ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION Krauss and her band have become the well-oiled (yet gossamer-delicate) juggernaut of bluegrass music. They’re touring in support of their recent release, “Paper Airplane,’’ another fine offering of their typical mix of hard-core and soft-shell styles. Rising California folk-rockers Dawes open, on the strength of a new album, “Nothing Is Wrong.’’ July 28, 8 p.m. Tickets: $39.50-$69.50. Citi Wang Theatre. 617-482-9393, www.citicenter.org
(Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
Music: the week ahead
ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION Krauss and her band have become the well-oiled (yet gossamer-delicate) juggernaut of bluegrass music. They’re touring in support of their recent release, “Paper Airplane,’’ another fine offering of their typical mix of hard-core and soft-shell styles. Rising California folk-rockers Dawes open, on the strength of a new album, “Nothing Is Wrong.’’ July 28, 8 p.m. Tickets: $39.50-$69.50. Citi Wang Theatre. 617-482-9393, www.citicenter.org
(Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
POP & ROCK
KID CUDI He has carved out an interesting niche within contemporary rap, crash-landing somewhere between the genre’s mainstream and its fringes. Cudi’s most recent album, last year’s “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager,’’ was stridently moody, pushing hip-hop into rock and ambient terrain. July 28, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $27.50-$47.50. DCU Center, Worcester. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
IMELDA MAY Something old, something new. That’s the official line on this spunky Irish singer who turns back time with her fierce blend of rockabilly, jazz, blues, and pop. May is touring behind a new album, “Mayhem,’’ which proves she’s more than just a revivalist. July 30, 9 p.m. Tickets: $15. Brighton Music Hall. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
WIZ KHALIFA Odds are good that the cloud of smoke you’ll see emanating from the harbor this weekend can be traced back to the
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE They surprised local fans with a sold-out show at the Paradise Rock Club in June, the joke being that Death Cab for Cutie outgrew such a small venue several years ago. Now these indie rockers are back to packing amphitheater crowds behind this year’s “Codes and Keys.’’ Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $35-$40. Bank of America Pavilion, 800-745-3000, www.livenation.com
JAMES REED
FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY
GEORGE JONES He may be 80 years old, but he still don’t need no rocking chair, and he’s still the Possum. Go hear the greatest singer in the history of country music do the saddest song ever sung, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.’’ July 31, 2 p.m. Tickets: $42.50-$55. Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster. 508-943-3871, www.indianranch.com
THE BAND OF HEATHENS These Austin, Texas, phenoms are one of those groups that seem inevitably to invoke comparisons to the Band. They’re rootsy, but they bring the rock, especially live. This is their first visit to the Boston area. Aug. 2, 9 p.m. Tickets: $10, $8 in advance. Lizard Lounge. 617-547-0759, www.lizardloungeclub.com
LEDWARD KAAPANA This legendary Hawaiian guitar and ukulele master has been plying his trade for four decades. He’s done more than almost anyone to take the slack-key tradition to the rest of the world, while incorporating musical influences from the rest of the world back into that tradition. Aug. 2, 8 p.m. Tickets: $18. Johnny D’s. 617-776-2004, www.johnnyds.com
STUART MUNRO
JAZZ, BLUES & CABARET
LIL’ ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS The Chicago Tribune maintains that the guitarist/vocalist “. . .represents one of the few remaining authentic links to the raucous, pure Chicago blues.’’ And he and his Blues Imperials are prime candidates for most contagiously house-rocking blues band alive. 8 p.m., July 29. $20. Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket, R.I. 401-765-1900, www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com
TODD CLOUSER The young electric guitarist and composer has performed with artists from Keb Mo to Sex Mob’s Steven Bernstein. Currently touring in support of his assured new album, “A Love Electric,’’ Clouser plays music that harkens back to the groovy, bluesy side of 1970s jazz/rock fusion. 10 p.m. July 29. $10. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lily-pad.net
NEVILLE DICKIE The British stride piano specialist reanimates the rollicking, resplendent music epitomized by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Willie “The Lion’’ Smith. He’s also been known to play a mean boogie-woogie. 7 p.m. Aug. 2. $15. Sherborn Inn, 33 N. Main St., Sherborn. 800-552-9742, www.sherborninn.com
RUFUS REID’S OUT FRONT The master bassist and composer has played with such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, and Bill Evans, as well as with several symphony orchestras. His latest album, “Hues of a Different Blues,’’ has his current trio, with pianist Steve Allee and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, hosting guests including the three joining them for this gig: trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, and tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen. 8 p.m. Aug. 3. $25. Scullers. 617-562-4111, www.scullersjazz.com
KEVIN LOWENTHAL CLASSICAL
TANGLEWOOD Tomorrow Hans Graf leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 with soloist Leon Fleisher. Saturday night, it’s an all-Brahms program with Christoph Eschenbach leading the Symphony No. 4 and the Piano Concerto No. 1, with soloist Peter Serkin. Eschenbach returns to the podium Sunday afternoon with Mahler’s First Symphony and Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1, with soloist Alisa Weilerstein. Lenox. 617-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
MARLBORO MUSIC The venerable Vermont chamber music retreat continues its 60th anniversary season with performances Saturday night (Mendelssohn-Hensel, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Brahms) and Sunday afternoon (Schubert and Schoenberg). Marlboro, Vt. 802-254-2394, www.marlboromusic.org
BANG ON A CAN SUMMER FESTIVAL The new music collective sets up shop every summer at MASS MoCA and gives one marathon performance each year. Saturday’s concert will include works by Varese, Berio, Nancarrow, Osvaldo Golijov, Julia Wolfe, Evan Ziporyn, and many others. 4 p.m. July 30. MASS MoCA, North Adams. 413-662-2111, www.massmoca.org
BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA The free Wednesday night concerts continue at the Esplanade this summer with the Landmarks Orchestra now under the direction of Christopher Wilkins. Next Wednesday, Boston Lyric Opera’s David Angus is the guest conductor leading excerpts from Verdi’s “Macbeth,’’ Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,’’ Rossini’s “Barber of Seville,’’ and Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro.’’ 7 p.m., Aug. 3. Hatch Shell at the Esplanade. 617-520-2200, www.landmarksorchestra.org
JEREMY EICHLER 
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