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POP & ROCK
MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES The mad-for-plaid ska fiends return to the bosom of its families and fans for the 12th annual “Hometown Throwdown.’’ Tickets for the Middle East show on Tuesday are sold out, but at press time a few ducats were left for the Lansdowne Street shows. The gang will be celebrating its new album, “Pin Points and Gin Joints.’’ 7 p.m. Dec 26-28. $25. House of Blues. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.comJESSE DEE Boston soulster Dee has had a good stretch in 2008-09, including opportunities to open for heroes like Al Green and Etta James. Check out his rollicking but recession-appropriate new holiday jam, “Underneath the Christmas Tree,’’ before cozying up in Cambridge. For everyone feeling broke after the holidays, a reminder that all Toad shows are free. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26. Toad. 617-497-4950. www.toadcambridge.com
CASPIAN This Boston band has the market cornered on “in-’’ adjectives: intense, intricate, introspective, and instrumental. Go and get lost in the sounds of its latest release “Tertia.’’ 8 p.m. Dec. 30. $12. Middle East. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com
CLUTCH The Maryland rockers are nearly two decades deep and still blasting out their blend of screaming metal, stomping stoner rock, and general mayhem. Expect a clutch of tunes from the band’s latest, “Strange Cousins From the West.’’ 8 p.m. Dec. 30. $22-$30. House of Blues. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com
SARAH RODMAN
FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY
MELISSA FERRICK With a brand-new recording of the John Lennon classic “Happy Christmas (The War Is Over)’’ up on iTunes, Ferrick brings her annual holiday shows to Club Passim, drawing on seasonal staples and likely some tunes from her latest album, “Goodbye Youth.’’ 6 and 9 p.m. Dec. 27. $35. Club Passim. 617-492-7679. www.clubpassim.org ’90s TRIBUTE NIGHT Some make total sense (Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me’’), while others have us perplexed and perhaps a bit scared (Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart’’). Passim salutes the ’90s with a coterie of local singer-songwriters covering the decade’s hits and misses. 7 p.m. Dec. 28. $10. Club Passim. 617-492-7679. www.clubpassim.org
JAMES REED
JAZZ, BLUES & CABARET
ROOMFUL OF BLUES Rhode Island’s own world-class, house-rocking, jump blues octet currently led by guitarist Chris Vachon and featuring singer Dave Howard has been more than living up to its moniker for over 40 years. Dec. 26. $20-$30. Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket, R.I. 401-765-1900, www.chanseggrollsandjazz.comPAUL COMBS’ POCKET BIG BAND Saxophonist/educator Combs has been leading this nine-piece unit for over eight years, focusing on an ever-expanding repertoire of swinging numbers centered on the charts and compositions of the legendary bebop-era arranger Tadd Dameron. 4 p.m. Dec. 27. No cover. Sally O’Brien’s, 335 Somerville Ave., Somerville. 617-666-3589, www.sallyobriens bar.com
TIM RAY/GRAY SARGENT QUARTET Versatile pianist Ray may be best known for his 15 years with Lyle Lovett, but he’s also played with everyone from vibraphone great Gary Burton to the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Here he co-leads a quartet with Tony Bennett’s great guitarist Gray Sargent, featuring the seasoned, swinging rhythm section of bassist Marshall Wood and drummer Jim Gwin. Dec. 29. 7:30 p.m. $10. Jocko’s Jazz at the Sahara Club, 34 Bates St., Methuen. 603-898-1591, www.jockosjazz.com
THE KGB/G The powerful trio of drummer Robert Kaufman, bassist Bruce Gertz, and saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi is joined by the explosive and exploratory trumpeter Phil Grenadier for an evening of jazz force and finesse. 9 p.m. Dec. 30. $8. Acton Jazz Cafe, 452 Great Road, Acton. 978-263-6161, www.actonjazzcafe.com
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
CLASSICAL
BOSTON BAROQUE The period instrument band presents a comic double-bill devoted to Mozart’s “Bastien und Bastienne’’ and Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella.’’ Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 1 at 3 p.m., $25-$69, Sanders Theatre, 617-484-9200 or www.bostonbaroque.orgGARDNER MUSEUM In conjunction with Taro Shinoda’s exhibition “Lunar Reflections,’’ the Gardner offers a New Year’s Eve performance of Schoenberg’s landmark “Pierrot Lunaire.’’ 7:30 p.m., Dec. 31, $60 (covers admission to museum’s holiday event running 6-9:30 p.m.) 617-278-5156, www.gardnermuseum.org
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Ton Koopman leads Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 and Schubert’s “Unfinished’’ Symphony. He will also partner with Yo-Yo Ma in Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1. Jan. 7, 8, 9, and 12. $29-$115, Symphony Hall, 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
JEREMY EICHLER 
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