Concerts of the Week

Anais Mitchell and Jeffrey Foucault
Saturday October 27
Roaring Brook Nature Center, Canton CT

The pairing of these two young, musical geniuses is inspired. Mitchell is a quirky, amazing, gifted singer and songwriter (read this great article by Hugh Blumenfeld, who should know) who is currently working on mounting a folk-opera called Hadestown, a re-telling of the Orpheus myth. Foucault is sultry, and soulful and a frighteningly honest observer of life, love and the attendant travails. These are musicians who won't be playing the coffeehouses forever. You will, years from now, be able to say, "Remember when we saw them at that little place in Canton."

Robbie Fulks
Thurs. October 25, Cafe Nine, New Haven
Sun. October 28, Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA

Okay, maybe I throw around the whole "musical genius" thing too much, but Fulks is brilliant. He's a lanky guitar virtuoso with a big vocab, and a dangerously sharp sense of humor. He can play bluegrass, grunge or retro-country without grinding a single gear. I've never seen him when I haven't had a great time. As the listing at Cafe Nine says, "Not from Nashville."

Cantora Records Showcase
With Rumspringa and Chief
Friday Oct. 26
Eclectic House, Wesleyan University


I've been blogging about the wealth of student music bookings at Wesleyan, and this is yet another example. I never heard of any of the four bands at the showcase until I check out their sounds via auralwes.com. Spirit and Chief are intriguing for different reasons. Both harken back to older styles, while creating something that's brand new. I don't know what the policy is for admitting non-Wes attendees, but the quality of these bands might make it worth checking into.