(Crackerfarm)
POP & ROCK
FOREIGNER Although Lou Gramm - and every other original member save Mick Jones - may no longer tour with the band, the transcontinental ’70s rockers are still hard at work. And they still have something to show for it, like double vision on the charts. The band’s most recent release, “Can’t Slow Down,’’ debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard 200, and Mariah Carey’s cover of their power ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is’’ has gone top 20. 8 p.m. Oct. 17. $37.75-$125. Lowell Memorial Auditorium. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.comVERTICAL HORIZON It’s been six years since their last release, but the former Boston rockers come back with a secret weapon on the new album “Burning the Days’’: Rush drummer Neil Peart plays on some of the songs. Seriously, the poppy “Everything You Want’’ guys have gone sorta prog. We wish the band’s regular drummer luck in re-creating Peart’s fills live. 8 p.m. Oct. 19. $18. Paradise. 877-598-8689. www.livenation.com
BRAND NEW HEAVIES Acid jazz, hip-hop soul, chilled out R&B - whatever you want to call it the Heavies do it well, and vocalist N’Dea Davenport remains in the fold, topping the grooves with her soulful, ethereal vocals. 8 p.m. Oct. 20. $25. Showcase Live. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com SARAH RODMAN
FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY
DJ REKHA This Brooklyn-based DJ has become a cultural ambassador of sorts, taking her Basement Bhangra dance party, usually held in New York, on the road for others to marvel at the fusion of South Asian beats and hip-hop. 9 p.m. Oct. 15. $10. Middle East Upstairs. 617-864-3278. www.mideastclub.comMARK ERELLI A quintessential New England singer-songwriter raised in Reading and now living in Maine, Erelli is just back from a tour with Josh Ritter opening for Ray LaMontagne. For Erelli’s two-night stand at Club Passim, he’ll perform entirely different sets. Tonight he’ll be backed by bluegrass pickers Barnstar, and tomorrow he’ll revert to the time-honored tradition of just a guy and his guitar. 8 p.m. Oct. 15-16. $17. Club Passim. 617-492-7679. www.clubpassim.com
SHADOW Calypso fans know what a treat it is to see this Trinidad-born musician live. The legendary singer makes a rare local stop tomorrow on a bill that includes popular Jamaican comedian Oliver Samuels. 8 p.m. Oct. 16. $40. Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Dorchester. 617-282-1234. www.everybodysmag.com
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND A debate seems to be raging on iTunes among admirers of this modern bluegrass outfit. For every fan raving about Yonder Mountain String Band’s new release, “The Show,’’ there’s another one claiming the quartet has sold out with a straight-up commercial country album. Either way, it’s hard to argue with the Colorado band’s virtuosity and infectious energy. 8:30 p.m. Oct. 16. House of Blues. $22.50-$29.50. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com
JAMES REED
JAZZ, BLUES & CABARET
AMANDA CARR WITH THE KENNY HADLEY BIG BAND Carr, whom critic Nat Hentoff has called “a true jazz singer in a time of wannabes,’’ joins forces with big band leader and drummer Hadley to celebrate the release of “Common Thread,’’ their fine new tribute to the Great American Songbook. 8 and 10 p.m. Oct. 15. $22. Scullers. 617-562-4111. www.scullersjazz.comTHE
BIG BILL MORGANFIELD The singer/guitarist sounds a lot like blues legend Muddy Waters for a reason: He’s the great man’s son. In this case the blood runs true, though he refines his father’s raw power with his own jazzy finesse. 8 p.m. Oct. 17. $17. Chan’s, 267 Main St., Woonsocket, R.I. 401-765-1900. www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com
DARIUS JONES TRIO The gutsy young alto saxophonist and composer has been turning heads in New York with his southern-rooted take on avant-jazz. He’s sure to turn many more with the release of his impressive debut disc, “Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing),’’ recorded with the group appearing at this gig: pianist and diddley-bo player Cooper-Moore and eminent drummer Rakalam Bob Moses. 8 p.m. Oct. 19. $10. Outpost 186, 186 1/2 Hampshire St., Cambridge. 617-876-0860. www.zeitgeist-outpost.org
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
CLASSICAL
BORROMEO QUARTET While two other quartets are sailing through the complete Beethoven cycle this season, the Borromeo is chipping away at Bartok’s epic set of six quartets. The Second, Fourth, and Sixth are scheduled for Sunday’s performance. Oct. 18 at 1:30, $23, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156. www.gardnermuseum.orgBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Ludovic Morlot, formerly a BSO assistant conductor, returns to the orchestra with a program that includes the American premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s “Helios Choros II (Sun God Dancers)’’ along with works by Martinu and Tchaikovsky. Pianist Peter Serkin will also be on hand as the soloist in Stravinsky’s “Capriccio.’’ Oct. 15, 16, 17, and 20 in Symphony Hall. Meanwhile, the orchestra’s chamber players (and guest pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin) take to Jordan Hall on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 18) with works by Schulhoff, Carter, and Brahms. 617-266-1200. www.bso.org
BOSTON BAROQUE Martin Pearlman opens his ensemble’s new year with Handel’s opera “Amadigi di Gaula,’’ directed by Paul Peers. The cast includes Ava Pine, Matthew White, Mary Wilson, and Leah Wool in the title role. Oct. 16 and 17, $25-$73. Jordan Hall, 617-484-9200. www.bostonbaroque.org
BOSTON CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY It’s Schubert, Brahms, and Harbison for the season-opener under the new leadership of violist Marcus Thompson. He’s joined by Ida Levin (violin), Andrew Mark (cello), and David Deveau (piano). Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m., $20-$50, Sanders Theatre, 617-349-0086. www.bostonchambermusic.org
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL The BEMF fall concert season begins with an appearance by the locally based Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, singing works by Hugh Aston, Nicholas Ludford, Robert Fayrfax, and others. Oct. 16 at 8 p.m., $19-$64, St. Paul Church in Harvard Square, 617-661-1812. www.bemf.org
JEREMY EICHLER
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