion at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

6/16 John Brown’s Body – who absolutely slayed on 4/20 at Highline Ballroom – at Maxwell’s, 9 PM $15.

6/16 Esquela – the new Americana rock project from the Yayhoos’ Keith Christopher with powerhouse singer Rebecca Frame – at Lakeside, 9 PM

6/16 electric bluegrass/country/rock guitar/mandolin monsters Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

6/16 dark lyrical songwriter Daniel Bernstein & the Everybody Knows at Fontana’s, 10 PM.

6/17 the third annual Istanbulive Turkish music festival at Central Park Summerstage features iconic songwriter/freedom fighter/filmmaker Zulfu Livaneli (sort of the Turkish Bob Dylan), early arrival, i.e. 3 PM at the latest, highly advised.

6/17, 9 PM soul/groove band the Del-Reys followed by potently politically aware third-wave ska/soul legends the Slackers at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix highly rec.

6/17, 9/10:30 PM dark 80s-style goth/pop pianist/singer Kristin Hoffmann.at Caffe Vivaldi

6/17 surf music classics and obscuities with the Boss Guitars at Lakeside, 11 PM.

6/17, 11:30 PM clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski and his band the NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

6/18, 7 PM charismatic, literate NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

6/18, 7 PM Metal Mountains (Helen Rush and Samara Lubelski’s ethereal project) followed by Thurston Moore’s Whiteout and then legendary 1960s psychedelic garage band Bardo Pond, no idea how many original members are left, $10 gen adm.

6/18, 7:30 PM tuneful death-obsessed indie pop pianist/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith at the Mercury, $10.

6/18, 7:30 PM salsa dura doublebill: La Excelencia and the Larry Harlow Latin Legends Big Band at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/18, 9 PM James McMurtry at the Bell House, $15. He’s also at Maxwell’s on 6/17 at 7:30 for the same price.

6/18, 9 PM yet another good diverse roots reggae doublebill at Shrine with 6th Degree followed at 10 by Zion Judah.

6/18, 9 PM funny, fearless oldschool style punk rockers the Live Ones, Boston’s Cortez and hilarious metal spoof Mighty High at Cake Shop

6/18 vibraphone-based Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica play the cd release show for their hypnotic, psychedelic new one Third River Rangoon at Otto’s – definitely the classiest band ever to play this dive.

6/18 fearlessly fun Americana-punk rockers Spanking Charlene – winners of the Sirius/XM best unsigned band contest, now on Little Steven Van Zandt’s label – at Lakeside, 11 PM

6/19, 11 AM this year’s Bang on a Can Marathon – a NYC institution – at the World Financial Center

6/19 this year’s free Punk Island festival at Governors Island happens two days in advance of Make Music NY as the yuppies are shitting their pants at the thought of loud, nonconformist music being played anywhere near their “luxury” apartments. Free ferries leave on the half hour from the old Staten Island Ferry terminal; here’s a public facebook page about it.

6/19 a rare solo set by saxophone adventurer Matana Roberts at Downtown Music Gallery, 6 PM

6/19, 9:30 PM rustic, lyrical Americana songwriter Andrew Vladeck’s dual cd/book release show at Joe’s Pub, $12.

6/19 soaring Americana with banjo player Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Rodeo Bar 10ish

6/19, 10 PM terrorist jazz with Peter Evans, Trumpet; Moppa Elliot, bass; Kassa Overall, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/20 indie classical orchestra the Knights play the world premiere of Lisa Bielawa’s Templehof Etude, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony plus a Morton Feldman piece at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, 7:30 PM, early arrival advised

6/20, 10 PM tuneful danceable funk/Afrobeat band Mamarazzi at the Mercury, $15.

6/21 is Make Music NY. We’ll cherrypick the best shows and put up a separate page once the official calendar is up.

6/21, 1 PM Louis Andriessen’s Hoketus performed by two groups TBA at Federal Hall downtown

6/21 Talib Kweli at Red Hook Park (bordered by Hicks and Henry in Red Hook – same directions as if you’re going to the Jalopy: F to Carroll St., exit front of Brooklyn-bound train. Left on Smith, right on 1st Place, continue as 1st Place becomes Summit. Go over the BQE, make a U-turn, continue on Summit).

6/22, 7 PM at Alwan for the Arts, a panel discussion: Detained Without Cause – Muslims’ Stories of Detention and Deportation in America. “The post-9/11 emergence of Islamophobic media hysteria, oppressive law enforcement tactics and increasing surveillance in the name of security is a package sold to the public as the inevitable cost of freedom. Learn what that cost really means in human terms: the stories of fellow New Yorkers disappeared from our communities during the first months after the terrible events of 9/11.” Free and open to the public, early arrival advised

6/23, 7 PM the Vinay Iyer Quintet at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

6/23, 7:15 PM oboeist Keve Wilson leads an ensemble at Caffe Vivaldi.

6/23, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano expert Phyllis Chen at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Nation Beat drummer Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band.

6/23, 8/10:30 PM vocal jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott celebrates his 85th birthday at the Blue Note, $20 “seats” avail. His show last year at the Charlie Parker Festival was characteristically shattering – he’s still got it.

6/23-24 8 PM this era’s biggest surf band, Los Straitjackets at City Winery, $20

6/23 Shane Endsley, trumpet; Gerald Clayton, piano; Matt Brewer, bass; John Ellis, tenor sax at Cornelia St Cafe, 9/10:30 PM, $15

6/24, 7:30 PM Badwagon (the Bad Plus plus Jason Moran’s Bandwagon) make their world premiere followed by Roy Hargrove’s quintet at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/24, 8 PM unstoppably romantic, effervescent, razor-sharp Hawaiian swing band the Moonlighters at Barbes followed at 10 by the Jug Addicts.

6/24, 8ish swirling dreampop band Zaza, Quiet Light and noir psychedelic rock legend Martin Bisi at Littlefield, $8.

6/24, 8:30 PM Canadian darkwave/goth chanteuse NLX at Caffe Vivaldi

6/24, 9 PM cult legend soul/blues harpist/belter Syl Johnston at the Bell House, $20.

6/24, 10 PM intense Irish party band Shilelagh Law at Connolly’s

6/24 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM

6/25 popular British soul revivalists Fitz & the Tantrums followed by James Brown-influenced soul/funk vet Lee Fields & the Expressions at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival, i.e. 4 PM at the latest highly advised.

6/25, 7:15 PM chamber-pop band BoxFive followed by cello/marimba duo Goli at Caffe Vivaldi

6/25, 8 PM slinky, haunting vintage Middle Eastern/East African group Sounds of Taraab at Barbes

6/25, 8 PM the London Souls’ third-rate fifth-generation garage rock followed by the Heavy, who do oldschool funk/soul vamps with lots of loops and samples, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

6/25, 8 PM the CCB Reggae Allstars play Marley’s Rastaman Vibration in its entirety plus other Marley hits at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

6/25, 8ish tuneful, high-energy ska-punk with King Django at Shrine.

6/26, 3 PM Renaissance ensemble Parthenia play “an intimate collection of early English art songs for voice, viols and lute, illustrating Renaissance life and love” including music by Dowland, Purcell and Henry VIII at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

6/26, 7 PM a characteristically eclectic triplebill at Barbes – Yukie and Ryoji playing classic tango and tango nuevo on bandoneon and guitar followed by at 8 by Ben Holmes, Curtis Hasselbring and Marcus Rojas playing brass trio improvisations and then at 10 gypsy punk band the Japonize Elephants.

6/27, 8 PM eclectic, always interesting jazz bassist Dave Holland leads a quintet at the Highline Ballroom, $25.

6/27 charming oldtimey swing and hillbilly sounds with Daria Grace & the Prewar Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

6/28, half past noon up-and-coming jazz pianist Emmet Cohen at 1 NY Plaza downtown, free. He’s also at the World Financial Center plaza at 5:30 on 6/30.

6/28, 5:30 PM the NY Gypsy All-Stars in the parking lot out back of City Winery, free.

6/28-7/3, 7:30/9:30 PM the Kenny Garrett Quartet at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

6/28, 10 PM dark steampunk siren Jolie Holland plays the cd release show for her latest one at Bowery Ballroom, $15 adv tix highly rec.

6/28-7/2, 11 PM alto saxophonist Sharel Cassity leads a quartet at Dizzy’s Club, $10 seats avail.

6/29, 7 PM a spectacularly good new music doublebill at Galapagos: Mivos Quartet play world premieres by Tristan Perich and Samson Young followed by Redshift Ensemble’s highly anticipated Arctic Sounds suite incorporating found sounds from the rapidly disappearing great white north, $15 gen adm., early arrival highly rec.

6/29, 7PM latin jazz piano legend Larry Harlow & Latin Legends Big Band at Soundview Park in the Bronx, 6 train to Morrison Ave/Soundview

6/29, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

6/29, 7 PM a Bernard Herrmann 100th Birthday celebration conducted by Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (?!?) conductor John Mauceri at the Greene Space, $20 includes a glass of wine.

6/29, 8 PM Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra – who just put out a sizzling album of classic/obscure 1920s swing jazz tunes – at Highline Ballroom, $10 adv tix very highly rec.

6/29-7/3 the annual Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz festival at Birdland, sets 8:30/11 PM, $30 seats avail., too many artists to list here but it’s a good lineup as always.

6/29, 10 PM Beninghove’s Hangmen play the release show for their new noir jazz cd at Drom, $10 gen adm

6/29 Paleface – the original sardonic 90s white funk/hip-hop guy – at Rodeo Bar 10ish

6/30, 7 PM Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

6/30, 8:30 PM Sara Serpa leads a quintet with Andre Matos, guitar; Pete Rende, piano; Matt Brewer, bass; Tommy Crane, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/1, 8:30 PM roots reggae legends Steel Pulse at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/1, 9 PM a clever melodic trio with JD Allen, tenor sax; Michael Bates, double bass; Jeff Davis, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

7/2 Roy Ayers and the Jazz Mafia Symphony at Central Park Summerstage, get there by 7 PM or else you probably won’t get in.

7/2, 8 PM blistering bluegrass jamband Thy Burden’s cd release show at Union Hall, free.

7/5 classic boricua sounds with Lavoe All Stars and Cantando Renzo Padilla at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx, St. Ann’s Ave and E 144th Street, 6 train to Brook Ave.

7/6, 8 PM intense, powerful Afrobeat/desert blue siren Khaira Arby at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5

7/7, 5:30 PM Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca at the World Financial Center, free.

7/7, 7 PM My Brightest Diamond at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/7, 8 PM cello rockers Deoro plays Bach, Ravel, Messaien, Bizet, Michael Brecker and Randy Wolff at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud. On 7/8, same time, same price, the band returns, playing an acoustic set from their Kingston Morning reggae-rock album.

7/7, 8:30 PM extraordinary oudist Tareq Abboushi plus percussionist Hector Morales at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

7/7, 8:30 PM the Court Yard Hounds (that’s sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks) at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/8, 9 PM badass Australian country songwriter Kasey Chambers at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

7/8, 9 PM Los Lobos at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/8 dark rock chanteuse Nicole Atkins & the Sea at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $12 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

7/9, 7:30 PM late golden-age hip-hop with Raekwon, Smif-N-Wessun, Joell Ortiz, Skyzoo, Neek the Exotic & Large Professor, no idea who’s opening or headlining, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/12-16, 8:30/11 PM Pablo Zeigler’s tango nuevo project with cantante Sandra Luna at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

7/12, 9 PM hypnotic literate indie songwriter Bill Callahan f.k.a. Smog at Bowery Ballroom, $20 gen adm.

7/14, 7 PM Patti Smith at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/14 drummer Tim Kuhl leads a group feat. Michael Formanek, bass; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Jonathan Goldberger, guitar; Frantz Loriot, viola; Jonathan Moritz, saxes playing the cd release show for his new one at 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe

7/16, 5 PM-ish PM the Black Angels at South St. Seaport.

7/16, 8 PM high-energy soul legend Andre Williams with Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies at Brooklyn Bowl, $8

7/16, 10:30 PM garage rock legends the Fleshtones cd release show at the Mercury $12 adv tix rec.

7/17 Pink Martini at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/19 the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free

7/19, 7:30ish 80s hip-hop legend (and LL Cool nemesis) Kool Moe Dee at Queensbridge Park, F to 21st St.

7/19, 10 PM Toots & the Maytals at Brooklyn Bowl, $26. He’ll also be here on 7/25.

7/21 Balkan Beat Box, 8 PM at Brooklyn Bowl, $12.

7/21 Lucinda Williams at the Beacon, 9 PM, $39.50 tix avail. at the box office.

7/24, 8:30 PM fiery, lyrical jazz pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Miguel Zenon, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/26 Brazilian nocturnes and grooves with Forro in the Dark in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/26-31 7:30/9:30 subtle, soulful latin chanteuse Claudia Acuna leads her brilliant intense quintet at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

7/26, 7:30 PM the Matt Herskowitz Trio plays Bach, Schumann and Chopin at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

7/26, 8:30 PM clever lyrical songwriters Joe McGinty and Ward White at Bowery Electric

7/27 rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/27, 7:30 PM the Black Earth Boys feat. Juldeh Camara followed by Billy Bragg at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center

7/29, 7:30 PM brilliant, soulful Lebanese multi-instrumentalist/composer Bassam Saba and his ensemble followed by eclectic, fearless Malian siren Oumou Sangare at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/29-30 the Eels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $30 gen adm.

7/30, 6 PM Indian brass band Red Baraat, go-go godfather Chuck Brown and Dr. John & the Lower 9/11 at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/31 French gypsy rockers Watcha Clan followed by Israeli Middle Eastern/Indian jam band Yemen Blues at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 3 PM highly advised.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free

8/3 Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4, 7:30 PM Dengue Fever at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free

8/4, Bill Kirchen and Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s $15.

8/5, 7:30 PM Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/22, 7:30 PM the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/23, 7ish Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/24, 7ish the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey

8/27, 1 PM day one of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has Tia Fuller and James Carter at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem

8/28, 1 PM day two of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival with the Gerald Clayton trio, Ali Jackson and the Archie Sheppp Quartet at Tompkins Square Park.

9/8-9 plus 9/15-16, 9 PM Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

9/27, 8 PM Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

WEEKLY EVENTS

5/4-7 and 5/12-14, avant garde opera Time: A Complete Explanation in Three Parts – “A documentary chamber opera” influenced by John Cage and Gerard Grisey’s chance-based compositions as well as Husserlian and Heideggerian philosophy, and more, 8 PM at the Brick Theatre, 575 Metropolitan Avenue (between Union and Lorimer), Williamsburg, $18.

5/6-14, 8 PM Carnegie Hall’s Spring for Music – a showcase for seven regional innovative ensembles: the Albany, Dallas, Montreal, Oregon, and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, and the Orpheus and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras streams on WQXR at 105.9 FM and at WQXR.org.

5/10, 5/18 and 5/26 smart, matter-of-fact, soulful Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin plays Terra Blues at 7. He’s also at Lucille’s on 5/13 and 5/27 at 8

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays May 1, 8, 15 and 22 there are free classical organ concerts at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 4:45 PM sharp.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in May, 6 PM, former New Familiars guitarist E-S Guthrie plays the Rockwood: tuneful lyrically driven Americana.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in May the Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, 9/11 PM, $30 seats avail.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Sundays in May at midnight Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood. The club calendar says he once played with the Jonas Bros., but if that’s true, don’t hold it against him. A highly sought-after sideman, multi-instrumentalist and film composer, he has a purist touch, a laserlike sense of melody and a deep list of good musicians to choose from.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays in June at 9 PM at the Brooklyn Bowl Afrobeat band Zongo Junction and funk orchestra Turkuaz play a doublebill, sometimes with an opening act at 8; 6/13 the opener is reggae band Buru Style. $5 cover.

Mondays 5/2, 9 and 16 Gringoman (that’s Americana rock guitar legend and Lakeside honcho Eric “Roscoe” Ambel solo) at Lakeside 9 PM

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in May the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in May Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays at 7 PM from May through July it’s a classical piano series playfully titled Upright Piano Brigade, an A-list of classical talent playing the brand-new Sauter piano at Barbes. May artists include Michael Brown on May 3; Evan Shinners on May 10; Tanya Bannister on May 17; Gregg Kallor on the 24th and William McNally on the 31st.

Tuesdays in May brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in May the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in May at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Thursdays in May hard-rocking nuevo latin soul man Rene Lopez plays Nublu. The club calendar says 9, which probably means 11.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in May at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat.

Saturdays in June through August, 1 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic – early arrival advised. Usually these are piano recitals, with the occasional string ensemble. Note that there is no concert on August 13.

Saturday nights in June, 9:30 PM Tammy Faye Starlite stars in Chelsea Madchen: An Evening with Nico at the Duplex, Duplex (61 Christopher St. at 7th Ave.), $15 plus 2 drink min. Less one of Starlite’s venomously hilarious parodies than an exploration of Nico the individual: “Nico was, and remains, a heroine and emblem for these dark days of civil unrest and our unceasing fascination with sybaritic self-destruction and the willful deconstruction and annihilation of beauty,” says Tammy Faye. “I’ve got the songs, the accent and the hair down and am working tirelessly on the cheekbones.” Let’s see if she’s learned to sing flat.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

New York City Live Music Calendar for April and May 2011 Plus Other Events

Currently working on a new calendar for May and June which should be up and running by Sunday. Once again, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page instead of at the top: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we’re in the midst of a massive update.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC: these are critics’ picks, every one recommended for you if the artist or band happens to play a style you enjoy. We try to be descriptive rather than using all kinds of superlative adjectives.

4/1 clever garage rock duo the Fools a 5 PM (no joke – makes sense, right?) at Goodbye Blue Monday.

4/1, 6 PM (no joke) country night with the Melody Allegra Band, Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion and Serena Jean and her band at Spike Hill, $6.

4/1, for real, 7 PM Americana siren Abbie Gardner of Red Molly – who’s also a tremendously nuanced, torchy jazz singer – plays the cd release show for her long-awaited new one at the Rockwood – early arrival advised, this may sell out

4/1 – no joke – lyrical jazz piano titan Fred Hersch solo, 7 PM at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, $18 adv tix highly rec.

4/1 – no joke –  7:30 PM Piedmont fingerstyle blues guitar virtuoso Mary Flower at the Good Coffeehouse, 53 Prospect Park W, $15

4/1, 8:30ish (no joke), Her Vanished Grace (playing the cd release show for their new one) and Religious to Damn do a goth-tinged doublebill at Union Hall, $8.

4/1 for real, ghoulabilly and noir retro rock with the Dead Sextons at Europa in Greenpoint, 8ish, $10

4/1, 9 PM (seriously) Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band and Lee Fields & the Expressions at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $17 adv tix at the Mercury rec.

4/1, 9 PM an amazing purist rock triplebill, no joke – wickedly catchy, jangly Rickenbacker guitar rockers Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, garage-rock purists the Above and then garage legends the Fleshtones at Maxwell’s.

4/1, 9 PM, no joke, tuneful yet noisy new jazz with Kretzmer/Syversen/Niggenkemper/Peskoff at 1012 Willoughby in Brooklyn, sugg don.; they’re at Local 269 on 4/4/ at 9 for $10

4/1 haunting, twangy southwestern gothic band And the Wiremen play the Bell House at 9ish opening for the Waco Bros., $12 adv tic rec.

4/1, 9 PM Providence doom/metal duo The Body followed by a rare rare NYC appearance by Australian metal blunderbuss Whitehorse at the Acheron in Greenpoint – maybe your only chance to see them, don’t miss it if metal is your thing.

4/1-2, for real, 9/10:30 PM Omer Avital plus Joel Frahm – saxophone, Aaron Goldberg – piano, Johnathan Blake – drums plus Itamar Borochov – trumpet and Matan Chapnizka – tenor saxophone at the Jazz Gallery, $20

4/1 no joke – Brooklyn’s funnest band, Chicha Libre plays a rare Friday show at their home base, Barbes, at 10 before heading off on South American tour.

4/1, no joke, the New Cookers – not the Billy Hart/George Cables crew but guys inspired by the original Freddie Hubbard album – at BAM Cafe, 10 PM

4/1, 10 PM (no joke) goth legend Peter Murphy plays Highline Ballroom, adv tix $35 rec.

4/1, 11 PM (no joke – when this guy’s involved you know he means business) the snarling retro Americana noir sounds of the Reid Paley Trio at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick

4/1, 11 PM roots rock powerhouse Tom Clark & the High Action Boys play Lakeside 11 PM – not a joke.

4/1, no joke, intense Greek traditional party band Magges – sort of the Greek Gogol Bordello -at Lafayette Grill & Bar downtown, 11 PM

4/1 midnight (no joke) lush, atmospheric, socially aware Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Mercury, $10 adv tix at the box office highly rec.

4/1-2 the Prisoners of 2nd Ave. – who do a decent oldschool NY Dolls facsimile – at Bowery Electric. And they want $20 for it. No joke.

4/1, 2 PM Broadway Musicals of 1864 at the Town Hall featuring such popular songs as “Let’s Round Up Some Irishmen,” “I Need Some Mercury (Because Down Below Is Killing Me),” “We Won’t Call It Slavery Anymore” and the John Wilkes Booth version of “Dixie.”

4/1, 3 PM the New York Stock Exchange presents a concert to celebrate the successful prevention of the Fukushima nuclear explosions – as we all know by now, there was no meltdown, nor any emission of deadly plutonium or uranium isotopes – with vintage Elvis footage accompanied by a live band at the World Financial Center.

4/1, 6 PM brand-new social networking site narciss.us presents Shallow Is What We Aim For, We Are Pampered Children, Poser Dumb and My Eyelashes Are Longer Than Yours at Glasslands; celebrity dj Fella Tio spins blo-fi between sets.

4/1, 6 PM Steve Brotherdale’s Joy Division plays the Warsaw ep cover to cover followed by Melvin Seals’ Jerry Garcia Band at B.B. King’s.

4/1, 7 PM How to Stuff Your Trousers: A Panel Discussion with the Pros at Galapagos. What works best? A roll of quarters? A veggie hot dog? String cheese? Six of the best in the business, including Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, David Lee Roth, Keith Urban and our favorite perennial mayoral candidate, Murray Hill share the secrets of their craft.

4/1, 7 PM It’s Inarticulate Night at the Bell House. Ever wonder…um…why you can’t….um…talk to…you know…um…people? Now’s your chance to meet a whole club full of others just like you who will spend the whole night staring at their shoes or trying to figure something coherent enough to say to get the bartender to bring them a beer. $15 cover includes a year’s subscription to New York Magazine.

4/1, 4 PM Taurus & Libra present Payday: The Traveling Party. Ever wonder what it’s like to have to get up and go to work all week long instead of sleeping til 5 PM and living off mommy’s credit card? Join your group leaders Emily and Faden as they take you on an “ironical” voyage around New York. You’ll see the inside of a real check cashing place, meet a real-life bill collector, dodge undercover cops as you drink cheap beer from a paper bag outside a bodega, use real scissors to cut grocery coupons from the newspaper and go on a dollar-store crawl for cheap toilet paper without GPS or an iphone app. Authentic working-class attire is a must: trucker hat, overalls, 1970s sneakers for the guys; moth-eaten polyester, uneven bangs, torn corduroys for the girls.

4/1, 8 PM at Crash Mansion, it’s Eurethra, the world’s #1 Eurythmics cover band. Relive the golden days of the day-glo decade that you fetishize even if you never experienced it with unforgettable hits like Aqua, Plus Something Else and The First Cut! If you get tired of the band, women can join the free wet t-shirt contest in the men’s room.

4/1, 8:30 PM it’s a John Zorn-a-thon at the Stone with John Zorn’s Are You Itchy?, John Zorn’s Don’t Sit on That Chair, John Zorn’s Call the Exterminator, John Zorn’s Call the Exterminator Again and finally John Zorn’s Sidewalk Sale.

4/1, 10 PM the Central Park Conservancy presents a special VIP concert with Kenny G for Platinum Circle members in the new private Great Meadow in Central Park. Enjoy the new golf driving range (please be aware that frisbee is no longer allowed). The line to the brand-new Shake Shack starts at the Battery. Helicopter shuttles to the Hamptons will be running all evening from where the zoo used to be.

4/1 the New York Times exclusive interview with Justin Bieber, conducted by Bono at the Bloomberg Society at 5th Ave. and 42nd St. Get the scoop on both performers’ opposition to abortion, and after struggling to down his first Guinness, hear Justin confess how he thinks that Ryan Secrest is cute.

4/1 it’s the battle of the kiddie bands at Southpaw. This year’s first round pits tiny terror two-year-old William Slomowitz-Park and his avant garde percussion troupe The Isaagnys against the Borough Park death-metal of Siobhan Satmarowitz’ Mitzvah Tank. Meanwhile, the snotty punk-pop of Park Slope’s Germ Bombs pairs off against Turtle Bay newcomer Asanitansamarama Patel and Dowry Large Extra. And Williamsburg contender Yeast DuPont’s laptop project Trite Is goes up against Long Island City’s The Overprotected. All proceeds to benefit the Crusade Against Suicide, in memory of last year’s winner, Hayes Bessemer of the Kaplan Klass Killers (KKK).

4/1, 10 PM Flavorpill and Khloe Kardashian present the first annual Buttcrack Awards at Public Assembly. Do your pants hang low? Do they wobble to and fro especially when you bend over? First prize winner gets a year’s subscription to New York Magazine.

4/1, 11 PM the drummer from the Strokes is dj’ing at a “celebrity party” on the roof of the empty “luxury” condo building behind the Mercury Lounge that nobody wants to move into, free admission with condo tour and $50 credit check.

4/1 Whitney Houston plays the Recoup Lounge way over by the projects, 11:30 ish – she might be running a little late for this one – with the guy you see hanging out in Tompkins Square Park with the broken Casio.

4/1 it’s the first annual Foursquare New York City Marathon, brought to you by the new green BP Oil. You get 26 hours to do as many Foursquare checkins as you can. See who can become the new mayor of the Prada store: in the door, out the door, in the door, out the door! Breakfast, lunch AND dinner at Fette Sau! Bring a sleeping bag to Freeman’s!

4/1, 7-10 PM the NY School of Autotune celebrates with a recital at Arlene Grocery followed by the Body Shots Olympics sponsored by MTV.

4/2, 6 PM pianist Aysegul Durakoglu plays the cd release show for her new one featuring works by Chopin and Debussy at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

4/2, 7 PM Marc Ribot and a hall of fame of downtown jazz peeps play noir soundtrack stuff including new arrangements of Henry Mancini (Touch of Evil), Andre Previn (Scene of the Crime), Roy Budd (Get Carter) and also Lounge Lizards, Rootless Cosmopolitans, and new noir by the guitarist himself at the Tishman Auditorium at the New School, 66 W 12th St., free.

4/2, 7 PM Nashville/Toronto gothic rock with Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at Banjo Jim’s.

4/2, 7 PM world-renowned choral ensemble the Tallis Scholars sing a program titled Celebrating the Genius of Victoria at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

4/2, 7:30/9:30/midnight Jared Gold plays the cd release to his groovy new B3 organ jazz album at the Bar Next Door with his trio.

4/2, 8 PM rustic, haunting, sprawling Balkan/jazz/Americana band Kotorino at Barbes

4/2, 8:30 PM a triplebill put together by Brooklyn Jazz starting with the Rob Garcia 4: Noah Preminger – tenor sax, Jacob Sacks – piano, Joe Martin – bass, Rob Garcia – drums followed at 9:45 by the Anne Mette Iversen Quartet: John Ellis – sax; Danny Grissett – piano; Anne Mette Iversen – bass; Mark Ferber – drums and then at 11 the Adam Kolker Trio plus woodwinds: Adam Kolker – reeds; Jeremy Stratton – bass; Billy Mintz – drums plus a wind section, all this for $15 at the Cornelia St. Cafe.

4/2, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza at Otto’s is a really good one this month starting at 9 with pounding, ferocious Dick Dale-inspired Connecticut band 9th Wave, the Chillers at 10, Sea Turtles at 11, twangy retro NYC legends the Supertones at midnight and sometime after that Estonia’s Android Vasja.

4/2, 9 PM a classic Syrian music extravaganza celebrating centuries of music in the city of Aleppo featuring a historical lecture by Mohamed A. Alsiadi at Alwan for the Arts followed by a show by a 10-piece allstar Syrian/Middle Eastern orchestra, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/2, 9 PM haunting Appalachian/Balkan vocal duo AE followed at 10:30 PM by bluesman Blind Boy Paxton at the Jalopy.

4/2 new wave literate rock legend Graham Parker at City Winery, 9 PM, $25 seats avail.

4/2, 9:30 PM Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet playing Esquivel at Caffe Vivaldi.

4/2, 10 PM eclectic Selegalese flavored roots reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec. The City Billies open with their blend of bluegrass and reggae at 9.

4/2, 10 PM snarling Syd Barrett/Stooges style garage rock with Obits at the Bell House, $13 adv tix rec.

4/2, 10 PM Sonny Rollins band trombone vet Clifton Anderson at BAM Cafe.

4/2, 10 PM anthemic 80s-tinged keyboard-driven art-rock band Overlord at Fontana’s

4/2 jangly, lyrical southwestern gothic rocker Tom Shaner plays Lakeside, 11 PM.

4/3, 1 and 3 PM the Baltimore Consort play eclectic 16th century Spanish compositions at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet – who for what it’s worth just won a Grammy – free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/3, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra plays Ives – Variations on America; “American Songbook Selections,” and Howard Hanson’s sweeping, cinematic Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sugg don. reception to follow.

4/3, 6 PM: Nico Soffiato on guitar, Nick Vedeen on alto sax, Giacomo Merege on bass and Zach Mangan on drums at Downtown Music Gallery.

4/3, 7 PM delightfully irreverent “unconventional oboe trio” the Threeds play Caffe Vivaldi joined by Eleanor Dubinsky who follows at 8 PM, playing new arrangements of Bjork, Mingus, the Doors, Carmichael and Dubinsky as well.

4/3 Nina Simone-influenced, popular Ethiopian-American chanteuse Meklit Hadero at the Skirball Center, 7 PM, $20.

4/3, 7 PM Stephanie Rooker & the Search Engine play wickedly smart, socially aware, psychedelic funk and downtempo grooves at the little room at the Rockwood.

4/3 tuneful British/Canadian janglepop band Early Winters (Carina Round’s latest project) at Public Assembly, time/$ TBA.

4/3 glammy, punkish, entertainingly funny Justice of the Unicorns at Bruar Falls at 8 followed at 9 PM rustic lyrical psychedelic Portland songwriter Shelley Short at Bruar Falls

4/3, 10 PM tuneful, sly, literate Americana band the Sometime Boys – the acoustic side project of ferocious art-rockers System Noise – at Banjo Jim’s.

4/4, 7 PM the Ebene Quartet performs the Debussy String Quartet and arrangements of pieces by Miles Davis and Astor Piazzolla, plus “Misirlou,” at the Greene Space, $20.

4/4 Colombian chanteuse Lucia Pulido at 7:30 followed by low-register oldschool Cuban band Gato Loco at 9:30 at Barbes. Gato Loco are also here on 4/18 at 10.

4/4, 7:30 PM the Janus Trio play new work by Paul Clift, Ashley Nail, Christopher Trapani & Lu Wang for flute, viola & harp at the Tank, $10

4/4, 7:30 PM paint-peeling noiserock intensity with the Sediment Club at Bowery Electric, $10.

4/4, 7:30 PM new music ensemble Sequitur plays Robert Sirota’s A Sinner’s Diary; the NY premiere of Victoria Bond’s Frescoes and Ash; the world premiere of Catullus Dreams by David Glaser; the NY premiere of Mix Tape by Armando Bayolo; and the world premiere of Noemi by Daniel Godfrey. at Symphony Space, $20 adv tix rec.

4/4, 8/10:30 PM veteran Chicago blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker at the Blue Note, $10 “bar seating” avail.

4/4, 8:30 PM the Becca Stevens Band’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/5, noon, Members of the Chamber Music Society Lincoln Center play Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor at the Greene Space, free.

4/5, 7 PM members of Ensemble ACJW perform Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, as well as David Bruce’s octet Steampunk at the Greene Space, $20.

4/5-6 trumpeter Jeremy Pelt leads a pretty amazing group with JD Allen – tenor saxophone; Danny Grissett – piano; Peter Washington – bass; Darrell Green – drums at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

4/5, 8 PM at Southpaw: a new low, free Colt 45 malt liquor “while supplies last,” no music, just drunkenness.

4/5, 8 PM Third World at Highline Ballroom $30 adv tix onsale now – don’t know how much, or how many original members, they have left (they were old when they started the band in the early 70s) – ostensibly they have a new album out. 196 Degrees in the Shade?

4/5, 8:30 PM adventurous mostly-female klezmer hellfaisers Isle of Klezbos at the Sixth St. Synagogue, 325 East 6th St (betw First & Second Aves), $15 includes a drink (in temple – yay!)

4/5, 9 PM Dina Rudeen plays the cd release for her brilliant new one at the little room at the Rockwood; dark psychedelic jazz pianist/composer Dred Scott plays at midnight with his trio.

4/5, 9 PM noisy distantly Balkan tinged guitar/trumpet madness with Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel at Local 269

4/5, 10 PM UK indie rock pioneers Wire at the Music Hall of Williamsburg; 4/6 they’re at Bowery Ballroom, $20 adv tix rec.

4/5, 11 PM lush atmospheric cinematic art-rockers the Quavers at Cake Shop.

4/6, 7 PM string quartet Ethel play Julia Wolfe’s Early That Summer; Dohee Lee’s HonBiBaekSan; Jacob TV’s Syracuse Blues; Pamela Z’s ETHEL Dreams of Temporal Disturbances; Huang Ruo’s The Flag Project (excerpt) and Anna Clyne’s Roulette at the Greene Space, $20

4/6 jazz pianist Michel Reis plays the cd release show for his haunting new one Point of No Return at Miles Cafe, 7:30 PM

4/6, 8 PM Alison Leyton-Brown’s oldtime piano blues gand House of Stride at Barbes followed at 10 by the provocative, gorgeously harmony-driven oldtimey Roulette Sisters.

4/6, 8 PM clever, playful funk/jazz guitar vet Askold Buk at P&G Bar.

4/6, 9 PM Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall – it’ll be interesting to see who drowns who out – the Balkan brass monsters or the douchebags who hang out here.

4/6, 9:30 PM an amazing chromatically-charged, minor-key doublebill with haunting Appalachian/Balkan vocal duo AE and multistylistic Russian/tango/cinematic string band Ljova and the Kontraband at Joe’s Pub, $15.

4/7, noon, new music trio Janus play Debussy, Treuting, and Negron at the Greene Space, free.

4/6, 10 PM fun, catchy, female-fronted ska/pop band Across the Aisle at Matchless.

4/7, 7:30 PM a benefit for Japan – a rare small-room performance by the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

4/7 Metropolis Ensemble and Music from China perform works by Kati Ogocs and Yu-Hui Chang, 7:30 PM at the downstairs Thalia theatre space at Symphony Space, $20.

4/7, 8 PM a good, smart, artsy keyboard-driven rock doublebill: Overlord at Rock Shop in Gowanus followed eventually at 10 by the Secret History.

4/7, 8 PM the Jack Quartet play Tetras by Iannis Xenaxis and Death Valley Junction by Missy Mazzoli, as well as Ari Streisfeld’s arrangements of pieces by haunted Renaissance composer Gesualdo.at the Greene Space, $20.

4/7, 8 PM Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes plays a darkly pensive, thematic program of two Beethoven Sonatas, No. 21, “Waldstein,” and No. 32, Op. 111, bookended by Brahms (Four Ballades, Op. 10) and Schoenberg (Sechs kleine Klavierstucke, Op. 19) at Carnegie Hall.

4/7, 8:30 PM fiery Talibam trumpeter Peter Evans leads his quartet and quintets at Littlefield.

4/7, 9 PM Timatim Fitfit play “gypsy baroque piano rock” at Pete’s.

4/7, 9ish, Rebirth Brass Band at the Brooklyn Bowl; 4/10 they’re at Maxwell’s

4/7, 10 PM chanteuse Marta Topferova – who never met a latin style she couldn’t make her own, and make it compelling – at Barbes.

4/7, eclectic Brazilian/country/New Orleans band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

4/7, 11 PM cool oldschool style ska with the Forthrights at Otto’s

4/8, noon, free, the Escher Sting Quartet performs Zemlinsky and Brahms at the Greene Space.

4/8 some cool people on the bill at the small room at the Rockwood. Bassist Saskia Lane of the Lascivious Biddies and others at 6; soulful siren Jo Williamson at 8; cowpunks the Nightmare River Band at midnight.

4/8, 7 PM at the Greene Space – let’s cross our fingers and hope they’re ok – the Tokyo String Quartet performs on its “Paganini Quartet” of matched Stradivarius instruments Haydn’s String Quartet in F major Op. 77 No. 2, the fourth movement of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, and Beethoven’s “Grosse Fugue” Op. 133. at the Greene Space, $20.

4/8 indie rock siren AK Healey’s recently reunited, jangly, pensive LES band Scout at the big room at the Rockwood, 7:15 PM, $15; be aware that they’re opening for a vomitous corporate easy-listening band and may only play a short set.

4/8, 7:30 PM adventurous new compositions with the Janus Trio and Mantra Percussion at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights), 124 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY, 2/3 to Clark St.; A/C to High St.; R/4/5 to Borough Hall.

4/8, 7:30 PM eclectic classical organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 5th Ave. at 90th St.

4/8, 8 PM torchy catchy compelling soul/trip-hop band Mattison in the back room at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg.

4/8-9, 8 PM NYU performers play NYU composers at the Black Box Theatre, 82 Washington Square East adv tix free but required for the show.

4/8 the unstoppably romantic, effervescent, razor-sharp Hawaiian swing band the Moonlighters at Haylards, 406 3rd Ave(at 6th Street), Gowanus

4/8 assaultive, cleverly fun punk jazz with guitarist Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord playing the cd release show for their new one at Zebulon, 9 PM

4/8, 9 PM PinkBrown feat. Cracked Vessel guitar arsonist Xander Naylor with Max Jaffe on drums and Johan Andersson on saxophones at 1012 Willoughby.

4/8, 9 PM long-running garage rockers the Greenhornes at the Bell House.

4/8, 9 PM a hall of fame cast of West Coast Middle Eastern musicians led by percussionist Souhail Kaspar play music of Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Farid al-Atrash and Abdel Halim Hafez at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/8, 9ish cleverly eerie new music improvisers Dollshot at Galapagos, $10.

4/8, 9 PM it’s the Lakeside 15 year anniversary party – amazing how such a friendly, unpretentious place could survive under siege from yuppies and tourists for so long. And whoever’s behind the bar by 9 is bound to be cool. We may be there.

4/8, 9/10:30 PM south Asian and Middle Eastern new jazz sounds with Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Gamak feat. Dave Fiuczynski on guitar at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

4/8, 9:30 PM eclectic acoustic Americana roots/zydeco/country band Blue Sky Mission Club at Hill Country

4/8, 10 PM the Black Angels at Bowery Ballroom; 4/9 they’re at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix. at the Mercury highly rec., this will sell out.

4/8, 10 PM second wave garage rock vets the Greenhornes at the Bell House, $15.

4/8 the Pinstripes play roots reggae and ska at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM. Yankee reggae maybe?

4/8, 11 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Cal Folger Day at Pete’s

4/8, 1 AM (actually weehours of 4/9) psychedelic funk/afrobeat/latin band the People’s Champs at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/9, 5:15 PM twangy surf guitar monsters El Muchacho at Otto’s

4/9, 8 PM up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

4/9 a killer triplebill at the Postcrypt Coffeehouse – back uptown again after a brief stay in the East Village – with Alyson Greenfield at 8:30, Carol Lipnik at 9:30 and Lorraine Leckie at 10:30.

4/9, 8:30 PM hypnotic Mississippi hill country blues guitarist Will Scott at 68 Jay St. Bar.

4/9, 8:30/11 PM Jamaican jazz piano titan Monty Alexander at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

4/9, 9 PM a killer doublebill at Bowery Electric with ferociously lyrical songwriters, Linda Draper and Matt Keating.

4/9, 9 PM smart, tuneful, lyrical female-fronted powerpop/janglerock band Delusions of Grand Street at Trash.

4/9, 10 PM Magges – the Greek rock equivalent of Gogol Bordello – at 10-11 Bar, 171 Ave.C between 10th & 11th St. It’s Chuck Metaxas’ birthday show, somebody buy him some ouzo for once!

4/9, 10 PM Karikatura play gypsy punk at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM.

4/10, 6 (six) PM Sara Lewis – simmering jazzy chanteuse who veers between dark cabaret-based piano songs and Beatlesque pop – at Caffe Vivaldi.

4/10 satirical all-female folk group the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood, 6 (six) PM

4/10, 6 PM Ras Moshe & the Music Now Ensemble feat. Kyoko Jitamura and Shayna Dulberger and Andrew Drury, followed at 7 by Belgian duo Olivier Stalon on bass and Pablo Masis on trumpet at Downtown Music Gallery.

4/10, 7 PM cellist Sebastian Baversteam plays a solo show at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel.

4/10, 7 PM adventurous new music ensemble Lunatics at Large continue their Sanctuary Project music-and-poetry series at Synagogue for the Arts, 49 White St., $20

4/10, 8:15 PM second-wave garage rock legends Johnny Chan & the New Dynasty 6 at Otto’s

4/10 hilarious, diverse satirical cowpunk rockers Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar 10ish

4/11, 7 PM Gina Leishman, vox, baritone ukulele; Charlie Burnham, violin; Matt Munisteri, guitar and Brad Jones, bass at Barbes followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre.

4/11, 8ish adventurous new music string quartet Ethel play two world premieres including Dohee Lee’s HonBiBaekSan (The Ritual of White Mountain) and Hafez Modirzadeh’s A Hot Time in the Ol’ Town; as well as performances of Terry Riley’s Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector, and Pamela Z’s ETHEL Dreams of Temporal Disturbances at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

4/11, 9 PM eclectic violinist/composer Mazz Swift, Kontraband/Tall Tall Trees percussionist Matthias Kunzli, charismatic noir punk/goth rocker Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and Patti Hearst-inspired all-female Tania & the Revolutionaries at Small Beast at the Delancey

4/11 oldtime Americana with the Builders & the Butchers at the Mercury, 10 PM, $10.

4/11 fiery charismatic art-rock/goth-punk siren Vera Beren books the night at Small Beast at the Delancey, including a set with her band at 10ish

4/12 catchy tuneful brilliantly melodic jazz from Terry Dame’s Monkey on a Rail in just their third concert since the early zeros, at Barbes at 7 followed by Slavic Soul Party at 9.

4/12-13 bassist Ben Allison leads a two-guitar sextet with Brandon Seabrook and Steve Cardenas plus Jason Lindner on keys, Rudy Royston on drums and Jonathan Blake on tenor at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $20

4/12 bassist Lauren Falls leads a quintet with Seamus Blake, tenor sax; Mike Moreno, guitar; Can Olgun, piano; Trevor Falls, drums, 8:30 PM at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

4/12-17, 8/10:30 PM the Crusaders – who reputedly have returned to their roots as a late 60s style funk/groove band – at the Blue Note, $30 “seats” avail ($35 on the weekend)

4/13, 7:30 PM The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble with Ostravská Banda conducted by Petr Kotik play John Cage: Concert for Piano and Orchestra with Joseph Kubera, piano; Carolyn Chen – Wilder Shores of Love (world premiere); György Ligeti – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Daan Vandewalle, piano; Alex Mincek – Pendulum #7 for saxophone and ensemble (world premiere) at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, $15 tix avail.

4/13, 8 PM soaring, sultry, playfully quirky Universal Thump frontwoman/pianist Greta Gertler solo at the Cornelia St. Cafe followed by Cuddle Magic (separate admission – their concept of being a chamber-rock jamband is cool, but they’ve got to avoid getting all twee) at 10.

4/13, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

4/13, 10ish indie classical composer Emily Wells – whose latest stuff has the playful, accessible feel of Todd Reynolds’ recent work – at Glasslands, $10 adv tix onsale now.

4/13, 10 PM trumpeter Steven Bernstein’s funky Sex Mob at 55 Bar.

4/14, 7:30 PM wry, funny acoustic Americana jam band Tall Tall Trees at Pete’s; they’re also at the big room at the Rockwood the following night at midnight.

4/14, 7:30 PM pyrotechnic violinist Gil Morgenstern’s reliably fascinating, thematic Reflections Series concludes its 2010-2011 season with a program titled Transfigured Nights with pianist Donald Berman and cellist Ole Akahoshi including Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Shostakovich’s Trio in E Minor, at WMP Concert Hall, $25.

4/14, 8 PM irrepressible alt-country chanteuse Shelby Lynne at City Winery, $30 seats avail.

4/14, 8 PM provocative, smart Palestinian-American world music songwriter Stephan Said at Drom, $10 adv tix rec. –  the theme is “Tahrir to Madison, Building a Global Movement.” With GritTV host Laura Flanders, Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, actress Najla Said, co-sponsors OR Books, FEN Magazine, Helo Magazine, The Mantle, the New Jersey Outreach Group, and WeTheWorld. The show begins with a musical incantation of selections from OR Book’s upcoming acclaimed book “Tweets From Tahrir: Egypt’s Revolution as It Unfolded, in the Words of the People Who Made It.” $10 adv tix rec.

4/14, 8/10 PM Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – the cutting-edge big band that jumpstarted the big band craze – at Iridium, $25.

4/14 a couple of good dark rock acts at Zebulon starting at 8:30 PM with the historically-inspired Elisa Flynn followed eventually by haunting atmospheric goth-tinged art-rockers Bee & Flower and their killer basslines at 10:15

4/14, 8:30 PM a killer oldschool hip-hop extravaganza at Santos Party House hosted by D-Stroy (Arsonists) with Keith Murray, Lords of the Underground, Group Home, Real Live, Nine, Shabaam Sahdeeq, K Banger, Crazy Legs, DJ Evil D, DJ Eclipse, DJ Rockin Rob, Kon & Amir, and Video Music Box legend Ralph McDaniels dj’ing, $15 adv tix very highly rec.

4/14, 8:30 PM Canadian bluegrass/alt-country songwriter Luther Wright & the Wrongs at Hill Country; 4/15 he’s at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

4/14, 9 PM ferociously lyrical banjo-punk Americana rocker Curtis Eller – can’t wait to hear what he has to say about Fukushima – at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Astoria; 4/16 he’s at Banjo Jim’s at 8

4/14, 9:15 PM cynical misanthropic funny lyrical songwriter Jim Bianco – the kind we like best – at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/14 cutting-edge alto sax composer/powerhouse Jacam Manricks leads a large-ish ensemble at Miles Cafe, 9:30 PM, $20.

4/14, 9:30 PM bossa/jazz guitarist/songwriter Sasha Dobson at Caffe Vivaldi. She’s also here on 4/30 at 7.

4/14, 10:30 PM careening Balkan madness with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy.

4/15, 7 PM legendary Clash collaborator Ellen Foley (Mick Jones wrote Should I Stay or Should I Go about her) at Lakeside.

4/15, 7 PM torchily compelling songwriter Abby Payne at the small room at the Rockwood; she’s also at Pete’s on 4/26 at 10:30 PM.

4/15, 7:30 PM the Jack Grace Band bring their oldschool 60s country cool and crazed antics to Hill Country; they’re also here on 4/29.

4/15, 7:30 PM Anne-Marie McDermott, piano and Maureen McDermott, cello play Brahms and Beeethoven at Third St. Music School Settlement, free.

4/15, 8 PM quietly fiery, eclectic, haunting and charismatic keyboard goddess/retro rock tunesmith Rachelle Garniez at Barbes followed at 10 by wild jazzy gypsy rock/jazz from Jay Vilnai’s Vampire Suit .

4/15-22 two of the most exhilarating singers on the planet, John Kelly and Carol Lipnik perform their suite The Escape Artist, which ”traces the experience of a performer who has a catastrophic trapeze accident. While stranded on a gurney with a broken neck in a hospital emergency room, he escapes and finds refuge in the images that flood his mind: the sinners and saints, prostitutes and gods that populate Caravaggio’s paintings.” With music by Lipnik and Kelly plus selections by Monteverdi and John Barry, at PS 122, 8 PM, $25/15 stud/srs.

4/15, 8 PM Niger’s desert blues legends Etran Finatawa – who played one of the 20 best shows we saw last year – at Symphony Space, $35.

4/15, 8 PM a cool reggae triplebill at the smaller studio space downstairs at Webster Hall with Echo Movement, Maui Waui and the Green (whose blend of vintage Hawaiian and roots reggae is totally original), $10 adv tix rec.

4/15, 8 PM at Bargemusic Ensemble East plays music for Japanese instruments: Michiyo Miyagi – Haru no Yo (“Spring Evening”); Fukuda Rando – Miyama Higurashi (“Crickets in the Mountains”); Tadao Sawai – Tori no Yoni (“Flying Like a Bird”); James Nyoraku Schlefer – Sankyoku No.1; Toshio Funakawa – Quartet; Hikaru Sawai O-Koto, $35, early arrival advised, this ought to sell out.

4/15 tuneful oldschool Canadian country singer Serena Jean with her band at 8 PM at Matchless.

4/15, 8 PM terse oldschool Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s; he’s also here on the 29th.

4/15, 8 PM noisy, funky all-female punk legends the Bush Tetras at the Kitchen, $12.

4/15, 9 PM Dwight & Nicole at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5. If the quieter, boudoir side of 1960s soul and funk is your thing, if you prefer Stax/Volt to P-Funk, you have to see these two at some point. He takes Steve Cropper guitar to the next level; there’s nobody better at lush soul ballads than she is.

4/15, 9 PM ferociously smart lyrical Americana/blues songwriter Joe Pug at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; 4/16 he’s at the Mercury at 11:30 PM for $2 more.

4/15, 9 PM Franz Nicolay of World Inferno (and that awful trendoid band we won’t mention) does his own good noirish solo stuff at Cake Shop.

4/15, 10 PM intense, female-fronted art-rock/noise/funk rockers System Noise at Trash – vote for them to play Warped Tour!

4/15, 10 PM long spiraling oldschool funk jams with Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at Sullivan Hall, $10

4/15, 11 PM O’Death at the Knitting Factory – this will probably sell out – $10 adv tix rec.

4/16, 2 PM slinky, haunting vintage 1950s Egyptian film music revivalists Zikrayat free with museum adm. at the Museum of the City of New York.

4/16, 3 PM punk/metal rockers Cojoba followed by ska-punks OFC and hardcore from No Comply and Drain the Sky at ABC No Rio

4/16-17, 5-7 PM free at Issue Project Room, some ideas close to our hearts: “Yolande Harris’s installation Tropical Storm, developed in a residency with Alvin Lucier at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, is a shot of a Florida storm, with the sound of rainfall as the only audio. In The Pink Noise of Pleasure Yachts in Turquoise Sea, Harris explores the place of sound in the underwater animals, and the effects of the sound of recreational boating on the smallest sea creatures.”

4/16, 6 PM Bliss Blood and Al Street’s amazing new noir torch song project Evanescent at DBA, 113 North 7th Street (Berry/Wythe), Williamsburg

4/16, 7 PM charismatic, literate NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s with his band

4/16, 7 PM Eleventh Dream Day opens for the recently reunited Come at the Bell House adv tix $20 rec.

4/16, 7:30 PM, repeating 4 PM on 4/17, Lisa Bielawa’s Synopses: Synopsis #2: In the Eye of the Beholder for percussion performed by Aaron Trant, Synopsis #4: I’m Not That Kind of Lawyer for solo double bass performed by Doug Balliet, Synopsis #6: Why Did You Lie to Me? for solo cello performed by Eric Jacobsen, Synopsis #9: I Don’t Even Play the Bassoon for solo viola performed by Miranda Sielaff, and Synopsis #10: I Know This Room So Well for solo English horn will be performed live, with new choreography by Catherine Gallant at NY City Center, 130 West 56th St., $15 tix avail.

4/16 NYC’s funnest, most socially aware, intensely tuneful rock band, the Brooklyn What are also NYC’s best rock promoters. Their monthly residency this month at Trash starts at 8 with smart, lyrical, potent Latin rock vets Kofre followed at 9 by the Brooklyn What, powerpop BW spinoff New Atlantic Youth, some great ska/punk en Espanol with Los Skarroneros and then early 70s style proto-metal band Pistols 40 Paces.

4/16, 8 PM slinky, haunting vintage Middle Eastern/East African group Sounds of Taraab at Barbes

4/16, 8 PM Central Asian troupe Turku play ancient Silk Road repertoire at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

4/16, 8:30 PM ex-Citizens Band music director/pianist Duke Bojadziev plays his orchestral and film works at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall with a chamber orchestra and many special guests, $30 tix avail.

4/16, 9/10:30 PM Tyshawn Sorey – drums, Loren Stillman – saxophones, Todd Neufeld – guitar, John Escreet – piano, Chris Tordini – bass at the Jazz Gallery, $20

4/16, 9 PM ecstatic New Orleans funk/soul orchestra Brother Joscephus & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5

4/16, 9 PM sprawling, theatrical, cleverly literate Americana/art rockers Balthrop Alabama at the 92YTribeca ,$10.

4/16, 9 PM bluegrass with Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides followed at 10:30 by M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy

4/16 psychedelic roots reggae monsters Dub Is a Weapon play their cd release show at Sullivan Hall, 9ish, $10 adv tix rec.

4/16, 9:30 PM NYC’s most exciting blues guitarist, Mississippi hill country style player Will Scott at Hill Country.

4/16, 11 PM fearless funny Americana punk rockers Spanking Charlene evoke a cooler, yuppie-free LES vibe at Lakeside

4/16, 11ish acoustic Americana/indie band Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday; they’re also here late on 4/27.

4/16, midnight ecstatically fun Afrobeat band Elikeh plays Joe’s Pub, $14.

4/17, 1 and 3 PM all-male choral sextet Lionheart sing Thomas Tallis’s “masterful and heart-wrenching settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, performed in alternation with their traditional Latin chant responsories—as they might have been heard in the chapel of Elizabeth I” at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/17, 3-9 PM a benefit for Japan with Dizzy Ventilators, Sarah White, pinoy ukelele ska band Brown Rice Family, Caneli Beat, Band Aid Japonica, DJ Mihoko, Brown Sugar baritone sax goddess Moist Paula, Mobius Collective and Retada at BPM, 237 Kent Ave., Williamsburg between Grand & North 1st, sugg don.

4/17, 4 PM hilarious retro Weimar bandleader/crooner Max Raabe & Palast Orchester at NJPAC in Newark, $21 tix avail.

4/17, 6 PM Daniel Carter and Pascal Niggenkemper: “Legendary multi-winds player & new acoustic bass wiz!” at Downtown Music Gallery.

4/17, 6:30 PM Ensemble ACJW with pianist Emanuel Ax playing Dvorák, Prokofiev, and Villa-Lobos at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

4/17, 7:30 PM powerful, emotionally vivid jazz pianist/composer Kris Davis leads a trio at Littlefield, $10.

4/17, 8:30 PM a phenomenally good dark lyrical rock doublebill with the Oxygen Ponies  followed by southpaw guitarslinger/siren/songwriter Randi Russo playing the cd release show for her career-best new one Fragile Animal at the Mercury.

4/17, 9 PM Gamelan Dharma Swara at the Fat Cat. Wow. NYC’s very own competitive gamelan orchestra, transfixing all the pool players. This will be a trip.

4/17, 9 PM pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Miguel Zenon, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

4/17, 9 PM rustic oldschool country and hokum blues with the Second Fiddles at the Jalopy

4/18 QNG  (Quartet New Generation), who bring a truckload of recorders of various sizes to every performance and then get amazing antique and modern sounds out of them – at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM,

4/18-19, 8 PM powerful jazz vibraphonist Mark Sherman and his Quintet with Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson, Tim Horner and special guest Randy Brecker at the Kitano, $25 plus $15 min at tables

4/18, 8 PM the irresistible Pipettes – snarling cockney girls playing oldschool Motown and soul – at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $15; 4/20 they’re at the Mercury for the same price with hilarious faux-French garage rockers les Sans Culottes opening the night at 9:30.

4/18, 9:30 PM a rare small club date with the JD Allen Trio at Smalls, this will sell out, early arrival advised. Guitarist Peter Bernstein, who opens the night solo on electric at 7:30, isn’t bad either.

4/18, 10ish haunting, smart, tuneful Americana rock siren Jan Bell & the Cheap Dates at Rodeo Bar.

4/18 free jazz titans the Ullmann/Swell 4 with reedman Gebhard Ullmann and trombonist Steve Swell – winding up their tour for their irrepressible, deliciously fun latest album – 10 PM at University of the Streets, 130 East 7th Street, $10

4/18, 10:30 PM charming, romantic oldtimey Boston swing/blues quartet Lake Street Dive at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/18, 10:30 PM the self-explanatory and badly needed Hate My Day Jobs at Bowery Electric

4/19 Moroccan-American chanteuse Malika Zarra plays the cd release show for her new one Berber Taxi with her band at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM

4/19-24 and 4/26-5/1 Bill Frisell plays the Vanguard: first with Eyvind Kang on violin and Rudy Royston on drums, then with Ron Miles on trumpet, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums.

4/19, 8:30 PM keyboard rock the Joe McGinty Seven followed by fearless, wickedly lyrical, entertaining songwriter Ward White’s cd release show at 9:30 at Bowery Electric.

4/19 scorching electric banjo noiserock/jazz at the Seabrook Power Plant cd release show, 9:30ish at Littlefield, $8 adv tix rec.

4/20, 7:30 PM a cool reggae/ska quadruple bill at Sullivan Hall with Soul Rebel Project, Across the Aisle, Roast Beef Curtains and Mighty Mystic, $10

4/20 Tomoko Omura – violin; Glenn Zaleski – piano;Yoshiki Yamada – bass; Ryo Noritake – drums, 7:30 PM at Miles Cafe, $20.

4/20, 8 PM all-woman noir punk/glam rockers the Foxx at Cake Shop – this band is amazing, how they stayed off our radar for so long is a mystery. They would have ruled the airwaves in 1980. Sort of like a more pop Vera Beren or a louder DollHouse. Followed at 9 by funny, entertaining retro LA girlpunks Shannon & the Clams.

4/20, 8 PM accordionist Mariel Berger’s “avant Balkan” band Paper Snakes plays two ferocious sets at the Brooklyn Lyceum

4/20, 9 PM purist retro garage rock with the Solid Set at Lakeside.

4/20, 9 PM celebrate world pot day…well, Williamsburg pot day…at the Charleston at 9 PM with a smoking early 70s style stoner rock triplebill of Strange Haze, followed by Weedbeerd and then the inimitable, hilarious Mighty High. Anna Maria Pizza is across the street if you get hungry.

4/20, 10 PM psychedelic dub reggae with John Brown’s Body followed by the Easy Star All-Stars at Highline Ballroom, $20 adv tix highly rec. Note that some loser from a reality tv show – who’s decided to switch from corporate rock to reggae – opens the show at 9.

4/21, three excellent, separate-admission shows at Joe’s Pub. 7 PM haunting slinky Middle Eastern/jazzy torch song band Pharaoh’s Daughter is $15; lyrically intense, noirish British rocker Spottiswoode’s cd release show at 9 is $15; Afrobeat band Emefe’s show at 11:30 is $TBA.

4/21-22, 7ish Mogwai at Webster Hall, adv tix $28.50 rec.

4/21, 7:30 PM adventurous new music ensemble Lunatics at Large play five brand-new commissioned works by Ryan Fusco, Andre Bregegere, Laura Koplewitz, Alex Shapiro and Mohammed Fairouz as part of their Sanctuary Project at WMP Concert Hall, $25.

4/21 the monthly ska bill has moved from the Knit to Trash starting at 8 with Sewage, Shootout, the Rudie Crew and King Django.

4/21, 8 PM in “Scuttling around in the shallows, Jana Winderen continues her investigation into the sound of shrimp, exploring how the smallest creatures of the ocean use sound for communication, orientation, and feeding. Hydrophones—originally a military development—are repurposed, inadvertently producing unexpected qualities not informed by their original design. Winderen uses these hydrophones to create immersive sonic environments, something far from the original intention of these surveillance devices.” At Issue Project Room, $12.

4/21, 8 PM an avant garde doublebill with Parias Ensemble and choir Quince Vocal Ensemble at the Gershwin Hotel ,$10.

4/21, 8:30 PM, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative – the celebrated filmmaker/musician with members of Burnt Sugar – at Zebulon

4/21, 8:30 PM Susie Ibarra’s Electric Kulintang – sort of the Filipino counterpart to Electric Junkyard Gamelan – at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, early arrival highly advised.

4/21 dark intense eclectic original bluegrass band Frankenpine at Banjo Jim’s, 9 PM

4/21 Lunas Atlas (violinist Rima Fand’s new Frederico Garcia Lorca poetry/music project) at the Jalopy at 9 followed by bluegrass hellraisers Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift) at 10:30.

4/21, 9 PM eerily playful indie folk/art-rock siren Larkin Grimm at Death by Audio.

4/21 a real power trio with Avishai Cohen – trumpet; Omer Avital – bass; Nasheet Waits – drums at Smalls, 9:30 PM, early arrival advised.

4/21, 10 PM the “Revive Da Live Big Band Tribute to the legendary Guru & the Jazzmatazz Legacy” at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix highly rec., this will probably sell out.

4/21, 10 PM captivating Americana frontwoman Julia Haltigan and her band at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/21, 10:30 PM torchy oldtimey jazz/pop with Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade followed by the wild oldtimey Americana/country sound of the Woes at Southpaw, $10.

4/22 Ryan Truesdell leads a 14-piece big band to recreate Gil Evans’ classic 1961 album Out of the Cool at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $35

4/22 sprawling acoustic Americana with Jones St. Station at le Poisson Rouge, 7:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

4/22 baritone country/western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Hill Country, 7:30 PM.

4/22 it’s a rare Friday night Unsteady Freddie surf shindig at Otto’s starting at 9 PM with satirical spoof the Alien Surfer Babes (a Witches in Bikinis spinoff), NYC’s legendary, twangy, original surf band the Supertones, the Space Rangers at 11 and the fiery Octomen sometime after midnight

4/22, 8 PM pianist Jenny Q Chai and Iktus Percussion Quartet play the world premiere of Five Pieces by Nils Vigeland, as well as works by Gérard Grisey, Lukas Ligeti, Vivian Fung, and two world premieres from emerging composers Inhyun Kim and Dillon Kondor downstairs in the Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space, $15/$10 stud.

4/22, 8:15 PM legendary Haitian big band Orchestre Septentrional at the north cove at Battery Park City, free

4/22, 8:30 PM acoustic Irish/punk rockers Box of Crayons at Bowery Electric

4/22, 9 PM gypsy chanteuse Sanda Weigl’s cd release show for her intense, excellent new one Gypsy in a Tree at the 92YTribeca, $15 adv tix highly rec.

4/22, a monster noisy rock quadruple bill at Death by Audio with the Sediment Club at 9 followed by Degreaser, Pop 1280 and Woman, who absolutely slayed with their ear-drilling hypnotic guitar swirl the last time they played here.

4/22 Evanescent – retro music goddess Bliss Blood’s flamenco-tinged, hauntingly cinematic duo project with guitarist Al Street – at Cin-M-Art Space, 9 PM, 43 Murray St. (W. Broadway & Church)

4/22, 9 PM slinky danceable oldschool plena and bomba sounds with Quimbombo at BAM Cafe.

4/22-23, 9/10:30 PM Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band CD release show at the Jazz Gallery, $20. Note that their Dizzy’s Club engagement is sold out.

4/22 electric bluegrass/country/rock guitar/mandolin monsters Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

4/22, 10 PM jazzy oldschool latin soul with the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

4/22, 10:30 PM psychedelic 1960s style pop with latin tinges from Damian Quinones Y Su Nuevo Conjunto at Fifth Estate, 506 5th Ave., Park Slope

4/22, 11 PM hilarious retro country songwriter Hayes Carll at Bowery Ballroom, $15 adv tix rec.

4/22, 11 PM the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities Lakeside, 11 PM.

4/23 Jorma Kaukonen + Jack Casady at Hiro Ballroom are sold out.

4/23, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, early arrival advised, most likely piano music; there’s another on 5/7.

4/23, 1 and 3 PM, early music ensemble Pomerium sings works by Lassus, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, and Byrd at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/23 intriguing female-fronted noir-soul band Shenandoah & the Night at the Brooklyn Bowl

4/23, 8 PM pianist Vicky Chow and the Del Sol String Quartet at the Gershwin Hotel, playing Gershwin, D’Rivera and others, $10

4/23, 9 PM scorching, noisy, glam-ish punk rock with the K-Holes followed eventually at 11 by campy, entertaining faux 60s girlgroup punks Shannon & the Clams at Glasslands, $10

4/23 Cuban reggaeton siren Telmary Diaz with a live band at BAM Cafe, 9 PM – early arrival advised, this will sell out.

4/23, 10 PM Spanglish Fly at Mehanata. Good match of band and venue: fiery danceable fun female-fronted retro 60s latin soul band and cool, unpretentious Bulgarian bar where tourists and trendoids dare not enter.

4/23, 10:30 PM a rare NYC appearance by bluegrass stars Lightning in the East at the Jalopy.

4/24, 3 PM Chinese Music Ensemble of NY’s 50th Anniversary Concert feat. “a 45 musician orchestra in various settings from small ensembles to the entire orchestra” at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 adv tix rec.

4/24, 6 PM, OMG – you want eclectic and amazing, this is it: Balkan clarinet titan Vasko Dukovski with GL Diana on sitar, Daniel Ori on bass at Caffe Vivaldi.

4/24, 7 PM stars of the NYC Balkan underground, trumpeter Ben Holmes and accordionist Patrick Farrell at Barbes followed at 9ish by Stephane Wrembel.

4/24, 8 PM rustic, intense French gypsy rockers Poum Tchack at Galapagos, $15

4/24 Esquela – the new Americana rock project from the Yayhoos’ Keith Christopher with powerhouse singer Rebecca Frame – plays Rodeo Bar at 10ish.

4/25, 7:30 PM the Del Sol Quartet plus singer Amy X Neuberg play Neuberg, Reza Vali, Ronald Bruce Smith and Ben Johnson compositions at Symphony Space, $20

4/25 charismatic intense somewhat scary cellist/vocalist Audrey Chen plays Roulette, 8:30 PM. One of the crew here insists that her set – “music” might not be an accurate word for it – at Issue Project Room last year was the best show of 2010. Your life will not be complete until you’ve survived an hour or so of her sonic assault.

4/25, 9 PM Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel – a wild mix of noise-rock and Balkan brass music, whose debut album was one of our picks for the best of 2010 – at Bar 4. They’re also at the 1012 Willoughby basement series in Bushwick on 4/29 at 9

4/25, 9:30 PM drummer Ari Hoenig does his “punkbop” thing with a good crew: Will Vinson – alto sax; Jonathan Kreisberg – guitar; Danton Boller – bass at Smalls.

4/25 sultry oldtimey stylings with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

4/26 Emmylou Harris at Bowery Ballroom is sold out – good for her

4/26, 6:30 PM pianist Jenny Lin plays Federico Mompou’s “Música Callada” at le Poisson Rouge, $15

4/26, 8 PM Balkan Beat Box at Webster Hall, $20 gen. adm.

4/26, 8:30 PM eclectic new string ensemble Publiquartet play works by Don Byron, Skye Steele, Amanda Gookin, Nick Revel and others at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

4/27, 7 PM psychedelic noir instrumental machine Mojo Mancini – whose debut album was one of last year’s best – at the big room at the Rockwood, $TBA

4/27, 7 PM Mr. Wau Wa – Gina Leishman, vox, accordion, pump organ; Rinde Eckert, vox, accordion, pump organ; Doug Wieselman, clarinet, sax, guitar; Marcus Rojas, tuba and Kenny Wollesen, drums – plays Bertold Brech at Barbes followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre.

4/27, 7:30 PM pianist Alexandra Joan – whose remarkable emotional intelligence and fearlessness set her apart from the millions of cookie-cutter classical pianists out there – plays an all-French program of Fauré, Ravel, Enescu and Fairouz at WMP Concert Hall.

4/27, 7:30 PM Egyptian vintage film music revivalists Zikrayat plus a bellydance show at Jebon Noodle Shop, 15 St. Marks Place, $10

4/27, 7:30 PM Svetlana Tsoneva, violin and Vladimir Valjarevic, piano play Brahms, Mozart and Franck at at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

4/27 haunting, hypnotic Middle Eastern sounds with Duo Jalal feat. violist Kathryn Lockwood plus percussionist Yousif Sheronick David Krakauer and Glen Velez at Drom, 8 PM, $12 adv tix rec.

4/27, 9:30 PM the funniest man in hip-hop, Houston’s Devin the Dude at the Knitting Factory, $15 adv tix a must, this will sell out.

4/27, 10:30 PM gypsy goth rock with Yula Beeri & the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood

4/28, 1 PM Nancianne Parella performs an organ concert at Trinity Church, free.

4/28, 8 PM swirling, haunting psychedelic guitar soundscaper Thomas Simon at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

4/28, 8 PM wild intense Italian gypsy brass band Mucca Pazza at Santos Party House, $15 adv tix rec.

4/28, 8 PM a Benjamin Lees retrospective: the Cypress String Quartet plays Lees’ string quartets #1 and 6, plus pianist Mirian Conti & violinist Herbert Greenberg play his Odyssey No. 2 and Odyssey No. 3 for solo piano, and Landscape for solo at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church (120 W. 69th), $20.

4/28, 8:30 PM tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Otto’s

4/28, 9 PM Dollshot, who put a deliciously creepy, jazz-improv spin on classical art-song at Galapagos, $10 adv tix rec

4/28 the Newton Gang play their cd release show for their long-awaited new one at Southpaw, 9 PM followed by Gangstagrass at 11, $10 adv tix highly rec, all ticketholders get a copy of the new album.

4/28, 9 PM late golden-age hip-hop icon Talib Kweli at SOBs, $26 adv tix rec, this will sell out.

4/28, 9:30 PM the auspicious debut performance of bassoon duo (!!!) Dark & Stormy (Adrian Morejon and Rebekah Heller) at the Tank playing Gubaidulina, Stravinsky, Mignone, Andriessen and a world-premiere by NYC composer Nick DeMaison.

4/28, 10 PM fun ska-pop with Across the Aisle followed by smartly aware punk rockers the Blame at Fontana’s.

4/29, 7 PM lyrical Steve Earle-esque rocker Mark McKay at Lakeside followed at 11 PM by “the Piggies” which might be a phony name for a big-name act…or a Del Lords show

4/29, 7:30 PM a high-energy gypsy rock doublebill with Watcha Clan and Rupa & the April Fishes at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

4/29, 7:30 PM pianist Angela Pistilli plays Beethoven and Chopin at at Third St. Music School Settlement, free.

4/29, 7:30 PM tuneful chamber-pop songwriter Jann Klose with his lush, string-driven ensemble at the big room at the Rockwood, $10

4/29, 8 PM psychedelic noir rock legend Steve Wynn plays a doubleheader with his band the Miracle 3 and then with the Baseball Project, playing songs about the Red Sox, a Yankee pitcher who killed a member of the opposing Indians, and tributes to slap-hitting batting champ Ichiro Suzuki and Pawtucket Red Sox (and Tigers) legend Mark Fidrych. At the Bell House, $13 adv tix rec.

4/29, 8:15 PM Canadian goth siren NLX at Caffe Vivaldi

4/29 surfy latin garage rock with the Cuban Cowboys at BAM Cafe, 9 PM.

4/30, 5 PM the UN Singers led by the sensational Mary Lee Kortes play an eclectic program at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, 308 W 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Aves), $15 sugg don

4/30, 7:30 PM a monstrously fun skaragga/metal cumbia/gypsy rock doublebill with Escarioka and Skarroneros at Sullivan Hall, $10

4/30, 7:30 PM comedically talented Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/30, 7:30/9:30/midnight a pretty phenomenal trio at the Bar Next Door: Jacam Manricks – saxophones; Jared Gold – organ and Matt Wilson- drums.

4/30 a killer bill at Don Pedros for a measy $5 starting at 8 PM with high energy noisy guitar/drum duo Eleanor, the Highway Gimps – the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Motorhead – and the best rock band in NYC, the ferocious, tuneful, funny, indomitable, politically aware anti-gentrifiers the Brooklyn What at Don Pedro’s.

4/30, 8 PM Il Albanico at Pete’s – Colombian music with chanteuse and guitar.

4/30, 8:30 PM the Sarah Bernstein Quartet: Sarah Bernstein, violin/compositions; Kris Davis, piano; Stuart Popejoy, bass guitar; Ches Smith, drums, at I-Beam.

4/30, 9 PM Irish-American rock legends Black 47 at Paddy Reilly’s – just like the old days. Get here early because anybody who remembers how wild their shows here were back in the 90s and is still alive will be here.

4/30, 9/10:30 PM bassist John Hebert’s Rambling Confessions feat. Jen Shyu, vox; Billy Drummond, drums; David Virelles, piano at the Cornelia St Cafe, $15

4/30 latin jazz by the O’Farrill Family Band at BAM Cafe, 9 PM.

4/30, 10 PM stark, tuneful cello rockers Pearl & the Beard at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

4/30 Roots Vibration play reggae at Shrine, 10 PM.

4/30, 10ish Kiwi – who play ust about every style of dub and roots reggae – at Bowery Poetry Club.

4/30, 11 PM irrepressibly filthy, sharply satirical, hilarious faux-girlgroup punks Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Trash.

5/1 an amazing free outdoor lineup at the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival (two blocks from the Path station – just follow the sound to Washington St.) – intense, smart chamber-rockers Bern & the Brights at 1 PM, Tammy Faye Starlite’s hilarious Blondie cover band the Pretty Babies at 2, Steve Wynn’s hall-of-fame caliber Baseball Project at 3 and the legendary Ian Hunter – still going strong at 72! at 4.

5/1, 4:45 PM organist Scott Foppiano plays a welcome NYC return engagement at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

5/1, 6 PM a fun, entertaing new music/third-stream jazz doublebill with cellist Jody Redhage followed by the playful Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

5/1, 7 PM smart, edgy, lyrical indie rock songwriter Tara Jane O’Neil at the Mercury, $12.

5/1, 8 PM at Union Pool: Apocalypse Five and Dime presents We Shall Not Be Moved: The New York Five & Dime Sit Down Strikes of 1937, A One-Act Musical written by Phil Andrews starring Josh Lerner and Kate followed by the Stagger Back Brass Band – the Spinal Tap of brass band music –  plus singers Xavier, Sara Lucas, Sarah Gordon (of Yiddish Princess) and Michele Hardesty doing socialist song classics.

5/1, 8 PM psychedelic African soul duo Amadou & Mariam, free, at the Cooper Square Hotel, 25 Cooper Sq., one assumes in the lobby.

5/1, 8 PM oldschool and new rustic Cuban sounds on low-register instruments by Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club

5/1 the hilarious Uncle Leon & the Alibis – NYC’s answer to David Allan Coe – at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/2, 7 PM at the Greene Space, free: “Even as violent crime rates in New York have dropped dramatically in the past 15 years [due to NYPD brass’ manipulation of crime stats and their refusal to investigate crimes, rather than any real drop in crime], this controversial police procedure continues to divide law enforcement and community groups. Is ‘stop-and-frisk’ an effective preemptive strategy for crime prevention or a case of racial profiling? The Greene Space presents panelists on both sides of the issue in a discussion about how ‘stop-and-frisk’ affects New Yorkers in their everyday lives.”

5/2, 7 PM eclectic trombone god Josh Roseman’s Water Surgeons feat. Josh Roseman – trombone, bass guitar; Curtis Hasselbring – trombone, guitar; Jacob Garchik – trombone, accordion and Barney McAll – keyboards at Barbes followed at about 9:30 by Chicha Libre. They’re also here on 5/9, same time.

5/2, 8 PM Gutbucket and Pitom play gypsy/klezmer/jazz-tinged noisy groove stuff at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $8 “includes snacks.”

5/2, 8/10:30 PM Jane Wiedlin of the Go Go’s joins the surviving members of the Les Paul Trio at Iridium, $30. A crazy idea that just might work – she’s fun and always had the best voice in the band.

5/2, 9 PM Gary Morgan & Pan-Americana play eclectic big band jazz at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/2 at the big room at the Rockwood, 10:30 PM the Chris Morrissey Group – Ben Wendel- sax, Nir Felder- guitar, Mark Guiliana- drums, Pete Rende- piano, Chris Morrissey- bass followed by Sean Hutchinson’s Still Life at 11:30 – Henry Hey- keys, Chris Tarry- bass, Sean Hutchinson- drums

5/3, 7 PM Phil Kline and an A-list of downtown indie classical types – Matt Boehler on bass, Kathleen Supove on piano, Todd Reynolds on vionlin, Ashley Bathgate on cello – play songs by Kline, David Lang, Meredith Monk, Elliott Sharp at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 W 37th St. betw 9th and 10th Aves., free, res. req. to 212-868-4444.

5/3, 7:30 PM guitar orchestra Los Angeles Electric 8 play Javanese songs, Balinese kecak chants, and music by Mantle Hood and Wayne Siegel at the Tank, $10

5/3-8 7:30/9:30 PM Ron Carter, bass; Rodney Jones, guitar; Frank Kimbrough, piano; Carl Allen, drums; Ron Blake, tenor saxophone at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

5/3, 8 PM Bulgarian accordion monster Peter Ralchev and his quartet play a very rare NYC show at Drom, $15 adv tix very highly rec.

5/3-4, 8 PM Bruce Cockburn & Jenny Scheinman at City Winery, $35 seats avail.

5/3 the completely original tuneful hip-hop-jazz marching brass band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at SOB’s, 9:30 PM $15 adv tix highly rec.

5/3 Americana violin star Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

5/3, 10ish hypnotic, pounding dreampop/goth/psychedelic instrumental trio Big Sleep at Glasslands, $10

5/4, 7:30 PM the American String Quartet play Beethoven, Schubert and Shostakovich at the lovely old-world Fabbri Library, 7 E 95th St., $35.

5/4, 7:30 PM, free, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proudly presents the 4th annual concert, Korea 21: Music Here and Now at Symphony Space – it seems to be more corporate pop-oriented, but might be worth stopping in to see what the buzz is about.

5/4, 7:30 PM drummer Mike Pride’s imaginative, psychedelically tuneful From Bacteria to Boys at the Knitting Factory, $10.

5/4, 8 PM dark female-fronted dreampop/shoegaze Teletextile followed by lyrical anthemic Canadian band Wintersleep – who are a singer short of greatness – at Union Hall, $10.

5/4, 8 PM guitar funk virtuoso Askold Buk at P&G Bar on the upper west

5/4, 8 PM the Dan Weiss Trio featuring Jacob Sacks and Eivind Opsvik at Littlefield, $10.

5/4, 9 PM intense improvisational Balkan group Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall

5/4 cutting-edge conscious Senegalese/American hip-hop with Blitz the Ambassador and his Afrobeat band playing their cd release show at SOB’s, 9 PM $12 adv tix rec.

5/5, 1 PM Isabelle Demers plays the organ at Trinity Church, free

5/5, 7:30 PM catchy jangly rock en Espanol outfit Cordero at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

5/5, 8 PM retro keyboard goddess Rachelle Garniez – arguably the most cleverly amusing and charismatic accordion-wielding songwriter on the planet – followed at 10 by Matuto who are sort of an acoustic Nation Beat, mixing Brazilian and bluegrass influences.

5/5, 8 PM this year’s funnest Cinco de Mayo show with Chicha Libre and Banda de los Muertos de Quisqueya at Littlefield, $10.

5/5, 8 PM the all-female 17-piece Main Squeeze Orchestra conducted by Walter Kuehr, the self-styled “Hugh Hefner” of the accordion world plays Kurt Weill at Drom, $15 adv tix highly rec.

5/5, 8 PM the Curtis Institute of Music’s 20/21 ensemble plays a Joan Tower retrospective at the Miller Theatre at Columbia, 116th/Bwy., $20.

5/5, 8 PM devious songwriters Maria Sonevytsky and Susan Hwang (both of the Debutante Hour), and World Inferno’s Franz Nicolay among others at Goodbye Blue Monday

5/5, 8:30 PM Lebanese trumpet star Ibrahim Malouf and oud virtuoso Brahim Fribgane at the Lincoln Center Atrium at 65th and Broadway, early arrival advised. Malouf is also playing a duo show with pianist Frank Woeste at Alwan for the Arts on 5/6 at 9 PM, $20/$15 stud/srs.

5/5, 9 PM third-wave and second-wave ska with the Hub City Stompers and playful 80s ska-pop vets Bad Manners at Maxwell’s, $16 adv tix avail.

5/5, 9 PM menacing instrumental Israeli heavy metal/surf music with Eyal Maoz’ Edom at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/5, 9:30 PM torchy noir rock with Mad Juana at Bowery Electric.

5/5, 10 PM compelling, frequently creepy art-folk chanteuse Larkin Grimm at Union Pool.

5/5, 10 PM Roger Bartlett at P&G Bar on the upper west – is this the the guitarist who was Jimmy Buffett’s one-man road band back in the 70s?

5/5, 11:30 PM Spanglish Fly with their sultry retro 60s latin soul vibe at Southpaw for Cinco de Mayo

5/6 Tift Merritt at City Winery is sold out – good for her.

5/6, 7 PM subtle, vivid classic tango chanteuse Maria Cangiano followed by Gabriel Alegria’s Afro-Peruvian Septet’s weekly Friday gig at Tutuma Social Club on 56th St.

5/6, 7 PM Esquivel revivalists Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

5/6, 7:30 PM the NOW Ensemble playing Judd Greenstein, Patrick Burke, Mark Dancigers, and Sean Friar followed by the Chiara String Quartet playing Jefferson Friedman quartets with electronic efx at le Poisson Rouge, $20

5/6, 7:30 PM the Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens in a joint appearance tackling the Brahms Piano Quintet, the world premiere of Fang Man’s Images of Lake Erie, Joan Tower’s Dumbarton, and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Ghosts in the Dream Machine. at Symphony Space, $30.

5/6, 8 PM two reverends who have nothing to do with religion: Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band play rustic acoustic Americana followed by Rev. Horton Heat playing semi-urban electric Americana at the Bell House, $22 adv tix rec. Rev. HH is also at Highline Ballroom on 5/8.

5/6 a tres bon cajun festival at the Jalopy starting with a Leadbelly style guitar workshop at 6:30 followed at 8 by the Big Road Blues Band, Catahoula Cajun Band, Empty Bottle Ramblers, Magnolia Cajun Band and then a midnight jam, $12 adv tix rec., $25 for the workshop.

5/6  MotherMoon -a smart, tuneful, sometimes haunting soul-influenced female-fronted band, like Cat Power but less precious, or Katie Elevitch in a less amped moment, at Spike Hill, 8 PM, note that there is a $6 cover.

5/6, 8:30 PM at Coco 66 a slamming triplebill with gypsy punks Kagero followed by Raya Brass Band at 9:30 and the equally ferocious West Philadelphia Orchestra at 10:30, $10

5/6 Caithlin De Marrais – one of the most unselfconsciously riveting singers in any style of music – sings her plaintive, thoughtful, compelling songs at 8:30 PM at Littlefield, $12. Sort of like a more rocking My Brightest Diamond.

5/6, 9 PM noir-tinged 2/3 female original rockabilly/surf trio Catspaw at Otto’s

5/6, 9 PM the wry, funny uke/bass project 2 Man Gentlemen Band and the ecstatic, improvisational Infamous Stringdusters at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

5/6, 9/10:30 PM fiery, innovative pianist Gerald Clayton leads a quintet with Dayna Stephens – saxophone, Chris Dingman – vibraphone, Joe Sanders (Fri)/Matt Brewer(Sat) – bass, Marcus Gilmore – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20

5/6, 9 PM Doll Parts (accordion-driven Dolly Parton covers with three-girl harmonies) followed by twistedly funny all-girl country parody band Menage a Twang at Union Hall, $10

5/6, 9:30 PM chanteuse/pianist Lorrie Doriza’s noir/goth art-rock band Vespertina – like the Dresden Dolls, but genuinely menacing instead of cute – play the cd release show for their new one The Waiting Wolf at Bowery Poetry Club, $10.

5/6, 10 PM a killer dark triplebill at Banjo Jim’s with haunting, vivid Americana siren Jan Bell’s band the Maybelles followed at 11 by equally haunting, harmony-driven Nashville gothic band Bobtown and then the Just Desserts playing killer gypsy jazz at midnight. Wow.

5/6 the hellraising Jack Grace Band play classic 60s style country from their excellent most recent album Drinking Songs for Lovers at Barbes, 10 PM. They’re also at Rodeo Bar on 5/14 at 10ish.

5/6, 10 PM scorching, fun glampunk/noiserockers the K-Holes’ cd release show at Cake Shop

5/6, 10 PM Brooklyn’s own intense man in black, John Pinamonti at Sunny’s in Red Hook.

5/6 eerie electric bluespunk with the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar 10ish.

5/6, 11 PM the wild, intense Pitch Black Brass Band at Bowery Poetry Club, $10

5/7, 4 (four) PM fearlessly lyrical pop/rock siren Elaine Romanelli at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/7, starting at 6 PM Rachael Bell and Derrick Barnicoat (frontwoman and brilliant percussionist of late great ominous psychedelic art-rockers Norden Bombsight) atat the Red brick school house on the corner of Prince and Mott providing a soundtrack to Daphane Park’s ambitious tea ceremony art/performance installation. Part of some New Museum series. Bell says “Art/Food/Drink/Music/Tea/Other, wash your feet.”

5/7, 7 PM a killer Americana quadruple bill starting with Apocalypse Five and Dime, the Roulette Sisters at 8, Roosevelt Dime at 9 and the Wiyos at 10 at Bowery Electric, $8.

5/7, 7 PM Nashville gothic maven – and indie film star – Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at Banjo Jim’s.

5/7, 7 PM supersonic yet soulful electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

5/7, 7 PM the Gregorio Uribe Big Band at the Fat Cat

5/7, 8 PM Romanian gypsy siren Sanda Weigl – whose intense new album Gypsy in a Tree is one of the year’s best – at Barbes followed by faux Mexican banda Banda Sinaloense De los Muertos (a bunch of jazz luminaries having fun with banda themes) at 10ish

5/7, 8 PM up-and-coming Americana multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Sarah Jarosz’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.

5/7 the cajun festival at the Jalopy continues with a bunch of workshops for stringed and accordion musicians followed by Cleoma’s Ghost at 8, Jesse Lege & the Bayou Brew at 9:15 and Zydegroove at 10:45, $12 adv tix rec., $25 for the workshops.

5/7, 8 PM comedic, smart Texas songwriter Julia Nunes at Rock Shop in Gowanus $15

5/7, 8 PM repeating 5/8, 3 PM Mark Peskanov, violin, Eric Jacobsen, cello And Steven Beck, piano play Haydn – Piano Trio in C minor; Ravel Piano Trio in A minor; Schubert: Piano Trio at Bargemusic, $35.

5/7, 8 PM, repeating on 5/8, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays The Whydah Returns (world premiere) by Aaron Dai; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D and Tschaikovsky’s 5th Symphony at St. Paul’s Church, 315 West 22nd St., sugg don. $20

5/7 haunting original bluegrass/Americana band Frankenpine at the Brooklyn Museum.

5/7, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza at Otto’s starting with Tsunami of Sound, Jason James & the Bay State Houserockers, the Tarantinos NYC and then sometime after midnight the Spytones.

5/7, 9 PM fearlessly funny Williamsburg punk rock vets the Live Ones at at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

5/7, 9/10:30 PM Dave Liebman, saxophone; Dan Tepfer, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Rob Garcia , drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

5/7, 10 PM eclectic Selegalese flavored roots reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

5/7, 10 PM ska trombone star Kevin Batchelor’s Grand Concourse feat. featuring members of the Skatalites, Rocksteady 7, Stingers & Westbound Train at Two Boots Brooklyn

5/7 LES rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish

5/7 crazy, virtuosic Capt. Beefheart cover band Admiral Porkbrain at Freddy’s, 11 PM.

5/7, midnight, cello metal with Stratospheerius at P&G Bar on the upper west

5/8, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Dai: The Whydah Returns; Telemann: Trumpet Concerto in D major, TWV 51; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 at St. Paul’s Church, 315 West 22nd St.

5/8, 6 PM amazing, improvisational, soulful pianist Jean-Michel Pilc plays an extremely rare small club duo show with Perry Smith on guitar at Caffe Vivaldi

5/8, 6 PM eclectic Ethiopian/jazz/Middle Eastern instrumentalists Blue Moon Ensemble play Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

5/8, 6 PM the Brooklyn Salsa Orchestra at the Brooklyn Bowl; they’re also here on 5/15

5/8, 7 PM stars of the NYC free jazz underground: Andy Haas (who has an excellent new album out), Will McEvoy on bass and David Gould on drums – at Downtown Music Gallery.

5/8, 7:30/9:30 PM the Juilliard Jazz Quintet w/Ron Carter, Rodney Jones, Frank Kimbrough, Carl Allen & Ron Blake at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

5/8, 8 PM Americana rock crew the Felice Bros at the Bell House, $20.

5/8, 10 PM hilarious, scathingly aware hip-hop parody Schaffer the Darklord at Cake Shop

5/8, 10 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Cal Folger Day at Spike Hill.

5/9, 6:30 PM a screening of the powerful documentary Gasland, a terrifying look at how hydrofracking – a dangerous natural gas drilling technique whose legalization was spearheaded by Dick Cheney in 2006 – pollutes drinking water nationwide with radioactive waste including radium. At the Museum of the City of NY, tix $12/$8 stud/srs, res req to 917-492-3395

5/9-12 this year’s reliably intriguing avant/classical Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge kicks off with ACME, Metropolis Ensemble, Florent Ghys, L’Arsenale, Cantori New York, Dither Electric Guitar Quartet, Ryan Carter, Christopher Mayo, and Angélica Negrón, 7 PM.

5/9, 7 PM Michaela Anne sings down-to-earth, smart, tuneful Americana at Banjo Jim’s. She’s also at Caffe Vivaldi on 5/17 at 7:15 PM.

5/9, 7:30/9:30 PM oldschool soul/jazz siren Catherine Russell and phenomenal band at Dizzy’s Club, $20

5/9, 8/10:30 PM Matt Guitar Murphy at the Blue Note, $10 seats avail. Octogenarian Chicago blues guitar legend who suffered a stroke onstage a few years ago and finished the song before he decided to take a break. If he’s even a fraction of his old self he’s worth seeing.

5/9, 9 PM the Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/10, 7 PM the king of the catchy literate rock anthem, Willie Nile and his band at Joe’s Pub, $25.

5/10, 7:30 PM opening night of the Mata new music festival at le Poisson Rouge with ACME , L’Arsenale and Hu Jianbing and Bao Jian, $20

5/10 Monty Python/Bonzo Dog Band’s Neil Innes at Highline Ballroom, 8 PM.

5/10, 8 PM a solid hip-hop extravaganza feat. DP One, J Period, Boogie Blind, Jean Grae and Pharaoh Monche at the Brooklyn Bowl, $15

5/10, 11 PM the Gowanus Reggae and Ska Society aka GRASS play instrumental Marley covers at Spike Hill; 5/14 they’re at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/10, 11 PM powerfully tuneful, catchy, lyrical acoustic rocker Jennifer O’Connor at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; she’s also at Maxwell’s on 5/15 at 6 PM for two bucks less.

5/10, 5/12, 5/14 Pharaoh Sanders leads a quartet at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

5/11 the NY Funk Exchange plays the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the 23rd St. heliport and the East River, $20 tix available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

5/11, 7:30 PM day two of the Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge continues with Angelica Negrón, Dither, Cantori NY, Chris Danforth and the Danforths, Florent Ghys, hosted by everybody’s favorite Q2 personality, Nadia Sirota.

5/11, 8:30 PM Jacam Manricks – first-rate composer and alto player – and band at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

5/11, 9 PM third-wave NYC garage rock legends the New Dynasty Six (presumably without Johnny Chan) at Lakeside.

5/11 Mike LeDonne leads a B3 trio at the Fat Cat, 9 PM

5/11, 10 PM up-and-coming rock guitar star Rony Corcos – sort of an Israeli version of early Thalia Zedek – at Banjo Jim’s followed at 11 by Cal Folger Day.

5/11 tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

5/12 Renee Anne Louprette at the organ at Trinity Church, 1 PM, free

5/12, 7:30 PM closing night of the Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge features Metropolis Ensemble, $20.

5/12, 8 PM fiery, brilliantly lyrical, politically fearless Iraqi-American rocker Stephan Said and His Magic Orchestra at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

5/12, 8 PM Cuarteto La Catrina play Mexican and Puerto Rican composers at Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec.

5/12, 8:30 PM unpredictably brilliant sax titan Jon Irabagon leads a quintet with Jon Ralph Alessi, trumpet; Jacob Sacks , piano; John Hebert , bass; Mike Pride, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/12, 9ish olschool East Coast hardcore hip-hop with Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Mobb Deep at the Nokia Theatre, $35 tix avail.

5/12, 10 PM noir cabaret/gypsy punk band Not Waving but Drowning at Drom playing the cd release show for their mysterious new one on a killer bill with slinky Middle Eastern/trance string band Copal, $10 adv tix rec.

5/12, 9/10:30 PM amazing Middle Eastern jazz with Hafez Modirzadeh – saxophones, Amir ElSaffar – trumpet, Vijay Iyer – piano, Ken Filiano – bass, Royal Hartigan – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

5/12, 10 PM sly acoustic jamband Tall Tall Treesat the small room at the Rockwood; they’re also here on 5/26

5/12, 10 PM torchy smart bossa/jazz chanteuse Sasha Dobson plays with a trio at Barbes.

5/12, a very cool doublebill at Drom: 10:30 PM, hauntingly psychedelic violin-driven Middle Eastern/Balkan flavored dancefloor grooves with Copal and theatrical gypsy/steampunk band Not Waving But Drowning at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec., not sure who’s playing when but they’re both good.

5/12, 10:30 PM blazing chromatic Balkan tonalities with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10.

5/13 Americana guitarmeister Chris Erikson & the Wayward Puritans at Lakeside, 7ish

5/13, 7 PM cello-driven world music band Deoro  feat. chanteuse Dina Fanai at the small room at the Rockwood – their show here in December was off the hook.

5/13, 7:30 PM oldtime hokum blues and hillbilly music with the Second Fiddles at Hill Country

5/13 sharply literate, often hilarious Americana charmer Robin Aigner with her band at Barbes 8 PM followed by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland’s cd release show

5/13, 8 PM Mara Milkis – violin; Jerzy Wujtewicz – cello; and RAfal Lewandowski – cello – play works by F.Chopin, K. Szymanowski, W. Lutoslawski, K. Penderecki, R. Twardowski, Alicja. Jonas at Bargemusic, $35, you know the Greenpoint classical posse will be out in effect for this one.

5/13, 9 PM phantasmagorical noir siren Carol Lipnik & Spookarama at Banjo Jim’s.

5/13, 9 PM amazingly period-perfect retro 60s Bakersfield country band the Dixons at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

5/13, 9 PM Kiwi play Brazilian-flavored psychedelic dub reggae at Shrine.

5/13, 9 PM Canadian goth siren NLX at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/13, 10:30 PM adventurous bassist Joris Teepe with his combo at the Fat Cat

5/14, 11 AM (yes, starting an hour before noon) the free Wall to Wall Sonidos festival at Symphony Space feat. Arturo O’Farrill’s Sacred Concert for his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra based on settings of Jewish, Islamic, Gospel, and Afro-Cuban texts; a work for shakuhachi and string quartet [Colorado Quartet] from Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez; a world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Cuarteto para cuerdas no. 2 [La Catrina Quartet]; Tania León [Harlem Quartet]; new works by Fernando Otero (with dancers); and performances by Continuum, Damocles Trio, Poulenc Trio, Ray Vega, Gabriel Alegria, and many others.

5/14, 6 (six) PM dark Americana songwriter Abbie Barrett at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/14, 7:30 PM terse, intense classical/jazz pianist Michel Reis leads a trio at Puppets Jazz Bar in Park Slope

5/14, 8 PM the Underground Horns – a “6 piece brass band that plays afro funk bhangra new orleans salsa grooves” – at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s western swing thing.

5/14 dark 80s goth/art-rock influenced chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi, 9:30 PM

5/14, 9 PM one of the year’s best triplebills: sultry, funny oldtimey harmony crew the Roulette Sisters at 9, ferociously literate, witty, psychedelic/new wave rockes the Larch at 10 and Pinataland’s Dave Wechsler’s solo Tyranny of Dave project at 11 at the new Freddy’s.

5/14 dark original bluegrass/Nashville gothic band Frankenpine at 9 PM at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by M Shanghai String Band,$10.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM allstar postbop ensemble the Cookers – who absolutely tore up the Charlie Parker Festival last year – at Iridium, $30.

5/14, 9 PM percussionist Najib Bahri’s El Amal plays a musical/dance tribute to Tunisia at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud/srs.

5/14 carnivalesque Luminescent Orchestrii frontman Sxip Shirey does his solo thing Joe’s Pub, 9 PM, $15.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM Marty Ehrlich, reeds; Ray Anderson, trombone; Brad Jones, bass; Matt Wilson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

5/14, 9/10:30 PM the Oliver Lake Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20

5/14, 10 PM Fish Out of Water play ska at Shrine followed at 11 by punk dub band the Band-Droidz.

5/14, 11:30 PM clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski and his band the NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10 adv tix rec; they’re also here on 5/19 at 10:30

5/15, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra plays Handel – Music for the Royal Fireworks; Haydn – Concerto in C major for Cello and Orchestra; Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sugg don, reception to follow.

5/15, 3 PM the East of the River accordion-and-recorder ensemble play an intriguing Balkan/Middle Eastern/Appalachian/avant program at Bargemusic, $35

5/15, 6 PM Trio Caveat feat. free jazz trombone monster Steve Swell, James Ilgenfritrz and Jay Rosen followed at 7 by guitarist Xander Naylor’s fiery PinkBrown trio at Downtown Music Gallery.

5/15, 7 PM the Four Bags – Mike McGinnis: sax/clarinet Brian Drye: trombone Jacob Garchik: accordion Sean Moran: guitar at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel

5/15, 7:30 PM Geogian slide guitarist Ilusha Tsinadze – who blends traditional sounds from his home country with jazz and blues – doing a cd release show at Joe’s Pub, $15.

5/16, 9ish austere, smart chamber-pop band Pearl & the Beard at Littlefield, $5.

5/16, 9 PM latin/third stream big band Michael Webster’s Leading Lines at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

5/17 frontwoman/guitarist Debra of scorching powerpop/jamband Devi at Lucky 7 Tavern in Jersey City

5/17 Tariq Ali, renowned author of From Cairo to Madison: The Arab Revolution and a World in Motion discusses the ongoing revolution throughout the Arab world, 8 PM at Galapagos, free.

5/17, 8:30 PM intriguing, captivating jazz trio Minerva’s cd release show feat. JP Schlegelmilch, piano; Pascal Niggenekemper, bass; Carlo Costa, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/18, 7:30 PM the most intensely focused, most powerful jazz composer of the moment, tenor saxophonist JD Allen and his Trio play the cd release show for their new one Victory! following a screening of Mario Lathan’s documentary short film about the album at le Poisson Rouge, $15, adv tix necessary, this will sell out. Wish you were alive to see Coltrane in 1963? Don’t miss this one. We have heard the forthcoming album and it is amazing.

5/17, 7/9 PM the prototypical downtown NYC accordion chanteuse, Phoebe Legere with her quintet playing the cd release show for her new one Ooh La La Coq Tail at Iridium, $20

5/18 lyrical janglerock songwriter Paula Carino with her velvet voice, double entendres and wickedly catchy tunes plays with her new trio at 8 at Fontana’s.

5/18, 8 PM Kris Davis – one of the most original, emotionally vivid and lyrical pianists in jazz or anything – plays Barbes with Ingrid Laubrock -saxophone; Matt Maneri -viola; Trevor Dunn -bass, and Tom Rainey – drums, note that there is a $10 cover.

5/18 and 5/19 at 8 PM, concluding on 5/21 at 8:30 PM, violinist Aaron Berofsky and pianist Phillip Bush perform the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin at Merkin Concert Hall, $18 single concert tix avail., $40 for a three-day pass

5/18 jazz guitar monster Matt Munisteri’s new band the Syncopatin’ Detonators at Hill Country, 8:30 PM.

5/18, 9 PM saxophonist Benjamin Drazen – whose latest cd Inner Flights is one of the year’s best – at the Fat Cat with his quartet

5/18 solid oldschool garage rock and soul with the Solid Set at Lakeside, 9 PM

5/18 The Devil Makes Three’s hilarious, satirical, tuneful grasscore at Maxwell’s,9 PM, $10.

5/18, 10 PM Jon Irabagon’s Outright feat. Ralph Alessi (trumpet) Jacob Sacks (piano) John Hebert (bass) Tom Rainey (drums) at the Stone, $10

5/19, 7:30 PM the Trinity Choir sings music of Elena Ruehr at Trinity Church.

5/19, 8:30 PM pianist Dan Tepfer and tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

5/19, 9 PM powerful soul/Americana chanteuse Jo Williamson at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/19, 9:30 PM clever, tongue-in-cheek faux torch-song trio the Debutante Hour followed by gypsy rocker Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at Party Xpo in Bushwick, $8

5/19, 9:30 PM alt-country chanteuse Karen Hudson with her band at Lakeside playing songs from her forthcoming Late Bloomer cd.

5/19, 10 PM this era’s finest country music voice, Laura Cantrell plays the cd release show for her new one at Hill Country, $15.

5/19, 10 PM a solid oldschool country doublebill with Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion followed by Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at Southpaw, $10

5/19, 10 PM klezmer/bluegrass legend Andy Statman at Barbes.

5/20, 7 PM tuneful alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe and quartet at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks”

5/20 one of the year’s best doublebills: the ever increasingly haunting, harmony-driven vintage bolero/rock band Las Rubias Del Norte at 8 followed at 10 by deliriously fun mid 60s style latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly at Barbes.

5/20, 8 PM Frank Kimbrough – piano; Scott Robinson – reeds; Ray Drummond – bass’ Matt Wilson – drums; play a Monk-themed concert at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC, on Chambers just east of the Highway, $25/$15 stud/srs.

5/20, 9 PM multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at the 92YTribeca, $12 gen adm.

5/20, 9 PM adventurous Tiptons sax quartet leader Jessica Lurie with her own Ensemble at BAM Cafe.

5/20, 9:30 PM killer triplebill: oldschool latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly, funky Afrobeat innovators Ikebe Shakedown and classic Fania era salsa stylists Bio Ritmo at Sullivan Hall, $10 gen adm.

5/20, 10 PM Black Lion & the Akinyoumba band play African roots reggae at Shrine.

5/20, 10:30 PM organist Jared Gold leads a quintet at the Fat Cat

5/20 surf music classics and obscuities with the Boss Guitars at Lakeside 11 PM

5/20, 11:30 PM NYC’s answer to Spinal Tap, Satanicide at the Mercury, $12 adv tix rec.

5/21, 7ish original gypsy punks World Inferno at Webster Hall, $21 adv tix rec.

5/21, 7:30 PM hypnotic, intense, rustic minor-key blues/klezmer/reggae jam band Hazmat Modine play the cd release for their new one Cicada at le Poisson Rouge, $12 adv tix rec

5/21, 7:15 PM killer songwriter triplebill: blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun, lyrically intense Americana chanteuse Carolann Solebello (ex-Red Molly) at Caffe Vivaldi followed at 9:45 by sharp, often haunting countrypolitan singer Hope DeBates & North Forty.

5/21, 8 PM fearless, funny, intense anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What -our pick for NYC’s best rock band right now – play their monthly show at Trash starting at 8 with No One & the Somebodies, Space Ghost Cowboys and then the Brooklyn What at around 10.

5/21, 8 PM legendary bassist Bob Cunningham and his quartet at First Acoustics Coffeehouse in Brooklyn Heights, $25 adv tix rec

5/21, 8:30 PM the latest Brooklyn County Fair starts at 8:30 with southern soul siren Dina Rudeen’s cd release show for her spectacularly good new one The Common Splendor followed eventually at 10:30 by JD Duarte’s ferocious, fun, intense country/paisley underground crew  the Newton Gang.

5/21, 8:30 PM cult favorite Bulgarian art-rockers Diana Express play Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec.

5/21, 9 PM stark acoustic southern gothic with the Handsome Family at the 92YTribeca, $16 adv tix rec.

5/21, 9 PM the Cookers’ legendary pianist George Cables leads a trio at Puppets Jazz Bar, $20 plus $10 min.

5/21, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

5/21, 9 PM an intriguing quartet at the Cornelia St. Cafe with Mike Baggetta – guitar; Jason Rigby – saxes; Eivind Opsvik – bass; George Schuller – drums, $15.

5/21 Spanking Charlene – playful and clever X-inflected LES Americana rockers at Lakeside, 11 PM

5/22, 2 PM future stars of the avant garde Face the Music plays Missy Mazzoli’s masterpiece Death Valley Junction, Judd Greenstein’s hip-hop indie classical piece What They Don’t Like; Gregory Huebner’s Cuban Impressions; Jacob TV’s Syracuse Blues string quartet mashup plus gospel-tinged chamber piece by Paul Schoenfield at PS 142, 100 Attorney St., $15, all proceeds to benefit the school.

5/22, sets at 3 PM and 7 PM composer Ellen Fullman at Issue Project Room’s new digs at 110 Livingston St. in downtown Brooklyn. Accompanied by David Gamper, Theresa Wong, David Douglas, & Sean Meehan, Fullman plays her “long stringed instrument” consisting of wires extended from wall to wall for an otherworldly sound that’s sort of a cross between a harp and a church organ, $15, early arrival highly advised.

5/22, 7 PM Saints and Tzadiks – that’s Susan McKeown, Oran Etkin and Erik Della Penna – at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel

5/22, 8 PM NYC’s very own competitive gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara with the Momenta Quartet and bassist/multi-instrumentalist all-around good guy Shahzad Ismaily at le Poisson Rouge, 8 PM $15 adv tix rec.

5/22 the NYCity Slickers play soaring bluesgrass with harmonies at Rodeo Bar 9ish

5/23 chamber music ensemble Time for Three at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM.

5/23 charming oldtimey swing and hillbilly sounds with Daria Grace & the Prewar Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

5/23, 9 PM the playful, eclectic Joshua Shneider Easy-Bake Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

5/23, 11 PM smart, lyrical soul chanteuse Stephanie Rooker and guitarist Ben Tyree at the small room at the Rockwood.

5/24-29 vocal jazz vet Ernestine Anderson with Houston Person, Lafayette Harris, Lonnie Plaxico & Willie Jones III at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

5/24, 8 PM Eliza Rickman plays her haunting hypnotic intense songs at the small room at the Rockwood. She’s also at Goodbye Blue Monday on 5/25 at 11.

5/24, 8 PM Booker T. Jones – you know who he is, right? – without the MGs at the Bell House, $25.

5/24-26, 8 PM the Keys to the Future piano festival: 14 new composers, 8 pianists – at the Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street (at Pitt), $20.

5/24 hypnotic postpunk guitar legends Band of Outsiders at Lakeside, 9 PM.

5/24, 10 PM dark fearless surrealistically funny former Norden Bombsight frontwoman Raquel Bell does a solo show at Pete’s.

5/24, midnight, El Pueblo play Caribbean/Puerto Rican influenced dub reggae at Sullivan Hall, $10

5/25 consistently captivating yet completely unpredictable indie classical orchestra the Knights at Lincoln Center’s Kaplan Penthouse.

5/25, 7:15 PM lyrical, tuneful, Aimee Mann-inflected songwriter Andrea Wittgens at Caffe Vivaldi.

5/25, 7:30 PM wild gypsy punks, Kagero, Kendra Morris, YC the Cynic, Afrobeat band Zongo Junction and funk orchestra Turkuaz at the Knitting Factory, $8 tix highly rec., this may sell out.

5/25, 8 PM austere hypnotic imaginative composer/violinist Ana Milosavljevic at the Stone followed by eclectic ex-Ethel violin powerhouse Todd Reynolds, $10.

5/25-28 piano jazz titan Kenny Barron leads a quartet at Birdland, 8:30/10:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

5/25, 8:30 PM trombonist David White leads his jazz orchestra at Symphony Space, $25 adv tix rec.

5/25, 9 PM Diana Jones – Americana singer who follows in Jan Bell’s footsteps, but mining more of the traditional than the original – at Joe’s Pub $12.

5/25-26, 9:30 PM ferocious bassist Omer Avital returns to his old stomping grounds, Smalls with his band

5/26, 1 PM Yoon-Kyung Shin, viola plus others TBA, program TBA, at Trinity Church, free.

5/26, 8 PM arguably the two most vital, original new music ensembles in NYC: the swirling, psychedelic Dither guitar quartet and austere, ghostly, gorgeously atmospheric Redhooker at Merkin Concert Hall, $25.

5/26, 8 PM NYC’s most popular big band, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and bassist Ben Allison and band at Littlefield, $16

5/26, 8 PM playful, clever toy piano specialist Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

5/26, 10:30 PM gypsy punks the West Philadelphia Orchestra followed by haunting, hypnotic, psychedelic Turkish band Raquy & the Cavemen at Drom, $12 adv tix rec.

5/26, 11 PM Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at the big room at the Rockwood.

5/28, 8 PM roots reggae, Afrobeat, desert blues and soul with the inspiring Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone at the Bell House, $20

5/28, 9 PM Escarioka at Mehanata. We’ve been calling them the best live band in NYC for a couple of years, now the rest of the world is finally starting to catch on.

5/28, 9 PM exhilarating, anthemic, sweepingly majestic, socially aware Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at Bowery Electric.

5/28 sly, funky chanteuse Shayna Zaid & The Catch, 10 PM at the small room at the Rockwood

5/28, 10:30 PM ukelele player/lyricist/sultry chanteuse Kelli Rae Powell at the Jalopy, $10.

5/28 dark female-fronted noir soul band Shenandoah & the Night play their ep release show at Spike Hill, 11:30 PM, note the $7 cover.

5/30 Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Barber: Adagio for Strings; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, free, time TBA (guessing 8ish), early arrival advised.

5/30, 8:30 PM eclectic, often haunting pan-Asian-tinged Jen Shyu’s Jade Tongue with Jen Shyu, compositions, vocals, piano, moon lute, erhu, lakado, dance; David Binney, alto saxophone; Thomas Morgan, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

5/31, 7:30 PM Nathan Davis and International Contemporary Ensemble at le Poisson Rouge, free with rsvp

5/31, 7 PM George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars at B.B. King’s, $37.50 adv tix rec.

5/31, 8 PM new music ensemble Tribeca Monsters! feat. music of Steward Copeland, Michael Gandolfi, Dylan Mattingly, Marc Mellits, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Jacob TV at Galapagos, $15.

6/1, 7:30 PM dark incisive classical composer/pianist Fernando Otero and cellist Inbal Segev play Bach, Kodály, and Otero at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

6/1, 8 PM delightfully fun, quirky, counterintuitive all-female indie pop band the Walking Hellos at Fontana’s.

6/1, 10 PM, powerfully tuneful 80s punk/new wave throwbacks Changing Modes – who recorded our pick for best song of 2010 – at Sullivan Hall, $10.

6/1 midnight-ish big sprawling funk band Turkuaz at Southpaw, $5.

6/2, 8 PM legendary, brilliant first-wave Irish punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers make their Brooklyn debut at Europa, $20. They’re at the Gramercy Theatre the following night for an extra $13 – that’s how much Live Nation is ripping you off for this one.

6/2, 8 PM the Da Capo Chamber Players’ 40th anniversary concert at Merkin Concert Hall feat. Pierrot lunaire, OP. 21 by Arnold Schoenberg, with guest soprano, Lucy Shelton; the world premiere performance of Gravity by George Tsontakis (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); the New York premiere of Midnight Rounds by Keith Fitch (written for the 40th anniversary of Da Capo); Tres Lent as well as And…They’re Off! by Joan Tower (who was the ensemble’s founding pianist), $20 adv tix very highly rec., this should sell out.

6/2, 8:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser leads a quartet with Russ Lossing, piano; Eivind Opsvik, bass; Paul Motian, drums; Samuel Blaser, trombone playing the cd release show for his latest one at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/2, 8:30 PM new music ensemble Sybarite5 play the Lincoln Center Atrium at 65th/Bwy, letting their ipod shuffle choose the pieces they’ll be performing, early arrival advised.

6/2, midnight, dark female-fronted soul band MotherMoon at Spike Hill.

6/3, 8 PM torchy noir Americana siren Lily & the Parlour Tricks followed by oldschool soul revivalist/crooner Eli Paperboy Reed at Southpaw, $12 gen adm.

6/3, 9/10:30 PM Ingrid Laubrock, tenor sax; Ralph Alessi, trumpet; Kris Davis, piano; Tom Rainey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/3 ferocious Nashville gothic rockers Ninth House play Sathony in Astoria.

6/3 wry, literate Nashville gothic with Maynard & the Mustiesat Lakeside, 11 PM.

6/3, 11:30 PM ecstatic Brazilian funk/reggae/maracatu band Dende & Hahahaes at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/4, 6:30 PM, free, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble play Gershwin: Lullaby for Strings; Barber:Adagio for Strings; Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12, “American” at Flushing Town Hall, tix req., early arrival advised.

6/4 a blast from the past – legendary oldschool Williamsburg punk/indie rockers FF (which stands for Fat Fuck) at Lakeside, 7 PM.

6/4, 8 PM sprawling acoustic Americana band the Woes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; they’re at Sunny’s at 10 the following night for free

6/4, 8 PM the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at NJPAC in Newark, $25 seats avail.

6/4, 9/10:30 PM drummer Ralph Peterson’s brilliant B3 band the Unity Project plays the cd release show for their spectacularly good new one with Pat Bianchi, organ; Josh Evan, trumpet; Wayne Escoffery, tenor sax at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/4, 10 PM cowpunk with the Nightmare River Band at Spike Hill.

6/5, 7:30 PM trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet w/ Angelica Sanchez (piano), John Lindberg (bass) and Pheeroan akLaff (drums) at le Poisson Rouge, adv tix $15 rec.

6/5, 8 PM tuneful Americana harmony band the Bowmans at the small room at the Rockwood

6/5, 8 PM composer Eve Beglarian and her new band Brim at Galapagos, $15.

6/5, 8:30 PM bassist Petros Klampanis plays the cd release show for his eclectic new one feat. Megan Gould , violin; Heather Paauwe, violin; Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, viola; Yoed Nir, cello; Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Magda giannikou, guest vocals at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/6, 7:30/9:30 PM Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band at Dizzy’s Club, $20, better reserve now, these guys sell out fast.

6/6 arguably the first-ever guitar jazz triplebill at the Mercury with the astonishingly smart, intense, original, bluesy Marvin Sewell at 8, Liberty Ellman at 9 and then Moroccan-inspired Dave Fiuczynski at 10, $15.

6/6-7 the Melvins at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM

6/7, 8 PM Carol Lipnik & Spookarama play the cd release show for their hypnotic, haunting new one M.O.T.H. at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/8, 9 PM James McMurtry at the Bell House, $15. He’s also at Maxwell’s on 6/17 at 7:30 for the same price.

6/9, 7:30 PM intense Balkan-influenced songwriter Alina Simone at Joe’s Pub $12.

6/9 oldschool salsa band Bio Ritmo followed by Afrobeat crew Ikebe Shakedown’s cd release show, 9 PM at Southpaw, $10 gen adm.

6/10, 8 PM assaultive hilarious Chinatown hip-hop pioneers the Notorious MSG’s cd release show at the Brooklyn Bowl, only $5.

6/10, 8 PM Lisle Atkinson & Neo Bass play bass arrangements of Ellington feat. guests pianists at Symphony Space, $25 adv tix rec.

6/10, 8 PM antique Americana harmony band Ollabelle (all original members) at City Winery, $20 standing room tix avail.

6/10 baritone country crooner/bandleader Dale Watson at Maxwell’s 10ish, $10 (note separate admission from earlier NRBQ concert).

6/10, midnight, clever fun retro 80s synth-disco duo Hank & Cupcakes at the Mercury, $10.

6/11, 6 PM singer-songwriter satirists the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood

6/11 haunting noir Americana crooner Mark Sinnis (of Ninth House) plays the cd release for his new one The Undertaker In My Rearview Mirror at Duff’s Bar in South Williamsburg, 9 PM.

6/11, 9/10:30 PM John McNeil, trumpet; Bill McHenry, tenor; Joe Martin, bass; Rodney Green, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

6/11, 10 PM oldtime country harmony hellraisers Those Darlins at Maxwell’s, $10.

6/12, 8:30 PM trumpeter Sarah Wilson plays the cd release for her new one with Myra Melford, piano; Ben Goldberg, clarinet; Jerome Harris, bass; Matt Wilson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/12, 9 PM killer doublebill: torchy intense chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show plus the phenomenally charismatic soul man/guitarist Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at Maxwell’s, $18 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out

6/12, 9 PM wry, often brilliantly funny Chicago oldtimey/Americana/indie band Dastardly at Spike Hill.

6/12, 10:30 PM string driven smart eclectic doublebill: violinist/composer Christina Courtin and our favorite string quartet, Brooklyn Rider at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

6/13, 10:30 PM Oran Etkin does his West African jazz thing followed by eclectic captivating Moroccan jazz/soul chanteuse Malika Zarra and her band at Joe’s Pub, $12

6/13 gypsy rocker Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood.

6/14-19, 7:30/9:30 PM Jamaican jazz/reggae piano legend Monty Alexander & the Harlem Kingston Express at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

6/14 dark politically aware jazz/pan-Asian chanteuse/pianiast Jen Shyu at Korzo, 10 PM.

6/14, 10:20 PM ethereal dark art-rockers Elysian Fields play the cd release show for their new one at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

6/15, 7 PM twangy, tuneful Texas-flavored alt-country band Two Cent Revival play. their cd release show at the Rockwood.

6/15, 7:30 PM pianist Veronique Mathieu plays works by Csickso and Shepherd followed by fearless avant ensemble Lunatics at Large performing works by Raoul Pleskow, Frederick Tillis, Elizabeth Bell, Steven Gerber and Marilyn Bliss at Symphony Space, $11.

6/16 John Brown’s Body – who absolutely slayed on 4/20 at Highline Ballroom – at Maxwell’s, $15.

6/16 dark lyrical songwriter Daniel Bernstein & the Everybody Knows at Fontana’s, 10 PM.

6/17, 9 PM potently politically aware third-wave ska/soul legends the Slackers at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix highly rec.

6/18, 7 PM Metal Mountains (Helen Rush and Samara Lubelski’s ethereal project) followed by Thurston Moore’s Whiteout and then legendary 1960s psychedelic garage band Bardo Pond, no idea how many original members are left, $10 gen adm.

6/18, 7:30 PM tuneful death-obsessed indie pop pianist/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith at the Mercury, $10

6/19 this year’s free Punk Island festival at Governors Island happens two days in advance of Make Music NY as the yuppies are shitting their pants at the thought of loud, nonconformist music being played anywhere near their “luxury” apartments. Free ferries leave on the half hour from the old Staten Island Ferry terminal; here’s a public facebook page about it.

6/19, 6 PM a rare solo set by Matana Roberts at Downtown Music Gallery.

6/19, 9:30 PM rustic, lyrical Americana songwriter Andrew Vladeck’s dual cd/book release show at Joe’s Pub, $12.

6/19, 10 PM terrorist jazz with Peter Evans, Trumpet; Moppa Elliot, bass; Kassa Overall, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

6/20, 10 PM tuneful danceable funk/Afrobeat band Mamarazzi at the Mercury, $15.

6/21 is Make Music NY. We’ll cherrypick the best shows and put up a separate page once the official calendar is up.

6/25 the CCB Reggae Allstars play Marley’s Rastaman Vibration in its entirety plus other Marley hits at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

6/28-7/3, 7:30/9:30 PM the Kenny Garrett Quartet at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

6/29, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

6/30, 8:30 PM Sara Serpa leads a quintet withAndre Matos, guitar; Pete Rende, piano; Matt Brewer, bass; Tommy Crane, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/2, 8 PM blistering bluegrass jamband Thy Burden’s cd release show at Union Hall, free.

7/8 dark rock chanteuse Nicole Atkins & the Sea at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $12 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

7/16, 10:30 PM garage rock legends the Fleshtones cd release show at the Mercury $12 adv tix rec.

7/29-30 the Eels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $30 gen adm.

8/11, 8 PM Deer Tick at Pier 54, free, seriously early arrival advised.

8/4, Bill Kirchen and Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s $15

WEEKLY EVENTS

5/10, 5/18 and 5/26 smart, matter-of-fact, soulful Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin plays Terra Blues at 7. He’s also at Lucille’s on 5/13 and 5/27 at 8

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays May 1, 8, 15 and 22 there are free classical organ concerts at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 4:45 PM sharp

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in May, 6 PM, former New Familiars guitarist E-S Guthrie plays the Rockwood: tuneful lyrically driven Americana.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in May the Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, 9/11 PM, $30 seats avail.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Sundays in May at midnight Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood. The club calendar says he once played with the Jonas Bros., but if that’s true, don’t hold it against him. A highly sought-after sideman, multi-instrumentalist and film composer, he has a purist touch, a laserlike sense of melody and a deep list of good musicians to choose from.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays 5/2, 9 and 16 Gringoman (that’s Americana rock guitar legend and Lakeside honcho Eric “Roscoe” Ambel solo) at Lakeside 9 PM

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in May the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in May Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays at 7 PM from May through July it’s a classical piano series playfully titled Upright Piano Brigade, an A-list of classical talent playing the brand-new Sauter piano at Barbes. May artists include Michael Brown on May 3; Evan Shinners on May 10; Tanya Bannister on May 17; Gregg Kallor on the 24th and William McNally on the 31st.

Tuesdays in May brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in May the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in May at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Thursdays in May hard-rocking nuevo latin soul man Rene Lopez plays Nublu. The club calendar says 9, which probably means 11.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in May at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM

New York City Live Music Calendar for March and April 2011

We have a new calendar for April and May 2011, and it’s here.  

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. We go easy on the superlative adjectives here: every show included on this calendar is worth checking out, if the artist or band happen to play a style you enjoy. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in March at 6 PM the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra – not as much of an oxymoron as the immigrants from Minnesota would have you believe – at Brooklyn Bowl, free

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in March the Chico O’Farrill latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, sets 8/10:30 PM, $30 seats avail

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in March the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in March Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in March Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in March the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays in April (not March), 4-5 PM, all ages, at the Atrium at Lincoln Center a series of Afrocentric song/dance performances with Q&A afterward moderated by Meklit Hadero. Highlights: Chanda Rule and Somi on 4/6; amazing Ethiopian Afrobeat group Debo Band spinoff the And Lay Duo playing traditional Ethiopian tunes on 4/27.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in March at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in March at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat.

3/2 creepy, cinematic, noir instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood ,7 PM $10.

3/2, 7:30 PM at Banjo Jim’s NYC Americana luminaries singing classic country and country rock duets led by songstress Karen Hudson. Special guest vocalists incl. Alan Lee Backer, Steve Antonakos, Sean Kershaw, Orville Davis, Shannon Brown, Drina Seay, Lindy Loo, Deb O’Nair, Mo Russell, Charlie Quill, Doug Moody, Kelli King, Glenn Spivack and David Michael Weis; songs by Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, Buck Owens, the Andrews Sisters, Linda Ronstadt, John Prine, Lucinda Williams and others.

3/2, 7:30 PM energetic oldtimey Americana act the Wiyos at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

3/2-6, 7:30/9:30 PM lyrical pianist Fred Hersch – whose new solo live album is a joy – at the Jazz Standard. 3/2 with singer Kate McGarry ; 3/3 with guitarist Julian Lage; 3/4-5 Noah Preminger on tenor sax (fresh off the success of his new Palmetto release Before the Rain), Ralph Alessi on trumpet, John Hebert on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums; 3/6 in a duo show with Joshua Redman. Tickets are $30.

3/2, 9 PM Marc Ribot’s “Really The Blues” with most of the Jazz Passengers – Bill Ware, Brad Jones & EJ Rodriguez – at Rose Bar in Williamsburg.

3/2, 10 PM fiery, oldtimey chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at the Mercury, $10, early arrival advised, this deserves to sell out

3/3, 7ish smart lo-fi garage duo the Fools, the Debutante Hour’s reliably entertaining, clever Susan Hwang and fearless punk cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap among others at Goodbye Blue Monday.

3/3, 8 PM Espers cellist Helena Espvall plays a solo set and then joins hypnotic, haunting Maine chamber-Americana duo Arborea for gorgeous rustic soundscapes at Littlefield.

3/3, 8 PM clever, torchy oldtimey songwriter Jolie Holland at City Winery, $20 seats avail.

3/3, 8 PM modern roots reggae with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and Rebelution at Irving Plaza, $20 adv tix rec.

3/3 Springsteen violinist Sam Bardfeld’s Up Jumped the Devil – a tribute to jazz violinist Stuff Smith – at Barbes at 8 followed by Red Baraat’s funky Indian marching band madness at 10 for a $10 cover.

3/3, 9 PM charismatic Americana roots singer Cal Folger Day at Banjo Jim’s; she’s also at the National Underground upstairs at 7 on 3/11

3/3 Police cover band NY’s Finest at 9 followed by Tammy Faye Starlite’s hilarious Blondie tribute/spoof band the Pretty Babies at 10 at R Bar.

3/3, 9 PM rootsy Sweetheart of the Rodeo style country rock with Whisperado at Hank’s.

3/3 eclectic, danceable Brazilian maracatu and country sounds with Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar 10ish

3/3, 10:30 PM Whiting Tennis – the former Scholars frontman and arguably the finest practitioner of Pacific Northwest gothic rock – at Pete’s.

3/4, 6:30 PM Marc Cary’s Indigenous People plus Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar at le Poisson Rouge, $15. Cary is our favorite pianist right now – no disrespect to anybody else, but nobody else we know can switch from rivetingly intense majestic third-stream grandeur to playful, fun Rhodes funk grooves so effortlessly and intuitively as this guy. He’s doing both with probably both bands, the kind of workout that brings out his best. Gupta is his Focus Trio drummer and leads a hypnotic Bollywood flavored outfit.

3/4 the Snow’s wry, brilliantly lyrical frontman Pierre de Gaillande plays his own hilarious translations of French songwriting icon Georges Brassens’s songs at Drom, 7:30 PM, $10 gen adm.

3/4, 8 PM at Otto’s, a rare Friday surf music night put together by Unsteady Freddie: this one’s a real good one: the Octomen at 9, garage rockers Preston Wayne 4 at 10, then entertaining, intense Boston horror-surf rockers Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion at 11; BTDOAGS are also at Spike Hill on 3/27.

3/4, 8 PM, deviously fun, low-register oldschool Cuban vamps and originals with Gato Loco – baritone guitar, sax, bass and tuba – at Barbes. They’re also at Bowery Poetry Club at 8 on 3/6.

3/4, 8 PM, the psychobilly Memphis Morticians at the smaller downstairs space at Webster Hall, $12 adv tix rec.

3/4-6, 8/10 PM the Larry Coryell “power trio” with Victor Bailey on bass and Lenny White on drums at Iridium, $30 cover. Iconic jazz guitarist from the 70s whose fusions associations transcend any involvement with the style (he got into Rachmaninoff in a big way back in the 80s), somebody you ought to see at least once

3/4-5, 8 PM at the Kitchen: “Inspired by her immigrant grandfather, a junk dealer in the Lower East Side who recycled scrap metal and other byproducts of the industrial age, Annie Gosfield will sample the sounds of metal, machines, and factories, and transform these raw materials into something new. Featuring two ensembles: the Annie Gosfield Ensemble, with Gosfield on sampling keyboard, Roger Kleier on electric guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and percussion; and Real Quiet with Felix Fan on cello, piano by Andrew Russo, and guest percussionist Alex Lipowski. Also pianist Stephen Gosling performs a selection of Gosfield solos.”

3/4, 8 PM pianist David Kalhous – who has an intuitive, laserlike feel for this sort of thing – plays the complete solo piano works of Leos Janacek at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

3/4, 9ish swirling hypnotic tuneful postrock with cellist/composer Julia Kent at Littlefield, $8.

3/4, 9 PM: newschool and oldschool edginess: Raya Brass Band followed by The Scene Is Now at Matchless in Williamsburg

3/4, 9 PM hot Boston buzz band Mic Raygun, who mine a noirish, cinematic vein, at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/4, 9 PM edgy British postpunk dance-rockers Deluka at 9 at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall.

3/4, 9 PM the reliably cinematic Morricone Youth at Hank’s.

3/4, 9:30 PMat I-Beam Sean Moran’s “Small Elephant” – Mike McGinnis – clarinets; Reuben Radding – bass; Chris Dingman – vibraphone; Sean Moran – nylon string guitar; Harris Eisenstadt – drums.

3/4, 9:30 PM Americana siren Julia Haltigan at BAM Cafe.

3/4, 10 PM retro 60s latin soul sounds with the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

3/5, 5 PM Elliott Sharp’s Orchestra Carbon play an open rehearsal of his Flexagons at Issue Project Room followed by a $35 ticketed show at 7 (it’s his birthday gig) featuring a marathon of solo and ensemble works for noiserock guitar.

3/5, 7 PM a cool dark Americana triplebill at Banjo Jim’s with Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at 7, Carol Lipnik & Spookarama at 8 and fiddler Melody Allegra’s bluegrass jam at 9.

3/5, 8 PM richly arranged, sometimes rustic, sometimes cinematic Balkan noir band Kotorino at Barbes followed at 10 by Brooklyn’s own Banda Sinaloense de los Muertos; Kotorino are also at Sycamore Bar on 3/12 at 9.

3/5, 9 PM  luminary drummer Ben Perowsky’s MSO followed at 10 by cleverly lyrical, sultry, theatrical torch song satirists the Debutante Hour’s cd release show at Bowery Electric.

3/5, 8 PM utterly original cantorial riff-rockers Sway Machinery open for Malian psychedelic desert blues goddess Khaira Arby at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

3/5, 8 PM, repeating on 3/6, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Sibelius’ lush, lyrical Fifth Symphony and other works at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St.

3/5, 9 PM star ska trumpeter Kevin Batchelor and then eclectic Senegalese-American roots reggae band Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

3/5 cowpunk with I’ll Be John Brown at Hank’s, 9 PM followed by the ferocious, psychedelic, dark paisley underground Newton Gang at 10 and the Judge Roy Bean Band at midnight or so. The Newton Gang are also upstairs at the National Underground on 3/29 at 9.

3/5, 9 PM ageless Irish acoustic punk band Box of Crayons at the new Freddy’s

3/5, 9 PM hypnotic carnatic vocal music of south India with Roopa Mahadadevan at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud/srs.

3/5 gypsy punk with Bad Buka (FKA Panonian Wave) at Mehanata, 10 PM

3/5, 10 PM Koony plays darkly intense, lyrical African Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/5, 10 PM the satirical, fearlessly amusing Reformed Whores at Pete’s at 10.

3/5, 11 PM the Hate My Day Jobs at Lit doing their energetic fifth-generation Stooges thing.

3/6, 3 PM intense playful all-female klezmer supergroup Isle of Klezbos at the Queens Central Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd, Jamaica Queens, F to 169th St, or E/J trains to Jamaica Center/Parsons-Archer; they’re also at the Westbeth Theatre on 3/9 at 8:30 for $15/$10 srs.

3/6, 6 PM gypsy jazz power trio Ameranouche at Puppets Jazz Bar

3/6, 6 and 9:30 PM cellist Zoe Keating and Ethel co-founder/violinist Todd Reynolds do their separate things with their instruments and every effects pedal ever manufactured, $15 adv tix rec.

3/6, 9 PM ageless, swirling, psychedelic punk pioneers Band of Outsiders at Lakeside. They beat Brian Jonestown Massacre to it by 20 years and still kick their ass.

3/6, 10 PM smartly lyrical retro theatrical rockers Balthrop Alabama at the big room at the Rockwood

3/6 Keeping Toward Sky: Tim Keiper, nguni and drums; Chris Dingman, vibraphone; Skye Steele, violin; Chris Tordini, bass play all kinds of crazy, captivating eclectic stuff at 10 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

3/6, 11 PM lyrical noir songwriter Adam Masterson at the small room at the Rockwood; 3/9 he’s at Lakeside at 9.

3/7 the uncommonly imaginative Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

3/7, 9 PM cutting-edge big band jazz with the Russ Flynn Large Ensemble at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/7 Dina Rudeen – whose long-awaited, forthcoming retro soul/rock album is a strong contender for best of 2010 – at Small Beast at the Delancey, 11 PM.

3/8, 8/10:30 PM tuneful postbop jazz pianist George Cables – whose work with the Cookers this past year was nothing short of transcendent – plays a trio gig with James Genus and Jeff “Tain” Watts at the Blue Note, $15 seats avail

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/8, 9 PM Jen Shyu plays a rare solo set of her smart, socially aware, historically-imbued pan-Asian vocal jazz at Korzo.

3/8, 9:30 PM eclectic, captivating pianist Mika Pohjola with Steve Doyle on bass and Kyle Struve on drums at Miles Cafe, 9:30 PM, $20 cover includes a drink and “snacks” but sushi is extra.

3/8, 10 PM alto saxophonist David Binney leads a quartet with Jacob Sacks on piano, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums at 55 Bar. They’re back here on 3/22 as well.

3/8, guessing sometime around 11ish, Raekwon plays a cd release show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15 adv tix rec., for some reason this doesn’t appear to be sold out yet.

3/8-12, 11 PM bassist Jennifer Leitham leads a trio with Sherrie Maricle on drums and Tomoko Ohno (not to be confused with the former Red Sox pitcher) on piano at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail.

3/8 garage-punk with Sister Anne (andtheir two bass players) followed by retro soul star Eli “Paperboy” Reed at the Knitting Factory, 11 PM, $15, all ages.

3/9 Mos Def at the Blue Note is sold out – just so you know.

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor playing a Philip Glass premiere and more at Alice Tully Hall, 7:30 PM, $20.

3/9, 7:30 PM cello-driven world music band Deoro plays the big room at the Rockwood.

3/9, 9ish one of the great wits in rock, Marcellus Hall plays the cd release show for his career-best new one at Bowery Electric.

3/9, 9 PM at the Jalopy: Lunas Atlas – “beautiful and ancient songs of the Sephardic diaspora, sung in Ladino, Turkish and Greek. It features Chris Rael on sitar, 12-string guitar, Portugese lute and voice, Rima Fand on violin and voice, Bulgarian chanteuse Vlada Tomova, reed man extraordinaire Greg Squared and flamenco percussion star Nacho Arimany” – followed by Raya Brass Band.

3/9, 9ish cleverly theatrical, lyrical, satirical all-girl trio the Debutante Hour at Culturefix on Clinton St.

3/9, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

3/9, 10 PM bassist Chris Tordini leads a quartet with the always fascinating Kris Davis on piano plus Jeremy Viner, tenor sax, clarinet; Jim Black, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

3/10, Maksim Shtrykov and Alina Kiryayeva, clarinet and piano, program TBA, 1 PM at Trinity Church, free.

3/10-13 saloon jazz piano legend Mose Allison at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30. Without this guy, Tom Waits wouldn’t exist, maybe not Dr. John either. Now in his 80s, he’s absolutely undiminished.

3/10, 8 PM fiery psychedelic rock/honkytonk band the Newton Gang at Banjo Jim’s

3/10 NYC indie/janglerock legends Scout 8 PM at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/10, 8 PM The Escape Artist, a haunting Caravaggio-themed theatrical piece by legendary singer John Kelly with music by Carol Lipnik at the Park Ave. Armory on the upper east, $25, reception to follow concert. They’re also doing this at PS 122 from 4/15 through 4/22.

3/10 Stephan Said’s Magic Orchestra, 8 PM at Drom, $10 – fiery, socially aware rock, hip-hop, Balkan and reggae tunes.

3/10, 8:30 PM the most unpredictably amusing guy in country music, the Jack Grace Band at Hill Country

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM.

3/10 saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock plays the cd release for her new one Anti-House with Mary Halvorson , guitar; John Hébert , bass; Tom Rainey , drums, 8:30 PM at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

3/10, 9 PM two of the funniest and most period-perfect songwriters in oldtimey Americana, Al Duvall and Robin Aigner at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Long Island City.

3/10 noir rockabilly/blues showman Reid Paley at Rodeo Bar 10ish “laughing in the face of life’s unrelenting ugliness.”

3/10, 10 PM reggae and ska with the Hard Times and then Royal City Riot at 11 at Otto’s.

3/10, 10 PM oldschool Colombian cumbia band Cumbiagra at Barbes.

3/10-11 at Smalls, 10 PM Seamus Blake – tenor sax; Lage Lund – guitar; Dave Kikoski – piano; Matt Clohesy – bass; Bill Stewart – drums.

3/10, 11ish smart, tuneful powerpop with the Brooklyn What spinoff John-Severin & the Quiet 1s at Union Hall.

3/11, 6 PM at Alwan for the Arts, free and open to the public, “a conversation moderated by Amy Goodman between Ahdaf Soueif and her son Omar Robert Hamilton, both of whom were in Tahrir Square, Cairo, participating throughout, filming and disseminating information, and have since been writing about it all, but have never had the opportunity between themselves for a reflective encounter.”

3/11, 7:30 PM oldtime hokum blues and hillbilly music with the Second Fiddles at Hill Country.

3/11, 7:30 PM tuneful, energetic, original postbop saxophonist Benny Sharoni leads a quartet at Miles Cafe, $20 cover includes a drink and “snacks”

3/11, 7:30 PM avant garde multi-reed legend JD Parran plays Menon Dwarka; the solo version of You Have a Right To Remain Silent by Anthony Davis; “…vikings, unless…” by Douglas Anderson at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St. between Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S, $15

3/11-12, 8 PM the long-awaited debut of The Songs of Buelah Rowley, by the brilliantly eclectic Mary Lee Kortes at the Cell Theatre, 338 W. 23rd St. (8th and 9th Aves.): “A song cycle with narration and projections based on the biography of Beulah Rowley, a regionally-known depression-era singer and songwriter from the Midwest,” $20 adv tix rec.

3/11, 8 PM a cool punk-oriented quadruple bill at Ace of Clubs starting at 8 with Box of Crayons, goth-punks Eleventh Hour (whose new album is called Coney Island Death March), the entertaining Hymen Holocaust and Irish band Paranoid Visions, who do a pretty good DKs facsimile.

3/11, 8 PM latin string quartet Sweet Plantain and equally cutting-edge, considerably more brooding Argentinian pianist/composer Fernando Otero at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix highly rec

3/11, 8 PM improvisational Afrobeat vibes with the Budos Band at the Bell House, $15.

3/11, 8 PM edgy trumpeter Nate Wooley plays his improvisational suite The Seven Storey Mountain at Issue Project Room.

3/11 a characteristically eclectic night at Barbes: reedman Petr Cancura leads a septet at 8 followed at 10 by Dominican folk music chanteuse Irka Mateo.

3/11, 8 PM whispery/sultry, original retro jazz/Americana chanteuse Brooke Campbell at the cafe at the 92YTribeca, free.

3/11, 8:30 PM at I-Beam, violinist Tom Swafford brings a huge, interesting band: Sally Wall, oboe; Mike McGinnis, clarinet; Jen Baker, trombone; Nathan Koci, accordion; Cory Bracken, log drum; Leanne Darling, viola; Brian Sanders, cello; Reuben Radding, bass

3/11 noir rocker Nicole Atkins at Maxwell’s at 8:30 PM, $16 adv tix rec; note that there is separate admission ($15) for the Blasters show at 11.

3/11 Bogs Visionary Orchestra’s Jose Delhart plays terse, pensive Americana nocturnes followed by the wry yet haunting Elisa Flynn, whose upcoming album features songs about William Tecumseh Sherman, the 1893 Chicago Exposition, and the Donner Party (yup, that’s me, she says) at Sugar Lounge, 147 Columbia St., Red Hook, 9 PM

3/11, 9 PM powerpop/oldschool R&B with the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/11, 9 PM ageless reggae-rock band Faith at BAM Cafe.

3/11, 9 PM virtuoso oldschool country guitar duo the Plunk Bros. at Freddy’s.

3/11, 9/10:30 PM pianist Ben Waltzer with the JD Allen trio rhythm section, Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

3/11-12 Wess Anderson, Charles McPherson and others play music from Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings at Rose Theatre at Lincoln Center, $30 tix avail.

3/11, 10 PM Zion Judah plays roots reggae at Shrine.

3/11, 10 PM a good dark Americana/Nashville gothic doublebill with Fist of Kindness followed at 11 by Maynard & the Musties at Desmond’s

3/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, early arrival advised, most likely piano music.

3/12, 6:30 PM Turn Down the Sun play pretty good Dead Kennedys style punk at Ace of Clubs.

3/12, 7 PM charismatic blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun and intense, smart multi-instrumentalist Americana songwriter Carolann Solebello (ex-Red Molly) at Caffe Vivaldi

3/12, 7:30 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec.

3/12 a killer ska/rocksteady triplebill with the Hard Times on more of a reggae tip, then the oldschool Bluebeats and the latin-flavored King Django at Shrine, 8 PM

3/12, 8 PM lush, clever, quirky art-rockers the Universal Thump – in the midst of a brilliant new album – at Barbes.

3/12, 8 PM Poor Baby Bree presents Historic Songs of the Lower East Side at Bowery Poetry Club with an all-star oldtimey ragtime band featuring Karen Waltuch of the Roulette Sisters on viola.

3/12 intense, surprising, lyrical pianist Kris Davis leads a trio with Tony Malaby, saxophone; Eivind Opsvik, bass; Tom Rainey, drums, 9/10:30 PM at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

3/12, 9 PM an all-star evening of hypnotic, haunting sufi music at Alwan for the Arts with Taoufiq Ben Amor – vocals, oud and percussion; Ramzi El-Edlibi – percussion; and Zafer Tawil – violin, pud and percussion; George Ziadeh – oud and vocals , $20/$15 stud.srs.

3/12, 9ish garage rock fun with faux-French band les Sans Culottes and then another reunion show by 80s/90s legends Johnny Chan & the New Dynasty 6 at Bowery Electric.

3/12 Magges – the Greek Gogol Bordello – at Mehanata, 10:30 PM – free before 10

3/12, 10:30 PM LES punk/surf/rockabilly guitar legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside.

3/12 “Brooklyn’s #1 regressive rock act,” stoner metal parodists Mighty High at Trash, midnight.

3/13, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at West End Collegiate Church, West End Ave. at 77th St..

3/13 a killer doublebill at 55 Bar starting at 6 with noir guitarist Jim Campilongo leading an jam quartet followed by tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger with guitarist Ben Monder, bassist John Hebert and drummer Matt Wilson at 9:30

3/13, 7 PM, hot modern klezmer with the Klez Dispensers at Drom, $10.

3/13 a cool duo show with Dan Tepfer on piano plus Becca Stevens on vocals and charango, 8:30 PM at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

3/13, 9 PM a wild cerebral exuberant intense psychedelic doublebill at Joe’s Pub with the incomparable Rachelle Garniez opening for Electric Junkyard Gamelan. The former topped our best albums list in 2007; the latter played arguably the best concert we saw all year long in 2010.

3/13, 11 PM the Hsu-Nami play Taiwanese art-rock/metal instrumentals with electrified er-hu violin at Arlene’s – this band is unbelievably intense and a lot of fun.

3/13, midnight, multi-instrumentalist Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood. He’s played brilliantly on so many Americana and singer-songwriter albums it’s not funny; it’ll be interesting to hear him do his own stuff.

3/14 the Italian Surf Academy feat. Marco Cappelli – guitar; Luca Lo Bianco, bass and Francesco Cusa, drums at 7:30ish at Barbes playing 1960s style spaghetti western and Italian surf music (!?!) followed at 9:30 by another devious surfy band, Chicha Libre. They’re also at Shrine at 6 (six) PM on 3/15.

3/14, 9 PM Godspeed You Black Emperor at Terminal 5, $25 all ages. 3/15-16, 8 PM they’re at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, $TBA, this may sell out, no word on adv tix.

3/14, 9 PM the eclectic Javier Arrau Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/15, 7 PM Musette Explosion play darkly smoldering oldtime Belgian barroom music at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party.

3/15, 7:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge: the Jasper String Quartet, Sospiro Winds, violinist Miranda Cuckson, pianists Jacob Greenberg and Aaron Wunsch, cellist Julia Bruskin, and hornist Angela Cordell Bilger play György Ligeti: Music for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, $15 adv tix rec.

3/15 pianist Jeremy Denk with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center plays Dvorak: Slavonic Dances (with pianist Wu Han), String Sextet and Piano Quintet in A plus works by Smetana at Alice Tully Hall, 7:30 PM, $25 tix avail.

3/15, 8 PM Cadillac Moon Ensemble plays works by Shawn Allison , Angélica Negrón, David Claman, Amy Beth Kirsten, Andre Brégégère, Ed RosenBerg III, and Anna Mikhailova at St. Peter’s Church, at 631 Lexington Ave. off 54th St., $10 sugg don.

3/15, 9 PM Iviorien roots reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly at SOB’s, $25 adv tix rec.

3/16, 7 PM a deliciously fun if completely bizarre doublebill: banjo virtuoso Jayme Stone, who’s recently moved from desert blues to Bach, opens for the increasingly sepulchral, mesmerizing retro latin harmony band Las Rubias del Norte at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

3/16, 7 PM at Alwan for the Arts, free and open to the public, a lecture by Stuart Schaar (Prof. Emeritus, Brooklyn College/Rabat, Morocco and editor of the Grove Press Middle East and Islamic World Reader) on the topic of Generational Change and the Future of Hope in the Arab World.

3/16, 7:30 PM Shara Worden and Ymusic play a Worden world premiere plus pieces from Sarah Kirkland Snider’s hypnotic antiwar suite Penelope at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 tix highly rec. I’ll also be simulcast live on q2.

3/16, 8 PM Ethel violinist/composer Todd Reynolds plays the cd release show for his lively, entertaining, strikingly accessible new cd Outerborough at Issue Project Room, $20 cover includes a copy of the double cd – good value!

3/16 the Solid Set play garage rock at Lakeside, 9 PM.

3/16 janglerocker Sam Sherwin – who’s mining a tuneful, soulful Wallflowers vibe these days – at the Parkside, 9 PM.

3/16, 9:30 PM the JD Allen Trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums at Zinc Bar, 9:30 PM. This will sell out, get there at least a half-hour early: the most explosively interesting trio in jazz right now warp tenor player Allen’s wickedly melodic, intense compositions into some crazy and unexpected shapes

3/16, 9:30 PM Joris Teepe – bass; Don Braden – tenor sax; Alex Norris – trumpet, Jon Davis – piano; Gerry Gibbs – drums, at Smalls.

3/16 dark gypsy rock bandleader/bassist Yula Beeri and her band at the big room at the Rockwood 10 PM.

3/17 lyrical jazz pianist Deanna Witkowski at Trinity Church, 1 PM, free.

3/17, 7 PM the Lia Fail Pipe Band open for Black 47 playing their annual St. Paddy’s Day show at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec. Black 47 actually draw a much cooler crowd than you’d expect at one of these St. Paddy’s Days shows.

3/17, 8 PM Iranian oud virtuoso Negar Booban plays a celebration of the Nowruz, the Persian New Year/equinox festival at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15stud/srs. Her debut here two years ago sold out quickly, advance tix rec

3/17, fun and funky stuff starting at 8 PM with Sex Mob followed by Tuarata tenor saxophonist Skerik’s punk jazz trio the Dead Kenny G’s at Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

3/17, 9 PM brilliantly lyrical, sly, torchy oldtimey songwriter/siren Kelli Rae Powell with “soulful songwriting monster” Yolanda Batts at Bar 4 in Park Slope

3/18, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15, program TBA, possibly Bach from her ridiculously popular new cd.

3/17, 8 PM watch fortysomething moms dodge drunken amateurs in the Meatpacking District as they make their way to see Karla Bonoff at Highline Ballroom. $25 advance tix available in case you want to pick up a fortysomething mom.

3/17, 8:30 PM escape the drunken hordes with the Escher String Quartet playing Beethoven: Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, “Serioso” plus Mendelssohn: Quartet in D major, Op. 44, No. 1 at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, free, early arrival advised.

3/17, 10 PM yet another a chance to get away from the amateurs with Azizah & the Tribal Council playing roots reggae at Shrine

3/18, 7:30 PM the NYC debut of big band arrangements of Esquivel “compositions” by Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec

3/18, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18, 8 PM Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/18, 8 PM eclectic vocalist Suzanne Langille and multi-instrumentalist Neel Murgai plus adventurous avant guitarist Chris Forsyth’s Paranoid Cat at Issue Project Room, $10.

3/18, 8 PM adventurous jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson leads a quintet at Barbes: Jon Irabagon (alto saxophone), Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Mary Halvorson (guitar), John Hébert (bass) & Ches Smith (drums), followed by Smokey Hormel’s Roundup playing western swing at 10.

3/18, 8 PM new music ensemble Detour at Galapagos, program TBA, $10.

3/18, 9 PM smart lyrical indie rocker Jennifer O’Connor opens for the Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

3/18 bassist Carlo De Rosa leads a quartet with Mark Shim – saxophones, Vijay Iyer – piano, Justin Brown – drums to celebrate his new cd release, 9/10:30 PM, at the Jazz Gallery, $20

3/18, 9 PM charismatic Brazilian chanteuse Liliana Araujo – of Nation Beat – at BAM Cafe.

3/18, 9:30 PM sophisticated, counterintuitive Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Caffe Vivaldi.

3/18, 10 PM a funk doublebill with Afroskull and Buzz Universe at Bowery Poetry Club, $10.

3/18 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities Lakeside, 11 PM.

3/19, 6 PM clarinetist Tom Piercy plays Piazzolla and other fascinating eclectic stuff at Caffe Vivaldi, supporting cast TBA.

3/19, 7 PM Ensemble Pi play a potent program of socially aware new music: George Crumb’s whale-song piece Vox Balaenae for Three Masked Players; Kristin Norderval’s Echo Systems (2011), composed in response to both the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the 1989 sinking of the Exxon Valdez tanker in Alaska; Pete Seeger’s classic song, Rainbow Race, in a new arrangement by Karl Kramer (2011); and Christopher Kaufman’s Hudson Valley (2010), capturing the world of the Hudson River Valley through music and film footage, including the dangers of natural gas drilling, at the great hall at Cooper Union, $15/$10 stud/srs

3/19, 7 PM latin jazz with the Gregorio Uribe Big Band at the Fat Cat.

3/19, 8 PM the high point of the month for rock music is at Trash with Thinktankok, the Highway Gimps (the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Motorhead), the ferocious, anthemic, hilarious Brooklyn What, entertainingly ghoulish Space Ghost Cowboys and Fatty Acid around midnight. Oh yeah, open bar with PBRs and wells 8-9 PM with paid admission.

3/19, 8 PM wry lyrical janglemeister Jay Banerjee – creator of Hipster Demolition Night – is back with a wall-to-wall good evening of retro rock and soul starting with Zap & the Naturals, Toys in Trouble, Mighty Fine, Shakedown at the Majestic and his own band the Heartthrobs at midnight.

3/19, 8 PM irrepressible folk/Americana harmony trio Red Molly with Pat Wictor on guitar at the First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $30 adv tix rec.

3/19, 8 PM Sistermonk play Shrine – if you haven’t seen their gypsy funk thing at Grand Central (upstairs from the N/R platform) now’s your chance.

3/19, 8 PM retro jazz/bossa chanteuse Sasha Dobson – who excels at avoiding the schlock factor – at Barbes followed by the Baby Soda Jazz Band at 10 playing oldtime swing.

3/19, 8:30 PM sound sculptor Lesley Flanigan – whose creations using homemade speakers and feedback are absolutely hypnotic – plays a duet with Dither axeman James Moore at Roulette followed by string ensemble Till by Turning doing new compositions by Erica Dicker, Matt Marble, and Katherine Young.

3/19, 9 PM swirling hypnotic Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at Cake Shop; they’re also at the Mercury at 11:30 on 4/1, no joke

3/19, 9 PM Forever Her Nightmare play tuneful female-fronted punk/metal at Ace of Clubs, $10.

3/19, 10:30 PM big oldtime Americana outfit M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy.

3/19 fearlessly funny, oldschool East Village style punk/Americana rockers Spanking Charlene play Lakeside,  11 PM.

3/20, 7 PM La Camerata Washington Heights plays “sacred and profane” music by Grandjany, Bach, Saint-Saens, Satie, Debussy, Villa-lobos and Beethoven at Culturefix on Clinton St., 8 PM

3/20, 7 PM the Four Bags – who blend jazz, classical and the Beatles with deadpan wit – at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel.

3/20, 8:15 smart, original 2/3 female rockabilly/surf trio Catspaw at Otto’s

3/20, 8:30 PM guitarist Scott DuBois leads a quartet featuring; Jon Irabagon, tenor, soprano sax; Thomas Morgan, bass; Kresten Osgood, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

3/20 Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar 10ish: “Roller Derby saved his soul as he rode the Beer Train, hating his job whilst noticing that baby’s got back.”

3/21 new music ensemble Lunatics at Large debuts their Sanctuary Project featuring works by Andre Bregegere, Mohammed Fairouz, Raphael Fusco, Laura Koplewitz, Alex Shapiro at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall

3/21, 8 PM sharp, cumbia stars Chico Trujillo at Barbes – their only Brooklyn appearance this year – followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre. Chico Trujillo are at SOB’s on 3/22 at 11ish for $12 in advance if you can’t make it to Barbes.

3/21, 9 PM third-stream big band jazz with with Joseph C. Phillips and Numinous at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/21 Israeli Jam/Buzzcocks ripoff Electra at Bruar Falls.

3/22 the Gowanus Reggae and Ska Society a.k.a. GRASS plays the cd release show for their new one GRASS on Fire (a jazzy instrumental remake of the Wailers’ Catch a Fire) at the Apple Store, 103 Prince St., 7 PM, free

3/22 trumpeter Steven Bernstein’s genre-defying Millennial Territory Orchestra, 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $20.

3/22, 8 PM Japanese salsa stars Sonodaband play a benefit for Japanese meltdown survivors at SOB’s, $12 adv tix very highly rec., followed at 10 by  Spanglish Fly with their sultry retro 60s latin soul vibe for $10 (separate admission).

3/22-27 trumpet luminary Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy at the Vanguard, sets 9/11 PM.

3/23, 7 PM, free, this year’s edition of avant piano titan Kathy Supove’s Music with a View festival is underway at the Flea Theatre (41 White St. between Church/Bwy). On the bill tonight: Preston Stahly, Emily Manzo and bagpiper Matthew Welch, Paul Crowley, Kevin Bourisquot and his large musical/theatrical/dancing troupe and Aled Roberts.

3/23, 8 PM powerpop guitar genius/songwriter Pete Galub at LIC Bar.

3/23-24, 8 PM Mariachi El Bronx open for dark gypsyish rockers Devotchka at Highline Ballroom, $26.50 adv tix rec.

3/23, 7:30 PM, new music ensemble Le Train Bleu plays their debut performance of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat at Galapagos, $20/$10 stud.

3/23, 7:30 PM Pedro Diaz, oboe; Milan Milisavljevic, viola; Anna Stoytcheva, piano play Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Loeffler at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

3/23-24 eclectic retro Mexican bandleader Lila Downs at City Winery, 8 PM, $35 seats avail.

3/23, 9 PM Richard Ashcroft, late of the Verve at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm. Go see the show, help save him from having to do car commercials for a living!

3/24 from Turkey to Tuva and all points in between, a Nevruz (Persian new year) celebration at the UN General Assembly Hall (bring ID and remember you have to go through a metal detector), 6 PM; 3/26 it’s at Town Hall at 8 PM, free admission to each w/rsvp to www.serdarilhan.com

3/24 dark, fiery bluegrass innovators Frankenpine plays the cd release show for their phenomenal new album upstairs at the National Underground, 8 PM.

3/24, 8 PM the Talea Ensemble play new works by Evan Ziporyn, Rand Steiger, Fred Lerdahl, David Fulmer, Elizabeth Hoffman, and Aaron Cassidy: “a highlight on the program will be a world premiere by Rand Steiger entitled A Menacing Plume (2011) which is a musical response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” At Merkin Concert Hall, $20.

3/24 Pauline Kim-Harris (S.E.M Ensemble) and Christine Kim (principal cellist, Metro Chamber Orchestra) with Dan Joseph on hammered dulcimer play Xenakis, Ravel and others at Culturefix on Clinton St., 8 PM.

3/24 Palestinian-Canadian pianist and composer John Kameel Farah plays Middle Eastern-flavored electroacoustic works at Alwan for the Arts, 8 PM, $15 gen adm.

3/24 amusing toy piano specialist Phyllis Chen at Barbes at 8 followed by Nation Beat bandleader/drummer Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at 10.

3/24 making their US debut, Australian/Korean jazz group Daorum offer a new spin on traditional Korean pansori art-song at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, early arrival highly advised.

3/24, 9/10:30 PM powerful, intense Middle Eastern jazz improvisation with Hafez Modirzadeh on saxes and Amir ElSaffar on trumpet at the Jazz Gallery, $15 first set, $10 for the second.

3/24, 9 PM Mike Baggetta – guitar; Jason Rigby – saxophones;Eivind Opsvik – bass; George Schuller – drums at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/24 oldschool soul revivalists the One and Nines – like a more Memphis equivalent of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – at Maxwell’s, 9:30 PM

3/24, 9:30 PM the cd release show for alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo’s excellent new Chronos album with Brian Charette on organ and Darrell Green on drums at Smalls.

3/25, 7 PM, free, this year’s edition of avant piano titan Kathy Supove’s Music with a View festival continues at the Flea Theatre (41 White St. between Church/Bwy) with Robert Rowe, Martha Mooke, Agatha Kasprzyk and Vision Fugitive (Audio/Video Collective from NYU) and Coppice (Noé Cuellar and Joseph Kramer)

3/25, 7 PM New York’s most diverse, engagingly virtuosic klezmer hellraisers Metropolitan Klezmer at Cooper Union as part of a commemoration of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (where’s Rasputina, who did a song about it?)

3/25, 7:15 PM, Americana hellraiser/singer Carolyn Mark at Hill Country. Is she gonna let the hordes of yuppies bellow at each other through her set? Doubtful. Could be great fun even without the music.

3/25, 7:30 PM powerful, eclectic singer Mellissa Hughes (of Newspeak) and pianist Timo Andres play songs about “death, sexuality, and Craigslist, by Jacob Cooper, Corey Dargel (a song utilizing condemned convicts’ last words), Ted Hearne, Gabriel Kahane, Matt Marks, and Eric Shanfield”  followed by Victoire keyboadist Lorna Krier and her bandmate Eleonore Oppenheim plus Peter Pearson and Derek Muro (of Love Like Deloreans) along with Stephen Greisgraber of Redhooker on guitar at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights), 124 Henry St, 2/3 to Clark St.; A/C to High St.; R/4/5 to Borough Hall, $10.

3/25, 8 PM the O’Farrill Brothers Band – Livio Almeida – saxophones; Adam Kromelow – piano; Adam O’Farril – trumpet and Zach O’Farrill – drums – play latin jazz at Barbes followed at 10 by the ageless Jug Addicts.

3/25 the Brilliant Coroners play Monk (fans will get the joke) at Fontana’s, 8 PM.

3/25, 8:15 PM Box Five play quirky female-fronted chamber pop followed by hypnotic marimba/cello duo Goli at Caffe Vivaldi.

3/25, 8:30 PM an amazing duo doublebill at I-Beam: the Charlie Evans/Neil Shah duo (bari sax and piano) and the Charlie Rauh/Sam Kulik Duo (guitar/trombone).

3/25, 9 PM hypnotic, intense gypsy-tinged Balkan instrumental rock band Barbez – who were sort of the prototype for Ansambl Mastika – at BAM Cafe “debuting new material from a forthcoming recording for John Zorn’s Tzadik label of radical reinterpretations of ancient melodies from Roman-Jewish community, the oldest Jewish community in Europe. The group will also present new works from a forthcoming album concerning the wars in the Middle East since 9/11.”

3/25, 9 PM charming, sultry French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins play the cd release show for their long awaited second album Amourettes at the 92YTribeca, $12.

3/25, 9 PM bassist Michael Feinberg plays the cd release show for his brash, smart new one at Smalls with saxophonist Noah Preminger, pianist Julian Shore, guitarist Alex Wintz, and drummer Daniel Platzman.

3/25, 9/10:30 PM alto sax hellraiser Jon Irabagon leads a trio with John Hebert on bass and Mike Pride on drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

3/25-26, 9:30 PM oldtime country harmonies with Those Darlins and then Austin retro funk/soul star Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears – who puts all these new jack wannabes to shame – at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

3/25, 11 PM 90s style melodic  Britrock with the Royal Chains at Spike Hill, $7.

3/26, 3 PM at ABC No Rio hardcore with Loto Ball, Boston’s Furiosity, Belgian band Baby Fire and Brooklyn band Wojcik.

3/26, 3 PM, free, this year’s edition of avant piano titan Kathy Supove’s Music with a View festival continues at the Flea Theatre (41 White St. between Church/Bwy) with a demo by Dafna Naphtali & “musical robots” Lemur Bots followed at 7 PM by performances by Dafna Naphtali & Lemur Bots, Ted Hearne & Philip White and Jonathan Chen.

3/26, 6:30 PM violinist Erik Sato, violist Naomi Rooks, pianist Ruth Alperson, clarinetist Daniel Spitzer , cellist Michael Finckel play Beethoven, Schickele and Dvorak at the lounge at Hudson View Gardens, 116 Pinehurst Ave. and 183rd St., $10.

3/26 oud genius Mavrothi Kontanis’ amazing band Maeandros – featuring saxophone powerhouse Lefteris Bournias – at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by retro latin soul band Spanglish Fly.

3/26 Connecticut surf rock monsters Commercial Interruption at 8 followed eventually at 10 by the Tarantinos NYC at Coco 66, free

3/26, 8 PM this month’s Brooklyn County Fair at the Jalopy features a reliably good C&W lineup with Ramblin’ Andy & the See Ya Laters, Spuyten Duyvil, Citizens Band Radio, Sam Otis Hill and Co. and at midnight the ferocious Newton Gang, $10.

3/26, 8 PM Roosevelt Dime play tongue-in-cheek oldtimey Americana originals followed eventually at 11 by funk/soul powerhouse Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds at Pete’s.

3/26, 8 PM, a mind-warping all ages metal show with Disma, Mutant Supremacy and death metal legends Nunslaughter (first NYC show in 10 years) at the Acheron in Bushwick.

3/26, 8 PM Juan de Marcos’ Afro-Cuban All Stars at the NY Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W 64th St., $45 seats avail (super expensive, but they’re mostly Buena Vista Social Club type legends).

3/26 the John Sharples Band- who play all covers by brilliant obscure rock songwriters at 9 at the Parkside followed at 10 by charismatic keyboardist/noir songwriter Tom Warnick & the World’s Fair.

3/26, 9 PM 80s style goth-pop pianist/chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

3/26 lush, jangly Americana band Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at Matchless, time TBA. They’re also at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg on 4/1 at 11ish.

3/26, 9:30 PM renowned sufi/Middle Eastern multi-instrumentalist/singer Amir Vahab plus a screening of Like A Phoenix From The Ashes documentary film focusing on Iran in the 1960s and 70s; part of this year’s Persian Arts Festival.

3/26 legendary East Coast Balkan brass juggernaut Zlatne Uste at Drom, 10:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

3/26 midnight-ish Exit Clov plays captivating psychedelic pop in the vein of the Zombies at the big room at the Rockwood.

3/27, 3 PM, free, Dither guitarist James Moore and Cornelius Duffalo co-host an “open salon” featuring literally dozens of emerging cutting-edge composers (too many to list here) to wrap up this year’s edition of avant piano titan Kathy Supove’s Music with a View festival at the Flea Theatre (41 White St. between Church/Bwy)

3/27 John Zorn’s benefit for Japan at the Miller Theatre with Sonic Youth et al. is sold out. There are others coming up at benefits at the Abrons Arts Center on April 8 with Norah Jones, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Ikue Mori, John Zorn, Vinicius Cantuaria, Masada String Trio, among others., and the Japan Society on April 9

3/27, 7 PM Pierre de Gaillande sings George Brassens at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel.

3/27, 7:30 PM the Jack Quartet plays György Ligeti, Steve Lehman, and Horatiu Radulescu at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

3/27 the Felice Bros. show at Maxwell’s is sold out but there are still $20 tix avail. for the 3/28 show.

3/28, 7 PM the pretty amazing Kamikaze Ground Crew – Gina Leishman, saxophones, bass clarinet, accordion, vocals; Doug Wieselman, clarinets, saxophones, guitar; Steven Bernstein, trumpet and slide trumpet; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Peter Apfelbaum, tenor saxophone, Art Baron, trombone, Kenny Wollesen, drums – at Barbes followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre

3/28, 7 PM the titanic Bobby Sanabria Big Band at the Museum of the City of NY, $5 cover

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

3/28 the JC Sanford Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM. Their trombonist leader – who books the Monday night series here – and his adventurous crew absolutely slayed last time they played here.

3/28, 9 PM wry Americana multistylist guitarist/songwriter Steve Antonakos plays a solo show at Banjo Jim’s; he’s also at Local 269 at 7 on 3/31.

3/28 charming oldtime 20s swing jazz with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

3/29, 8 PM, free at the Bell House (not a joke): “Due to a legal settlement that we’re not allowed to discuss TV Party is giving back with some community service. For one night only we’ll be providing drug awareness education to keep you from making terrible life choices! Join TV Party for a special showing of 90’s drug awareness episodes. We’ll see Zack Morris, Steve Urkel, Stephanie Tanner, Carlton Banks [besides Urkel, WTF are these people?!?], and more try to overcome the temptation of drugs while still looking cool. Including Just Say No & TV commercials from 90’s TV past! Test your drug use prevention knowledge with the D.A.R.E challenge! Winner gets a free D.A.R.E. t-shirt! Take away your dry mouth with drinks! No peer pressure… but seriously, have a drink. Prizes including tickets to upcoming Bell House shows & more!”

3/29, 8 PM art-metal Mars Volta spinoff Zechs Marquise play Highline Ballroom, followed by one of the guys from the MV, $20 adv tix onsale now.

3/29, 9:30 PM Bosnian singer Natasa Mirkovic and hurdy-gurdy virtuoso Matthias Loibner putting a new spin on traditional Balkan stuff at Joe’s Pub, $15.

3/30, 2 PM Suzanne Vega performs songs from her forthcoming play Carson McCullers Talks About Love at the Green Space. Also on the bill and talking with WNYC host John Schaefer: the Mountain Goats. Adv tix $20 very highly rec., events here always sell out.

3/30, 8 PM a killer gypsy punk triplebill at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall with Bad Buka, Slavic Soul Party and Kultur Shock, $10 adv tix rec.

3/30, 8 PM a John Zorn Masada Marathon including just about every good rock, jazz and classical artist who’s ever played the Stone doing selections from the Book of Angels at the NY City Opera, $12 adv tix. very highly rec., this will sell out.

3/30, 9 PM all-female Canadian punk-pop trio Hunter Valentine at Bowery Electric, $12

3/30 austere, smart chamber-pop band Pearl & the Beard at Rock Shop in Gowanus, 10 PM, $10; 4/1 at 9:30 PM (no joke) they’re at the Knitting Factory for $10 in advance.

3/31, 7 PM pianist Anna Levy plays classic Bulgarian art-songs by Pancho Vladigerov, Ditimar Nenov, Veselin Stoyanov, Ivan Spassov, Vasil Kazandzhiev, Georgi Anaourdov and Mikhail Goleminov at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd St., free

3/31, 7 PM noir/garage chanteuse Peg Simone at Bowery Poetry Club.

3/31, 7:30 PM the Vinca String Quartet play Mozart, Janácek, Bartók and Beethoven at WMP Concert Hall, $25

3/31, 8 PM smartly multistylistic retro keyboardist/singer and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez (whose most recent album we named best of the year) at Barbes.

3/31 a good night for voices: fearlessly lyrical pop/rock siren Elaine Romanelli at Banjo Jim’s 8 PM followed by country chanteuse Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at 9 and then Boo and Elena from Demolition String Band at 10.

3/31, 8 PM world-renowned Amsterdam-based jazz troublemakers Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra with the legendary Misha Mengelberg on piano at le Poisson Rouge, adv tix $15 highly rec.

3/31, 8 PM the Chiara String Quartet’s latest Creator/Curator concert features Lutoslawski’s String Quartet (with improvisations) and Daniel Ott’s String Quartet No. 2 at Galapagos, $10 adv tix rec.

3/31, 8 PM Irish art-rock crooner Pierce Turner at Paddy Reilly’s, $15.

3/31, 8 PM pianist Jenny Lin plays ten of György Ligeti’s Études pour piano (1985-2001), as well as his Continuum for Harpsichord (1968), and Musica ricercata (1951-3) Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St. between Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S, $15.

3/31, 8:30 PM the ferocious Balkan/Middle Eastern psychedelic jams and amped-up, haunting old folk songs of Ansambl Mastika at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, early arrival very highly advised.

3/31-4/2, 8 PM Wynton Marsalis leads a quintet at Rose Theatre at Jazz at Lincoln Center, $30 seats avail., reserve now if you’re going.

3/31, 9 PM amazingly period-perfect retro 60s Bakersfield country band the Dixons at Union Pool $TBA.

3/31, 10 PM Jane says she’s only going to be at Pete’s Candy Store: Oh Liza Jane play bluegrass and retro Americana followed by the infectious, all-female oldtimey Calamity Janes at 11.

3/31, 10:15ish chamber rock band Build plays the cd release show for their new one at Joe’s Pub $12. Note that the 9:30 PM opening act is nauseatingly self-indulgent.

3/31 retro soul/noir chanteuse Shendandoah & the Night at the Rockwood, midnight.

4/1 clever garage rock duo the Fools at 5 PM (no joke – makes sense, right?) at Goodbye Blue Monday.

4/1, 6 PM (no joke) country night with the Melody Allegra Band, Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion and Serena Jean and her band at Spike Hill, $6.

4/1 lyrical jazz piano titan Fred Hersch solo, 7 PM at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, $18 adv tix highly rec.

4/1, 7:30 PM Piedmont fingerstyle blues guitar virtuoso Mary Flower at the Good Coffeehouse, 53 Prospect Park W, $15

4/1, 8:30ish (no joke), Her Vanished Grace (playing the cd release show for their new one) and Religious to Damn do a goth-tinged doublebill at Union Hall, $8.

4/1 for real, ghoulabilly and noir retro rock with the Dead Sextons at Europa in Greenpoint, 8ish, $10

4/1, 9 PM (seriously) Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band and Lee Fields & the Expressions at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $17 adv tix at the Mercury rec.

4/1, 9 PM an amazing purist rock triplebill, no joke – wickedly catchy, jangly Rickenbacker guitar rockers Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, garage-rock purists the Above and then garage legends the Fleshtones at Maxwell’s.

4/1, 9 PM, no joke, tuneful yet noisy new jazz with Kretzmer/Syversen/Niggenkemper/Peskoff at 1012 Willoughby in Brooklyn, sugg don.; they’re at Local 269 on 4/4/ at 9 for $10

4/1 haunting, twangy southwestern gothic band And the Wiremen play the Bell House at 9ish opening for the Waco Bros., $12 adv tic rec.

4/1, 9 PM Providence doom/metal duo The Body followed by a rare rare NYC appearance by Australian metal blunderbuss Whitehorse at the Acheron in Greenpoint – maybe your only chance to see them, don’t miss it if metal is your thing.

4/1 no joke – Brooklyn’s funnest band, Chicha Libre plays a rare Friday show at their home base, Barbes, at 10 before heading off on South American tour.

4/1, no joke, the New Cookers – not the Billy Hart/George Cables crew but guys inspired by the original Freddie Hubbard album – at BAM Cafe, 10 PM

4/1, 10 PM (no joke) goth legend Peter Murphy plays Highline Ballroom, adv tix $35 rec.

4/1, 11 PM (no joke – when this guy’s involved you know he means business) the snarling retro Americana noir sounds of the Reid Paley Trio at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick

4/1, 11 PM roots rock powerhouse Tom Clark & the High Action Boys play Lakeside 11 PM – not a joke.

4/1, no joke, intense Greek traditional party band Magges – sort of the Greek Gogol Bordello -at Lafayette Grill & Bar downtown, 11 PM

4/1 midnight (no joke) lush, atmospheric, socially aware Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Mercury, $10 adv tix at the box office highly rec.

4/1 (no joke) the Fleshtones at Maxwell’s.

4/1-2 the Prisoners of 2nd Ave. – who do a decent oldschool NY Dolls facsimile – at Bowery Electric. And they want $20 for it. No joke.

4/1, 2 PM Broadway Musicals of 1864 at the Town Hall featuring such popular songs as “Let’s Round Up Some Irishmen,” “I Need Some Mercury (Because Down Below Is Killing Me),” “We Won’t Call It Slavery Anymore” and the John Wilkes Booth version of “Dixie.”

4/1, 3 PM the New York Stock Exchange presents a concert to celebrate the successful prevention of the Fukushima nuclear explosions – as we all know by now, there was no meltdown, nor any emission of deadly plutonium or uranium isotopes – with vintage Elvis footage accompanied by a live band at the World Financial Center.

4/1, 6 PM brand-new social networking site narciss.us presents Shallow Is What We Aim For, We Are Pampered Children, Poser Dumb and My Eyelashes Are Longer Than Yours at Glasslands; celebrity dj Fella Tio spins blo-fi between sets.

4/1, 6 PM Steve Brotherdale’s Joy Division plays the Warsaw ep cover to cover followed by Melvin Seals’ Jerry Garcia Band at B.B. King’s.

4/1, 7 PM How to Stuff Your Trousers: A Panel Discussion with the Pros at Galapagos. What works best? A roll of quarters? A veggie hot dog? String cheese? Six of the best in the business, including Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, David Lee Roth, Keith Urban and our favorite perennial mayoral candidate, Murray Hill share the secrets of their craft.

4/1, 7 PM It’s Inarticulate Night at the Bell House. Ever wonder…um…why you can’t….um…talk to…you know…um…people? Now’s your chance to meet a whole club full of others just like you who will spend the whole night staring at their shoes or trying to figure something coherent enough to say to get the bartender to bring them a beer. $15 cover includes a year’s subscription to New York Magazine.

4/1, 4 PM Taurus & Libra present Payday: The Traveling Party. Ever wonder what it’s like to have to get up and go to work all week long instead of sleeping til 5 PM and living off mommy’s credit card? Join your group leaders Emily and Faden as they take you on an “ironical” voyage around New York. You’ll see the inside of a real check cashing place, meet a real-life bill collector, dodge undercover cops as you drink cheap beer from a paper bag outside a bodega, use real scissors to cut grocery coupons from the newspaper and go on a dollar-store crawl for cheap toilet paper without GPS or an iphone app. Authentic working-class attire is a must: trucker hat, overalls, 1970s sneakers for the guys; moth-eaten polyester, uneven bangs, torn corduroys for the girls.

4/1, 8 PM at Crash Mansion, it’s Eurethra, the world’s #1 Eurythmics cover band. Relive the golden days of the day-glo decade that you fetishize even if you never experienced it with unforgettable hits like Aqua, Plus Something Else and The First Cut! If you get tired of the band, women can join the free wet t-shirt contest in the men’s room.

4/1, 8:30 PM it’s a John Zorn-a-thon at the Stone with John Zorn’s Are You Itchy?, John Zorn’s Don’t Sit on That Chair, John Zorn’s Call the Exterminator, John Zorn’s Call the Exterminator Again and finally John Zorn’s Sidewalk Sale.

4/1, 10 PM the Central Park Conservancy presents a special VIP concert with Kenny G for Platinum Circle members in the new private Great Meadow in Central Park. Enjoy the new golf driving range (please be aware that frisbee is no longer allowed). The line to the brand-new Shake Shack starts at the Battery. Helicopter shuttles to the Hamptons will be running all evening from where the zoo used to be.

4/1 the New York Times exclusive interview with Justin Bieber, conducted by Bono at the Bloomberg Society at 5th Ave. and 42nd St. Get the scoop on both performers’ opposition to abortion, and after struggling to down his first Guinness, hear Justin confess how he thinks that Ryan Secrest is cute.

4/1 it’s the battle of the kiddie bands at Southpaw. This year’s first round pits tiny terror two-year-old William Slomowitz-Park and his avant garde percussion troupe The Isaagnys against the Borough Park death-metal of Siobhan Satmarowitz’ Mitzvah Tank. Meanwhile, the snotty punk-pop of Park Slope’s Germ Bombs pairs off against Turtle Bay newcomer Asanitansamarama Patel and Dowry Large Extra. And Williamsburg contender Yeast DuPont’s laptop project Trite Is goes up against Long Island City’s The Overprotected. All proceeds to benefit the Crusade Against Suicide, in memory of last year’s winner, Hayes Bessemer of the Kaplan Klass Killers (KKK).

4/1, 10 PM Flavorpill and Khloe Kardashian present the first annual Buttcrack Awards at Public Assembly. Do your pants hang low? Do they wobble to and fro especially when you bend over? First prize winner gets a year’s subscription to New York Magazine.

4/1, 11 PM the drummer from the Strokes is dj’ing at a “celebrity party” on the roof of the empty “luxury” condo building behind the Mercury Lounge that nobody wants to move into, free admission with condo tour and $50 credit check.

4/1 Whitney Houston plays the Recoup Lounge way over by the projects, 11:30 ish – she might be running a little late for this one – with the guy you see hanging out in Tompkins Square Park with the broken Casio.

4/1 it’s the first annual Foursquare New York City Marathon, brought to you by the new green BP Oil. You get 26 hours to do as many Foursquare checkins as you can. See who can become the new mayor of the Prada store: in the door, out the door, in the door, out the door! Breakfast, lunch AND dinner at Fette Sau! Bring a sleeping bag to Freeman’s!

4/1, 7-10 PM the NY School of Autotune celebrates with a recital at Arlene Grocery followed by the Body Shots Olympics sponsored by MTV.

4/2, 6 PM pianist Aysegul Durakoglu plays the cd release show for her new one featuring works by Chopin and Debussy at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

4/2, 7 PM Marc Ribot and a hall of fame of downtown jazz peeps play noir soundtrack stuff including new arrangements of Henry Mancini (Touch of Evil), Andre Previn (Scene of the Crime), Roy Budd (Get Carter) and also Lounge Lizards, Rootless Cosmopolitans, and new noir by the guitarist himself at the Tishman Auditorium at the New School, 66 W 12th St., free.

4/2, 7 PM Nashville/Toronto gothic rock with Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at Banjo Jim’s.

4/2, 7:30/9:30/midnight Jared Gold plays the cd release to his groovy new B3 organ jazz album at the Bar Next Door with his trio.

4/2, 8 PM rustic, haunting, sprawling Balkan/jazz/Americana band Kotorino at Barbes

4/2, 8:30 PM a triplebill put together by Brooklyn Jazz starting with the Rob Garcia 4: Noah Preminger – tenor sax, Jacob Sacks – piano, Joe Martin – bass, Rob Garcia – drums followed at 9:45 by the Anne Mette Iversen Quartet: John Ellis – sax; Danny Grissett – piano; Anne Mette Iversen – bass; Mark Ferber – drums and then at 11 the Adam Kolker Trio plus woodwinds: Adam Kolker – reeds; Jeremy Stratton – bass; Billy Mintz – drums plus a wind section, all this for $15 at the Cornelia St. Cafe.

4/2, 9 PM a classic Syrian music extravaganza celebrating centuries of music in the city of Aleppo featuring a historical lecture by Mohamed A. Alsiadi at Alwan for the Arts followed by a show by a 10-piece allstar Syrian/Middle Eastern orchestra, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/2, 9 PM haunting Appalachian/Balkan vocal duo AE followed at 10:30 PM by bluesman Blind Boy Paxton at the Jalopy.

4/2 new wave literate rock legend Graham Parker at City Winery, 9 PM, $25 seats avail.

4/2, 9:30 PM Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet playing Esquivel at Caffe Vivaldi

4/2, 10 PM snarling Syd Barrett/Stooges style garage rock with Obits at the Bell House, $13 adv tix rec.

4/2, 10 PM Sonny Rollins band trombone vet Clifton Anderson at BAM Cafe.

4/2, 10 PM anthemic 80s-tinged keyboard-driven art-rock band Overlord at Fontana’s

4/2 jangly, lyrical southwestern gothic rocker Tom Shaner plays Lakeside, 11 PM.

4/3, 1 and 3 PM the Baltimore Consort play eclectic 16th century Spanish compositions at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet – who for what it’s worth just won a Grammy – free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/3, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra plays Ives – Variations on America; “American Songbook Selections,” and Howard Hanson’s sweeping, cinematic Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sugg don. reception to follow.

4/3, 6 PM: Nico Soffiato on guitar, Nick Vedeen on alto sax, Giacomo Merege on bass and Zach Mangan on drums at Downtown Music Gallery.

4/3, 7 PM delightfully irreverent “unconventional oboe trio” the Threeds play Caffe Vivaldi joined by Eleanor Dubinsky who follows at 8 PM, playing new arrangements of Bjork, Mingus, the Doors, Carmichael and Dubinsky as well

4/3, 7 PM Stephanie Rooker & the Search Engine play wickedly smart, socially aware, psychedelic funk and downtempo grooves at the little room at the Rockwood.

4/3 tuneful British/Canadian janglepop band Early Winters (Carina Round’s latest project) at Public Assembly, time/$ TBA.

4/3 glammy, punkish, entertainingly funny Justice of the Unicorns at Bruar Falls at 8 followed at 9 PM rustic lyrical psychedelic Portland songwriter Shelley Short at Bruar Falls

4/3 popular Ethiopian-American chanteuse Meklit Hadero at the Skirball Center, 8 PM, $20.

4/3, 10 PM tuneful, sly, literate Americana band the Sometime Boys – the acoustic side project of ferocious art-rockers System Noise – at Banjo Jim’s

4/4 Colombian chanteuse Lucia Pulido at 7:30 followed by low-register oldschool Cuban band Gato Loco at 9:30 at Barbes. Gato Loco are also here on 4/18 at 10.

4/4, 7 PM the Ebene Quartet performs the Debussy String Quartet and arrangements of pieces by Miles Davis and Astor Piazzolla, plus “Misirlou,” at the Greene Space, $20.

4/4, 7:30 PM paint-peeling noiserock intensity with the Sediment Club at Bowery Electric, $10.

4/4, 7:30 PM new music ensemble Sequitur plays Robert Sirota’s A Sinner’s Diary; the NY premiere of Victoria Bond’s Frescoes and Ash; the world premiere of Catullus Dreams by David Glaser; the NY premiere of Mix Tape by Armando Bayolo; and the world premiere of Noemi by Daniel Godfrey. at Symphony Space, $20 adv tix rec.

4/4, 8/10:30 PM veteran Chicago blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker at the Blue Note, $10 “bar seating” avail.

4/4, 8:30 PM the Becca Stevens Band’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood.

4/5, noon, Members of the Chamber Music Society Lincoln Center play Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor at the Greene Space, free.

4/5, 7 PM members of Ensemble ACJW perform Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, as well as David Bruce’s octet Steampunk at the Greene Space, $20.

4/5, 8 PM Third World at Highline Ballroom $30 adv tix onsale now – don’t know how much, or how many original members, they have left (they were old when they started the band in the early 70s) – ostensibly they have a new album out. 196 Degrees in the Shade?

4/5, 8:30 PM adventurous mostly-female klezmer hellfaisers Isle of Klezbos at the Sixth St. Synagogue, 325 East 6th St (betw First & Second Aves), $15 includes a drink (in temple – yay!)

4/5, 9 PM Dina Rudeen plays the cd release for her brilliant new one at the little room at the Rockwood; dark psychedelic jazz pianist/composer Dred Scott plays at midnight with his trio.

4/5, 9 PM noisy distantly Balkan tinged guitar/trumpet madness with Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel at Local 269

4/5, 10 PM UK indie rock pioneers Wire at the Music Hall of Williamsburg; 4/6 they’re at Bowery Ballroom, $20 adv tix rec.

4/5, 11 PM lush atmospheric cinematic art-rockers the Quavers at Cake Shop

4/6, 8 PM Alison Leyton-Brown’s oldtime piano blues gand House of Stride at Barbes followed at 10 by the provocative, gorgeously harmony-driven oldtimey Roulette Sisters.

4/6, 7 PM string quartet Ethel play Julia Wolfe’s Early That Summer; Dohee Lee’s HonBiBaekSan; Jacob TV’s Syracuse Blues; Pamela Z’s ETHEL Dreams of Temporal Disturbances; Huang Ruo’s The Flag Project (excerpt) and Anna Clyne’s Roulette at the Greene Space, $20

4/6, 9:30 PM an amazing chromatically-charged, minor-key doublebill with haunting Appalachian/Balkan vocal duo AE and multistylistic Russian/tango/cinematic string band Ljova and the Kontraband at Joe’s Pub, $15.

4/7, noon, new music trio Janus play Debussy, Treuting, and Negron at the Greene Space, free.

4/7, 8 PM the Jack Quartet play Tetras by Iannis Xenaxis and Death Valley Junction by Missy Mazzoli, as well as Ari Streisfeld’s arrangements of pieces by haunted Renaissance composer Gesualdo.at the Greene Space, $20.

4/7, 8 PM Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes plays a darkly pensive, thematic program of two Beethoven Sonatas, No. 21, “Waldstein,” and No. 32, Op. 111, bookended by Brahms (Four Ballades, Op. 10) and Schoenberg (Sechs kleine Klavierstucke, Op. 19) at Carnegie Hall

4/7 Rebirth Brass Band at the Brooklyn Bowl; 4/10 they’re at Maxwell’s

4/7, 10 PM chanteuse Marta Topferova – who never met a latin style she couldn’t make her own, and make it compelling – at Barbes.

4/7, eclectic Brazilian/country/New Orleans band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar 10ish

4/8, noon, free, the Escher Sting Quartet performs Zemlinsky and Brahms at the Greene Space.

4/8, 3 PM organ adventurer Gail Archer wraps up her latest tour through a composer’s repertoire with an all Liszt concert at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 5th Ave. at 90th St., 6 train to 86th St., free.

4/8, 7 PM at the Greene Space – let’s cross our fingers and hope they’re ok – the Tokyo String Quartet performs on its “Paganini Quartet” of matched Stradivarius instruments Haydn’s String Quartet in F major Op. 77 No. 2, the fourth movement of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, and Beethoven’s “Grosse Fugue” Op. 133. at the Greene Space, $20.

4/8, 7:30 PM adventurous new compositions with the Janus Trio and Mantra Percussion at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights), 124 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY, 2/3 to Clark St.; A/C to High St.; R/4/5 to Borough Hall.

4/8, 8 PM torchy catchy compelling soul/trip-hop band Mattison in the back room at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg.

4/8-9, 8 PM NYU performers play NYU composers at the Black Box Theatre, 82 Washington Square East adv tix free but required for the show.

4/8, 9 PM PinkBrown feat. Cracked Vessel guitar arsonist Xander Naylor with Max Jaffe on drums and Johan Andersson on saxophones at 1012 Willoughby.

4/8, 9 PM long-running garage rockers the Greenhornes at the Bell House.

4/8, 9 PM a hall of fame cast of West Coast Middle Eastern musicians led by percussionist Souhail Kaspar play music of Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Farid al-Atrash and Abdel Halim Hafez at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/8, 9ish cleverly eerie new music improvisers Dollshot at Galapagos, $10.

4/8, 9 PM it’s the Lakeside 15 year anniversary party – amazing how such a friendly, unpretentious place could survive under siege from yuppies and tourists for so long. And whoever’s behind the bar by 9 is bound to be cool. We may be there.

4/8, 9/10:30 PM south Asian and Middle Eastern new jazz sounds with Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Gamak feat. Dave Fiuczynski on guitar at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

4/8, 9:30 PM eclectic acoustic Americana roots/zydeco/country band Blue Sky Mission Club at Hill Country

4/8, 10 PM the Black Angels at Bowery Ballroom; 4/9 they’re at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix. at the Mercury highly rec., this will sell out.

4/8, 10 PM second wave garage rock vets the Greenhornes at the Bell House, $15

4/9, 8 PM up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

4/9 a killer triplebill at the Postcrypt Coffeehouse – back uptown again after a brief stay in the East Village – with Alyson Greenfield at 8:30, Carol Lipnik at 9:30 and Lorraine Leckie at 10:30.

4/9, 8:30 PM hypnotic Mississippi hill country blues guitarist Will Scott at 68 Jay St. Bar.

4/9, 8:30/11 PM Jamaican jazz piano titan Monty Alexander at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

4/9, 9 PM a killer doublebill at Bowery Electric with ferociously lyrical songwriters, Linda Draper and Matt Keating.

4/10, 6 (six) PM Sara Lewis – simmering jazzy chanteuse who veers between dark cabaret-based piano songs and Beatlesque pop – at Caffe Vivaldi.

4/10, 6 PM Ras Moshe & the Music Now Ensemble feat. Kyoko Jitamura and Shayna Dulberger and Andrew Drury, followed at 7 by Belgian duo Olivier Stalon on bass and Pablo Masis on trumpet at Downtown Music Gallery

4/10, 7 PM cellist Sebastian Baversteam plays a solo show at Barbes followed at 9 by Stephane Wrembel.

4/10 hilarious, diverse satirical cowpunk rockers Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar 10ish

4/11, 7 PM Gina Leishman, vox, baritone ukulele; Charlie Burnham, violin; Matt Munisteri, guitar and Brad Jones, bass at Barbes followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre.

4/11, 8ish adventurous new music string quartet Ethel play two world premieres including Dohee Lee’s HonBiBaekSan (The Ritual of White Mountain) and Hafez Modirzadeh’s A Hot Time in the Ol’ Town; as well as performances of Terry Riley’s Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector, and Pamela Z’s ETHEL Dreams of Temporal Disturbances at le Poisson Rouge, $20

4/11 oldtime Americana with the Builders & the Butchers at the Mercury, 10 PM, $10.

4/11 fiery charismatic art-rock/goth-punk siren Vera Beren books the night at Small Beast at the Delancey, including a set with her band at 10ish

4/12 catchy tuneful brilliantly melodic jazz from Terry Dame’s Monkey on a Rail in just their third concert since the early zeros, at Barbes at 7 followed by Slavic Soul Party at 9.

4/12 bassist Lauren Falls leads a quintet with Seamus Blake, tenor sax; Mike Moreno, guitar; Can Olgun, piano; Trevor Falls, drums, 8:30 PM at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

4/12-17, 8/10:30 PM the Crusaders – who reputedly have returned to their roots as a late 60s style funk/groove band – at the Blue Note, $30 “seats” avail ($35 on the weekend)

4/13, 7:30 PM The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble with Ostravská Banda conducted by Petr Kotik play John Cage: Concert for Piano and Orchestra with Joseph Kubera, piano; Carolyn Chen – Wilder Shores of Love (world premiere); György Ligeti – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Daan Vandewalle, piano; Alex Mincek – Pendulum #7 for saxophone and ensemble (world premiere) at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, $15 tix avail.

4/13, 10ish indie classical composer Emily Wells – whose latest stuff has the playful, accessible feel of Todd Reynolds’ recent work – at Glasslands, $10 adv tix onsale now.

4/14 retro soul/noir chanteuse Shendandoah & the Night at Spike Hill

4/14, 7:30 PM pyrotechnic violinist Gil Morgenstern’s reliably fascinating, thematic Reflections Series concludes its 2010-2011 season with a program titled Transfigured Nights with pianist Donald Berman and cellist Ole Akahoshi including Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Shostakovich’s Trio in E Minor, at WMP Concert Hall, $25.

4/14, 8 PM Shelby Lynne at City Winery, $30 seats avail.

4/14, 8 PM provocative, smart Palestinian-American world music songwriter Stephan Said at Drom, $10 adv tix rec

4/15-22 two of the most exhilarating singers on the planet, John Kelly and Carol Lipnik perform their suite The Escape Artist, which “traces the experience of a performer who has a catastrophic trapeze accident. While stranded on a gurney with a broken neck in a hospital emergency room, he escapes and finds refuge in the images that flood his mind: the sinners and saints, prostitutes and gods that populate Caravaggio’s paintings.” With music by Lipnik and Kelly plus selections by Monteverdi and John Barry, at PS 122, 8 PM, $25/15 stud/srs.

4/15, 8 PM Niger’s desert blues legends Etran Finatawa – who played one of the 20 best shows we saw last year – at Symphony Space, $35.

4/15, 8 PM a cool reggae triplebill at the smaller studio space downstairs at Webster Hall with Echo Movement, Maui Waui and the Green (whose blend of vintage Hawaiian and roots reggae is totally original), $10 adv tix rec.

4/15, 9 PM Joe Pug at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10; 4/16 he’s at the Mercury at 11:30 PM for $2 more.

4/15, 10 PM wild jazzy gypsy rock/jaz with Jay Vilnai’s Vampire Suit at Barbes

4/15, 11 PM O’Death at the Knitting Factory – this will probably sell out – $10 adv tix rec.

4/16-17, 5-7 PM free at Issue Project Room, some ideas close to our hearts: “Yolande Harris’s installation Tropical Storm, developed in a residency with Alvin Lucier at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, is a shot of a Florida storm, with the sound of rainfall as the only audio. In The Pink Noise of Pleasure Yachts in Turquoise Sea, Harris explores the place of sound in the underwater animals, and the effects of the sound of recreational boating on the smallest sea creatures.”

4/16, 7 PM Eleventh Dream Day opens for the recently reunited Come at the Bell House adv tix $20 rec.

4/16, 7:30 PM, repeating 4 PM on 4/17, Lisa Bielawa’s Synopses: Synopsis #2: In the Eye of the Beholder for percussion performed by Aaron Trant, Synopsis #4: I’m Not That Kind of Lawyer for solo double bass performed by Doug Balliet, Synopsis #6: Why Did You Lie to Me? for solo cello performed by Eric Jacobsen, Synopsis #9: I Don’t Even Play the Bassoon for solo viola performed by Miranda Sielaff, and Synopsis #10: I Know This Room So Well for solo English horn will be performed live, with new choreography by Catherine Gallant at NY City Center, 130 West 56th St., $15 tix avail.

4/16, 8 PM Central Asian troupe Turku play ancient Silk Road repertoire at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out

4/16 psychedelic roots reggae monsters Dub Is a Weapon play their cd release show at Sullivan Hall, 9ish, $10 adv tix rec.

4/16, 11ish Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday; they’re also here late on 4/27.

4/16, midnight ecstatically fun Afrobeat band Elikeh plays Joe’s Pub, $14.

4/17, 1 and 3 PM all-male choral sextet Lionheart sing Thomas Tallis’s “masterful and heart-wrenching settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, performed in alternation with their traditional Latin chant responsories—as they might have been heard in the chapel of Elizabeth I” at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/17, 4 PM hilarious retro Weimar bandleader/crooner Max Raabe & Palast Orchester at NJPAC in Newark, $21 tix avail.

4/17, 6 PM reedman Daniel Carter with bassist Pascal Niggenkemper at Downtown Music Gallery.

4/17, 9 PM  dark lyrical rock siren/guitar goddess Randi Russo plays the cd release show for her career-best new one Fragile Animal at the Mercury, followed by another equally fiery, lyrical band the Oxygen Ponies.

4/17, 9 PM pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Miguel Zenon, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

4/18-19 powerful jazz vibraphonist Mark Sherman and his Quintet with Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson, Tim Horner and special guest Randy Brecker at the Kitano, $25 plus $15 min at tables

4/18, 8 PM the irresistible Pipettes – snarling cockney girls playing oldschool Motown and soul – at Rock Shop in Gowanus; 4/20 they’re at the Mercury at 7:30 PM, $15.

4/19 Moroccan-American chanteuse Malika Zarra plays the cd release show for her new one Berber Taxi with her band at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM

4/19-24 and 4/26-5/1 Bill Frisell plays the Vanguard: first with Eyvind Kang on violin and Rudy Royston on drums, then with Ron Miles on trumpet, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums.

4/20, 10 PM psychedelic dub reggae with John Brown’s Body followed by the Easy Star All-Stars at Highline Ballroom, $20 adv tix highly rec. Note that some loser from a reality tv show – who’s decided to switch from corporate rock to reggae – opens the show at 9.

4/21, three excellent, separate-admission shows at Joe’s Pub. 7 PM Pharaoh’s Daughter is $15; Spottiswoode’s cd release show at 9 is $15; Afrobeat band Emefe’s show at 11:30 is $TBA.

4/21-22, 7ish Mogwai at Webster Hall, adv tix $28.50 rec.

4/21, 7:30 PM adventurous new music ensemble Lunatics at Large play five brand-new commissioned works by Ryan Fusco, Andre Bregegere, Laura Koplewitz, Alex Shapiro and Mohammed Fairouz as part of their Sanctuary Project at WMP Concert Hall, $25

4/21, 8 PM in “Scuttling around in the shallows, Jane Winderen continues her investigation into the sound of shrimp, exploring how the smallest creatures of the ocean use sound for communication, orientation, and feeding. Hydrophones—originally a military development—are repurposed, inadvertently producing unexpected qualities not informed by their original design. Winderen uses these hydrophones to create immersive sonic environments, something far from the original intention of these surveillance devices.” At Issue Project Room, $12

4/21, 8:30 PM Susie Ibarra’s Electric Kulintang – sort of the Filipino counterpart to Electric Junkyard Gamelan – at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, early arrival highly advised

4/21, 8:30 PM oldtimey Americana with Margaret Glaspy, Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade and the Woes at Southpaw, $10 adv tix rec.

4/22 sprawling acoustic Americana with Jones St. Station at le Poisson Rouge, 7:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

4/22, 8 PM pianist Jenny Q Chai and Iktus Percussion Quartet play the world premiere of Five Pieces by Nils Vigeland, as well as works by Gérard Grisey, Lukas Ligeti, Vivian Fung, and two world premieres from emerging composers Inhyun Kim and Dillon Kondor downstairs in the Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space, $15/$10 stud.

4/22, 9 PM gypsy chanteuse Sanda Weigl’s cd release show for her intense, excellent new one Gypsy in a Tree at the 92YTribeca, $15 adv tix highly rec.

4/22, 9 PM oldschool plena and bomba sounds with Quimbombo at BAM Cafe.

4/22, 11 PM Hayes Carll at Bowery Ballroom $15 adv tix rec.

4/23, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, early arrival advised, most likely piano music; there’s another on 5/7.

4/23, 1 and 3 PM, early music ensemble Pomerium sings works by Lassus, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, and Byrd at the Cloisters, $35 gen adm.

4/23, 8:30 PM ferocious noisy punk/glam rockers the K-Holes at Glasslands adv tix $10 rec.

4/25 charismatic intense somewhat scary cellist/vocalist Audrey Chen plays Roulette, 8:30 PM. One of the crew here insists that her set – “music” might not be an accurate word for it – at Issue Project Room last year was the best show of 2010. Your life will not be complete until you’ve survived an hour or so of her sonic assault.

4/26, 8 PM Balkan Beat Box at Webster Hall, $20 gen adm.

4/27, 7 PM Mr. Wau Wa – Gina Leishman, vox, accordion, pump organ; Rinde Eckert, vox, accordion, pump organ; Doug Wieselman, clarinet, sax, guitar; Marcus Rojas, tuba and Kenny Wollesen, drums – plays Bertold Brech at Barbes followed at 9:30ish by Chicha Libre.

4/27, 7:30 PM pianist Alexandra Joan – whose remarkable emotional intelligence and fearlessness set her apart from the millions of cookie-cutter classical pianists out there – plays an all-French program of Fauré, Ravel, Enescu and Fairouz at WMP Concert Hall

4/27 haunting, hypnotic Middle Eastern sounds with Duo Jalal feat. violist Kathryn Lockwood plus percussionist Yousif Sheronick David Krakauer and Glen Velez at Drom, 8 PM, $12 adv tix rec

4/28 the Newton Gang play their cd release show for their long-awaited new one at Southpaw, 9 PM followed by Gangstagrass at 11, $10 adv tix highly rec, all ticketholders get a copy of the new album.

4/29, 7:30 PM a high-energy gypsy rock doublebill with Watcha Clan and Rupa & the April Fishes at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

4/29 surfy latin garage rock with the Cuban Cowboys at BAM Cafe, 9 PM.

4/30 latin jazz by the O’Farrill Family Band at BAM Cafe, 9 PM.

5/3-4, 8 PM Bruce Cockburn & Jenny Scheinman at City Winery, $35 seats avail.

5/6, 9 PM the 2 Man Gentlemen Band and the Infamous Stringdusters at Bowery Ballroom $15 gen adm.

5/7 haunting original bluegrass/Americana band Frankenpine at the Brooklyn Museum

5/8 Rev. Horton Heat at Highline Ballroom.

5/9-12 the Mata Festival at le Poisson Rouge feat. ACME, Metropolis Ensemble, Florent Ghys, L’Arsenale, Cantori New York, Dither Electric Guitar Quartet, Ryan Carter, Christopher Mayo, and Angélica Negrón

5/9, 8/10:30 PM Matt Guitar Murphy at the Blue Note, $10 seats avail. Octogenarian Chicago blues guitar legend who suffered a stroke onstage a few years ago and finished the song before he decided to take a break. If he’s even a fraction of his old self he’s worth seeing.

5/10 Monty Python/Bonzo Dog Band’s Neil Innes at Highline Ballroom

5/14, 11 AM Wall to Wall Sonidos at Symphony Space, free, Arturo O’Farrill’s Sacred Concert for his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra based on settings of Jewish, Islamic, Gospel, and Afro-Cuban texts; a work for shakuhachi and string quartet [Colorado Quartet] from Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez; a world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Cuarteto para cuerdas no. 2 [La Catrina Quartet]; Tania León [Harlem Quartet]; new works by Fernando Otero (with dancers); and performances by Continuum, Damocles Trio, Poulenc Trio, Ray Vega, Gabriel Alegria, and many others.

5/19, 7:30 PM the Trinity Choir sings music of Elena Ruehr at Trinity Church.

5/19, 9:30 PM Karen Hudson with her band at Lakeside playing songs from her forthcoming Late Bloomer cd.

5/26, 10:30 PM gypsy punks the West Philadelphia Orchestra followed by haunting, hypnotic, psychedelic Turkish band Raquy & the Cavemen at Drom, $12 adv tix rec.

6/4 the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at NJPAC in Newark, $25 seats avail.

6/19 this year’s free Punk Island festival at Governors Island happens two days in advance of Make Music NY as the yuppies are shitting their pants at the thought of loud, nonconformist music being played anywhere near their “luxury” apartments. Free ferries leave on the half hour from the old Staten Island Ferry terminal; here’s a public facebook page about it.

NYC Live Music Calendar for February and March 2011

The latest calendar for March and April is here.

 A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in March the Chico O’Farrill latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, sets 8/10:30 PM, $30 seats avail

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in March the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in March Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in March Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesday nights at 10, Marc Ribot has taken on booking a weekly show at Watty & Meg, 248 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: two guitarists each week, each playing solo, then trading songs, ideas, conversations, possibly jamming, $15 cover includes a drink.

Tuesdays in March the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in March at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in March at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat.

Saturdays in February slinky yet edgy tropicalia chanteuse Marianni plays Zinc Bar at 10 PM with her band

2/1 trombone free jazz legend Steve Swell with Perry Robinson on clarinet and Max Johnson on bass at 7 at Barbes, followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party who also know a thing or two about good trombone.

2/1, 7 PM the Pride of the Subway Ceili Band at Banjo Jim’s followed at 9 by the NYCity Slickers playing classic and original bluegrass.

2/1, 8 PM, hypnotic, lush, atmospheric art-rockers the Quavers open for southwestern gothic legends Giant Sand at City Winery, $22 standing room tix avail.

2/1, 8 PM Caithlin DeMarrais plays the Mercury. One of the few truly spellbinding singers of our time – she was good in Rainer Maria and she’s pretty amazing now. And a haunting, pensive songwriter with a promising new album in the works.

2/1 midnight-ish lyrical star Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl, $10.

2/2, 7:30 PM the latest in edgy pianist Alexandra Joan’s Kaleidoscope series features her alongside fiery Balkan clarinetist Vasko Dukovski, Icelandic cellist Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir and violinist Erno Kallai performing Bartok: Contrasts for Piano, Violin and Clarinet: Brahms: Clarinet Trio, op. 114; Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time at WMP Concert Hall, 31 E 28th St. $25/$15 stud. Most of this crew delivered one of last year’s best concerts together; this could be another one.

2/2, 8 PM an excellent Afrobeat doublebill with Ikebe Shakedown and Zongo Junction at Brooklyn Bowl, $5

2/2, 8:30 PM female-fronted Canadian rock with Toronto’s edgy danceable postpunk People You Know and ferocious powerpop/punkpop Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, adv tix $8 rec., all ages.

2/2, 9 PM the Mercenaries at Lakeside – Altogether Steve and the rest of the crew are still kicking ass after all these years, sort of the NYC version of the Replacements.

2/3 a 90th Birthday Celebration for Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh, 6 PM at Bruno Walter Auditorium at the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center – performers include soprano Christine Moore, violinist Luis Casal, and pianists Ruzan Asatryan and Katie Reimer. Free, early arrival advised.

2/3-6, 7:30/9:30 PM tenor saxophonist and Miles Davis/Max Roach alum George Coleman leads an interesting quintet lineup including Larry Goldings on organ and Peter Bernstein on guitar at the Jazz Standard

2/3 subversive comedic musical duo Mel & El at Comix 353 W. 14th St, 7:30 PM, $10

2/3, 7:30 PM guest conductor George Steel leads the Trinity choir in a wonderful, often haunting program of 13th-16th century English renaissance choral works by Tallis, Sheppard and Parsons and others at Trinity Church, $20, early arrival rec.

2/3, 8 PM kick-ass new intelligent Brooklyn-bred rock with Mussels, the incomparably funny and assaultive Brooklyn What, the Proud Humans and Steer at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $8

2/3, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation doing their hysterically funny, vicious Georges Brassens songs in English, followed by the charming, sultry Les Chauds Lapins – who mine French chanson that predates Brassens by about 20 years- at Barbes. It was bound to happen.

2/3, 8 PM tuneful mathrock/metal band Stats, beautifully ugly/assaultive guitar jazz with the felicitously named Seabrook Power Plant and then Mantra Percussion playing Iannis Xenakis at Littlefield.

2/3, 8 PM edgy, snarky British postpunk/dance rockers Deluka at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

2/3, 9 PM jaunty oldtimey swing and country with Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at the Jalopy followed at 10 by gypsy jazz power trio Ameranouche.

2/3, 9:30 PM eclectic latin jazz bandoneon player Gregorio Uribe’s Big Band at Zinc Bar.

2/3, 10 PM eclectic cosmopolitan songwriter Tajna Tanovic at the downstairs cafe at Symphony Space, free

2/3, 10ish multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar.

2/3, 11 PM psychedelic, fearlessly obscene French garage/surf rockers La Femme play Lit.

2/3, 11:30 PM the Hollows play their irrepressibly fun oldtimey bluegrass/hillbilly music at the Knitting Factory

2/3, 11:30 PM sharp literate tuneful downtempo Aimee Mann-ish rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult play the big room at the Rockwood.

2/4, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein hosts a program feat. cellist Wendy Sutter and violinist Maria Bachmann playing Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, plus a preview of a new duo written by Philip Glass at PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15 tix go to benefit the 4th/5th grade band program at the school. “The Neighborhood Classics series is designed for families, but is enjoyed by audience members of all types.”

2/4, 7:30 PM the MSM Philharmonia play Villa-Logos: Uirapuru (The Enchanted Bird); Francaix: Clarinet Concerto; Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, op.39 at Borden Auditorium at Borden Auditorium at Manhattan School of Music, $10/$5 stud/srs.

2/4, 7:30 PM the reliably comedic Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood followed eventually at 10:30 by the brassy, funky Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds (who are back again the following night, same time, same room).

2/4, 8 PM cleverly lyrical, socially aware, inspiringly tuneful janglepop duo Left on Red take a break from busking for a show at Bar 82, just north of St. Mark’s on 2nd Ave.; 2/14 they’re at the NYC Transit Museum

2/4 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes followed at 10 by the martini cowboy himself, the Jack Grace Band.

2/4, 8ish, smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson backed by the Roscoe Trio at Lakeside followed at 11 by the even higher-energy Tom Clark & the High Action Boys.

2/4, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Ran Blake is transcendent.

2/4, 9 PM Nashville guitar/piano legend – Jerry Lee stomp and ferocious pickin -with Greg Garing at the Jalopy

2/4 the jangly, effervescent, irrepressible Mexican Go-Go’s – Pistolera – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

2/4, 10 PM Jennifer Choi (violin) Wendy Law (cello) Justin Hines (percussion) Rubin Kodheli (electric cello) “Classical Jam Trio and special guest Rubin Kodheli, featured performer and composer in the movie “Precious,” join forces in an evening of composed and improvised music including Osvaldo Golijov’s tango inspired cello solo, Ômaramor, Hines’ Samai’i Shira based on rhythms and melodies with Arabic influences, A.C.T. Amplified Cardbord Tube for solo percussion, Choi’s flamenco inspired Madrileño, and Kodheli’s Jungle and Nightengale” at the Stone, $10

2/4, 11 PM lush, atmospheric, socially aware, Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Bitter End.

2/4 garage rockers the Thigh Highs play midnightish at Hank’s

2/5, 7 PM an underworldly noir chanteuse doublebill with the Nashville gothic Lorraine Leckie and the Coney Island gothic Carol Lipnik at Banjo Jim’s – yum.

2/5, 7 PM fiery, funky Chicago-style electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

2/5 the year’s best doublebill so far: rustic, darkly intricate gypsy-inspired rockers Kotorino at 8 PM followed by ferocious pan-Balkan band Ansambl Mastika – whose new album is the best one we’ve heard so far this year – at Barbes.

2/5, 8 PM, free, pianist Chie Sato Roden and cellist Jody Redhage’s excellent chamber jazz ensemble Fire in July celebrate the release of their CD “Streetcar Journey,” featuring the music of beloved American film composer Alex North (1910-1991) and his magnificent, jazz-inflected score to the 1951 classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street between 5th and 6th Aves.

2/5 starting at 8 the Truants, Bongo Surf, Mr.Neutron, Blue Wave Theory and the Tarantinos NYC at Unsteady Freddie’s surf music extravaganza at Otto’s.

2/5, 8 PM unusually tuneful mathrock with Stats at Cake Shop.

2/5, 8:30 PM edgy, funky songwriter Shayna Zaid & the Catch at the big room at the Rockwood

2/5, 9ish David First’s legendary late 70s noise-rock band the Notekillers – who were doing Sonic Youth stuff ten years before Sonic Youth – at Coco 66.

2/5 9 PM careening southwestern gothic/C&W band the Newton Gang at 68 Jay St. Bar

2/5 the Mighty Paradocs play their blend of hip-hop and punk at 9 followed by Rockers Galore playing dub reggae at Shrine at 10.

2/5, 9:30 PM sophisticated, torchy, eclectic Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/5 Taj Weekes & Adowa – who are about the best thing happening in roots reggae right now – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $14

2/5, 10 PM crazed gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata.

2/5, 90s Britrock style melodic powerpop with the Royal Chains, 10 PM at the Cameo Gallery

2/5, midnight the Jack Grace Band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/6, 8 PM original and classic Cuban songs with low-register instruments: bass, baritone sax, baritone guitar, tuba, et al. with Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club.

2/6, 9 PM twisted Merle Haggard covers done free jazz style by Bryan & the Haggards at Rodeo Bar.

2/6, 10 PM fiery and sultry Roulette Sisters frontwoman/bluesmama Mamie Minch at the Jalopy

2/6, 11:30 AM or so cleverly virtuosic mostly female original klezmer band Isle of Klezbos at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum

2/6, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Lexington at 76th St.

2/6, 6:30 PM Matei Varga on piano playing Enescu, Janácek, Bartók, and Szymanowski at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/7, 7 PM sultry oldtimey chanteuse Robin Aigner and her band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/7, 8:30 PM Leif Arntzen’s TLAB: Leif Arntzen, trumpet; Ryan Blotnick, guitar; Michael Bates, bass; Miles Arntzen, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/7 charismatic noir powerhouse Vera Beren takes a turn booking Small Beast: so far she’s the only one who’s consistently been able to evoke the intense 2008-09 transcendence of the weekly dark rock show. On the bill: 9 PM Hypnofolk, 10 PM Lone Vein, 11 PM Beren’s own astonishingly powerful Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and eclectic surf instrumentalists the Tarantinos NYC at midnight.

2/7, 9 PM edgy Japanese big band jazz with the Yaozeki Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

2/8, 7:30 PM at Barbes Petr Cancura’s Down Home: his “attempt to capture the nostalgia of classic b & W photography with music steeped in Americana,” with Skye Steele – violin; Petr Cancura – sax, clarinet, mandolin; Scott Kettner – drums, percussion; Garth Stevenson – bass and Jesse Lewis – guitar.

2/8-13 alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s weeklong 50th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard: 2/8 with guests Carla Cook and Karrin Allyson; 2/9 a quartet show with strings; 2/11 a quintet featuring Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash and Christian McBride; 2/12-13 Tain Watts takes over the drum chair.

2/8 rare solo sets from an especially choice bunch of edgy songwriters: indie pop goddess Kendall Jane Meade of Juicy and Mascott, 90s luminary Richard Balayut of Versus and terse, intense, guitarishly spot-on Jennifer O’Connor, 9 PM at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

2/8, 8 PM politically potent dancehall reggae star Anthony B at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

2/8, 8:30 PM And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s cd release show at Littlefield, $12 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

2/8, 9 PM smartly lyrical retro soul/rock songwriter Dina RuDean at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/8, 9 PM alto saxophonist David Binney leads an inspired quartet with Jacob Sacks on keys, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums at 55 Bar

2/8, 9ish Adult Themes play Death by Audio. Distorted keys, fuzz bass, chick vocals, primitive garage rock meets noise but purposefully – cool stuff.

2/8 vintage R&B flavored powerpop powerhouse the Brilliant Mistakes at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

2/8, 11 PM sprawling dark Americana band Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday – sort of the prototype for O’Death

2/9, 6 PM torchy sultry bluesy jazz chanteuse Natalie Galey leads a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/9, 8 PM dark guitar atmospherics with Spooky Ghost at the Stone, $10.

2/9 an impressively strong, cheap quadruple bill at Southpaw starting at 8:30 with pensive, jazz-tinged Canadian songwriter Chloe Charles, fiery gypsy punks Kagero, the ragtime dance-punk of Apocalypse Five and Dime and garage-soul rockers Billy Woodward & the Senders, $10

2/9, 9 PM noir singer Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

2/9 tropical punk madness at midnight-ish with Chicolina Sound Machine feat. Pedro Erazo of Gogol Bordello at Bowery Electric; even more amazing skaragga/metal cumbia rockers Escarioka open the show at around 9. CSM are also here on 2/23.

2/9, 10 PM tuneful up-and-coming jazz guitar star Ila Cantor shows off her pop songwriter side at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/9, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

2/9, 11 PM big psychedelic funk band Turkuaz at Cake Shop

2/10, rustic old hillbilly songs with the Weal and the Woe at 8 followed at 10 PM by retro country legend Greg Garing at Barbes.

2/10 Israeli roots reggae with Moshav Band at the Canal Room, 8 PM, $10 adv tix. rec.

2/10, 9 PM the Michael Winograd Klezmer Trio at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by pyrotechnic Balkan brass band Veveritse.

2/10, 9 PM ten-piece, six-trumpet funk band the Chase Experiment at Spike Hill.

2/10 LES punk/surf/soul legend Simon and the Bar Sinisters, 10ish at Rodeo Bar; he’s at Lakeside at the same time on 2/12.

2/11 artist Robin Hoffman, whose vibrant illustrations have documented the equally vibrant oldtimey/Americana scene at the Jalopy, celebrates the release of her latest coffee-table book there at 6 PM.

2/11 Ethiopian-inspired big band jazz legends Either/Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Concert, 6 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

2/11, 7 PM witty, legendary Clash collaborator and Americana chanteuse Ellen Foley at Lakeside

2/11, 7 PM the Bantu Dub Project play dub reggae at Shrine

2/11, 7:30 PM pianist Edmund Arkus plays Brahms, Liszt and Haydn at the Third St. Music School Settlement, free

2/11, 8 PM House of Stride: Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s Roundup doing their western swing thing.

2/11, 9 PM Changing Modes – the cleverly eclectic, sometimes new wave tinged female-fronted art-pop/punk band responsible for our choice of best song of 2010 – at Fontana’s.

2/11, 9:30 PM the Sometime Boys – a sometimes haunting, sometimes slinky and funky, sometimes rustically fun acoustic Americana spinoff of fiery art-rockers System Noise – at Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave. at Bergen, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. Directions: 2/3/4 train to Bergen. Walk east on Bergen about 2 blocks to Vanderbilt. Or take the B/Q to 7th Ave/Brighton and walk north on Carlton 3 short blocks. Take a right on Bergen and walk one block to Vanderbilt

2/11 up-and-coming jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton and band at Miles Cafe, 9:30 PM $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

2/11, 10 PM latin soul big band the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

2/11, 10:30 PM cool improvs with Nasheet Waits’ Equality Band: Logan Richardson, alto sax; John Hebert, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

2/11, 10:30 PM big band bassist/composer Joris Teepe leads a quintet at the Fat Cat.

2/11 Belgian barroom accordion jazz revivalists Musette Explosion at City Winery, 11 PM, free w/rsvp before 2/8 to concierge@citywinery.com

2/11, 11 PM SOJA (formerly Soldiers of Jah Army) play roots reggae at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

2/11, 11:30ish noir rock legend Martin Bisi with Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls on drums at Bruar Falls, early arrival advised.

2/11 ska-punk with the Rudie Crew at Otto’s at midnight.

2/11, midnight, wittily tuneful, original jazz trumpeter John McNeil and his Quartet at Puppets Jazz Bar

2/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

2/12, 6:30 PM ecstatic oldschool New Orleans funk/soul with Brother Joscephus and The Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec.

2/12, 8 PM, repeating 2/13, 3 PM the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony plays Tschaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 with the fiery, virtuosic Karine Poghosyan on piano and Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 at All Saints Church, 230 E 60th St. (2/3rd Aves)., adv. tix $20 rec.

2/12, 8 PM Bassam Saba and the 30-piece New York Arabic Orchestra at Symphony Space, $30/$20 stud/srs. Arguably the foremost Middle Eastern orchestra in North America, Saba also has an extraordinary new album out, Wonderful Land, a tribute to his native Lebanon. This will sell out, adv tix. absolutely required.

2/12, 8 PM global brass madness with Veveritse Brass Band followed at 10 by Red Baraat at Barbes.

2/12 a tasty ska doublebill with the Forthrights and the Pietasters at the Brooklyn Bowl, 8 PM.

2/12, 8:15 PM smart, socially aware Americana/acoustic psychedelic songwriter Allysen Callery at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/12, 8:30 PM Balkan-tinged jazz with the Ben Holmes Quartet feat. Ben Holmes (trumpet); Curtis Hasselbring (trombone); Geoff Kraly (bass); Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) at I-Beam.

2/12, 9 PM relentless, psychedelic Mississippi hill country style blues guitarist Will Scott – a worthy heir to the RL Burnside/Junior Kimbrough throne – at 68 Jay St. Bar.

2/12, 9 PM imaginative large country band Yarn – whose horn section makes perfect sense – at Sullivan Hall, $12.

2/12, 10 PM Kevin Batchelor’s Grand Concourse feat. members of Rocksteady 7, The Stingers & Westbound Train plays classic and original ska at Two Boots Brooklyn.

2/13, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play an all-Brahms bill: Hungarian Dance No. 5; the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sug don. They’ve done all these previously, and brilliantly.

2/13 Frances-Marie Uitti, cello and Lisa Bielawa, composer/vocalist playing and singing Xenakis, Luciano Berio, and improvised settings of sonnets by Christian Hawkey, 6:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

2/13, 7 PM violinist Hye-Jin Kim at Barbes, program TBA, followed at 9:30ish by jazz manouche monster Stephane Wrembel.

2/13, 8:30 PM the massively hilarious all-female accordion ensemble Main Squeeze Orchestra play the cd release show for their new one at Drom.

2/13, 9 PM Virginia’s hottest original bluegrass band the Dixie Bee-Liners at the Jalopy.

2/13, 11 PM literate powerpop star Patti Rothberg plays the cd release for her somewhat controversial new one Overnite Sensation at Otto’s. Only in New York – most recently she’s playing some stadium with the B-52’s, but she’s doing her cd release at Otto’s late on a Sunday. Early arrival advised.

2/14, 6 PM classic tango with the Hector Del Curto Tango Orchestra at the World Financial Center, free

2/14, 9 PM big band jazz night with the Delphian Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

2/14, 9ish a rare Rosie Flores solo acoustic show at Bowery Electric, $10 adv tix rec.

2/14 oldtimey swing with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies – “the best Valentines band in New York City” – 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/14, 10 PM Ghanian-American hip-hop powerhouse Blitz the Ambassador and his wild Afrobeat band at the new cafe at the Apollo Theatre, $15 adv tix rec.

2/15, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin star Jenny Scheinman at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party

2/15-20 intense jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke w/Geoffrey Keezer, George Mraz, Clarence Penn & Kenny Washington on vocals, 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club, $30 tix avail.

2/15, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Seamus Blake leads a quartet with David Kikoski – piano; Matt Penman – bass; Victor Lewis – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20

2/15 tango nuevo bandoneon genius Raul Jaurena leads a trio with Pablo Aslan on bass and Roger Davidson on piano at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:15 PM.

2/15 compelling, frequently creepy art-folk chanteuse Larkin Grimm at Union Pool, 11 PM

2/16, 6:30 PM innovative violinist/composer Ana Milosavljevic plays an eclectic bill with Kathleen Supové on piano feat. TAKE Dance Music by Aleksandra Vrebalov, Eve Beglarian, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols and Milosavljevic herself at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec. She played most of this program last year at Lincoln Center and it was very hypnotic and interesting.

2/16, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Noah Preminger leads the quartet who play on his absolutely brilliant, terse new ballads album Before the Rain: Frank Kimbrough at the piano, John Hebert on bass and Matt Wilson on drums at the Jazz Standard, $20 – could be one of those shows people will be talking about for a long time.

2/16, 7:30 PM opening night of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features Sympho, New York Polyphony, and Charles Perry Sprawls playing Arvo Pärt’s epic Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten plus the otherworldly world premiere of ARCO co-composed by Paul Haas, Paul Fowler and Bora Yoon, $25

2/16, 7:30 PM Georgy Valtchev, violin; Amir Eldan, cello; Lora Tchekoratova, piano  play Beethoven: Sonata in A Major, op 69; Sonata in A Major, op. 47, “Kreutzer;” Piano Trio in B-flat Major, “Archduke” at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

2/16, 8 PM subtle, soulful jazz/rock/Americana wordsmith/tunesmith Dina RuDean at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8 PM psychedelic Australian art-rock legends the Church play three of their classic albums in their entirety: Untitled #23, Starfish and Priest = Aura at the Highline, tix are painfully expensive ($39.50) but are probably worth it. on 2/17 they’re at B.B. King’s

2/16-18, 8 PM flamenco jazz piano titan Chano Dominguez’ Flamenco Hoy music/dance spectacular at NY City Center, 55th St. (6/7 Aves.), $35 tix avail.

2/16, 8 PM sharply literate, understatedly intense soul/rock songwriter Dina Rudeen with her excellent band at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8:30 PM a potentially alchemical bill with Brandon Ross – guitar/banjo/vocal with Stomu Takeishi – acoustic bass guitar and JT Lewis – drums at Roulette, $15

2/16 scorching Nashville gothic/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Lakeside at 9 PM.

2/16, 10 PM virtuosic cello metal with Stratuspheerius at Fat Baby.

2/16, 10ish Vagina Panther at Death by Audio – snarling, in-your-face, female-fronted riff-metal.

2/17, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s latest Reflections Series concert – this time with pianist Jonathan Feldman – explores the influence of location and dislocation on creativity with music by Ernest Chausson, Erin Schulhoff, Bedrich Smetana, Frédéric Chopin and Leoš Janácek. At WMP Concert Hall, 31 East 28th St.

2/17, 7:30 PM night two of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features diverse politically-inspired avant garde music: ferocious, fearless new music ensemble Newspeak doing Matt Marks: A Portrait of Glenn Beck (2009), Eighth Blackbird playing Rzewski’s Attica memoir Coming Together, plus an all-star crew playing Andriessen’s Worker’s Union, $30.

2/17 cleverly lyrical classic pop/janglerock goddess Patti Rothberg at the Parkside, 8:30 PM

2/17, 8:30/10:30 smart new alto sax compositions with Jacam Manricks – saxes, Matt Wilson – drums and Sam Yahael- organ at the Bar Next Door.

2/17 worldbeat siren Chiwoniso plays Zimbabwean mbira funk at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, free, early arrival advised.

2/17 all-purpose jazz/Americana stringed instrument virtuoso Matt Munisteri at Barbes, 10 PM.

2/17, 10 PM Ilamawana play original roots reggae at Shrine.

2/18, 7:30 PM NYC noir art-rock legends Elysian Fields at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/18-20 the Mingus Big Band and then on 2/21 the Mingus Orchestra at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25-30 tix rec.

2/18, 7:30 PM the MSM Philharmonia play Sejourne: Marimba Concerto; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, op.34; Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 at Borden Auditorium at Manhattan School of Music, $10/$5 stud/srs.

2/18, 8 PM devious intense, literate, charismatic ukelele siren/songwriter Kelli Rae Powell solo at Jimmy’s 43, 43 East 7th St, eet in the East Village

2/18 smart eclectic new jazz and funk with trumpet star Leron Thomas, Boston band Six Figures and saxophonist Logan Richardson at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

2/18 Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes at 8 followed by hip-hop/soul/jazz crew Peoples Champs at 10 feat. members of Slavic Soul Party, Meta and the Cornerstones, Baye Kouyate, Jo Jo Kuo and His Afrobeat Collective, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Afrodesia, Nation Beat.

2/18, 8:30 PM Dawn of Midi: Indian contrabassist Aakaash Israni, Pakistani percussionist Qasim Naqvi, and Moroccan pianist Amino Belyamani plus celebrated electric guitar quartet Dither playing new works including world premieres by Brent Miller, Adam Fong and Denise Gilson, and music by Lisa R. Coons from Dither’s 2010 album at Issue Project Room, $10.

2/18, 10 PM fiery noir guitar rocker Nathan Halpern and band – sort of the cross between Orbison and Pulp – at Sunny’s in Red Hook

2/18 sly western swing/country crooner Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/19, 11 AM this year’s free marathon at Symphony Space is “young concert artists,” that is if you think under 50 is young. OK, by some standards it is. The complete schedule is here: the choicest hours seem to be the Bach hour at 11 AM and the Chopin hour (which you might think of arriving early for) at 3.

2/19, 8 PM at Trash the Brooklyn What’s monthly ass-kicking rock throwdown: big powerpop buzz band New Atlantic Youth, clever, percussively hypnotic indie duo Eleanor, Let Me Crazy, the Nuclears, the Brooklyn What and rock/ska en Espanol titans Escarioka, who are as good a pick as any for best live band in NYC. Wow.

2/19, 8 PM French early music choir le Poeme Harmonique sing a program titled Esperar, Sentir, Morir at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

2/19, 9 PM Middle Eastern multi-instrumentalist legend Ali Jihad Racy makes his debut at Alwan for the Arts, $25/$20 stud/srs. – this program focuses on the classical musical traditions of the Ottoman Sufi world featuring peformances on the buzuq and ney. Early arrival very highly advised, this will sell out.

2/19, 9 PM the Roulette Sisters – whose innuendo-steeped yet deep oldtime blues harmony album is a top contender for the year’s best – at the Jalopy.

2/19 and again on 2/26 deviously smart, edgy pianist/songwriter Lee Feldman plays the Path Cafe, 131 Christopher near Hudson, at 9 followed by singer-songwriter Daniel Hartnett who comes with some psych rock and Americana cred.

2/19, 10 PM legendary literate Irish punk/janglerockers Black 47 at Connolly’s

2/19, 11 PM NYC’s fun, funny, fiery counterpart to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

2/19, 11:30 PM snarling 90s indie rock trio Versus at the Mercury, $12

2/20 a rare solo appearance by legendary chanteuse Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl at Caffe Vivaldi, 8 PM.

2/20 multi-reed man Ben Kono’s cd release show with a choice band: Ben Kono, tenor sax, oboe, english horn, clarinets, flutes, compositions; Pete McCann, guitar; Henry Hey, piano; John Hollenbeck, drums, percussion; John Hebert, bass; Heather Laws, voice, French horn at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 8:30 PM, $10.

2/20, 9:30 PM agelessly assaultive faux-metal terrorists Gwar at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $25 gen adm.

2/21, 4 PM now everybody wants to do their own Bang on a Can marathon – which is ok with us. The latest avant festival is at Symphony Space, it’s cheap ($10) and features an “85th birthday tribute to Gunther Schuller performed by Ensemble Pi, the US debut of Ireland’s Fidelio Trio performing works by Charles Wuorinen and Evan Ziporyn, new songs from Errollyn Wallen, visual musical collaboration as performances by Matt Sullivan on oboe with live electronics and by jazz pianist Gustavo Casenave are accompanied by live painting from artists Ken Cro-Ken and Vicky Barranguet. Also featured is the Cassatt Quartet joined by Ursula Oppens, and appearances by composers Joan Tower, Huang Ruo, Tania Leon, David Del Tredici, and Amir El Saffar, among others.”

2/21, 6:30 PM soaring, intense, original country rockers Her & Kings County at the Mercury, $10. They were good when they were playing Hank’s five years ago – touring nationally now, they’re even better.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

2/21, 8:30/10:30 PM haunting and sometimes quirky vocalese fueled jazz with Sara Serpa – vocals; Andre Matos – guitar; Matt Brewer – bass at the Bar Next Door.

2/21 eclectic Balkan/Greek/Jewish powerhouse Klezwoods and intense Eastern European juggernaut Raya Brass Band at Coco 66, 9ish.

2/21, 9 PM the Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra (led by the first trombonist in Darcy James Argue’s band) at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

2/21, 9:30 PM a rare small club appearance by the JD Allen Trio (with Dezron Douglas on bass this time around, maybe working up some new tunes) at Smalls. Allen might be the most consistently interesting composer in jazz right now – if you’re free this could be a night to remember.

2/22, 6 PM in the Alice Tully Hall outer lobby International Contemporary Ensemble performing the world premiere of Nathan Davis’ Bells, free.

2/22, 8 PM southpaw guitarslinger Sam Sherwin – who’s doing the catchy Jakob Dylanesque janglerock/soul thing now – at Arlene’s

2/22-26 alto sax legend Dave Liebman with his famous 80s quartet including pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, 8:30/11 PM at Birdland, $30 tix avail.

2/23, 6 PM avant sounds from Allison Miller & Boom Tic Boom followed by Gutbucket playing the cd release for their new one at le Poisson Rouge, $12.

2/23, 8 PM the New York Chamber Virtuosi play Schubert (Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667), Saint Saens, Rossini, Weber and more at a “soiree” at the Gershwin Hotel

2/23, 8 PM ferocious psychedelic country/psychedelic rockers the Newton Gang upstairs at the National Underground.

2/23, 8:30 PM soaring Americana with banjo player Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at 68 Jay St. Bar.

2/23, 8:30 PM a benefit concert “for education and to celebrate the Egyptian Revolution, feat. Shadia Mansour, Lowkey, Logic, Narcycist, Marcel Cartier, Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, Lah Tere of Rebel Diaz, Likwuid, Jody McIntyre. Proceeds to benefit Egypt Relief: Resala, LEAP, and Existence is Resistance” at Galapagos, $20 adv tix rec.

2/23, 10 PM subtle, psychedelic, completely original roots reggae/dub/worldbeat band Kiwi play at Shrine.

2/24, 7:30 PM irrepressible, irresistible Americana harmony trio Red Molly at the big room at the Rockwood welcoming new member Molly Venter, $10.

2/24, 7:30 PM fearless, politically aware new music group Newspeak play the world premiere of Darcy James Argue’s The Sleep Room; Argue’s Secret Society big band plays works by Vijay Iyer and Newspeak’s David T. Little at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 tix rec.

2/24 Irish and American new music with the Fidelio Trio and Evan Ziporyn, 7:30 PM at Symphony Space, $15

2/24, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano aficionado Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

2/24, 8 PM a rare worthwhile concert at Irving Plaza – roots reggae nostalgia with 80s stars the Itals, the Skatalites (probably no original members) and crooner Barrington Levy, $32.50 adv tix rec. at the box office.

2/24, 8 PM a rare acoustic duo show by Americana roots rock maven Jon Sobel and smart roots-pop tunesmith Elisa Peimer at Uncle Bourbon’s, 691 Bay St., Staten Island

2/24, 8:30 PM African-flavored jazz with percussionist Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble feat. Corey Wilkes and Ernest Dawkins at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, free, early arrival advised.

2/24 Pauline Oliveros performs Oracle Bones, a work corresponding to the Taoist Cardinal Directions, on accordion along with the spoken word of Ione and the koto of Miya Masaoka, 9 PM at Roulette, $15

2/24, 9 PM nobody but roots rock fanatics remembered who Wanda Jackson was until she made an album with Jack White and now all of a sudden all the trendoids are all over it. But anyway, she’s good – nice to see her get a $30 headline gig at Bowery Ballroom.

2/24, 9/10:30 PM brooding, intense Argentinian piano eclecticist Fernando Otero leads a sextet at the Jazz Gallery, first set $15, second one is $10, band includes Fernando Otero – piano, Nick Danielson – violin, Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion – bandoneon, Martin Moretto – guitar, Pablo Aslan – bass, David Silliman – drums.

2/25, 7:30 PM adventurous Hungarian world music ambassadors Czik Band at Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec

2/25, 7:30 PM reliably adrenalizing alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

2/25, 8 PM the wry, tongue-in-cheek instrumentalists Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes feat. Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller (the same people who brought you Songs for Ice Cream Trucks).

2/25, 8 PM deviously funny, brilliantly tuneful songwriter Sharon Goldman in the round with the similar Americana-influenced Carolann Solebello and blue eyed soul siren Meg Braun at the Good Coffeehouse Music Series at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Park Slope, 2 train to Grand Army Plaza

2/25, 8 PM Boston garage rockers Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents open for third-wave surf superstars Los Straitjackets at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15.

2/25, 8 PM drummer Neal Smith leads a quintet with Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone, Mark Whitfield, guitar, Mulgrew Miller, piano, Neal Smith, drums, Nat Reeves, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud.

2/25 a classic oldschool NYC avant lineup: Susie Ibarra, drums, percussion, composer; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Jennifer Choi, violin; Kathleen Supové, piano 8:30 PM at Roulette, $15

2/25 la Fleur Fatale play 9 PM at Union Hall – majestic tuneful hard-hitting psychedelic powerpop from Sweden.

2/25, 9/10:30 PM bassist Gregg August leads a quartet with Sam Newsome – soprano saxophone, Luis Perdomo – piano, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery

2/25, 10 PM the irrepressible clown prince of oldschool country music, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/25, 11 PM the hilarious, X-rated girlgroup parody band Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Arlene’s – kind of the ultimate Friday night madness that would have fit in perfectly in this neighborhood ten years ago when it was still cool.

2/25, 11 PM Cleveland surf rock legends Purple K’nif – with the Waitresses’ Chris Butler on drums – at Lakeside.

2/26, 7 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse/songwriter Sarah Jarosz at the little room at the Rockwood

2/26, 7 PM hypnotic cello/marimba duo Goli open for goth-tinged art-rock songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi

2/26 ageless, fearless chamber-goth cello band Rasputina at the Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec. Voltaire – who’s most recently been ripping off Mark Sinnis’ Nashville gothic sound – opens at 7.

2/26, 7:30 PM dark French psychedelic pop with Revolver at the Mercury, $10.

2/26, 8 PM the Lewis Nash Quintet : Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Jimmy Greene, saxophone; Renee Rosnes, piano; Lewis Nash, drums; Peter Washington, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/26, 8 PM deviously torchy, wickedly lyrical ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell opens for  prolific, lyrically intense Americana songwriter Jessi Robertson, playing the cd release show for her impressive new one Small Town Girls at 10 PM at Bar 4.

2/26, 8 PM Tony Malaby’s Novela featuring Kris Davis conducting from the piano at I-Beam

2/26, 9 PM soulful powerhouse Lebanese singer Naji Youssef performs Melkite and Maronite hymns and chants at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

2/26, 9 PM the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/26, 10:30 PM 1960s New Orleans soul survivor Willie West makes his NYC debut at Southpaw, $10 adv tix rec.

2/26, 11 PM the world’s funniest bar bandleader Jesse Bates & His Flying Guitars feat. various members of the Fleshtones at Lakeside

2/26, 11 PM East Village Pharmacy play dub reggae and psychedelic latin grooves at Shrine

2/26 Bill Ware’s Vibes Quartet at midnight 9 PM at Puppets Jazz Bar

2/27, 7:30 PM, an avant evening with Tristan Perich with Loud Objects, Jakum Ciupinski and the Syzygy New Music Ensemble at Galapagos, $12

2/27, 9 PM darkly comedic, intense, politically aware singer/composer Ted Hearne – whose Katrina Ballads album made our Best of 2010 list – at Littlefield, $10.

2/27, 10ish Iraqi metal monsters Acrassicauda at Bowery Electric, $15.

2/28 The Noriko Ueda Jazz Orchestra 9 PM at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

2/28, 10 PM Motorhead at the Nokia Theatre, adv tix $37.50 available

3/1 drummer John Hollenbeck’s epically good Large Ensemble at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM.

3/2 creepy, cinematic, noir instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood ,7 PM $10

3/2, 7:30 PM the Wiyos at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

3/3, 7ish smart lo-fi garage duo the Fools, the Debutante Hour’s reliably entertaining, clever Susan Hwang and fearless punk cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap among others at Goodbye Blue Monday.

3/3, 8 PM modern roots reggae with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and Rebelution at Irving Plaza, $20 adv tix rec.

3/3 Police cover band NY’s Finest at 9 followed by Tammy Faye Starlite’s hilarious Blondie tribute/spoof band the Pretty Babies at 10 at R Bar

3/3, 9 PM lushly rustic atmospheric Americana duo Arborea followed at 10 by lutenist Jozef Van Wissum at Littlefield, $10.

3/3, 10:30 PM Whiting Tennis – the former Scholars frontman and arguably the finest practitioner of Pacific Northwest gothic rock – at Pete’s.

3/4-5, 8 PM at the Kitchen: “Inspired by her immigrant grandfather, a junk dealer in the Lower East Side who recycled scrap metal and other byproducts of the industrial age, Annie Gosfield will sample the sounds of metal, machines, and factories, and transform these raw materials into something new. Featuring two ensembles: the Annie Gosfield Ensemble, with Gosfield on sampling keyboard, Roger Kleier on electric guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and percussion; and Real Quiet with Felix Fan on cello, piano by Andrew Russo, and guest percussionist Alex Lipowski. Also pianist Stephen Gosling performs a selection of Gosfield solos.”

3/4 entertaining, intense Boston horror-surf rockers Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion at Otto’s; they’re at Spike Hill on 3/27

3/4, 10ish the New Collisions at Union Hall; 3/5 they’re at the little downstairs room at Webster Hall at 8 followed by Deluka at 9. Good doublebill!

3/4, 11 PM hypnotic, melodic cellist/composer Julia Kent at Littlefield, $8

3/5, 8 PM utterly original cantorial riff-rockers Sway Machinery open for Malian psychedelic desert blues goddess Khaira Arby at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

3/5, 8 PM, repeating on 3/6, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Sibelius’ lush, lyrical Fifth Symphony and other works at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St.

3/5 gypsy punk with Bad Buka (FKA Panonian Wave) at Mehanata, 10 PM

3/5, 10 PM Koony plays darkly intense, lyrical African Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/5 hilariously satirical, lyrically-driven torch song parody band the Debutante Hour’s cd release show, 11 PM at Bowery Electric.

3/7 the uncommonly imaginative Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club 7:30/9:30 PM, $20

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/8, guessing sometime around 11ish, Raekwon plays a cd release show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15 adv tix rec.

3/8-12, 11 PM bassist Jennifer Leitham leads a trio with Sherrie Maricle on drums and Tomoko Ohno (not to be confused with the former Red Sox pitcher) on piano at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail.

3/8, 11 PM Eli Paperboy Reed at the Knitting Factory, $15, all ages

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor at Alice Tully Hall, 7:30 PM, $20.

3/9, 7:30 PM cello-driven world music band Deoro plays the big room at the Rockwood.

3/10 NYC indie/janglerock legends Scout 8 PM at the small room at the Rockwood

3/10 Stephan Said’s Magic Orchestra, 8 PM at Drom, $10 – fiery, socially aware rock, hip-hop, Balkan and reggae tunes

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM.

3/10, 9 PM two of the funniest and most period-perfect songwriters in oldtimey Americana, Al Duvall and Robin Aigner at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Long Island City.

3/11-12, 8 PM the long-awaited debut of The Songs of Buelah Rowley, by the brilliantly eclectic Mary Lee Kortes at the Cell Theatre, 338 W. 23rd St. (8th and 9th Aves.): “A song cycle with narration and projections based on the biography of Beulah Rowley, a regionally-known depression-era singer and songwriter from the Midwest,” $20 adv tix rec.

3/11, 8 PM the Budos Band at the Bell House, $15.

3/11, 9 PM powerpop/oldschool R&B with the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/11-12 Wess Anderson, Charles McPherson and others play music from Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings at Rose Theatre at Lincoln Center, $30 tix avail.

3/12, 7:30 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec.

3/12, 8 PM lush, clever, quirky art-rockers the Universal Thump at Barbes.

3/13, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at West End Collegiate Church, West End Ave. at 77th St.

3/13, 7 PM, hot modern klezmer with the Klez Dispensers at Drom, $10.

3/13, 9 PM a wild cerebral exuberant intense psychedelic doublebill at Joe’s Pub with the incomparable Rachelle Garniez opening for Electric Junkyard Gamelan. The former topped our best albums list in 2007; the latter played arguably the best concert we saw all year long in 2010.

3/15-16, 9ish Godspeed You Black Emperor at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, $TBA, this may sell out, no word on adv tix.

3/18, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15, program TBA, possibly Bach from her ridiculously popular new cd.

3/18, 7:30 PM the NYC debut of big band arrangements of Esquivel “compositions” by Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec

3/18, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/18, 8 PM new music ensemble Detour at Galapagos, program TBA, $10

3/19 irrepressible folk/Americana harmony trio Red Molly with Pat Wictor on guitar at the First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $30 adv tix rec.

3/21 Israeli Jam/Buzzcocks ripoff Electra at Bruar Falls

3/23-24 Lila Downs at City Winery

3/23, 7:30 PM, new music ensemble Le Train Bleu plays their debut performance of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat at Galapagos, $20/$10 stud.

3/23, 7:30 PM Pedro Diaz, oboe; Milan Milisavljevic, viola; Anna Stoytcheva, piano play Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Loeffler at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

3/23 former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft at Bowery Ballroom, 9ish

3/24, 8 PM the Talea Ensemble play new works by Evan Ziporyn, Rand Steiger, Fred Lerdahl, David Fulmer, Elizabeth Hoffman, and Aaron Cassidy: “a highlight on the program will be a world premiere by Rand Steiger entitled A Menacing Plume (2011) which is a musical response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” At Merkin Concert Hall, $20

3/25,9 PM charming, sultry French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins play the cd release show for their long awaited second album Amourettes at the 92YTribeca, $12.

3/27, 6:30 PM the Jack Quartet plays György Ligeti, Steve Lehman, and Horatiu Radulescu at le Poisson Rouge, $15

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

3/31, 8 PM the Chiara String Quartet’s latest Creator/Curator concert features Lutoslawski’s String Quartet (with improvisations) and Daniel Ott’s String Quartet No. 2

at Galapagos, $10 adv tix rec

4/2 Graham Parker at City Winery.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/5, 9 PM Wire at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix rec.

4/9, 8 PM up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

4/9, 10 PM the Black Angels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix. on sale 2/4

NYC Live Music Calendar for January-February 2011

The new calendar for February and March is here. 

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays at noon starting 1/23 through 2/20, legendary New Orleans soul pianist/songwriter/producer and Elvis Costello collaborator Allen Toussaint plays Joe’s Pub, $30/$15 12 and under

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in February the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in February Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in February Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesday nights at 10, Marc Ribot has taken on booking a weekly show at Watty & Meg, 248 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: two guitarists each week, each playing solo, then trading songs, ideas, conversations, possibly jamming, $15 cover includes a drink.

Tuesdays in February the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays at 9 PM in February smart dark Americana chanteuse Jessie Kilguss plays Goodbye Blue Monday

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in January at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat

Fridays at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays in January at midnight Streams of Whiskey play Pogues covers at Arlene’s.

1/3, 8 PM sly southpaw powerpop guitarslinger Sam Sherwin at the Mercury followed by David Peel (you know, the Have a Marijuana guy).

1/3, 8 PM, Balkan trumpeter Ben Holmes leads his Trio at Barbes.

1/4, 6:30 PM TwoSense – Ashley Bathgate, cello and Lisa Moore, piano plus guests Iva Bittova (voice/violin), Kelli Kathman (flute) and Andy Akiho (steel pan) play their own music plus compositions by Stephen Feigenbaum, Paul Kerekes, Jerome Kitzke, Leos Janacek and Kate Moore at le Poisson Rouge, $15

1/4, 7:30ish Nation Beat bandleader Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes.

1/4 ferocious, atmospheric, swirling cello rock band Blues in Space at Highline Ballroom, 9 PM, $10 gen adm

1/4, 8 PM, multistylistic Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/4-8, 11 PM Matt Slocum, Gerald Clayton & Massimo Biolcati at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail. – not bad for a first-class jazz trio like this…

1/4, 9:30 PM, Meta & the Cornerstones at Joe’s Pub, $17. Diverse, politically aware, hypnotic roots reggae with a global cast and charismatic Senegalese frontman.

1/5 “Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune,” the new film about the iconic lyrical rocker premieres at the IFC Center (a.k.a. the Waverly).

1/5, 6 PM Gloria Cheng, piano and the Calder Quartet playing Messiaen, Boulez, Saariaho, Stravinsky, Adès, Vivier, and Godfrey at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

1/5, 7 PM up-and-coming third-stream pianist Jo-Yu Chen plus guitarist Gilad Hekselman at the cafe out front at the 92YTribeca, free

1/5, 8 PM pianist Taka Kigawa plays Stravinsky – Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka; Dai Fujikura – Joule; Toshio Hosokawa – Haiku; and Debussy – Preludes for Piano, Book II at Bargemusic, $35.

1/5, 9 PM Balkan behemoth Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall – loud enough and fun enough to make you forget about the crowd who usually hangs out at this place.

1/5, 9:15ish Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside. This is the sprawling Tom Waits orchestra edition of the band with violin, trombone and a guest jazz g guitarist from out of state playing their increasingly gothic Nashville gothic songs.

1/5, 10 PM the Tyler Trudeau Attempt play stagy, cynical, bittterly lyrical 60s psychedelic pop with 80s goth tinges at Spike Hill. Their song I Just Want Things to Be Different ought to be mandatory listening for any alienated kid.

1/6, 7 PM Melvin Van Peebles backed by a soul band featuring baritone sax sorceress Paula Henderson and the core of Burnt Sugar at Joe’s Pub, $17. They’re also here on 1/27 at 7.

1/6 an eclectic bill of world music chanteuses at Drom starting at 7 with Somi, Tamar-kali, Meklit Hadero & Pyeng Threadgill.

1/6, 7:30 PM subversive musical comediennes Mel and El (notorious for Mel and El: Gay Married) at Comix, 353 W. 14th St, $10 –  “This month’s show will feature original songs like “Facebook Is Evil”, “Pamela Handerson” and “White Lady with a Black Baby.”

1/6, 8 PM eclectic Greek oud virtuoso/composer Mavrothi Kontanis with his band at Barbes.

1/6, 8 PM Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra playing Sly Stone followed by new generation big band jazz with Richmond’s rhythmically intense Fight the Big Bull and then Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at Littlefield, $15 adv tix rec.

1/6 a fun Americana roots triplebill at Ace of Clubs starting at 8:30 with the jangly, amusing Honey West Band, smart acoustic Americana band the Buckstops and comedic blues band Jimmy & the Wolfpack doing songs with titles like Stick Out Your Can

1/6, 8:30 PM carnivalesque Luminescent Orchestrii frontman Sxip Shirey does his solo thing at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/6, 8:30/10:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon & Collective Language plays Thelonious Monk at Iridium, $25.

1/6 subversive comedienne Tammy Faye Starlite’s characteristically hilarious and surprisingly spot-on Blondie cover band the Pretty Babies play R Bar, 9 PM

1/6 Chicago oldtimey/Americana band Dastardly at Arlene’s, 9 PM.

1/6-8, 9:30 PM a trio summit of sorts: Peter Bernstein – guitar, Larry Goldings – organ, Bill Stewart – drums at Smalls.

1/6, 10 PM AE – pronounced “ash,” this is Eva Salina Primack and Aurelia Shrenker’s otherworldly, hypnotic, intense duo vocal project that interpolates old Appalachian songs with Balkan folk tunes, at Pete’s

1/6, 11 PM ageless faux-French garage rockers les Sans Culottes at Spike Hill.

1/7, 7 PM Americana chanteuse and Clash collaborator Ellen Foley at Lakeside.

1/7 an amazing quadruple bill at Drom starting at 7 with haunting, multistylistic oud band the Maeandros Ensemble, Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yunakov, newschool retro levantine chanteuse Gaida with her band and then clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski’s reliably excellent, electric NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10.

1/7 saxophonist Paul Carlon leads a nonet playing Strayhorn at Miles Cafe, 7:30 PM, $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

1/7, 8 PM an excellent cheap world music quadruple bill with gypsy singer Sanda Weigl, Malagasy chanteuse Razia, then at 11 PM wild cumbia punks Very Be Careful and at midnight Nonstop Bhangra at the 92YTribeca, $15

1/7 the Portland Cello Project – will they have 8 cellos? 16? and violinist/composer Emily Wells, 9ish at City Winery, $15.

1/7-8 it’s the Winter Jazzfest where a bunch of the cheesy Bleecker St. clubs host an astounding mix of jazz legends and future legends:  last year’s (known as the Undead Jazz Festival) was amazing by all accounts. The complete schedule is here.

1/7 a rare chance to see popular Ethiopian chanteuse Meklit Hadero in a small club setting: she’s at Barbes at 8 PM.

1/7, 9 PM Thunda Vida plays latin reggae and dub at Shrine uptown.

1/7, 10 PM the latest oldschool funk/soul rediscovery, Lee Fields & the Expressions at Bowery Balllroom, $17 adv tix rec.

1/7 oldschool Colombian-style cumbia punk hellraisers Very Be Careful, 11 PM at Bowery Poetry Club; they’re also at Coco 66 in Greenpoint at 11ish on 1/8.

1/7, 11 PM Americana roots with the Third Wheel Band, hilarious cover project the Toys and Tiny Instruments Orchestra and the No Small Money Afrobeat brass band at Littlefield, $10.

1/7, 11 PM the Reformed Whores play satirical faux-oldtimey songs at at Pete’s. They’re also at Ace of Clubs on 1/21 at 11 for $10.

1/8, 5 PM, torchy oldtime harmonies and songwriting with the Parkington Sisters at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/8, 8 PM a phenomenal quintuple (!!!!!) bill at Drom starting at 8 with Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation playing hilariously filthy English-language covers of Georges Brassens songs, les Chauds Lapins playing torchy retro French chanson, psychedelic Peruvian surf revivalists Chicha Libre,  funk orchestra Brooklyn Qawwali Party and then minor-key blues/klezmer/reggae jamband Hazmat Modine.

1/8, 8 PM the monthly ska show at the Knitting Factory has a characteristically good lineup this time around with the Forthrights, Kevin Batchelor & Grand Concourse and Westbound Train, $10 adv tix rec

1/8 three pianists (Steven Beck, Stephen Gosling, and Taka Kigawa) playing Haydn: Il Maestro e lo Scolare; Ligeti: Four Hands; Brahms: Hungarian Dances; Stravinsky: Rites of Spring, 8 PM at Bargemusic, $35.

1/8 8 PM snarling female-fronted punk/metal band Vagina Panther at Trash

1/8, 8:30 PM the Steve Swell Trio: Pandelis Karayorgis, piano; Guillermo Gregorio, clarinet; Steve Swell, trombone at I-Beam $10 sugg. Plenty of smart listening, interpolation, conversation, musical mutilation possible as well.

1/8 what could be a real powerhouse evening: Jaleel Shaw – saxophones, Lawrence Fields – piano, Boris Kozlov – bass, Johnathan Blake – drums, 8:30 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20

1/8, 9 PM legendary Texas Americana guitar god/crooner Junior Brown at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.

1/8, 9 PM Will Scott – NYC’s most entertaining yet hypnotic blues guitarist – at 68 Jay St. Bar

1/8, 9 PM Bel Air play tuneful, upbeat, uncommonly interesting country and Americana rock at Spike Hill.

1/8, 9ish soulful, psychedelic country band Alana Amram & the Rough Gems followed by Daptone project the Del Reys and new psychedelic soul crew Hallelujah at Littlefield, $10.

1/8, 9 PM mi a seh, dem a riddim call blues and reggae, dem ah play at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, band name World Revelation Band. Yeah mon!

1/8, 9:30 PM trombonist Rick Parker leads an adventurous, tuneful quintet with Logan Richardson – alto saxophone; Sam Barsh – piano; Shawn Conley – bass; Ziv Ravitz – drums at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

1/8, 10 PM the funniest oldschool country band around, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. They’re also at the Ear Inn on 1/10 at midnight.

1/8, 11 PM a hot doublebill with Ethiopian/Afrobeat monsters Debo Band and Balkan brass whirlwind Slavic Soul Party at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec

1/8, 11 PM punk/rockabilly/surf guitar monster Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside

1/9 cheap tix for Globalfest at Webster Hall are SOLD OUT.

1/9, 11:30AMish the most diverse klezmer band on the planet, Metropolitan Klezmer at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum, kids under 13 free.

1/9, 1 (one) and 3 PM Jamaican piano jazz legend Monty Alexander and his Harlem Kingston Express at Iridium, $25

1/9, 3 PM the Antara Ensemble play Foote, Vivaldi, Bartók, Mercadente at St. Andrew’s Church, 2065 Fifth Avenue at 127th Street, NYC, $25/$20 stud/srs.

1/9, 4:45 PM Maurizio Corraza of Rome, Italy plays the organ at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

1/9, 5 PM, funny folk parody band the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/9, 6 (six) PM the Third Wheel Band play catchy, fun oldtimey swing and hillbilly songs with ukele, mandolin and upright bass at Spike Hill.

1/9, 7 PM original, eclectic all-female string band the Real Vocal String Quartet at Drom, free.

1/9, 8 PM John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet plus Matt Mitchell on piano at the Stone, $10

1/9 Bay Area gypsy jazz monsters Gaucho at 8 PM at the Mercury followed eventually at 10 by conscious, politically aware jazz crew the Marcus Shelby Quintet feat. Howard Wiley on sax and Faye Carol on vocals. Gaucho are somehow going to magically teleport themselves to Shrine uptown for a 10 PM set afterward.

1/9, 10 PM a killer quadruple bill with adventurous string quartet Moira Smiley & VOCO, eclectic chanteuse Jessica Fichot, oldtimey swing/jazz crew Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, and then gypsy jazz with the George Cole Quintet and the blissfully intense Fishtank Ensemble, $10 at le Poisson Rouge.

1/10, 7:30 PM Jan Bell’s gorgeously harmony-driven Americana trio the Maybelles, gypsy jazz with the George Cole Quintet, the sly oldtimey Two Man Gentlemen Band and another evening of Romanian gypsy mayhem with Fishtank Ensemble at Sullivan Hall, $10

1/10, 8/10 PM Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown – a potently apocalyptic contemporary retelling of the Orpheus/Euridyce myth – at the big room at the Rockwood – full band performance featuring “the Hadestown Orchestra/Michael Chorney Sextet.”

1/10, 8 PM a rare small club appearance by Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars at Drom, $20 adv tix very highly rec., this will sell out.

1/10 Huun Huur Tu – the group that brought central Asian throat singing to the masses – at Hiro Ballroom, $15 adv tix available at the Highline Ballroom box office. Show starts at 7 – bands on the bill (not necessarily in order) include Red Baraat, De Temps Antan, accordionist Hector del Curto, Los Texmaniacs, Lucia Pulido; HHT should hit at about 11.

1/10, 9 PM the Nathan Parker Smith Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/11, 7 PM marvelously creepy noir soundtrack/downtempo instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.

1/11-16 the Clayton Brothers Band with bassist/bandleader John Clayton, Jeff Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Terell Stafford & Obed Calvaire 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club $30 tix avail. – their January shows here are reliably packed with clever, sometimes wildly intense moments

1/11, 7:30 PM Neil Rolnick night $15 at le Poisson Rouge – it’s the Extended Family cd release show (a vividly bitter, crazed musical memoir of family mischegas at the time of his mother’s death) plus excerpts from Shadow Quartet, performed by ACME, (Rob Moose and Laura Lutzke, violins; Nadia Sirota, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello.) plus Faith for solo piano, performed by Bob Gluck; plus Rolnick dj’ing on his laptop.

1/11 powerhouse trumpeter Ben Syversen’s wild, crazy noise/jazz project Cracked Vessel at 8 PM at Local 269.

1/11, 8:30 PM a killer triplebill with indie guitar legend Chris Brokaw, tersely intense, smart songwriter Amy Bezunartea and the powerfully tuneful, catchy Jennifer O’Connor at Rock Shop in Gowanus.

1/11, 9 PM Walter Ego plays Banjo Jim’s. LJ Murphy’s ex-bassist is a ferociously literate, funny songwriter whose amusing, theatrical stage show is a lot of fun, maybe comic relief from the power and intensity of his post-Costello janglerock and powerpop songs.

1/11, 10 PM intense guitarist Joel Harrison & Spartacus with Gary Versace, Stephan Crump, Jordan Perlson at Korzo

1/11 swirling female-fronted psychedelic pop/80s goth band Religious to Damn at 11ish at Glasslands.

1/11, 11:30 PM Derya Köroglu – haunting, pensive founder of legendary gypsyish/psychedelic folk-rock Turkish group Yeni Türkü – plays a very rare NYC show at Drom, adv tix $25 very highly rec.

1/12, 8 PM the American String Quartet play Mozart: Adagio and Rondo, K. 617; Schoenberg (arr. Webern): Kammersymphonie, op. 9; Beethoven: Quartet in C-sharp Minor, op. 131 at Merkin Concert Hall, $15. A group we take too much for granted: the Beethoven will be full of poignancy and wait til they sink their fangs into Schoenberg!

1/12, 8 PM sharp at Littlefield, only $5 for a double feature: North Dixie Drive (“Often compared to Errol Morris’ Vernon, Florida, Mahoney’s debut film wonderfully showcases an eccentric group of characters in today’s Middle America”) followed at 9:15 sharp by Sometimes, City (“Jim Jarmusch’s cross-section of interviewees from all walks of life including cartoonist Harvey Pekar, explores a city plagued by racial division, poverty and urban decay”).

1/12 hot new buzz band New Atlantic Youth – with Jesse Katz from the Brooklyn What- at Cake Shop, 8:30ish

1/12, 9 PM uncommonly smart, oldtimey style guy/girl folk duo A Brief View of the Hudson at Spike HIll followed at 10 by country/western swing guy Raphael McGregor.

1/12 the scheduled doublebill with Les Nubians and Blitz the Ambassador & the Embassy Ensemble featuring Baloji at SOB’s has been rescheduled to 1/16 at 9 PM. He’s still on the bill at BAM Cafe on Friday.

1/12, 10 PM country siren Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Banjo Jim’s.

1/12, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

1/12, 8 PM a benefit for the Street Pianos project (you know, the day when all these random pianos appear on the street for you to play) at Southpaw feat. Annie Rossi, Greene Girls, Emily Wells and Balthrop Alabama’s Georgiana Starlington, $10.

1/13, 1 (one) PM – Salley Koo, violin; Aron Zelkowicz, cello; Vanessa Fadial, piano at Trinity Church, free

1/13, 6 (six) PM Sabrina Chap plays Caffe Vivaldi. Fearless, funny, tuneful, punk-inspired, cabaret-influenced songwriting.

1/13-16 a rare US appearance by trumpeter and Kryzstof Komeda collaborator Tomasz Stanko at the Jazz Standard. Moody, brooding, but just as likely to go completely off in a bop direction. The lineup is Stanko plus Chris Potter – tenor sax (except early set on 1/13), Craig Taborn – piano, Thomas Morgan – bass, Jim Black – drums, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25

1/13, 7:30 PM Windscape plus the Orion String Quartet play Bach’s Art of the Fugue (BMV 1080) at Greenfield Hall at Manhattan School of Music, free.

1/13, 8 PM hilariously lyrical janglemeisters Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, the retro surf/rockabilly Roebucks, oldschool soul juggernaut Shakedown at the Majestic and garage rockers the Thigh Highs are this month’s Hipster Demolition Night at Public Assembly – the promoters are threatening to make this the last one, say it isn’t so guys!!!!

1/13 eerie, haunting soundtrack composer Thomas Simon at the Gershwin Hotel, 8 PM, $10.

1/13-15, hypnotic, bewitching rustic Italian percussion/chant crew Alessandra Belloni & I Guillari di Piazza play their Tarantella Spider Dance, 8 PM, repeating at 3 PM on 1/16. at Theatre for the New City 155 First Ave., near 10th Street, tix $30

1/13, 8:30 PM the Second Fiddles play rousing hokum blues and oldtimey tunes at Hill Country

1/13, 8:30 PM string/flute trio Silver Roots juxtapose global folk dance tunes with new avant garde compositions at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/13, 9 PM crazy Danish Balkan brass band Bjonko & Copenhagen Chalgija at Drom, $10.

1/13, 9ish self-styled “bebop terrorists” Mostly Other People Do the Killing and the Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans trio at Littlefield, $8 adv tix rec.

1/13 hypnotic Middle Eastern psychedelic rockers the Mast at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

1/13, 9:30 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford takes a break from conducting his deviously fun big band to play with this excellent quartet including Nate Radley – guitar; Dave Ambrosio – bass; Russ Meissner – drums at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/13 fiery ska/reggae band the Hard Times play two sets, the second backing Slackers mastermind Vic Ruggiero at Otto’s, 10 PM.

1/14, 7 PM a ska-punk extravaganza at Sullivan Hall with Last Shot Fired, 45 Shootout, Across the Aisle, Jah Sticks, Rudie Crew, $TBA

1/14, 7 PM ageless oldschool R&B revivalists the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood

1/14, 7:30 PM and 1/15, 6 PM Golden Festival, NYC’s annual Eastern European music summit moves to Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Ave. in Brooklyn feat. dozens of bands incl. Ansambl Mastika, Raya Brass Band, Veveritse Brass Band, Lunas Altas, and of course Zlatne Uste, your best deal is $60 two-night admission.

1/14, a killer Middle Eastern fueled triplebill at Zebulon starting 8ish with slinky golden age Egyptian film music revivalists Zikrayat followed by Bay Area Balkan/Turkish hellraisers MWF and then equally fiery Turkish folk crew Dan Kanli (Turkish for “crazy blood”).

1/14, 8 PM potently lyrical, lush, sultry art-rockers the Snow at Rock Shop in Gowanus.

1/14, 8 PM reliably adventurous, interesting new chamber group Sybarite5 (Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass) play a set selected by their ipod shuffle at the Cell Theatre 338 West 23rd St. (8/9th Aves), $20/$10 stud. Radiohead? Sabbath? Mozart? Who knows?

1/14 tasteful purist Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s 8 PM; also here on 1/28.

1/14, 8 PM Rhythms of Rajasthan – North Indian music and dance extravaganza – at Symphony Space, $35/$20 stud.

1/14, 9 PM jangly plaintive  Bill Frisell-style Americana jazz with Jeremy Udden’s Plainville at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

1/14 trumpeter Leron Thomas – a true original with a snarling, surreal wit and ferocious talent – with Mark Kelley, Jason Moran, Josh Mease, Kendrick Scott and Nicole Hurst as part of piano star Moran’s jazz night featuring Houston expats at the 92YTribeca – evening starts at 9, Thomas’ set at 10, $25 gen adm.

1/14-15 Avishai Cohen on trumpet with a monster rhythm section: Omer Avital – bass, Nasheet Waits – drums, 9 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20

1/14, midnight sly acoustic jamband Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/15, 7 PM a killer triplebill at Caffe Vivaldi starting with blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun followed by smartly pensive, lyrical songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Carolann Solebello (of Red Molly) and then at 10:30 Hope DeBates and North 40 playing smart, oldschool countrypolitan, jazz and Americana with an excellent band.

1/15 the Brooklyn What, unsurprisingly, have put together the best bill of the year so far: 8 PM slinky ska and rocksteady with the Forthrights, charismatic gypsy punk/metal cumbia/skaragga monsters Escarioka at 9- arguably the best live band in NYC, bar none – the brilliant and hilarious Brooklyn What , riding the wave of their scorchingly good new series of singles – at 10, powerful noir ska rockers Tri-State Conspiracy at 11 and then third-wave ska legends the Scofflaws at midnight at Trash – plus free drinks (PBR and wells) from 8 to 9 PM with paid admission.

1/15, 8 PM, absurdly funny Merle Haggard cover band Bryan & the Haggards (a bunch of jazz guys having fun with country) at Banjo Jim’s.

1/15, 8 PM innovative dual flute/electronics duo Flutronix with the Itkus Percussion Quartet at the Cell Theatre, 338 West 23rd St. (8/9th Aves), $20/$10 stud.

1/15 haunting Irish-American songwriter Susan McKeown – whose latest album Singing in the Dark is excellent – at Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $18 adv tix rec.

1/15 back by popular demand, Derya Köroglu – haunting, pensive founder of legendary gypsyish/psychedelic folk-rock Turkish group Yeni Türkü – at Drom, 8:30 PM, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

1/15 the Brixton Riot – smart tuneful two-guitar powerpop band – at Maxwell’s, 8:30 PM

1/15, 9 PM uncategorizable funny guy Tim Fite and sprawling acoustic Nashville gothic band O’Death at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec

1/15, 9 PM sharp, literate downtempo rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

1/15 torchy songwriter Abby Payne at Pete’s, 9 PM. She’s also at the Rockwood on 1/25 at 11.

1/15, 9:30 PM clever urban country band Miller’s Farm plays Hill Country

1/15, 11 PM NYC’s fiery, amusing answer to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

1/15, 1 AM (actually morning of 1/16) the Grey Race play Zombies-esque psychedelic pop at the Rockwood.

1/16, 6 PM, repeating on 1/23 the Grneta Duo+ (Balkan clarinet monsters Vasko Dukovski, Ismail Lumanovski and casually brilliant pianist Alexandra Joan) play Bela Bartok, Gerald Cohen, Felix Mendelssohn, Nicholas Csicsko, Mohammed Fariouz, Vittorio Monti at Drom, $10 or $30 incl. prix fixe dinner (food at the club is delicious, and we have seen and enthusiastically reviewed this program – it is phenomenal!).

1/16, 7:30 PM the Rudie Crew and Royal City Riot open for third-wave ska legends the Toasters at the Knitting Factory, $12 adv tix rec., all ages.

1/16, 8:15 PM hilarious, politically aware acoustic punk rocker Paranoid Larry & His Imaginary Band at Otto’s.

1/16, 8:30 PM jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton play the cd release for his tropical new cd Botanic at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

1/16, 11 PM Ronald Reagan at Banjo Jim’s: “Boston’s premier 80’s pop saxophone duo aim to revitalize America’s economy by promoting large tax cuts & a revival of 80’s pop music. Their sidemen went on strike, violating a band regulation prohibiting critical players from striking. Ronald Reagan stated that if the musicians ‘did not return to work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs, and will be terminated.’ They are seeking (non-union) musicians in anticipation of a 2011 tour to Grenada.”

1/17 the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall kicks off with a free 7-hour marathon from 2-9 PM. Take a deep breath, here’s the lineup: Ne(x)tworks – Julius Eastman, Stay On It; Timo Andres – Charles Ives, The Alcotts; Timo Andres, “Everything is an Onion” from It takes a long time to become a good composer; Face the Music – Missy Mazzoli, Death Valley Junction; Christine Southworth, Volcano; So Percussion – Selections from Imaginary City and Amid the Noise; NOW Ensemble – Judd Greenstein, City Boy; Chiara String Quartet – Jefferson Friedman, String Quartet No. 3; John Matthias, Adrian Corker & Andrew Prior – John Matthias, What Happens & Cortical Songs/Mercedes the Dancer (U.S. Premiere); Vicky Chow – Daniel Wohl, Aorta; NOW Ensemble with Corey Dargel & Nathan Koci – Corey Dargel, Other People’s Love Songs; Ashley Bathgate & Lisa Moore – Kate Moore, Velvet; Ashley Bathgate – Michael Gordon, Industry; Gabriel Kahane – A selection of songs by Gabriel Kahane; Nadia Sirota – Nico Muhly, Keep in Touch; Buke and Gass with Victoire – TBA.

1/17, 7 PM ferocious, multistylistic Balkan hellraisers Raya Brass Band at Barbes followed by Chicha Libre.

1/17, 9 PM big band night with Frank Carlberg and Nicholas Urie’s City Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/18-19 Jeff Tain Watts with Steve Coleman and Robert Hurst at the Jazz Standard sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 – good times guaranteed, then 1/20-23 they switch out Coleman for Marcus Strickland and add David Kokoski on piano for new levels of intensity.

1/18 moody, thoughtful jazz pianist Mika Pohjola with Dan Loomis on bass and Kyle Struve on drums at Miles Cafe, 7:30 PM.

1/18 a good quadruple bill at Spike Hill starting at 8 PM with neosoul/downtempo Teletextile followed by female-fronted Radiohead-powerpop band Mixtape, 10 PM by retro 80s Cure/janglepop band Bona to Vada and then at 11 PM, sharp, smart guitar-and-violin-driven indie rockers Bern & the Brights. B&tB’s are also at Maxwell’s on 1/21 at 8:30.

1/18, 8 PM ageless noir cabaret accordion chanteuse Phoebe Legere at Iridium, $30

1/18-22, 8:30 PM 40 Twenty: Vinnie Sperrazza – drums; Jacob Sacks – piano; Dave Ambrosio – bass; Jacob Garchik – trombone at I-Beam, $10 sugg.

1/18 soaring oldtimey Americana/country songwriter Alanna Fugate at Cake Shop, 9 PM.

1/18, 9:30 PM Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays guitar in a virtuosic, laid-back oldschool Steve Cropper kind of way; she sings with a subtly torchy warmth. If oldschool soul music is your thing and you like it chill and hypnotic, Bill Withers style, this is for you.

1/19, 8 PM slinky low-register retro Cuban band Gato Loco – with baritone guitar, baritone sax, tuba and bas – plus eclectic Argentinian pianist Emilio Teubal and his quartet at Drom, $10 tix highly rec.

1/19, 10ish baritone country/western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Rodeo Bar.

1/20, 6-8 PM the opening reception for J Henry Fair’s interactive photo exhibit Landscapes of Extraction: The Collateral Damage of the Fossil Fuels Industries: “an eye-opening look at the increasingly extreme industrial processes used to extract fossil fuels including mountain top removal, deep sea drilling and hydro-fracking” at the second-floor gallery at Cooper Union.

1/20, 7 PM potently lyrical songwriter Dan Sallitt of Blow This Nightclub infamy plays solo followed at 8 by charming yet edgy Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner at Banjo Jim’s

1/20, Electric Junkyard Gamelan, with their homemade instruments and swirling psychedelic trip-hop vortex of a show at Dixon Place Theatre, 8 PM.

1/20, 8 PM winds/vibes/percussion trio Ensemble Helacious play the world premiere of Untitled Number Nine plus their composition MC5 (dedicated to the Murder City rockers) at Greenwich House Music School on Barrow St., $15/$10 stud.srs.

1/20, 8 PM eclectic, witty jazz guitarist Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by the crazy Indian brass band sounds of Red Baraat.

1/20, 8:30 PM, repeating 1/21 at 9/10:30 PM George Garzone on tenor backed by a bunch of inspired Australians: Jamie Oehlers, tenor; Graham Wood, piano; Sam Anning, bass; Ari Hoenig, drums, 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

1/20, 9 PM cutting-edge big band jazz with the Russ Flynn Large Ensemble at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/20, 10 PM classic film score covers with Morricone Youth at Fontana’s

1/21 slinky Middle Eastern/East African classics from the 20s and 30s with Sounds of Taraab at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra playing obscure hot jazz from the 20s.

1/21, 8 PM the St. Petersburg String Quartet at Bargemusic playing Shostakovich String Quartet No.1, Op. 49; String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68; Beethoven String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, $35 – also here playing more of the Shostakovich quartets and Beethoven late quartets on 1/22 at 8 and 1/23 at 3. The series repeats 2/18-20.

1/21, 10 PM Space Church – Vijay Iyer (piano) Matana Roberts (alto sax) Gerald Cleaver (drums) at the Stone.

1/21 the NY Gypsy All-Stars play a final show with their bassist Pano and keyboardist Jason Lindner at Drom, 10 PM, early arrival advised.

1/21 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/21, 11 PM sarcastic Japanese postpunk band the Hard Nips at Spike Hill

1/22, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic – program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

1/22, 7:15 PM minor-key acoustic blues/klezmer/reggae/New Orleans jamband monsters Hazmat Modine at Terra Blues

1/22 harpist/archivist Benjamin Bagby’s ensemble Sequentia sing French choral music from the 12th and 13th century at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 8 PM adv. tix $35/21 stud. rec.

1/22, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation Georges Brassens cover band at Barbes followed at 10 by accordionist Rob Curto’s Forro for All.

1/22, 9 PM Finotee plays roots reggae at Shrine

1/22 wild intense original bluegrass band Thy Burden at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/23, 7 PM at Europa in reverse order: vintage or vintage-sounding hardcore with Reagan Youth, Yuppicide, Beer & Cable and Agitator opening, $8, 16+

1/23, 8 PM bluegrass legends the Grascals at Highline Ballroom, $12 adv tix rec.

1/23, 8 PM smart soul/funk bandleader Stephanie Rooker & the Search Engine at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/23 innovative Greek-American blues guitarist Spiros Soukis at Lucille’s, 8 PM

1/23, 8:15 PM the LeBoeuf Bros. jazz quintet feat. Nir Felder on guitar, Linda Oh on bass and Henry Cole on drums – big buzz about them. Ready for the big leagues or is it time to back to the minors? Go find out.

1/24 the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

1/24, 7:30 PM the Roulette Sisters’ sultry oldtime resonator guitarist/songwriter Mamie Minch at the Castello Plan, 1213 Cortelyou Rd. at Westminster, Crown Heights.

1/24, 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall the Da Capo Chamber Players perform Duo (2003) – (Premiere of revised version) by Anthony Korf; Canto V (1968) by Samuel Adler; Primavera Amarilla (1997) by Samuel Adler; From Here On Farther (1969) by Stefan Wolpe; Cuatro Bosquejos Pre-Incaicos (2006) by Gabriela Lena Frank; Quintet (2008) by Shen Yiwen. Guest artists include Lucy Shelton, soprano, Jo-Ann Sternberg, bass clarinet, Matthew Gold, percussion, Alex Lipowski, percussion and Matthew Ward, percussion, $20/$10 stud/srs.

1/24, 8:30/10 PM eclectic pan-latin chanteuse/songwriter Marta Topferova plays a duo set with Ben Monder on electric guitar followed by a full band set at Cornelia St. Cafe $10.

1/24, 9 PM the somewhat legendary Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/25 soulful jazz/bossa/Americana chanteuse Sasha Dobson at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Slavic Soul Party.

1/25 oldschool soul/funk with the Mehahan St. Band and Charles Bradley’s cd release show at Southpaw, 8:30 PM, $12 adv tix rec.

1/25-29, 9/11 PM Nicholas Payton (trumpet) Javon Jackson (sax) George Cables (piano) Dwayne Burno (bass) Lenny White (drums) play Freddie Hubbard at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

1/26, 7 PM subversive comedienne Tammy Faye Starlite – who also knows a thing or two about country music- opens for Carlene Carter solo at Joe’s Pub: “It’s like the New York Dolls opening for the Rolling Stones.” $25 adv tix highly rec.

1/26 the Wayne Escoffery Quintet: Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone; Adam Holzman – keyboards; Orrin Evans – piano; Hans Glawischnig – bass; Jason Brown – drums, 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $20.

1/26, 8:30 PM, charismatic oldtimey Americana band the Wiyos play a rare small club date at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

1/27, 1 (one) PM pianist Alexandria Le at Trinity Church, free, program TBA

1/27, 6:30 PM environmentalist Helena Norberg-Hodge’s documentary, The Economics of Happiness “advocates for localization — the rebuilding of communities and regional economies as the foundation of an “economics of happiness” to improve sustainability, raise cultural awareness and address societal woes tied to globalization,” at Cooper Union’s Great Hall (7 East 7th Street b/w 3rd and 4th Avenues), free.

1/27, 7:30 PM alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe leads a killer quartet with Uri Caine – piano; Ugonna Okegwo – bass; Rudy Royston – drums at Miles Cafe, $20 cover includes a drink.

1/27, 7:30 PM  Songwriters in the round were never this fearless and funny: Americana rock maven Rebecca Turner, devastating, intense, noir jazzy Erica Smith and hilariously lyrical janglerock genius Paula Carino at the Parkside.

1/27, 7:30 PM Israeli Chamber Project plays Debussy, Galina Ustvolskaya, Sebastian Currier, Beethoven, and the world premiere of Amit Gilutz’s New Work for clarinet, violin, cello, harp, and piano at Symphony Space, $29 adv tix rec.

1/27 torchy lyrical art-rockers the Snow at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Red Baraat.

1/28, 7 PM unusually melodic, interesting modern jazz quintet the Flail at the Fat Cat.

1/27, 8 PM Mosaic Foundation plays roots reggae at Shrine followed at 9 by ska/rocksteady/punk crew the Big Takeover.

1/27, 8 PM veteran blues crooner Bobby Bland’s birthday show at B.B. King’s, $27.50 adv tix rec.

1/27, 8:30 PM Stonerway play reggae-rock at Ace of Clubs.

1/27, 8:30 PM clever, tongue-in-cheek early 50s hillbilly parodists Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Co. at Otto’s, 8:30 PM

1/27, 8:30 PM, the Becca Stevens Band at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10. She’s also at the Bar Next Door on 1/31 at 8:30.

1/27 hypnotic, haunting Balkan/Appalachian vocal duo AE collaborate with Roulette Sisters resonator guitarist/ringleader Mamie Minch at the Jalopy, 9 PM

1/27, 9 PM monster clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski’s self-explanatory NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10.

1/27, 9:30 PM, sly witty powerpop tunesmith Patti Rothberg – who in her own way is sort of a female Elvis Costello – at the Delancey

1/28, 8 PM Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes, brought to you by many of the same people behind Songs for Ice Cream Trucks: “A celebration of the under-appreciated creatures that roam the planet. From the Australian Bilby to the deep-sea Magnapinna Squid, to the Saddleback Caterpillar. The songs are brought to life by a gaggle of curious instruments and peculiar sounds including theremin, claviola, stylophone, and more..with Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller.”

1/28, 8 PM subtle, interestingly visual indie chamber rock band Colorform – who play accompanied by live painting – at Banjo Jim’s

1/28 hypnotic roots reggae grooves with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, 8 PM at the Nokia Theatre, $25.

1/28, 8:30 PM, fiery, tuneful drummer-led rock en Espanol powerhouse trio New Madrid at the downstairs “studio” at Webster Hall, $10

1/28 bassist Linda Oh leads her Ensemble with strings: Steve Wilson – saxophones, Sam Harris – piano, Joe Saylor – drums plus the Sirius String Quartet (Fung Chern Hwei/Gregor Huebner – violins, Ron Lawrence – viola, Jeremy Harman – cello), 9 PM at the Jazz Galley, $20

1/28, 9 PM pensive atmospheric rockers Hurricane Bells at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

1/28, 9 PM cellist Marika Hughes plays the cd release show for her two new ones at the 92YTribeca with an unbelievable ensemble: Kyle Sanna—guitar, Shahzad Ismaily—guitar, Todd Sickafoose—bass, Mathias Kunzli—drums, plus special guests Jim Campilongo—guitar, Charlie Burnham—violin, Mazz Swift—violin, Jessica Troy—viola, Elana Arian—violin and Jenny Scheinman—violin, $12.

1/28, 9 PM a killer doublebill at Union Pool with the Lorquistas (Rima Fand of Luminescent Orchestrii, haunting Balkan chanteuse Eva Primack and others doing Frederico Garcia Lorca lyrics set to original music), followed by the hilarious and completely original Spinal Tap of Balkan music, Stagger Back Brass Band.

1/28, 9 PM smart acoustic Americana roots with Julia Haltigan & the Hooligans and the James Maddock Band at the Knitting Factory, $12, all ages

1/28, 9:30 PM, a rare appearance by Pam Fleming & Fearless Dreamer with all the original members at Miles Cafe: the peerless/fearless one on trumpet and flugelhorn plus Allen Won – saxes; Jim West – piano, keys; Peter Calo – guitar; Leo Traversa – bass; Todd Isler – drums, $20 cover includes a drink and munchies.

1/28 ominously funny bluespunk band the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM.

1/28, 11 PM Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Banjo Jim’s. Multistylistic, soaring, frequently haunting Americana singer with one of the best country bands in town – nice to a talented harmony singer take centerstage and own it like she does.

1/28, 11ish, smart catchy keyboard-based indie pop with the Secret History at Glasslands, $10 adv tix rec.

1/29, 7 PM, hypnotically captivating duo Goli – marimba and cello duo – at Caffe Vivaldi followed at 9 by long-running goth/pop chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann.

1/29, 7 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Sarah Jarosz at the little room at the Rockwood

1/29, 7 PM, Huun Huur Tu – the legendary throat singers of the former Soviet republic of Tuva – at Joe’s Pub, $25.

1/29, 7:30 PM witty alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon with Pat Bianchi – organ, Rudy Royston – drums at the Bar Next Door.

1/29, repeating on 1/30, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Bedford: Persephone, 1930: A Ballet in One Act for Orchestra (world premiere); Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28 – Yura Alexov, Violin; Beethoven: Symphony No.5 at St. Paul’s Church at 315 West 22nd St., $20 sugg don.

1/29, 8:30 PM swirling, atmospheric, anthemic, socially aware art-rockers My Pet Dragon at Bowery Ballroom, 8:30 PM, adv tix $13 at the Mercury

1/29, 9 PM classical Indian sitar music with Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan plus Dibyarka Chatterjee on tabla at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

1/29, 9 PM Promised Land feat. Myra Melford, Brandon Ross, Stomu Takeishi at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec. Pianist Melford and guitarist/inventor Ross are known quantities; the ringer is Takeishi, who has the capability to add atmospherics…or totally gunk up the works by overplaying.

1/29 tango nuevo-tinged big band jazz with the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, 9 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

1/29 Dave Fiuczynski’s Kif at BAM Cafe, 9 PM. Remember the Screaming Headless Torsos? That was this guy. This is his Middle Eastern/North African guitar project.

1/29, 10 PM the haunting, slinky, psychedelic harmony-driven retro latin group Las Rubias del Norte at Barbes.

1/29, 10 PM Spanglish Fly – who put a catchy, sly, original new spin on classic 60s latin bugalu dance tunes – at Mehanata

1/29, 10 PM Khalilah plays roots reggae at Shrine.

1/29, 11 PM entertaining soul/funk siren Shayna Zaid & the Catch upstairs at the National Underground.

1/30, 2:15 PM Sounds of Korea (traditional percussion/dance/chamber ensemble) at Flushing Town Hall, $12 tix avail.

1/30, 4 PM organists Kent Tritle, Renée Anne Louprette, and Nancianne Parrella perform and lead choral works by legendary, haunting French composer Jehan Alain at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the upper east.

1/30, 5 PM cutting-edge works by Gregor Huebner, David Wallace, Neil Rolnick, Gordon Green, David Lang and Lisa Bielawa; several of the composers are accompanied by Astrid Schween, Yari Bond, Evelyne Luest and Justin Hines. At the Lounge at Hudson View Gardens, 128 Pinehurst Ave. at 183rd St., $12 incl. big yummy buffet afterward!

1/30 Mike Baggetta, Kirk Knuffke and Jeff Davis, an auspicious new guitar/trumpet/drums trio, 6 PM at Downtown Music Gallery.

1/30, 6:30 PM Joshua Rifkin plays Bach and Joplin at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec.

1/30, 7 PM the playful, adventurous Threeds Oboe Trio – Kathy Halvorson, Mark Snyder and Katie Scheele – at Caffe Vivaldi.

1/30, 7 PM Composers Play Composers at Drom: over 20 composers including Joseph Pehrson, Dan Cooper, Gene Pritsker, John Clark, Luis Andrei Cobo, Patrick Grant play new material, $20 cover includes a drink.

1/30, 8 PM eclectic, subtly amusing Pearl & the Beard cellist Emily Hope Price at the Sidewalk.

1/30 haunting, intense southwestern gothic psychedelic band Kerry Kennedy’s Ghostwise at the Mercury, 9 PM

1/30, 9:30 PM haunting, phantasmagorical, improvisational art-song/avant garde ensemble Dollshot’s cd release show at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix very highly rec.

1/30 the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

1/31 Robbie Fulks – who has a killer new double live album out – at the Mercury, 7:15 PM, $12 adv tix rec

1/31, 8 PM powerful soul/Americana chanteuse Jo Williamson’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/31 guitarist Russ Spiegel’s Jazz Orchestra 9 PM at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

1/31, 9 PM a Small Beast bill at the Delancey that lives up to the glory of its first couple of years when Paul Wallfisch was booking it: Slovakian songwriter Tajna Tanovic, jazz crew Glass Buffalo at 10ish and noir accordion chanteuse Marni Rice headlining.

1/31 Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies play torchy 20s/30s swing/jazz obscurities at Rodeo Bar 10ish.

2/1 trombone free jazz legend Steve Swell with Perry Robinson on clarinet and Max Johnson on bass at 7 at Barbes, followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party who also know a thing or two about good trombone.

2/1, 7 PM the Pride of the Subway Ceili Band at Banjo Jim’s followed at 9 by the NYCity Slickers playing bluegrass.

2/1, 8 PM, hypnotic, lush, atmospheric art-rockers the Quavers open for southwestern gothic legends Giant Sand at City Winery, $22 standing room tix avail.

2/1 midnight-ish Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl, $10.

2/2, 8 PM an excellent Afrobeat doublebill with Ikebe Shakedown and Zongo Junction at Brooklyn Bowl, $5

2/2, 8:30 PM female-fronted Canadian rock with Toronto’s edgy danceable postpunk People You Know and ferocious powerpop/punkpop Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, adv tix $8 rec., all ages.

2/2, 9 PM the Mercenaries at Lakeside – Altogether Steve and the rest of the crew are still kicking ass after all these years, sort of the NYC version of the Replacements.

2/3 a 90th Birthday Celebration for Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh, 6 PM at Bruno Walter Auditorium at the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center – performers include soprano Christine Moore, violinist Luis Casal, and pianists Ruzan Asatryan and Katie Reimer. Free, early arrival advised.

2/3-6, 7:30/9:30 PM tenor saxophonist and Miles Davis/Max Roach alum George Coleman leads an interesting quintet lineup including Larry Goldings on organ and Peter Bernstein on guitar at the Jazz Standard

2/3 subversive comedic musical duo Mel & El at Comix 353 W. 14th St, 7:30 PM, $10

2/3, 7:30 PM guest conductor George Steel leads the Trinity choir in a wonderful, often haunting program of 13th-16th century English renaissance choral works by Tallis, Sheppard and Parsons and others at Trinity Church, $20, early arrival rec.

2/3, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation doing their hysterically funny, vicious Georges Brassens songs in English, followed by the charming, sultry Les Chauds Lapins – who mine French chanson that predates Brassens by about 20 years- at Barbes. It was bound to happen.

2/3, 8 PM tuneful mathrock/metal band Stats, beautifully ugly/assaultive guitar jazz with the felicitously named Seabrook Power Plant and then Mantra Percussion playing Iannis Xenakis at Littlefield.

2/3, 8 PM edgy, snarky British postpunk/dance rockers Deluka at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

2/3, 9 PM jaunty oldtimey swing and country with Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at the Jalopy followed at 10 by gypsy jazz powerhouse trio Ameranouche.

2/3, 10ish multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar

2/4, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein hosts a program feat. cellist Wendy Sutter and violinist Maria Bachmann playing Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, plus a preview of a new duo written by Philip Glass at PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15 tix go to benefit the 4th/5th grade band program at the school. “The Neighborhood Classics series is designed for families, but is enjoyed by audience members of all types.”

2/4 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes followed by the martini cowboy himself, the Jack Grace Band.

2/4, 8ish, smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson backed by the Roscoe Trio at Lakeside followed at 11 by the even higher-energy Tom Clark & the High Action Boys.

2/4, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Ran Blake is transcendent.

2/4, 9 PM Nashville guitar/piano legend – Jerry Lee stomp and ferocious pickin -with Greg Garing at the Jalopy

2/4 the jangly, effervescent, irrepressible Mexican Go-Go’s – Pistolera – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

2/4, 11 PM lush, atmospheric, socially aware, Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Bitter End.

2/4 garage rockers the Thigh Highs play midnightish at Hank’s

2/5, 7 PM an underworldly noir chanteuse doublebill with the Nashville gothic Lorraine Leckie and the Coney Island gothic Carol Lipnik at Banjo Jim’s – yum.

2/5 the year’s best doublebill so far: rustic, darkly intricate gypsy-inspired rockers Kotorino at 8 PM followed by ferocious pan-Balkan band Ansambl Mastika – whose new album is the best one we’ve heard so far this year – at Barbes.

2/5 starting at 8 the Truants, Bongo Surf, Mr.Neutron, Blue Wave Theory and the Tarantinos NYC at Unsteady Freddie’s surf music extravaganza at Otto’s.

2/5, 8 PM unusually tuneful mathrock with Stats at Cake Shop.

2/5, 9ish David First’s legendary late 70s noise-rock band the Notekillers – who were doing Sonic Youth stuff ten years before Sonic Youth – at Coco 66

2/5 the Mighty Paradocs play their blend of hip-hop and punk at 9 followed by Rockers Galore playing dub reggae at Shrine at 10.

2/5, 9:30 PM sophisticated, torchy, eclectic Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/5 Taj Weekes & Adowa – who are about the best thing happening in roots reggae right now – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $14

2/5, 10 PM crazed gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata.

2/5, 90s Britrock style melodic powerpop with the Royal Chains, 10 PM at the Cameo Gallery

2/5, midnight the Jack Grace Band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/6 artist Robin Hoffman, whose vibrant illustrations have documented the equally vibrant oldtimey/Americana scene at the Jalopy, celebrates the release of her latest coffee-table book there at 6 PM.

2/6, 8 PM original and classic Cuban songs with low-register instruments: bass, baritone sax, baritone guitar, tuba, et al. with Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club.

2/6, 9 PM twisted Merle Haggard covers done free jazz style by Bryan & the Haggards at Rodeo Bar.

2/6, 10 PM fiery and sultry Roulette Sisters frontwoman/bluesmama Mamie Minch at the Jalopy

2/6, 11:30 AM or so cleverly virtuosic mostly female original klezmer band Isle of Klezbos at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum

2/6, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Lexington at 76th St.

2/6, 6:30 PM Matei Varga on piano playing Enescu, Janácek, Bartók, and Szymanowski at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/7, 7 PM sultry oldtimey chanteuse Robin Aigner and her band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/7, 8:30 PM Leif Arntzen’s TLAB: Leif Arntzen, trumpet; Ryan Blotnick, guitar; Michael Bates, bass; Miles Arntzen, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/7 charismatic noir powerhouse Vera Beren takes a turn booking Small Beast: so far she’s the only one who’s consistently been able to evoke the intense 2008-09 transcendence of the weekly dark rock show. On the bill: 9 PM Hypnofolk, 10 PM Lone Vein, 11 PM Beren’s own astonishingly powerful Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and eclectic surf instrumentalists the Tarantinos NYC at midnight.

2/8, 7:30 PM at Barbes Petr Cancura’s Down Home: his “attempt to capture the nostalgia of classic b & W photography with music steeped in Americana,” with Skye Steele – violin; Petr Cancura – sax, clarinet, mandolin; Scott Kettner – drums, percussion; Garth Stevenson – bass and Jesse Lewis – guitar.

2/8-13 alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s weeklong 50th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard: 2/8 with guests Carla Cook and Karrin Allyson; 2/9 a quartet show with strings; 2/11 a quintet featuring Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash and Christian McBride; 2/12-13 Tain Watts takes over the drum chair.

2/8, 8 PM politically potent dancehall reggae star Anthony B at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

2/8, 8:30 PM And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s cd release show at Littlefield, $12 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

2/8, 9 PM smartly lyrical retro soul/rock songwriter Dina RuDean at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/8, 9 PM alto saxophonist David Binney leads an inspired quartet with Jacob Sacks on keys, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums at 55 Bar

2/8, 9ish Adult Themes play Death by Audio. Distorted keys, fuzz bass, chick vocals, primitive garage rock meets noise but purposefully – cool stuff.

2/8 vintage R&B flavored powerpop powerhouse the Brilliant Mistakes at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

2/8, 11 PM sprawling dark Americana band Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday – sort of the prototype for O’Death

2/9, 6 PM torchy sultry bluesy jazz chanteuse Natalie Galey leads a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi

2/9, 9 PM noir singer Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

2/9 tropical punk madness at midnight-ish with Chicolina Sound Machine feat. Pedro Erazo of Gogol Bordello at Bowery Electric; even more amazing skaragga/metal cumbia rockers Escarioka open the show at around 9. CSM are also here on 2/23.

2/9, 10 PM tuneful up-and-coming jazz guitar star Ila Cantor shows off her pop songwriter side at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/9, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

2/9, 11 PM big psychedelic funk band Turkuaz at Cake Shop

2/10, rustic old hillbilly songs with the Weal and the Woe at 8 followed at 10 PM by retro country legend Greg Garing at Barbes.

2/10 Israeli roots reggae with Moshav Band at the Canal Room, 8 PM, $10 adv tix. rec.

2/10, 9 PM the Michael Winograd Klezmer Trio at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by pyrotechnic Balkan brass band Veveritse.

2/10, 9 PM ten-piece, six-trumpet funk band the Chase Experiment at Spike Hill.

2/10 LES punk/surf/soul legend Simon and the Bar Sinisters, 10ish at Rodeo Bar; he’s at Lakeside at the same time on 2/12

2/11 Ethiopian-inspired big band jazz legends Either/Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Concert, 6 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

2/11, 7 PM witty, legendary Clash collaborator and Americana chanteuse Ellen Foley at Lakeside

2/11, 7 PM the Bantu Dub Project play dub reggae at Shrine

2/11, 7:30 PM pianist Edmund Arkus plays Brahms, Liszt and Haydn at the Third St. Music School Settlement, free

2/11, 8 PM House of Stride: Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s Roundup doing their western swing thing.

2/11, 9 PM Changing Modes – the cleverly eclectic, sometimes new wave tinged female-fronted art-pop/punk band responsible for our choice of best song of 2010 – at Fontana’s.

2/11, 10 PM latin soul big band the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

2/11, 10:30 PM cool improvs with Nasheet Waits’ Equality Band: Logan Richardson, alto sax; John Hebert, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

2/11, 10:30 PM big band bassist/composer Joris Teepe leads a quintet at the Fat Cat.

2/11 Belgian barroom accordion jazz revivalists Musette Explosion at City Winery, 11 PM, free w/rsvp before 2/8 to concierge@citywinery.com

2/11, 11 PM SOJA (formerly Soldiers of Jah Army) play roots reggae at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

2/11, 11:30ish noir rock legend Martin Bisi with Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls on drums at Bruar Falls, early arrival advised

2/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

2/12, 6:30 PM ecstatic oldschool New Orleans funk/soul with Brother Joscephus and The Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec.

2/12, 8 PM, repeating 2/13, 3 PM the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony plays Tschaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 with the fiery, virtuosic Karine Poghosyan on piano and Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 at All Saints Church, 230 E 60th St. (2/3rd Aves)., adv. tix $20 rec.

2/12, 8 PM Bassam Saba and the 30-piece New York Arabic Orchestra at Symphony Space, $30/$20 stud/srs. Arguably the foremost Middle Eastern orchestra in North America, Saba also has an extraordinary new album out, Wonderful Land, a tribute to his native Lebanon. This will sell out, adv tix. absolutely required.

2/12, 8 PM global brass madness with Veveritse Brass Band followed at 10 by Red Baraat at Barbes.

2/12 a tasty ska doublebill with the Forthrights and the Pietasters at the Brooklyn Bowl, 8 PM.

2/12, 8:15 PM smart, socially aware Americana/acoustic psychedelic songwriter Allysen Callery at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/12, 8:30 PM Balkan-tinged jazz with the Ben Holmes Quartet feat. Ben Holmes (trumpet); Curtis Hasselbring (trombone); Geoff Kraly (bass); Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) at I-Beam

2/13, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play an all-Brahms bill: Hungarian Dance No. 5; the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sug don. They’ve done all these previously, and brilliantly.

2/13 Frances-Marie Uitti, cello and Lisa Bielawa, composer/vocalist playing and singing Xenakis, Luciano Berio, and improvised settings of sonnets by Christian Hawkey, 6:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

2/13, 7 PM violinist Hye-Jin Kim at Barbes, program TBA, followed at 9:30ish by jazz manouche monster Stephane Wrembel.

2/13, 9 PM Virginia’s hottest original bluegrass band the Dixie Bee-Liners at the Jalopy.

2/14, 9ish a rare Rosie Flores solo acoustic show at Bowery Electric, $10 adv tix rec.

2/14 oldtimey swing with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies – “the best Valentines band in New York City” – 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/14, 10 PM Ghanian-American hip-hop powerhouse Blitz the Ambassador and his wild Afrobeat band at the new cafe at the Apollo Theatre, $15 adv tix rec.

2/14 the massive hilarious all-female accordion ensemble Main Squeeze Orchestra at Drom, time TBA.

2/15, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin star Jenny Scheinman at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party

2/15-20 intense jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke w/Geoffrey Keezer, George Mraz, Clarence Penn & Kenny Washington on vocals, 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club, $30 tix avail.

2/15, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Seamus Blake leads a quartet with David Kikoski – piano; Matt Penman – bass; Victor Lewis – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20

2/15 tango nuevo bandoneon genius Raul Jaurena leads a trio with Pablo Aslan on bass and Roger Davidson on piano at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:15 PM

2/16, 6:30 PM innovative violinist/composer Ana Milosavljevic plays an eclectic bill with Kathleen Supové on piano feat. TAKE Dance Music by Aleksandra Vrebalov, Eve Beglarian, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols and Milosavljevic herself at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec. She played most of this program last year at Lincoln Center and it was very hypnotic and interesting.

2/16, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Noah Preminger leads the quartet who play on his absolutely brilliant, terse new ballads album Before the Rain: Frank Kimbrough at the piano, John Hebert on bass and Matt Wilson on drums at the Jazz Standard, $20 – could be one of those shows people will be talking about for a long time.

2/16, 7:30 PM opening night of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features Sympho, New York Polyphony, and Charles Perry Sprawls playing Arvo Pärt’s epic Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten plus the otherworldly world premiere of ARCO co-composed by Paul Haas, Paul Fowler and Bora Yoon, $25

2/16, 7:30 PM Georgy Valtchev, violin; Amir Eldan, cello; Lora Tchekoratova, piano  play Beethoven: Sonata in A Major, op 69; Sonata in A Major, op. 47, “Kreutzer;” Piano Trio in B-flat Major, “Archduke” at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

2/16, 8 PM subtle, soulful jazz/rock/Americana wordsmith/tunesmith Dina RuDean at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8 PM psychedelic Australian art-rock legends the Church play three of their classic albums in their entirety: Untitled #23, Starfish and Priest = Aura at the Highline, tix are painfully expensive ($39.50) but are probably worth it. on 2/17 they’re at B.B. King’s

2/16-18, 8 PM flamenco jazz piano titan Chano Dominguez’ Flamenco Hoy music/dance spectacular at NY City Center, 55th St. (6/7 Aves.), $35 tix avail.

2/16 scorching Nashville gothic/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Lakeside at 9 PM.

2/16, 10 PM virtuosic cello metal with Stratuspheerius at Fat Baby.

2/16, 10ish Vagina Panther at Death by Audio – snarling, in-your-face, female-fronted riff-metal.

2/17, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s latest Reflections Series concert – this time with pianist Jonathan Feldman – explores the influence of location and dislocation on creativity with music by Ernest Chausson, Erin Schulhoff, Bedrich Smetana, Frédéric Chopin and Leoš Janácek. At WMP Concert Hall, 31 East 28th St.

2/17, 7:30 PM night two of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features diverse politically-inspired avant garde music: ferocious, fearless new music ensemble Newspeak doing Matt Marks: A Portrait of Glenn Beck (2009), Eighth Blackbird playing Rzewski’s Attica memoir Coming Together, plus an all-star crew playing Andriessen’s Worker’s Union, $30.

2/17, 8:30/10:30 smart new alto sax compositions with Jacam Manricks – saxes, Matt Wilson – drums and Sam Yahael- organ at the Bar Next Door.

2/17 all-purpose jazz/Americana stringed instrument virtuoso Matt Munisteri at Barbes, 10 PM.

2/17, 10 PM Ilamawana play original roots reggae at Shrine.

2/18-20 the Mingus Big Band and then on 2/21 the Mingus Orchestra at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25-30 tix rec.

2/18 Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes at 8 followed by hip-hop/soul/jazz crew Peoples Champs at 10 feat. members of Slavic Soul Party, Meta and the Cornerstones, Baye Kouyate, Jo Jo Kuo and His Afrobeat Collective, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Afrodesia, Nation Beat.

2/18, 8:30 PM Dawn of Midi: Indian contrabassist Aakaash Israni, Pakistani percussionist Qasim Naqvi, and Moroccan pianist Amino Belyamani plus celebrated electric guitar quartet Dither playing new works including world premieres by Brent Miller, Adam Fong and Denise Gilson, and music by Lisa R. Coons from Dither’s 2010 album at Issue Project Room, $10

2/18 sly western swing/country crooner Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/19, 11 AM this year’s free marathon at Symphony Space is “young concert artists,” that is if you think under 50 is young. OK, by some standards it is. The complete schedule is here: the choicest hours seem to be the Bach hour at 11 AM and the Chopin hour (which you might think of arriving early for) at 3.

2/19, 8 PM le Poeme Harmonique sing a program titled Esperar, Sentir, Morir at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

2/19, 9 PM Middle Eastern multi-instrumentalist legend Ali Jihad Racy makes his debut at Alwan for the Arts, $25/$20 stud/srs. – this program focuses on the classical musical traditions of the Ottoman Sufi world featuring peformances on the buzuq and ney. Early arrival very highly advised, this will sell out.

2/19, 9 PM the Roulette Sisters – whose innuendo-steeped yet deep oldtime blues harmony album is a top contender for the year’s best – at the Jalopy.

2/19, 10 PM legendary literate Irish punk/janglerockers Black 47 at Connolly’s

2/19, 11 PM NYC’s fun, funny, fiery counterpart to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

2/20 a rare solo appearance by Tracy Thorn of Everything but the Girl at Caffe Vivaldi, 8 PM.

2/20 multi-reed man Ben Kono’s cd release show with a choice band: Ben Kono, tenor sax, oboe, english horn, clarinets, flutes, compositions; Pete McCann, guitar; Henry Hey, piano; John Hollenbeck, drums, percussion; John Hebert, bass; Heather Laws, voice, French horn at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 8:30 PM, $10.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

2/21, 8:30/10:30 PM haunting and sometimes quirky vocalese fueled jazz with Sara Serpa – vocals; Andre Matos – guitar; Matt Brewer – bass at the Bar Next Door.

2/21 eclectic Balkan/Greek/Jewish powerhouse Klezwoods and intense Eastern European juggernaut Raya Brass Band at Coco 66, 9ish

2/22, 6 PM in the Alice Tully Hall outer lobby International Contemporary Ensemble performing the world premiere of Nathan Davis’ Bells, free

2/22-26 alto sax legend Dave Liebman with his famous 80s quartet including pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, 8:30/11 PM at Birdland, $30 tix avail.

2/23, 10 PM subtle, psychedelic, completely original roots reggae/dub/worldbeat band Kiwi play at Shrine

2/24, 7:30 PM fearless, politically aware new music group Newspeak play the world premiere of Darcy James Argue’s The Sleep Room; Argue’s Secret Society big band plays works by Vijay Iyer and Newspeak’s David T. Little at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 tix rec.

2/24, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano aficionado Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

2/24, 8 PM a rare worthwhile concert at Irving Plaza – roots reggae nostalgia with 80s stars the Itals, the Skatalites (probably no original members) and crooner Barrington Levy, $32.50 adv tix rec. at the box office

2/24 irrepressible, irresistible Americana harmony trio Red Molly at the big room at the Rockwood welcoming new member Molly Venter.

2/24, 9 PM nobody but roots rock fanatics remembered who Wanda Jackson was until she made an album with Jack White and now all of a sudden all the trendoids are all over it. But anyway, she’s good – nice to see her get a $30 headline gig at Bowery Ballroom.

2/24, 9/10:30 PM brooding, intense Argentinian piano eclecticist Fernando Otero leads a sextet at the Jazz Gallery, first set $15, second one is $10, band includes Fernando Otero – piano, Nick Danielson – violin, Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion – bandoneon, Martin Moretto – guitar, Pablo Aslan – bass, David Silliman – drums.

2/25, 7:30 PM reliably adrenalizing alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

2/25, 8 PM the wry, tongue-in-cheek instrumentalists Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes feat. Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller (the same people who brought you Songs for Ice Cream Trucks).

2/25, 8 PM Boston garage rockers Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents open for third-wave surf superstars Los Straitjackets at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15.

2/25, 8 PM drummer Neal Smith leads a quintet with Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone, Mark Whitfield, guitar, Mulgrew Miller, piano, Neal Smith, drums, Nat Reeves, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/25 la Fleur Fatale play 9 PM at Union Hall – majestic tuneful hard-hitting psychedelic powerpop from Sweden.

2/25, 9/10:30 PM bassist Gregg August leads a quartet with Sam Newsome – soprano saxophone, Luis Perdomo – piano, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery

2/25, 10 PM the irrepressible clown prince of oldschool country music, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/25, 11 PM the hilarious, X-rated girlgroup parody band Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Arlene’s – kind of the ultimate Friday night madness that would have fit in perfectly in this neighborhood ten years ago when it was still cool.

2/25, 11 PM Cleveland surf rock legends Purple K’nif – with the Waitresses’ Chris Butler on drums – at Lakeside.

2/26, 7 PM hypnotic cello/marimba duo Goli open for goth-tinged art-rock songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi

2/26 ageless, fearless chamber-goth cello band Rasputina at the Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec. Voltaire – who’s most recently been ripping off Mark Sinnis’ Nashville gothic sound – opens at 7.

2/26, 7:30 PM dark French psychedelic pop with Revolver at the Mercury, $10.

2/26, 8 PM the Lewis Nash Quintet : Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Jimmy Greene, saxophone; Renee Rosnes, piano; Lewis Nash, drums; Peter Washington, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/26, 8 PM deviously torchy, wickedly lyrical ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell opens for  prolific, lyrically intense Americana songwriter Jessi Robertson, playing the cd release show for her impressive new one Small Town Girls at 10 PM at Bar 4.

2/26, 8 PM Tony Malaby’s Novela featuring Kris Davis conducting from the piano at I-Beam

2/26, 9 PM soulful powerhouse Lebanese singer Naji Youssef performs Melkite and Maronite hymns and chants at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

2/26, 9 PM the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/26, 11 PM the world’s funniest bar bandleader Jesse Bates & His Flying Guitars feat. various members of the Fleshtones at Lakeside

2/26, 11 PM East Village Pharmacy play dub reggae and psychedelic latin grooves at Shrine

2/27, 9 PM darkly comedic, intense, politically aware singer/composer Ted Hearne – whose Katrina Ballads album made our Best of 2010 list – at Littlefield, $10.

2/27, 10ish Iraqi metal monsters Accrasaudica at Bowery Electric, $15

3/1 drummer John Hollenbeck’s epically good Large Ensemble at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM.

3/3, 7ish smart lo-fi garage duo the Fools, the Debutante Hour’s reliably entertaining, clever Susan Hwang and fearless punk cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap among others at Goodbye Blue Monday.

3/3, 8 PM modern roots reggae with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and Rebelution at Irving Plaza, $20 adv tix rec.

3/4-5, 8 PM at the Kitchen: “Inspired by her immigrant grandfather, a junk dealer in the Lower East Side who recycled scrap metal and other byproducts of the industrial age, Annie Gosfield will sample the sounds of metal, machines, and factories, and transform these raw materials into something new. Featuring two ensembles: the Annie Gosfield Ensemble, with Gosfield on sampling keyboard, Roger Kleier on electric guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and percussion; and Real Quiet with Felix Fan on cello, piano by Andrew Russo, and guest percussionist Alex Lipowski. Also pianist Stephen Gosling performs a selection of Gosfield solos.”

3/5, 8 PM utterly original cantorial riff-rockers Sway Machinery open for Malian psychedelic desert blues goddess Khaira Arby at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

3/5, 8 PM, repeating on 3/6, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Sibelius’ lush, lyrical Fifth Symphony and other works at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St.

3/5, 10 PM Koony plays darkly intense, lyrical African Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/5 hilariously satirical, lyrically-driven torch song parody band the Debutante Hour’s cd release show, 11 PM at Bowery Electric.

3/7 the uncommonly imaginative Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club 7:30/9:30 PM, $20

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/8-12 11 PM bassist Jennifer Leitham leads a trio with Sherrie Maricle on drums and Tomoko Ohno (not to be confused with the former Red Sox pitcher) on piano at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail.

3/8, 11 PM Eli Paperboy Reed at the Knitting Factory, $15, all ages

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor at Alice Tully Hall 7:30 PM, $20.

3/10 Stephan Said’s Magic Orchestra, 8 PM at Drom, $10 – fiery, socially aware rock, hip-hop, Balkan and reggae tunes

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM.

3/10, 9 PM two of the funniest and most period-perfect songwriters in oldtimey Americana, Al Duvall and Robin Aigner at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Long Island City.

3/11, 8 PM the Budos Band at the Bell House, $15.

3/11-12 Wess Anderson, Charles McPherson and others play music from Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings at Rose Theatre at Lincoln Center, $30 tix avail.

3/12, 7:30 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec

3/13, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at West End Collegiate Church, West End Ave. at 77th St.

3/13, 7 PM, hot modern klezmer with the Klez Dispensers at Drom, $10.

3/13, 9 PM a wild cerebral exuberant intense psychedelic doublebill at Joe’s Pub with the incomparable Rachelle Garniez opening for Electric Junkyard Gamelan. The former topped our best albums list in 2007; the latter played arguably the best concert we saw all year long in 2010.

3/15-16, 9ish Godspeed You Black Emperor at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, $TBA, this may sell out, no word on adv tix.

3/18, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15, program TBA, possibly Bach from her ridiculously popular new cd.

3/18, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/19 irrepressible folk/Americana harmony trio Red Molly with Pat Wictor on guitar at the First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $30 adv tix rec.

3/23-24 Lila Downs at City Winery

3/23, 7:30 PM Pedro Diaz, oboe; Milan Milisavljevic, viola; Anna Stoytcheva, piano play Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Loeffler at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

3/25 les Chauds Lapins play the cd release show for their long awaited second album Amourettes at the 92YTribeca

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

4/2 Graham Parker at City Winery.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/9 up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

New York City Live Music Calendar for December-January 2010/2011

This isn’t the newest live music calendar here – there’s a new one for January and February 2011 here. A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays 12/5 and 12/12, then resuming 1/23 through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Sundays in January the Arturo O’Farrill Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, 9/11 PM, $30.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Mondays in January the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra plays the Brooklyn Bowl at 6 (six) PM, free

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in November the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in December Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Resuming in January, the second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in December Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesday nights at 10, Marc Ribot has taken on booking a weekly show at Watty & Meg, 248 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: two guitarists each week, each playing solo, then trading songs, ideas, conversations, possibly jamming, $15 cover includes a drink. Some fascinating bills coming up: 1/4 Sebastian Cruz and Alex Simon; 1/11 Steve Cardenas and Smokey Hormel; 1/18 Elliott Sharp and that grotesquely self-indulgent metal chick; 1/25 oud genius Brahim Fribgane and also Ben Tyree.

Tuesdays 12/7 and 12/14, 10 PM Palomar plays Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10. Tuneful female-fronted powerpop/jangle band who were one of the 90s/early zeros best indie label groups. For a band that doesn’t draw on a trendoid crowd (who don’t have to work for a living and can go out any night they want), a Tuesday residency in a distant part of town like this is tough, plus every show here is a benefit for a cause. Get out and support if you like these folks.

Tuesdays in January the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Tuesdays in January electric blues vet Johnny Winter plays B.B. King’s at 8 PM.

Wednesdays in January at 10 Marc Ribot plays le Poisson Rouge – opening with a solo set, followed by sets with La Cumbiamba eNeYe and Cotito (1/5), bassist Henry Grimes (1/12), Young Philadelphians playing warped Philly soul (1/19) and Ribot’s Ceramic Dog power trio (1/26)

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays in January raucous Indian brass band Red Baraat is at Barbes, 10 PM

Fridays at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays in January at midnight Streams of Whiskey play Pogues covers at Arlene’s

12/1, 4 PM at Galapagos composer Lisa Bielawa celebrates the releases of two new albums – Chance Encounter and In medias res. “The performance will feature music from both albums including selections from Bielawa’s Double Violin Concerto for violinist/vocalist Carla Kihlstedt and violinist Colin Jacobsen and from Chance Encounter for soprano Susan Narucki and the Knights, as well as Bielawa’s Synopses solo pieces for Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) members pianist Sarah Bob, percussionist Robert Schulz, and harpist Ina Zdorovetchi.” $15

12/1, 8 PM conscious hip-hop with the Peace Poets and Genesis Be, then intense hypnotic Iranian/American psychedelic rockers Haale and the Mast and then literate, politically aware songwriter Stephan Said at Drom, $15

12/1, 8 PM at Issue Project Room, legendary avant-garde composer Luciano Berio’s complete Sequenzas performed by Claire Chase (flute), Shelley Burgon (harp), Daisy Press (voice), Stephen Gosling (piano), Chris McIntyre (trombone) John Pickford Richards (viola), James Austin Smith (oboe), Jennifer Choi (violin), Joshua Rubin (clarinet), and Gareth Flowers (trumpet).

12/1, 8 PM saxophonist Erik Lawrence’s Honey Ear Trio at Barbes

12/2, 2 PM, cellist Friedrich Kleinhapl plays Zemlinsky, Schittke, Beethoven, Gulda and Rachmaninoff at Town Hall, $12.

12/2, 6 PM the legendarily clever Spinal Tap of jazz, the Microscopic Septet at Birdland playing selections from their brand-new cd Friday the 13th: The Micros Play Monk, $20

12/2 Mr. Ho’s Vibraphone quartet (vibraphonist Mr. Ho (Brian O’Neill) Geni Skendo on bass flute/woodwinds, Noriko Terada on percussion, and Jason Davis on acoustic bass) plays Esquivel rarities at Caffe Vivaldi, 7 PM.

12/2-5, jazzy tango nuevo with the Pablo Ziegler Quartet: Pablo Ziegler – piano; Claudio Ragazzi – guitar; Hector Del Curto – bandeon; Pedro Giraudo – bass plus Prometheus Jenkins (12/2-3( and Regina Carter (12/4-5), 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $30.

12/2, 8 PM the Spokes, who “may be the most portable group in jazz” at Barbes: Andy Biskin: clarinet; Phillip Johnston: soprano saxophone; Curt Hasselbring: trombone

12/2, 8 PM bluegrass with the Union St. Preservation Society at the National Underground.

12/2, 8:30 PM wry, clever Canadian bluegrass/Americana songwriter Luther Wright & the Wrongs at Hill Country

12/2 check this out for a bizarrely good doublebill: Williamsburg jazz legends the Old Rugged Sauce open for Geen Ween’s acoustic show at the Knitting Factory, 9 PM, $25.

12/2, 9 PM haunting, hypnotic Middle Eastern chamber rock group Pharaoh’s Daughter at the 92YTribeca, $15 adv tix rec

12/2 fiery improvisational rock siren Katie Elevitch’s birthday show at Banjo Jim’s 10 PM.

12/2 danceable Brazilian/C&W/New Orleans band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

12/3 Lenny Kaye plays Banjo Jim’s, 7 PM. What can you say about the guy: he’s Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, invented noiserock guitar pretty much singlehandedly, and also happens to be one of the great powerpop songwriters. And is a wryly charismatic performer. Only in New York…

12/3, 7 PM Peter Hook of Joy Division plays Unknown Pleasures with his band the Lights at the big room at Webster Hall. Joy Div it’s not – but if you’re a rabid fan, there are $26.50 adv tix available at the Irving Plaza box office.

12/3, 7:30 PM pianist Tatyana Sirota plays Beethoven and Schubert at the Third St. Music School Settlement auditorium, free.

12/3, 7:30 PM singer Lainie Fefferman’s Quartet “Phthia” – a quirky acoustic ensemble of all-star players (Sara Budde on clarinets; James Moore on banjo, guitar, and mandolin; and Missy Mazzoli on melodica) plus ubiquitously good avant clarinetist/reedman Ken Thomson and Slow Fast celebrate the release of their new CD It Would Be Easier If at the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, 124 Henry St., downtown Brooklyn, $10.

12/3 at BB King’s, 8 PM: George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars

12/3 terse expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s, 8 PM.

12/3, 8 PM the Particle Ensemble – Thomas Buckner (baritone), Earl Howard (electronics and saxophones), Mari Kimura (violin and electronics), and J.D. Parran (winds) play premieres by the group members at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street (between Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S), $15/$10 stud/srs.

12/3, Andy Laster’s Yiash play arrangements of early 20th-Century Egyptian pop by Jewish composers Zaki Murad and Dawud Husni, among others, followed by the world premiere of Laster’s new string trio plus works for string quartet and quintet, 8:30 PM at Roulette.

12/3, 8:30 PM literate indie rock songwriter Richard Buckner at the Mercury, $12 adv tix. rec.

12/3 soul, funk and Ethiopian-tinged instrumental grooves with the Budos Band at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15.

12/3, 9 PM jazz/classical pianist/composer Nicole Zuraitis plays Shrine followed by Zion Judah’s roots reggae grooves.

12/3, 10 PM haunting 1950s/60s style Mexican/Pan-American harmony band las Rubias del Norte at Barbes – their new album Ziguala is a strong contender for best of 2010.

12/3 clever, wry Americana tunesmith Luther Wright & the Wrongs at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM

12/3-4, 11:30 PM lyrical soul bandleader Chocolate Genius at Joe’s Pub, $TBA.

12/4, 7 PM noir garage rocker Lorraine Leckie solo acoustic at Banjo Jim’s: “Lets get drunk after cause Christmas is coming and thats always a horror show!!!!”

12/4, 7:30 PM ageless, hypnotic, swirling psychedelic punk pioneers Band of Outsidersat Bowery Electric, $10

12/4 haunting, ornate, majestic, lyrically brilliant art-rockers the Snow at 8 PM at Pete’s.

12/4, 8 PM sharp at Barbes – a screening of the new documentary Soul Power, about the legendary 1974 soul concert in Kinshasa, Zaire featuring James Brown, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, Yomo Toro, Franco, Rochereau, the Spinners, Miriam Makeba.

12/4, 8/9:30 PM klezmer brass with Frank London’s All Star Jew Review at Drom, adv tix $10 highly rec

12/4, 8 PM fiery, smart Chicago style electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

12/4, 8 PM at the Greene Space pianist Fei-Fei Dong and author Gish Jen collaborate on a Global Piano and Literary Salon: All Along the Silk Road, includes a drink (they have good wine here!),

12/4, 8 PM, Beefstock comes to Bay Ridge at 3 Jolly Pigeons, 6802 3rd Ave. for jamband drum legend Joe Filosa’s bday bash feat. Beefheart cover band Shmeefbrain, plus retro soul crew the Nopar King, spectacular all-female noise-punk trio Out of Order, punk/metal monsters Black Death and others.

12/4, 8 PM, Luther Wright & the Wrongs – the clever Canadian acoustic Americana songwriter responsible for the bluegrass version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall – at 68 Jay St. Bar.

12/4, 8 PM the Brentano Quartet plays Schumann: Quartet in F Major, Op. 41, No. 2; Berg: Quartet, Op. 3; Beethoven: Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 127 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $12.

12/4, 8 PM a choreographed baroque/contemporary concert by Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor, with Joelle Harvey, soprano and the Second Instrumental Unit, that “explores human expression as conceived in baroque terms. Incorporating music, dance, and spoken text, the evening touches upon three questions: How can we communicate our deepest hollows? How can we start a conversation between the internal and the external? How can we make pain beautiful?” Yikes! $20 at Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium, 417 E 61st St. between York and First Ave.

12/4, 9 PM George Ziadeh – vocals and oud with Tareq Abboushi – buzuq; Amir ElSaffar – santoor and trumpet; Zafer Tawil – violin and percussion at Alwan for the Arts, $15, playing classic Egyptian repertoire including Oum Kaltsoum classics.

12/4, 9 PM smartly aware, funny hardcore punk and hip-hop with Prayers for Atheists at Bowery Poetry Club, $7

12/4 Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock show returns triumphantly to the now-reopened Otto’s; show starts at 9 with Preston Wayne, the Surfalicious Dudes at 10, the North Shore Troubadours at 11 and Thee Icepicks at midnight.

12/4, 9 PM the hilarious, theatrical oldtimey Ukuladies’ cd release show at the Jalopy, $10.

12/4 at 9/10:30 PM and repeating on 12/5 at 8:30 PM the Joel Harrison Septet:Joel Harrison, guitar; Zach Brock, violin; Donny McCaslin, saxophones; Dana Leong, cello; Gary Versace, piano; Stephan Crump, bass; Clarence Penn, drums at the Cornelia St. Café

12/4 growling indie rockers Pink Noise at 9 followed by Senegalese roots reggae grooves from Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12

12/4 ska sax legend Dave Hillyard’s Rocksteady 7 at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM.

12/4 ferocious, intense Radio Birdman style garage punk band the Mess Around at Trash, 11 PM

12/4, 11ish oldschool 70s style soul/funk with JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound at Public Assembly.

12/4, 11 PM Antibalas take a break from being the Fela pit band with a gig at le Poisson Rouge

12/5, 2 (two) PM klezmer violin titan the Alicia Svigals Trio at Flushing Town Hall, $16.

12/5, 4:30 PM the Chiara String Quartet plays Gorecki’s String Quartet No. 2 and Huang Ruo’s Calligraffiti (World Premiere) at Galapagos, $15. It’s the second in the ongoing series of Creator/Curator concerts where the Chiaras play a new commission plus other material chosen by the composer.

12/5, 8 PM the gorgeous retro country harmonies of the Sweetback Sisters at the Jalopy, $10

12/5, 8 PM violist Lars Anders Tomter with pianist Nelson Padgett playing Schubert, Britten, Grieg plus the US premiere of Ragnar Söderlind’s Friesiche Landschaft at Church of Christ and St. Stephen’s, 120 W 69th St. (Columbus/Broadway), $15/$10 srs/$5 stud.

12/5 Streams of Whiskey play Pogues classics at 9 followed by Pork Chop Willie’s Mississippi hill country blues at 10 at Spike Hill.

12/5, 10 PM lyrical powerpop monsters John-Severin & the Quiet 1s (who are not so quiet) at Trash.

12/6, 8 PM the Sara Serpa 4tet – this one’s a guitar jazz unit led by the intense, poignant third-stream jazz chanteuse – followed by bass genius Felice Rosser’s timeless, timely funk band Faith at 9ish at Local 269

12/6, 8:30 PM intense, haunting, soaring Americana chanteuse/songwriter Jan Bell at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

12/6, 9 PM captivating, hypnotically lyrical noir rocker Alice Texas, Avondale Airforce (Peter Aaron from the Crome Cranks with Stanton Warren) at 10 and then ferociously charismatic siren Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble at 11 at Small Beast at the Delancey.

12/6, 9 PM big band jazz with Joshua Shneider EasyBake Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, free

12/6 Ted Leo Pharmacists at 9 followed by the New Pornographers at Terminal 5, all ages, $30 adv tix rec.

12/7, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin multistylist Jenny Scheinman at Barbes

12/7 star reedman Doug Wieselman plays solo at 8 followed at 10 by his Trio S with Jane Scarpantoni on cello and Kenny Wollesen on drums at the Stone, $10.

12/7 catchy latin-tinged Americana rock with the Porchistas at Arlene’s, 11 PM

12/8, 6 PM highly regarded Latvian pianist Vestard Shimkus plays Beethoven, Chopin, Soler and Gershwin at the Yamaha Piano Salon, $TBA.

12/8, 7 PM the Arcos Orchestra play G. F. Handel – Judas Maccabaeus Overture; Samuel Adler – Concertino No 3; Dimitri Terzakis – Nymphs of Night and Fire (world première) and Béla Bartók – Divertimento, free at Temple Emmanu-El, Fifth Ave/65th St.

12/8 a first-rate pop/soul triplebill: multi-instrumentalist/soul singer Don Piper, British expat art-rocker Edward Rogers – who really nails the 70s Birmingham sound – and then sometimes soaring, sometimes haunting, multistylistic Americana/pop siren Maura Kennedy at Bowery Electric, $10

12/8 rustic, hypnotic, cutting-edge Applachian/Balkan harmony sirens AE at 8 followed eventually at 10 by slinky, low-register vintage Cuban band Gato Loco at Union Pool

12/8, 8 PM los Crema Paraiso play funky Venezuelan psychedelic grooves at Shrine.

12/8 Americana rock siren Jo Williamson at 8 PM at Banjo Jim’s followed by Carol Lipnik and Matt Kanelos’ new apocalyptic song project Ghosts in the Ocean.

12/8-9, 9 PM witty oldschool country followed by one of the more popular alt-country bands of the 90s: Hayes Carll followed by the Old 97s at Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT), $25. Tix still available for the 12/10 show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the same price.

12/8 hilarious period-perfect early 50s hillbilly rock satirists Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/9, 7:30 PM, ISSA Sonus Ensemble incl. Laura Falzon (flute); Emily Ondracek (violin); Erik Peterson (viola) and Adrian Daurov (cello), perform the New York premiere of Munir Beken’s A Turk in Seattle and other works by NY women composers at Symphony Space, $15 adv tix rec.

12/9 this month’s Hipster Demolition Night at Public Assembly – NYC’s most consistently entertaining monthly rock show – starts at 8 with the garage rocking Demands, jangly Byrdsophiles Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, psychedelic rockers Whooping Crane and oldschool soul stylists the Solid Set.

12/9, 8 PM lyrical, tuneful, Aimee Mann-inflected songwriter Andrea Wittgens at Caffe Vivaldi

12/9, 8 PM the Weal and Woe: “vintage country, gospel classics and close harmony” at Barbes followed at 10 by Nashville piano/guitar legend Greg Garing.

12/9, 9 PM intense, chromatically charged Veveritse Brass Band’s cd release show at the Jalopy, $10

12/9, 9 PM Americana rocker Serena Jean followed by the surprisingly intricate country sounds of the Basement Band at Spike Hill.

12/9, 10 PM Steven Bernstein’s Millenial Territory Orchestra at 55 Bar

12/10, 7 PM captivating noir rocker Peg Simone at Bowery Poetry Club.

12/10 Tommy Ramone’s Americana duo Uncle Monk at 7 PM at Banjo Jim’s followed eventually by the Big Star style sounds of the Nu-Sonics at 9.

12/10, 8 PM, free, the NYU Repertory Orchestra and cellist Eric Jacobsen of Brooklyn Rider perform a new “expanded arrangement” of Ljova Zhurbin’s Garmoshka as well as music by Chopin, Phillip Glass and Schubert at the NYU space at 35 W. 4th St., early arrival advised.

12/10, 8ish a heavenly noiserock night with the Sediment Club, Nice Face at 9ish, K-Holes at 10ish and Woman – whose screaming noir blues/noise album from last year was one of our favorites – headlining at 11 or so at Death by Audio.

12/10, 8 PM House of Stride with Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Red Baraat and their Indian brass band madness.

12/10, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony play Dai: The Night Before Christmas; Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg don.

12/10, 8 PM Latin-Jazz Coalition Big Band led by Demetrios Kastaris performs with special guest, trombonist, Steve Turre; bouzouki player Theofilos Katechis plays folkloric Greek music with jazz trumpeter Yiannis Economides. Making their debut, Conjunto Kathari plays gospel salsa with four trombones at Flushing Town Hall, $15.

12/10, 9 PM anthemic, ridiculously catchy, smartly lyrical highway rock band Wormburner at the Mercury, $12 adv tix rec. If Springsteen still wrote good songs he’d sound like these guys.

12/10 9 PM smart, lyrical, eclectic, artsy Canadian pianist/songstress Ashley McNeaney at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

12/10 sly banjo-driven acoustic Americana jam band Tall Tall Trees followed by the funky Brooklyn Qawwali Party and then the eclectically danceable Brazilian/C&W/New Orleans sounds of Nation Beat at Littlefield, 9 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

12/10, 10 PM smart eclectic Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood.

12/10 raucous, virtuosic barrelhouse blues with the 4th St. Nite Owls at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM.

12/10 innovative yet retro latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly at Rose Bar in Williamsburg, 10 PM

12/10 sharply lyrical, dark indie popsters Elizabeth & the Catapult followed by retro torchy soul chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Maxwell’s, 10:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

12/10, midnight, hilarious heavy metal spoof Mighty High at Cake Shop

12/11 hypnotic, tuneful, torchily captivating indie pop/downtempo trio Mattison play their 7″ release show at Cake Shop

12/11, 8 PM the Microscopic Septet at the Gershwin Hotel, playing “at least two sets” of selections from their brand-new cd Friday the 13th: The Micros Play Monk, $25

12/11, 8 PM Nellie McKay playing stuff from her new one Home Sweet Mobile Home at Highline Ballroom, $20 adv tix rec.

12/11 klezmer/bluegrass titan Andy Statman at Barbes, 8 PM, $10.

12/11, 9 PM, Abdel Rahim Boutat on the Algerian loutar plus Ahmed Sahel and Adel Bror on the bandir playing hypnotic, haunting sounds at Alwan for the Arts, $15

12/11, 9 PM Finotee play roots reggae followed by conscious hiphop/groove band Thousands of One.

12/11 dark low-key Americana-tinged rock with Mad Juana at Bowery Electric, 10 PM

12/11, 10 PM scorchingly noisy, distantly Balkan tinged avant jazz/rock with Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel at Freedom Garden, 294 Troutman St, Bushwick.

12/11 punk/rockabilly/surf guitar genius Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish

12/11, 11 PM art-rock songwriter Christina Courtin at the big room at the Rockwood.

12/12, 4 (four) PM the reliably fun, satirical Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood. Torchy pianist/singer Abby Payne plays her cd release show there later at 9.

12/12, 7 PM the Enso String Quartet at Barbes followed at 9 by gypsy guitar powerhouse Stephane Wrembel

12/12, 8 PM BedStuy Ewe play Afrobeat at Shrine.

12/12 darkly torchy Americana rock siren Essie Jain at Glasslands, 11ish.

12/12, 11:30 PM artsy noir rock legends Elysian Fields at Joe’s Pub.

12/13, 7 PM new music guitar styles Gyan Riley at Barbes followed at 9:30 by the incomparably fun 70s Peruvian style chicha/surf band Chicha Libre

12/13, 7:30 PM the Sospiro Winds plus violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Aaron Wunsch, playing music of Gyorgi Ligeti at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

12/13, 7 PM at Galapagos the American Modern Ensemble presents “an evening of sextets by eight of America’s most talented composers under 40″ incl. A Matter of Truth by New York’s own Hannah Lash, OK Feel Good by Jonathan Newman and Robert Paterson’s Sextet, inspired by criminals on Route 66 as well as Action Figure by Washington DC based composer Armando Bayolo and Haiku Catharsis by Philadelphia composer David Ludwig, as well as Chris Chandler’s the resonance after…, the winning work of AME’s Fifth Annual Composition Competition. All of the composers will be in the audience, $20

12/13, 8ish at the Knit, hilarious, politically incorrect X-rated faux girl-group punks Cudzoo & the Fagettes,$10.

12/13 the JC Sanford Orchestra play Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM. Their show here a couple of months ago was off the hook – if modern big band jazz is your thing this is a must-see and it’s free.

12/14 Abjeez play Persian rock and ska at Drom, 9 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

12/14, 9 PM alt-country husband-and-wife duo Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis at Bowery Ballroom, $25.

12/14 Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade play torchy swing jazz and countrypolitan songs at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/15 cruel choice at 7 PM at the Rockwood: intense lyrical rocker Matt Keating in the small room or haunting Middle Eastern tinged art-rock trio Deoro feat. chanteuse Dina Fanai in the big one? Maybe shuttle between rooms?

12/15, 9:30 PM at the Tank: Dialogues of Silence by Sabrina Lastman, Armored Old Banger by Marcos Wasem & Out of the Word, into the Sound by Ernesto Estrella Cózar: existentialist multiamedia poetry; poems based on excerpts taken from interviews to Israeli soldiers on duty in checkpoints in the occupied territories during the 02-03 intifada and sonically reprocessed poems from the Hispanic tradition, $10.

12/15 soul/funk night at Drom with Maya Azucena, Soul Cycle and keyboardist Chris Rob, $12 adv tix rec.

12/16, 1 PM pianist Akimi Fukuhara plays a free lunchtime show at Trinity Church.

12/16-19, 7ish PM at Cafe Orwell (247 Varet St. between Bogart and White in Bushwick, L to Morgan Ave.) adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne hosts the first annual Super Coda Festival , which is sort of Small Beast for adventurous avant garde, jazz and uncategorizable stuff, with all sorts of unexpected collisions between genres. The entire lineup is here.

12/16, 7 PM Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble play latinized versions of Hanukah classics at Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC) Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch College, 55 Lexington Ave., $15/$10 stud.

12/16, singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin airs out her jazz book with Bill McHenry on tenor sax and Larry Grenadier on bass, 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $20.

12/16, 7:30 PM growling Link Wray-inspired instrumental rockers the Howlin Thurstons at the National Underground downstairs, $TBA

12/16-17, 8 PM and repeating on 12/18 at 2 PM and 8 PM, the Paul Winter Consort plays their annual solstice shows at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine with Armenian vocalist Arto Tunçboyaciyan, gospel singer Theresa Thomason and the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, who lit up the show last year. The Consort includes Paul Winter, soprano sax, double-reed master Paul McCandless, Eugene Friesen on cello, keyboardist Paul Sullivan, percussionists Jamey Haddad and Bill Cahn and Tim Brumfield on the Cathedral’s pipe organ. $35 tix avail.

12/16-18, 7:30 PM and repeating 12/19 at 3 PM, Craig Harris’ God’s Trombones – a musical interpretation of James Weldon Johnson’s 1927 collection of poems – at Aaron Davis Hall uptown, $35 adv tix highly rec.

12/16, 8:30 PM Balthrop Alabama play a Xmas show at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, free, get there at least a half hour early or get shut out. Just letting you know a little ahead of time.

12/16 ferocious, charismatic, noisy art-rockers System Noise (fronted by cabaret siren Sarah Mucho) at Bowery Electric, 9 PM, cheap at $8.

12/16 Brubeck-esque jazz composer and pianist Fahir Atakoglu at Drom, 9 PM, $25 adv tix rec

12/16, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Nonet with Strings at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

12/16, 10 PM jazz/Americana guitarist/banjoist Matt Munisteri at Barbes

12/16, 10:30 PM AwShockKiss at the Mercury, $10. Retro 80s anthemic pop in the best possible retro way – good tunes, catchy choruses, a soulful, fiery frontwoman in Kiri Jewell and smart songwriting by multi-instrumentalist Stef Bassett. Last spring they played one of the best shows we’ve seen this year.

12/17 the NY Phil’s popular avant garde series Contact at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 7 PM and repeating on 12/18, 8 PM at Symphony Space featuring the world premieres of James Matheson’s True South and Jay Alan Yim’s neverthesamerivertwice conducted by Alan Gilbert Also on the program: Julian Anderson’s Comedy of Change (U.S. premiere).

12/17, 7:30 PM Erin & Her Cello’s full-band “holiday spectacular” at the big room at the Rockwood.

12/17 the amazingly psychedelic Electric Junklyard Gamelan with their hypnotic beats and homemade instruments at Barbes 8 PM followed at 10 by the carnivalesque hot 20s jazz sounds of Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra.

12/17 fiery, dark female-fronted powerpop/new wave stars the New Collisions at Crash Mansion time TBA

12/17, 80s Americana rock legends Beat Radio followed by the raucous acoustic Americana of the Woes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, 8 PM, $TBA.

12/17, 9 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation plays his incredibly clever English translations of Georges Brassens songs feat. special guests Joel Favreau (Brassens’ lead guitarist), and Jean Jacques Franchin at the 92YTribeca, $15.

12/17-18, 9/10:30 PM jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi’s Invocation: Vijay Iyer, piano; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Johannes Weidenmueller, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at the Cornelia St. Café, $15

12/17, Causing A Tiger: Carla Kihlstedt (violin, vocals) Matthias Bossi (drums, piano, vocals) Shahzad Ismaily (electric bass) 10 PM at the Stone, $10.

12/17 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/18 this year’s New York area Unsilent Night procession takes place on December 18, leaving at 7 PM at the arch at Washington Square Park and marching to Tompkins Square Park. Arrival by about 6:40 PM is advised.

12/18 at Trash hilarious, ferocious anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What’s monthly kick-ass rock night starting at 8 with by power trio New Atlantic Youth, the Proud Humans (ex-Warm Hats), the Highway Gimps (the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Motorhead), the Brooklyn What, postpunk rockers Mussles and finally the new Pistols 40 Paces at midnight. Open bar on PBR/wells from 8-9. What a great night.

12/18, 8 PM the ferociously funny, politically charged all-star Citizens Band at Highline Ballroom, $35.

12/18, 8 PM legendary third-wave ska/soul band the Slackers at Brooklyn Bowl, $12 tix rec.

12/18, 8 PM the NY Philharmonic’s exciting cutting-edge new music series Contact at Symphony Space, $21.

12/18, 8 PM and repeating 12/19, 3 PM Trio Vela play Mozart, Tschaikovsky and Rachmaninoff’s legendary Trio Elegiaque at Bargemusic, $35, $30 srs./$15 stud.

12/18, 9 PM jazz with Scott DuBois – guitar; Jon Irabagon – tenor and soprano saxophones; Pascal Niggenkemper – bass; Jeff Davis – drums at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

12/18, 10 PM Roots Vibration play roots reggae at Shrine.

12/18 the hellraising Jack Grace Band play classic 60s style country from their excellent new album Drinking Songs for Lovers at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

12/18 smart, funny, X-ish Americana punk rockers Spanking Charlene at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/18, midnight, lyrical Americana rocker Derek James and band at the big room at the Rockwood. His first album was excellent. His second one was beautifully produced but not so good. Worth seeing what he’s up to now.

12/19, 3 PM the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra plays Saint-Saens: La Muse et Le Poete with Judy Spokes, violin and David Cho, cello followed by Dvorak: Symphony #6 at St. Ann’s Church in downtown Brooklyn.

12/19, 7:30 PM  Gamelan Dharma Swara play their annual holiday concert, this time at le Poisson Rouge, featuring music from their new double live cd of this year’s Bali concert tour/competition. The program will include “‘a performance of Kebyar Legong, the famously challenging 30 minute dance work of the virtuosic kebyar repertoire, the first time the complete work, composed in the 1920s by I Wayan Wendres, will be performed outside of Bali’” $15 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

12/19, 7:30 PM Aszure Barton’s Busk dance performance with live music by eclectic Russian/tango/worldbeat string band Ljova and the Kontraband at the Baryshnikov Arts Ctr., 450 W. 37th St., $25 adv tix gone – the 12/18 3 PM show is the only one left.

12/19, 8 PM dreampop with Su (ex-Susu), assaultive free jazz with Talibam and then legendary psychedelic/noir rocker Martin Bisi with his old pal Bill Laswell at the Knit, $8 dirt cheap.

12/19, 8 PM L’il Mo Passin’s monthly acoustic shindig is a doozy this time out with Elena Skye & Boo Reiners of Demolition String Band plus another pretty smoking guitarist, bluesman Bobby Radcliff at Banjo Jim’s

12/20 the Alan Ferber Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM.

12/20 haunting dark rock with the southwestern gothic And the Wiremen followed by artsy, atmospheric soundscapers Bee & Flower at Small Beast at the Delancey, 9:30 PM

12/21, 9 PM charming, virtuosic oldtimey swing/blues band Lake Street Dive at the small room of the Rockwood followed by torchy chanteuse Marilyn Carino and bassist Ben Rubin of Mudville – who sound like Goldfrapp but better – at 11.

12/21, 9 PM Americana pop/rocker Craig Chesler, Bliss Blood’s barrelhouse blues project Delta Dreambox at 10 and then boisterious oldtimey trombonist J. Walter Hawkes at the Jalopy, $5

12/22, 9 PM intense, unpredictable Balkan party band Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall.

12/22, 9:30 PM trombonist Alan Ferber leads his tuneful, cutting-edge Nonet at Smalls

12/23, 7:30 PM the Sweet Divines’ Holiday Soul Spectacular with special guests Maxine Brown and Eli “Paperboy” Reed at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, get there early.

12/23 lush, romantic, innuendo-driven French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins at Barbes at 8.

12/23 a rare reunion show by one of the best bands ever to come out of NYC, the Hangdogs – the missing link between Waylon Jennings and the Dead Kennedys – at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/24 Bill Ware – the noir genius from the Jazz Passengers – leads his vibraphone combo at Puppets Jazz Bar, 9 PM.

12/24 eclectic world music/Middle Eastern/rock guitarist Demir Demirkan at Drom, 10 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

12/25, 8:30 PM at the Sixth St. Synagogue the unstoppable big-band golem Ayn Sof Arkestra & Bigger Band, trumpet star Frank London’s Hasidic New Wave, the klezmer/bop synthesis of Paul Shapiro’s Midnight Minyan, ancient/modern Jewish power trio Rashanim with Jon Madof on guitar, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass and Mathias Kunzli on drums, and Pitom, guitarist and composer Yoshie Fruchter’s Jewish jazz-punk-country-metal hybrid. Acts will probably perform in reverse order. $20 adv tix very highly rec.

12/26 kick-ass intelligent hip-hop with Strong Arm Steady, Jean Grae and Talib Kweli plus special guests at Highline Ballroom, 10PM, adv tix $22 very highly rec.

12/26, 10:30 PM colorful, phantasmagorical metal satirists Gwar at the Nokia Theatre, $22.50.

Until we get dug out of the snow, don’t expect trains to be running (afternoon of 12/27, still no trains in Brooklyn and North Bronx); check our venues page for updated club info.

12/27 Daria Grace’s charming obscure swing revivalists the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/28-30 the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio at the Jazz Standard 7:30/9:30 PM $30 ($35 on 12/30); 1/2 he’s playing a new trio show with Neel Murgai on sitar and Sameer Gupta on tabla.

12/28, 9:30 PM the John Farnsworth Quartet with Jeremy Pelt: John Farnsworth – tenor sax , Jeremy Pelt – trumpet , Lucas Brown – organ , Peppe Merolla – drums at Smalls

12/28-30 the annual rent party at the Stone. A cynic would say this is a lot of usual suspects – but it’s a hell of a cast of suspects! Ned Rothenberg, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dave Douglas, Peter Evans, Erik Friedlander, Brandon Ross, Zeena Parkins, etc., and John Zorn leading the jams. $20, sets at 8/10 PM, check the club calendar for the various nights’ lineups.

12/30, 8 PM period-perfect pre-rockabilly parodists Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. return to Otto’s

12/30 the Grey Race at the small room at the Rockwood 10 PM.

12/30 eerie bluespunks the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/31 at Puppets Jazz Bar “legendary jazz all-stars playing all night long” which is no joke – and it’s free and you get champagne at midnight, no cover but donations to help pay the rent are gladly accepted

12/31 the most lyrical and probably most cost-effective New Years Eve show is Black 47 at Connolly’s – they’re just far enough away from Times Square amateur city for you to make your getaway via an east side train.

12/31 the gypsiest New Years Eve show is at Mehanata with Kagero at 9:30 PM.

12/31 the most goth New Years Eve show in NYC is Kristin Hoffmann and NLX at Caffe Vivaldi, 10ish

12/31 the most bang for your buck New Years Eve show is at Maxwell’s with the Detroit Cobras at 10:30 followed by the Fleshtones, $20 adv tix at the club and at Other Music.

12/31 the only possibly tourist/gentrifier-free New Years Eve show  in the East Village is Tammy Faye Starlite’s side-splittingly funny Stones cover band the Mike Hunt Band at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/31 this year’s most danceable New Years Eve show is retro 60s latin soul/bugalu revivalists Spanglish Fly at Barbes, 11 PM, $15.

12/31 if you want to avoid the tourists on the LES on New Years Eve, the Birdhive Boys are playing bluegrass at the National Underground, 11 PM.

1/1, 9 PM at Rodeo Bar the annual Hank Williams tribute feat. the Lonesome Prairie Dogs, Greg Garing, Sean Kershaw, the American String Conspiracy, Travis Whitelaw and others

1/1 Gogol Bordello at Terminal 5, 10 PM, $35 adv tix onsale now.

1/3, 8 PM sly southpaw powerpop guitarslinger Sam Sherwin at the Mercury followed by David Peel (you know, the Have a Marijuana guy).

1/3, 8 PM, Balkan trumpeter Ben Holmes leads his Trio at Barbes.

1/4, 7:30ish Nation Beat bandleader Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes.

1/4, 8 PM,multistylistic Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the big room at the Rockwood

1/5 “Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune,” the new film about the iconic lyrical rocker premieres at the IFC Center (a.k.a. the Waverly.

1/5, 8 PM pianist Taka Kigawa plays Stravinsky – Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka; Dai Fujikura – Joule; Toshio Hosokawa – Haiku; and Debussy – Preludes for Piano, Book II at Bargemusic, $35.

1/5, 10 PM the Tyler Trudeau Attempt play stagy, cynical, bittterly lyrical 60s psychedelic pop with 80s goth tinges at Spike Hill. Their song I Just Want Things to Be Different ought to be mandatory listening for any alienated kid.

1/6 Melvin Van Peebles backed by a soul band featuring baritone sax sorceress Paula Henderson and the core of Burnt Sugar at Joe’s Pub.

1/6 an eclectic bill of world music chanteuses at Drom starting at 7 with Somi, Tamar-kali, Meklit Hadero & Pyeng Threadgill

1/6, 7:30 PM subversive musical comediennes Mel and El (notorious for Mel and El: Gay Married) at Comix, 353 W. 14th St, $10 “This month’s show will feature original songs like “Facebook Is Evil”, “Pamela Handerson” and “White Lady with a Black Baby.”

1/6, 8 PM eclectic Greek oud virtuoso/composer Mavrothi Kontanis with his band at Barbes.

1/6, 8 PM Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra playing Sly Stone followed by new generation big band jazz with Richmond’s rhythmically intense Fight the Big Bull and then Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at Littlefield, $15 adv tix rec.

1/6 a fun Americana roots triplebill at Ace of Clubs starting at 8:30 with the jangly, amusing Honey West Band, smart acoustic Americana band the Buckstops and comedic blues band Jimmy & the Wolfpack doing songs with titles like Stick Out Your Can

1/6, 8:30 PM carnivalesque Luminescent Orchestrii frontman Sxip Shirey does his solo thing at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/6 Chicago oldtimey/Americana band Dastardly at Arlene’s 9 PM.

1/6, 11 PM ageless faux-French garage rockers les Sans Culottes at Spike Hill.

1/7, 7 PM Americana chanteuse and Clash collaborator Ellen Foley at Lakeside.

1/7 an amazing quadruple bill at Drom starting at 7 with haunting, multistylistic oud band the Maeandros Ensemble, Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yunakov, newschool retro levantine chanteuse Gaida with her band and then clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski’s reliably excellent, electric NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10

1/7-8 it’s the Winter Jazzfest where a bunch of the cheesy Bleecker St. clubs host an astounding mix of jazz legends and future legends:  last year’s (known as the Undead Jazz Festival) was amazing by all accounts. The complete schedule is here.

1/7 a rare chance to see popular Ethiopian chanteuse Meklit Hadero in a small club setting: she’s at Barbes at 8 PM.

1/7, 9 PM Thunda Vida plays latin reggae and dub at Shrine uptown.

1/7, 10 PM the latest oldschool funk/soul rediscovery, Lee Fields & the Expressions at Boewry Balllroom, $17 adv tix rec.

1/7 oldschool Colombian-style cumbia punk hellraisers Very Be Careful ,11 PM at Bowery Poetry Club; they’re also at Coco 66 in Greenpoint at 11ish on 1/8.

1/7, 11 PM Americana roots with the Third Wheel Band, hilarious cover project the Toys and Tiny Instruments Orchestra and the No Small Money Afrobeat brass band at Littlefield, $10.

1/7, 11 PM the Reformed Whores play satirical faux-oldtimey songs at at Pete’s. They’re also at Ace of Clubs on 1/21 at 11 for $10.

1/8, 5 PM, torchy oldtime harmonies and songwriting with the Parkington Sisters at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/8, 8 PM another phenomenal quadruple bill at Drom starting at 8 with Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation playing hilariously filthy English-language covers of Georges Brassens songs, les Chauds Lapins playing torchy retro French chanson, funk orchestra Brooklyn Qawwali Party and then minor-key blues/klezmer/reggae jamband Hazmat Modine.

1/8 three pianists (Steven Beck, Stephen Gosling, and Taka Kigawa) playing Haydn: Il Maestro e lo Scolare; Ligeti: Four Hands; Brahms: Hungarian Dances; Stravinsky: Rites of Spring, 8 PM at Bargemusic, $35.

1/8, 9 PM legendary Texas Americana guitar god/crooner Junior Brown at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.

1/8, 9 PM Bel Air play tuneful, upbeat, uncommonly interesting country and Americana rock at Spike Hill.

1/8, 9ish soulful, psychedelic country band Alana Amram & the Rough Gems followed by Daptone project the Del Reys and new psychedelic soul crew Hallelujah at Littlefield, $10.

1/8, 10 PM the funniest oldschool country band around, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar.

1/8, 11 PM punk/rockabilly/surf guitar monster Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside

1/9 cheap tix for Globalfest at Webster Hall are SOLD OUT.

1/9, 11:30AMish the most diverse klezmer band on the planet, Metropolitan Klezmer at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum, kids under 13 free.

1/9, 3 PM the Antara Ensemble play Foote, Vivaldi, Bartók, Mercadente at St. Andrew’s Church, 2065 Fifth Avenue at 127th Street, NYC, $25/$20 stud/srs

1/9, 5 PM, funny folk parody band the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/9, 6 (six) PM the Third Wheel Band play catchy, fun oldtimey swing and hillbilly songs with ukele, mandolin and upright bass at Spike Hill.

1/9, 7 PM original, eclectic all-female string band the Real Vocal String Quartet at Drom, free.

1/9, 10 PM fiery, original San Francisco gypsy jazz band Gaucho at Shrine.

1/10, 8/10 PM Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown – a potently apocalyptic contemporary retelling of the Orpheus/Euridyce myth – at the big room at the Rockwood – full band performance featuring “the Hadestown Orchestra/Michael Chorney Sextet.”

1/10 Huun Huur Tu – the group that brought central Asian throat singing to the masses – at Hiro Ballroom, tix available at the Highline Ballroom box office.

1/11, 7 PM marvelously creepy noir soundtrack/downtempo instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.

1/11, 7:30 PM Neil Rolnick night $15 at le Poisson Rouge – it’s the Extended Family cd release show (a vividly bitter, crazed musical memoir of family mischegas at the time of his mother’s death) plus excerpts from Shadow Quartet, performed by ACME, (Rob Moose and Laura Lutzke, violins; Nadia Sirota, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello.) plus Faith for solo piano, performed by Bob Gluck; plus Rolnick dj’ing on his laptop.

1/11 powerhouse trumpeter Ben Syversen’s wild, crazy noise/jazz project Cracked Vessel at 8 PM at Local 269.

1/11 swirling female-fronted psychedelic pop/80s goth band Religious to Damn at 11ish at Glasslands.

1/12, 8 PM sharp at Littlefield, only $5 for a double feature: North Dixie Drive (“Often compared to Errol Morris’ Vernon, Florida, Mahoney’s debut film wonderfully showcases an eccentric group of characters in today’s Middle America”) followed at 9:15 sharp by Sometimes, City (“Jim Jarmusch’s cross-section of interviewees from all walks of life including cartoonist Harvey Pekar, explores a city plagued by racial division, poverty and urban decay”).

1/12, 9 PM uncommonly smart, oldtimey style guy/girl folk duo A Brief View of the Hudson at Spike HIll followed at 10 by country/western swing guy Raphael McGregor.

1/12, 10 PM country siren Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Banjo Jim’s.

1/12, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

1/12, 8 PM a benefit for the Street Pianos project (you know, the day when all these random pianos appear on the street for you to play) at Southpaw feat. Annie Rossi, Greene Girls, Emily Wells and Balthrop Alabama’s Georgiana Starlington, $10.

1/13 9ish self-styled “bebop terrorists” Mostly Other People Do the Killing and the Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans trio at Littlefield, $8 adv tix rec.

1/13 eerie, haunting soundtrack composer Thomas Simon at the Gershwin Hotel, 8 PM, $10.

1/13, 8:30 PM string/flute trio Silver Roots juxtapose global folk dance tunes with new avant garde compositions at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/13, 9 PM crazy Danish Balkan brass band Bjonko & Copenhagen Chalgija at Drom, $10

1/13 hypnotic Middle Eastern psychedelic rockers the Mast at Joe’s Pub.

1/14, 7 PM ageless oldschool R&B revivalists the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood

1/14, 7:30 PM and 1/15, 6 PM Golden Festival, NYC’s annual Eastern European music summit moves to Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Ave. in Brooklyn feat. dozens of bands incl. Ansambl Mastika, Raya Brass Band, Veveritse Brass Band, Lunas Altas, and of course Zlatne Uste, your best deal is $60 two-night admission.

1/14, midnight sly acoustic jamband Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/15 haunting Irish-American songwriter Susan McKeown – whose latest album Singing in the Dark is excellent – at Highline Ballroom.

1/15, 8 PM, absurdly funny Merle Haggard cover band Bryan & the Haggards (a bunch of jazz guys having fun with country) at Banjo Jim’s

1/15, 9 PM uncategorizable funny guy Tim Fite and sprawling acoustic Nashville gothic band O’Death at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec

1/15, 9 PM sharp, literate downtempo rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

1/15, 11 PM NYC’s fiery, amusing answer to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

1/15, 1 AM (actually morning of 1/16) the Grey Race play Zombies-esque psychedelic pop at the Rockwood.

1/17 the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall kicks off with a free 7-hour marathon from 2-9 PM. Take a deep breath, here’s the lineup: Ne(x)tworks – Julius Eastman, Stay On It; Timo Andres – Charles Ives, The Alcotts; Timo Andres, “Everything is an Onion” from It takes a long time to become a good composer; Face the Music – Missy Mazzoli, Death Valley Junction; Christine Southworth, Volcano; So Percussion – Selections from Imaginary City and Amid the Noise; NOW Ensemble – Judd Greenstein, City Boy; Chiara String Quartet – Jefferson Friedman, String Quartet No. 3; John Matthias, Adrian Corker & Andrew Prior – John Matthias, What Happens & Cortical Songs/Mercedes the Dancer (U.S. Premiere); Vicky Chow – Daniel Wohl, Aorta; NOW Ensemble with Corey Dargel & Nathan Koci – Corey Dargel, Other People’s Love Songs; Ashley Bathgate & Lisa Moore – Kate Moore, Velvet; Ashley Bathgate – Michael Gordon, Industry; Gabriel Kahane – A selection of songs by Gabriel Kahane; Nadia Sirota – Nico Muhly, Keep in Touch; Buke and Gass with Victoire – TBA.

1/17, 7 PM ferocious, multistylistic Balkan hellraisers Raya Brass Band at Barbes followed by Chicha Libre.

1/18 a good quadruple bill at Spike Hill starting at 8 PM with neosoul/downtempo Teletextile followed by female-fronted Radiohead-powerpop band Mixtape, 10 PM by retro 80s Cure/janglepop band Bona to Vada and then at 11 PM, sharp, smart guitar-and-violin-driven indie rockers Bern & the Brights.

1/19, 8 PM slinky low-register retro Cuban band Gato Loco – with baritone guitar, baritone sax, tuba and bas – plus eclectic Argentinian pianist Emilio Teubal and his quartet at Drom, $10 tix highly rec.

1/19, 10ish baritone country/western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Rodeo Bar.

1/20, 6-8 PM the opening reception for J Henry Fair’s interactive photo exhibit Landscapes of Extraction: The Collateral Damage of the Fossil Fuels Industries: “an eye-opening look at the increasingly extreme industrial processes used to extract fossil fuels including mountain top removal, deep sea drilling and hydro-fracking” at the second-floor gallery at Cooper Union.

1/20, 8 PM eclectic, witty jazz guitarist Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by the crazy Indian brass band sounds of Red Baraat.

1/21 slinky Middle Eastern/East African classics from the 20s and 30s with Sounds of Taraab at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra playing obscure hot jazz from the 20s.

1/21, 8 PM the St. Petersburg String Quartet at Bargemusic playing Shostakovich String Quartet No.1, Op. 49; String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68; Beethoven String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, $35 – also here playing more of the Shostakovich quartets and Beethoven late quartets on 1/22 at 8 and 1/23 at 3. The series repeats 2/18-20.

1/21, 8 PM the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/21, 11 PM sarcastic Japanese postpunk band the Hard Nips at Spike Hill

1/22, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic – program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

1/22 harpist/archivist Benjamin Bagby’s ensemble Sequentia sing French choral music from the 12th and 13th century at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 8 PM adv. tix $35/21 stud. rec.

1/22, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation Georges Brassens cover band at Barbes followed at 10 by accordionist Rob Curto’s Forro for All.

1/22, 9 PM Finotee plays roots reggae at Shrine

1/22 wild intense original bluegrass band Thy Burden at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/23 bluegrass legends the Grascals at Highline Ballroom.

1/23 8 PM smart soul/funk bandleader Stephanie Rooker & the Search Engine at the big room at the Rockwood

1/24 the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

1/25 soulful jazz/bossa/Americana chanteuse Sasha Dobson at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Slavic Soul Party.

1/25-29, 9/11 PM Nicholas Payton (trumpet) Javon Jackson (sax) George Cables (piano) Dwayne Burno (bass) Lenny White (drums) play Freddie Hubbard at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

1/25, 11 PM jazz/pop pianist/singer Abby Payne at the little room at the Rockwood.

1/27, 6:30 PM environmentalist Helena Norberg-Hodge’s documentary, The Economics of Happiness “advocates for localization — the rebuilding of communities and regional economies as the foundation of an “economics of happiness” to improve sustainability, raise cultural awareness and address societal woes tied to globalization,” at Cooper Union’s Great Hall (7 East 7th Street b/w 3rd and 4th Avenues), free

1/27, 7:30 PM, songwriters in the round were never this fearless and funny: Americana rock maven Rebecca Turner, devastating, intense, noir jazzy Erica Smith and hilariously lyrical janglerock genius Paula Carino at the Parkside.

1/27 torchy lyrical art-rockers the Snow at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Red Baraat.

1/27, 8 PM Mosaic Foundation plays roots reggae at Shrine followed at 9 by ska/rocksteady/punk crew the Big Takeover.

1/27, 8 PM veteran blues crooner Bobby Bland’s birthday show at B.B. King’s, $27.50 adv tix rec.

1/27, 8:30 PM Stonerway play reggae-rock at Ace of Clubs.

1/27, 9 PM the NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10.

1/28, 8 PM Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes, brought to you by many of the same people behind Songs for Ice Cream Trucks: “A celebration of the under-appreciated creatures that roam the planet. From the Australian Bilby to the deep-sea Magnapinna Squid, to the Saddleback Caterpillar. The songs are brought to life by a gaggle of curious instruments and peculiar sounds including theremin, claviola, stylophone, and more..with Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller.”

1/28 hypnotic roots reggae grooves with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, 8 PM at the Nokia Theatre, $25.

1/28, 9 PM pensive atmospheric rockers Hurricane Bells at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

1/28, 9 PM cellist Marika Hughes plays the cd release show for her two new ones at the 92YTribeca with an unbelievable ensemble: Kyle Sanna—guitar, Shahzad Ismaily—guitar, Todd Sickafoose—bass, Mathias Kunzli—drums, plus special guests Jim Campilongo—guitar, Charlie Burnham—violin, Mazz Swift—violin, Jessica Troy—viola, Elana Arian—violin and Jenny Scheinman—violin, $12.

1/28 ominously funny bluespunk band the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM.

1/29, 7 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Sarah Jarosz at the little room at the Rockwood

1/29, 7 PM, Huun Huur Tu – the legendary throat singers of the former Soviet republic of Tuva – at Joe’s Pub.

1/29, 7:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon with Pat Bianchi – organ, Rudy Royston – drums at the Bar Next Door.

1/29, 9 PM classical Indian sitar music with Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan plus Dibyarka Chatterjee on tabla at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

1/29, 10 PM the huanting, slinky, psychedelic harmony-driven retro latin group Las Rubias del Norte at Barbes.

1/29, 10 PM Khalilah plays roots reggae at Shrine

1/30, 4 PM organists Kent Tritle, Renée Anne Louprette, and Nancianne Parrella perform and lead choral works by legendary, haunting French composer Jehan Alain at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the upper east.

1/30, 7 PM Composers Play Composers at Drom: over 20 composers including Joseph Pehrson, Dan Cooper, Gene Pritsker, John Clark, Luis Andrei Cobo, Patrick Grant play new material, $20 cover includes a drink.

1/30 the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

1/31 is closing night at Max Fish. For anyone who remembers the days before the tourists and trust fund kids made the place a madhouse – or the days when it was the only bar on the block – it would be worth it to show up early and relive some memories. Supposedly ownership is looking for new digs, but wherever it ends up, it’ll never be the same.

1/31, 8 PM powerful soul/Americana chanteuse Jo Williamson’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/31, 8:30 PM the Becca Stevens trio with – Becca – Voice/Uke/Guitar plus Liam Robinson and Chris Tordini (accordion & bass) at the Bar Next Door.

1/31 Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies play torchy 20s/30s swing/jazz obscurities at Rodeo Bar 10ish.

2/3, 8 PM tuneful mathrock/metal band Stats, beautifully ugly/assaultive guitar jazz with the felicitously titled Seabrook Power Plant and then Mantra Percussion playing Iannis Xenakis at Littlefield

2/3, 8 PM edgy, snarky British postpunk/dance rockers Deluka at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

2/4 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes followed by the Jack Grace Band.

2/4, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Ran Blake is transcendent.

2/5, 10 PM Ansambl Mastika’s cd release show for their new one Songs and Dances for Life Nonstop at Barbes – early arrival advised.

2/5, midnight the Jack Grace Band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/7, 7 PM sultry oldtimey chanteuse Robin Aigner and her band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/8, 8 PM politically potent dancehall reggae star Anthony B at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

2/9, 9 PM noir singer Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

2/10, 9 PM ten-piece, six-trumpet funk band the Chase Experiment at Spike Hill.

2/10, 10 PM retro country legend Greg Garing at Barbes.

2/11, 10 PM House of Stride feat. Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes.

2/11, 11 PM SOJA (formerly Soldiers of Jah Army) play roots reggae at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

2/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

2/12, 8 PM, repeating 2/13, 3 PM the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony plays Tschaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 with the fiery, virtuosic Karine Poghosyan on piano and Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 at All Saints Church, 230 E 60th St. (2/3rd Aves)., tix $20 rec.

2/13, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play an all-Brahms bill: Hungarian Dance No. 5; the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sug don. They’ve done all these previously, and brilliantly.

2/16 psychedelic Australian art-rock legends the Church at the Highline; on 2/17 they’re at B.B. King’s

2/16-18, 8 PM flamenco jazz piano titan Chano Dominguez’ Flamenco Hoy music/dance spectacular at NY City Center, 55th St. (6/7 Aves.), $35 tix avail.

2/19 le Poeme Harmonique sing a program titled Esperar, Sentir, Morir at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

2/22-26 alto sax legend Dave Liebman with his famous 80s quartet including pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, 8:30/11 PM at Birdland, $30 tix avail.

2/25, 8 PM Los Straitjackets at the Bell House, $15.

2/26 Rasputina at the Highline Ballroom, 7 PM.

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor at Alice Tully Hall 7:30 PM, $20.

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM

3/18/11, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18/11 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free