Diamond still sparkles
NEIL DIAMOND
The past decade has been particularly kind to Diamond, from induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 to a pair of critically lauded albums with Rick Rubin. His concerts, however, are where he really shines, bolstered by a catalog of some of pop music’s most indelible hits. Any Sox fan will tell you “Sweet Caroline” sounds so much better when sung in unison. June 23, 8 p.m. Tickets: $82.50-$117.50. TD Garden. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Pop & Rock
SHAWN COLVIN As a companion piece to her new memoir, “Diamond in the Rough,” this Grammy-winning singer-songwriter also recently released her first studio album in six years. For “All Fall Down,” Colvin switched gears for a rootsy collection of atmospheric Americana, with Buddy Miller at the production helm. The organic approach suits Colvin. June 21, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $34. Somerville Theatre. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Related
PASSION PIT This hometown show kicks off the Boston-bred band’s new tour. It’ll also be a sneak preview of Passion Pit’s new album, “Gossamer,” which is scheduled for release in July. Lead single “Take a Walk” suggests the band is up to its usual tricks: You can’t get it out of your head. June 22, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $29.50-$39.50. Bank of America Pavilion. 800-745-3000, www.livenation.com
SANTIGOLD
On “Master of My Make-Believe,” her new and first album since her 2008 debut, Santi White picked up right where she left off. The jittery electro beats make you dance, while the lyrics target your heart. Chameleonic rapper-singer Theophilus London will open. June 22, 8 p.m. Tickets: $27.50, $25 in advance. House of Blues. 800-745-3000, www.livenation.com
Folk, World & Country
RANDY HOUSER
Houser is one of a current crop of mainstream artists playing trad-leaning country with outlaw and Southern rock streaks; the steel guitar you’ll see on his stage will actually get serious use. There’s the inevitable quotient of ‘yee-haw’ in his music, but also strong songwriting that offers fresh takes and interesting twists on some of country’s recurring themes. June 21,
8 p.m. Tickets: $25. Blue Ocean Music Hall, Salisbury. 978-462-5888, www.blueoceanhall.com
KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON
It’s rare enough to see either of these artists in these parts — Willis with one of the great voices and more interesting catalogs in country music, and her husband Robison, an acclaimed songwriter and a performer of laconic grace. But this date not only brings them both to town, it has them performing together as what they call “The Kelly and Bruce Show.” June 22, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $15. Johnny D’s Restaurant. 617-776-2004,
www.johnnyds.com
THE FLATLANDERS They’re calling this tour their 40th anniversary celebration, but it has to count as one of the strangest of anniversaries: the legendary alt-country precursor barely managed to begin, recording a debut (released only on 8-track in 1972) that was essentially unobtainable and then almost immediately breaking up, only to reunite and record a follow-up three decades later. June 22, 8 p.m. Tickets: $45. The Bull Run Restaurant, Shirley. 877-536-7190, www.bullrunrestaurant.com
SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS The conflict in their homeland that both displaced them and led to their formation is now happily a thing of the past, but happily for us, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars have played on, continuing to ply an evolving, hope-infused, intoxicating Afrobeat/soukous/reggae/funk/blues mix. June 24, 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Brighton Music Hall. 617-876-4275, www.worldmusic.org
Jazz, Blues & Cabaret
THEO BLECKMANN: THE MUSIC OF KATE BUSH The prodigious, genre-defying vocalist — a key member of Meredith Monk’s ensemble, student of great jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan, and collaborator with everyone from Laurie Anderson to John Zorn — pays tribute to the gloriously idiosyncratic art rocker. June 21, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25. Regattabar.
617-395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
PAULIE’S NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL The fifth annual musical bash features Henri Smith’s New Orleans Friends & Flavours (featuring Charles Neville and Amadee Castenell), Tab Benoit, Eric Lindell Band, Bonerama, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Honey Island Swamp Band, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone, Sonny Landreth, and more. June 22, 6 p.m.; June 23, 24, 11 a.m. Tickets: $10-$67. Keystone Plaza Urban Fairgrounds, 221 Chandler St., Worcester. www.baevents.com
MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS, SOUTH AND NORTH The cabaret specialists of Boston Musical Theatre present a program of South American songs and North American standards inspired by Latin rhythms. With singers Mara Bonde, David Ripley, Jennifer Sheehan, and Christian Figueroa, and the BMT piano trio augmented by guitarist Claudio Ragazzi and accordionist Roberto Cassan. June 24, 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $28-$45. Charles Mosesian Theater, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown.
617- 923-8487, www.arsenalarts.org
JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY
The acclaimed Tulsa, Okla.-based quartet — piano trio plus lap steel guitar — embodies its own genre, “red dirt jazz,” an earthy, rootsy, countrified branch off the jazz.tree. June 27, 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$15. The Red Room @ Cafe 939,
939 Boylston St., Boston. 617-747-226, www.cafe939.com
Classical
SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE Yo-Yo Ma’s youthful, globally minded ensemble returns to Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall for two performances of works by composers hailing from Sicily, Romania, India, Galicia, and elsewhere.
8 p.m., June 22 and 24. Lenox,. 617-266-1200, www.
tanglewood.org
ROCKPORT CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Promising Rockport performers this week include the Calder Quartet (June 21 and 23); clarinetist Richard Stoltzman (June 22); and bassists Edwin Barker and Timothy Cobb, with pianist David Deveau, in a program called “Due Bassi Profundi” (June 24). Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main St., Rockport. 978-546-7391, www.rockportmusic.org
BOSTON GUITAR FEST Eliot Fisk directs the seventh annual celebration of all things guitar, with concerts, master classes, and seminars organized around the theme of “Back to Bach.” Most events take place at either the Fenway Center or Jordan Hall. Through June 24. 617-373-4700, www.bostonguitarfest.org
SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE PRACTICE Stephen Drury’s new-music boot camp, this year celebrating the Cage centennial, offers a week of free performances at New England Conservatory. Christian Wolff will be composer-in-residence. Through June 23, New England Conservatory, www.SICPP.org