Free Bach
NICHOLAS KITCHEN The Borromeo Quartet’s founding first violinist performs a free recital devoted to Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas. Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall. 617-585-1260, necmusic.edu/nicholas-kitchen
Pop & Rock
CHRISTOPHER OWENS Formerly the lead singer of Girls, the San Francisco indie-rock band that dissolved last year, Owens has struck out with a new solo album that sounds like a long-lost gem of AM radio. “Lysandre” is equal parts chamber folk and '70s soft rock. Jan. 25, 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Paradise Rock Club. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
BIG FREEDIA Consider this the only show happening in Boston this weekend with two tiers of ticket prices: one for the concert and another that includes a “booty-shaking class” beforehand. Such are the preparations for Big Freedia, the stage name of Freddie Ross, who’s a fierce exponent of bounce music, a subgenre of New Orleans hip-hop. Jan. 26, 9 p.m. Tickets: $18-$23. Brighton
Music Hall. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
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WIDOWSPEAK On their new sophomore album, “Almanac,” this dream-pop duo lift the haze that coated their debut for a fuller sound that touches on ’70s rock tinged with pastoral folk. Quilt, the local psych-folk band, and Murals will open. Jan. 27, 9 p.m. Tickets: $10. Great Scott. 617-566-9014, www.ticketweb.com
THE VACCINES Kicking off its first headlining US tour in Boston, this London quartet has courted comparisons to the Strokes but with a spikier punk-rock edge. “Come of Age,” the band’s latest album, has one foot in the present and the other in the past. San Cisco will open with a set of jangle pop. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Tickets: $17. Paradise Rock Club. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Folk, World & Country
JULIET AND THE LONESOME ROMEOS Juliet Simmons Dinallo and her band kick off a celebration of the national release of “No Regrets,” her fine debut collection of rootsy country, rock and pop, with this show. Dennis Brennan joins the celebration with an opening set. Jan. 24, 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $12. Johnny D's. 617-776-2004, www.johnnyds.com
LENI STERN AFRICAN TRIO Leni Stern issued her first record based on collaborations with Malian musicians in 2007, and she’s been following that path ever since; even the disruptions and tensions that followed last spring’s attempted coup in Mali did not prevent her from returning to the country to record her latest record, “Smoke, No Fire.” Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20. Regattabar. 617-395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
KATHLEEN EDWARDS Edwards thought that she had gotten bogged down in an “Americana rut,” so she made a conscious effort to climb out of it, and the more expansive sound of last year’s “Voyageur,” was the result. She comes to town Tuesday with opener Sera Cahoone. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. Brighton Music Hall. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
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LINDI ORTEGA When Ortega played here a few months ago, she was in one of the larger rooms in town as an opener for Social Distortion. From all appearances, she managed to win over a tough crowd with her amped-up alt-country and feisty stage presence. Wednesday’s show is a chance to see a longer, up-close set from a singer-songwriter on the rise. Jan. 30, 8 p.m. Tickets: $12. Café 939 at Berklee. 617-747- 2262, www.cafe939.com
Jazz, Blues & Cabaret
GREG ABATE, GARY SMULYAN & ALLAN CHASE Three of today’s masters of the baritone saxophone — that gruff, unwieldy beast of an instrument — gather together for a bout of “Baritone Madness,” accompanied by pianist Tim Ray, bassist John Lockwood, and drummer Mark Walker. Jan. 24, 8 p.m. Tickets: $22. Scullers. 617-562-4111, www.scullersjazz.com
LYNDA D’AMOUR The Boston-based cabaret singer with the sultry alto voice celebrates her fine first CD, “Ordinary Fool,” an eclectic assortment of standards and pop songs, with the help of pianist Bill Duffy and bassist Mark Poniatowski. Jan. 24, 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$15. Vernissage Restaurant, 1627 Beacon St., Brookline. 617-566-3340, www.vernissagerestaurant.com
THE WHAMMIES Named after a tune by the late soprano saxophonist/composer Steve Lacy, this international group celebrates their superb inaugural album, “The Whammies Play the Music of Steve Lacy.” Featuring Boston area alto saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra (originally from Amsterdam) and pianist Pandelis Karayorgis (Athens-born), Chicago-based players Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Nate McBride (bass), and Amsterdam's Mary Oliver (violin, viola) and 70-year-old drummer/iconoclast Han Bennink, one of the patriarchs of the Dutch improvisation scene. Jan. 26, 8 p.m. Tickets: $10. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St. Cambridge. www.lily-pad.net
PATRICIA BARBER The unique Chicago-based singer, songwriter, and pianist with the crisp, cool, cerebral style brings her band to Boston in support of her brand new disc “Smash,” yet another chapter of her remarkably literate oeuvre. Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. Regattabar. Tickets: $25. 617-395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Charles Dutoit returns with works by Hindemith and Prokofiev, and Stephen Hough joins as piano soloist in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Jan. 24-26. Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
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HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Harry Christophers leads H&H in a program that includes music from Purcell’s semi-opera “The Indian Queen.” With vocal soloists Jonathan Best and Zachary Wilder. Jan. 25 in Jordan Hall, Jan. 27 at Sanders Theatre. 617-266-3605, www.handelandhaydn.org
QUICKSILVER Directed by violinists Robert Mealy and Julie Andrijeski, this ensemble made a big splash at its 2011 Boston Early Music Festival debut. It returns on Saturday with a program highlighting “the extravagant and virtuosic chamber music of 17th century Germany.” Works by Bertali, Rosenmüller, Schmelzer, and Biber. Jan. 26. First Church in Cambridge. 617-661-1812, bemf.org
NEW MUSIC The Concord Chamber Music Society premieres Yehudi Wyner’s “Concordance” (for piano quartet) on a program with works by Mozart and Ravel (Jan. 27. Concord Academy Performing Arts Center. www.concordchambermusic.org). And Dinosaur Annex premieres a new work by Yu-Hui Chang alongside music by Annie Gosfield, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Daniel S. Godfrey, and Steven Stuckey (Jan. 27. Harvard’s Paine Hall, www.dinosaurannex.org).