Prices may not include ticketing service charges. Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music.
The Blind Boys of Alabama (Sunday) After 70 years as a group, the Blind Boys of Alabama are no longer boys, but gray-haired pillars of gospel quartet singing. They proclaim their reverence in close harmonies and gutsy improvisations that leap heavenward. At 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, Manhattan , (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $35 in advance, $40 at the door. (Jon Pareles)20101209
Florence and the Machine (Tuesday) This British pop-soul outfit is led by the scarlet-haired singer Florence Welch, and her undulating pipes, as showcased on the soaring single “Dog Days Are Over,” are intoxicating and propulsive. With Civil Twilight. At 7 p.m., Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan , livenation.com; $35. (Amanda Petrusich)20101209
Ben Folds (Tuesday) When at his best, the singer and pianist Ben Folds is an engaging, dedicated performer, showcasing a rare combination of chops and humor. He recently collaborated with the British author Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity”) for a new record, “Lonely Avenue” (Nonesuch); Mr. Hornby provided lyrics, Mr. Folds composed music. At 8 p.m., Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street , (800) 745-3000, beacontheatrenyc.com; $39.50 to $59.50. (Petrusich)20101209
★ Bert Jansch (Wednesday) This Scottish folk singer, once a member of Pentangle, is considered something of a hero for generations of oddball folkies, from Paul Simon to Joanna Newsom. His agile, often groovy acoustic songs are strange and familiar all at once. At 8 p.m., the Bell House, 149 Seventh Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn , (718) 643-6510, thebellhouseny.com; $20 in advance, $25 at the door. (Petrusich)20101209
★ Keren Ann (Friday) Keren Ann, an Israeli-born singer who has lived in France, is a gentle but sophisticated songwriter, and her languorous compositions — carefully sung in a sultry, ethereal voice — fill the room like a cool mist. With Dayna Kurtz. At 7:30 p.m., the Bell House, 149 Seventh Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn , (718) 643-6510, thebellhouseny.com; $15. (Petrusich)20101209
Nellie McKay (Saturday) Ms. McKay’s plucky, piano-based lounge-pop is delightfully perverse, nodding to Liz Phair as much as to Billie Holiday; she is persistently unprecious, eschewing songs about love and longing for screeds about identity theft and pet adoption. At 8 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea , (212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com; $20 in advance, $25 at the door. (Petrusich)20101209
Mountain Man (Saturday) These three young women from Vermont (they met as students at Bennington College) sing spare, echoing folk songs about the forest (and occasionally the bedroom). Their three-part harmony is spectral and spooky, their voices accompanied only by the occasional strum of an acoustic guitar; often it sounds as if it’s being sung by ghosts. The band released its debut album, “Made the Harbor” (Partisan/Bella Union), this year. With John Shade. At 9 p.m., 92Y TriBeCa, 200 Hudson Street, at Canal Street, TriBeCa , (212) 601-1000, 92y.org; $10 in advance, $12 at the door. (Petrusich)20101209
Nada Surf (Wednesday) It’s easy to dismiss this Brooklyn alt-rock band as a fleeting, one-hit wonder (the video for its gimmicky single “Popular” caused a bit of controversy in 1996), but the high, yearning vocals of the frontman, Matthew Caws, are convincing enough to command a considerable fan base even now, well over a decade later. With Musicband and Bambi Kino. At 8 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side , (800) 745-3000, mercuryloungenyc.com; sold out. (Pareles)20101209
Old 97’s (Friday) As an all-encompassing genre, alternative country is perennially misaligned, but the Old 97’s, from Austin, Tex., have figured out how to melt country twang effectively into strummy pop-rock, and the resulting songs are dulcet, sweet and easy. With Hayes Carll. At 9 p.m., Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North Sixth Street, Brooklyn , (800) 745-3000, musichallofwilliamsburg.com; $25. (Petrusich)20101209
Peaches Christ Superstar (Saturday and Sunday) Peaches, the electroclash artist prone to selecting unprintable album titles, crusades against hetero-normative boundaries, both onstage and off. (The cover of one of her albums features a portrait of her with a full beard.) Her music is less revolutionary — a mix of 1980s glam and new-wave darkness that lands somewhere between Joan Jett and New Order. On Saturday at 8 p.m., the Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, Manhattan, (800) 745-3000, concertstonight.com; $37. On Sunday at 8 p.m., Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North Sixth Street, Brooklyn , (800) 745-3000, musichallofwilliamsburg.com; $37.50. (Petrusich)20101209
★ Liz Phair (Sunday and Monday) It’s been over 15 years since Ms. Phair’s scathing, lo-fi debut, “Exile in Guyville” (Matador), was instantly anointed as an indie-rock classic. Since then, she’s eschewed that self-seriousness in favor of a poppier, goofier sound, which has earned her both new fans and fiery detractors. On Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, N.J., (201) 653-1703, maxwellsnj.com; sold out. On Monday at 9 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side , (800) 745-3000, boweryballroom.com; sold out. (Petrusich)20101209
Phosphorescent (Friday) The alias of the singer and songwriter Matthew Houck, Phosphorescent plays creaky, country-tinged Americana, with a bit of a Northern edge. (Although he was born in the South, Mr. Houck was stationed out of Brooklyn until recently.) His latest, “Here’s to Taking It Easy” (Dead Oceans), has its share of boisterous, honky-tonking moments, complete with tooting horns and boot-stomping drums. At 9 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side , (800) 745-3000, boweryballroom.com; $15. (Petrusich)20101209
Robbers on High Street (Monday) There’s a lot of the Beatles, especially their piano-pumping side, in the songs of Robbers on High Street, updated with Elvis Costello’s gruffness and a matter-of-fact desperation. At 9 p.m., the Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery at Second Street, Lower East Side , (212) 228-0228, theboweryelectric.com; cover to be announced. (Pareles)20101209
Martin Sexton (Saturday) This singer and songwriter can groan like an alternative rocker, slide like a soul man or leap to a pearly falsetto. Singing about restlessness and love while he picks syncopations on his guitar, Mr. Sexton can turn an ordinary song into a jazzy showcase, and a good one into a transmission from the heart. At 10 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall , (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $42 and $48. (Pareles)20101209
★ Usher (Friday, Monday and Tuesday) Although his pop-tinged R&B singles aren’t short on acclaim (or sales), Usher is an entertainer in the broadest sense: he’s a virtuosic pop dancer, a tabloid staple and a convincing enough actor — a contemporary triple threat. His latest release, the EP “Versus” (La Face), has been bolstered by the propulsive dance single “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love.” With Trey Songz and Miguel. On Friday at 8 p.m., Prudential Center, 165 Mulberry Street, Newark, (800) 745-3000, prucenter.com; $29.50 to $128. On Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Madison Square Garden , (800) 745-3000, thegarden.com; $29.50 to $129.50. (Petrusich)20101209
The Paul Winter Consort’s Winter Solstice Celebration (Thursday) Founded in 1967, this eclectic ensemble (it combines bits of jazz, New Age, classical and world music) hosts an annual winter solstice celebration at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. (This is its 31st iteration.) It’s an immersive, multimedia extravaganza (dancers from the Forces of Nature Dance Theater will perform, and guest musicians — including the Armenian singer and percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan — are known to move about the space), as grand and expansive as its setting. At 8 p.m., Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, at 112th Street, Morningside Heights , (866) 811-4111, solsticeconcert.com; $35 to $80. (Petrusich)20101209
★ Yo La Tengo (Friday through Tuesday) Since the 1980s, Yo La Tengo, an indie-rock titan from New Jersey, has been creating soft but dissonant rock songs. The band has become famous for its (mostly) annual Hanukkah shows, which run for eight nights at Maxwell’s, a club in the band’s hometown, Hoboken. At 9 p.m., Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, N.J. , (201) 653-1703, maxwellsnj.com; sold out. (Petrusich)20101209
Z100’s Jingle Ball (Friday) Z100 in New York may be the nation’s most influential pop radio station, and the lineup for its long-running holiday show reads like one of its meticulously dictated playlists, with a bit of this and that: Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Paramore, Justin Bieber , B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Travie McCoy, Michael Bublé, Enrique Iglesias and Taio Cruz are all scheduled to perform. At 7:30 p.m., Madison Square Garden , (800) 745-3000, thegarden.com; $51 to $351. (Petrusich)
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