The Carolina Chocolate Drops' extensive US tour takes them close to home in the Carolinas this weekend. They're at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina, on Saturday, and head south to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, for the Boone Hall Plantation's tasty Boone Hall BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival, on Sunday. The Drops' set comes just before the festival headliner Ricky Skaggs.

The Charleston Post and Courier previews Sunday's set with a profile of the band, describing the appeal of their performances this way: "In an era of effects and gadgetry in popular music, the Drops create palpable energy with minimal instrumentation, often springing from their chairs mid-song to break into clogging dances." Writer Stratton Lawrence suggests that through their music, the band members are "building a legacy through their efforts to bring new musicians back to the front-porch styles of their ancestors." Read more at postandcourier.com.

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Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed round out a string of European performances of their piece The Yellow Pony and Other Songs and Stories with a show at the Salle Pleyel in Paris tonight.

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Bill Frisell's two-week residency at New York's Village Vanguard with Paul Motian and Joe Lovano continues for through the weekend, with multiple performances tonight, Saturday, and Sunday nights, before coming to a close. Next week, Frisell will perform again in the city with his own trio, featuring Eyvind Kang and Rudy Royston, at City Winery.

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The Low Anthem began its tour of Europe last night at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin opening for Ray LaMontagne. There's an encore performance at the Gaiety tonight before The Low Anthem heads to Ireland's County Laois and the Electric Picnic festival, set amid the rolling lawns of Stradbally Hall, on Saturday. On Sunday, it's over to the UK to play The Deaf Institute in Manchester, England, then up to Scotland for a Monday night show at Glasgow's Oran Mor.

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Brad Mehldau is in South America for the next ten days to play a string of intimate solo sets culminating in four nights in Brazil. This weekend, he's in Santiago, Chile, performing at the capital city's Teatro Oriente Saturday night. On Monday, Mehldau plays the first of two nights in Argentina, in the city of Rosario. The performance takes place in the riverfront Parque de España's Centro Cultural.

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Sara Watkins is out West this weekend, performing two solo gigs and a set with the group Works Progress Administration. The first solo set of the weekend is tonight at the Santa Fe Brewing Company, a suitably convivial spot for an end-of-the-week event. On Saturday, she'll head to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, for the Four Corners Folk Festival, and on Sunday, it's the Strawberry Bluegrass Festival at Yosemite's Camp Mather with WPA.