Highlights

In the Clubs
A Good Time for Bluegrass… and TR3
Although he’s touring full time as guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band, Tim Reynolds is bringing his jazzy funk rock trio, TR3, to George’s tonight for what will be an unforgettable show. Tickets are $15.

But, the town is going blue for the week, that’s blue as in bluegrass.

First off, Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore will be at GoodFolk in downtown Fayetteville tonight. Players as fine as these are not to be missed. Get tickets by calling 521-1812. $20.

On Friday night, Big Smith will hit George’s for a two-night run and Friday night they’ll be joined by some of our local favorites, Chase Missy.

All of these band put out their own signature versions of bluegrass and sometimes it leans a little more rock, a little more blues and little more jazzy. It’s just always, all good.

Saturday night, The Punch Brothers, with Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile, will play the Walton Arts Center at 8. The contemporary bluegrass band is made up of guitarist Chris Eldridge (Infamous Stringdusters The Seldom Scene), bassist Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon), banjo player Noam Pikelny (John Cowan, Tony Trischka) and fiddler player Gabe Witcher (Willie Nelson, Beck, Randy Newman). The band members worked with Thile on his 2006 solo album “How To Grow a Woman from the Ground,” which includes bluegrass covers of songs by the White Stripes, the Strokes and Jimmy Rodgers. The players put out their first CD “The Blind Leaving the Blind” the following year. Tickets are $18-$24.

And one last note, a medical benefit for musician Bruce Parker will run from 2 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday at George’s. Coming together to help out will be Earl Cate and Baby Jason, Joe Giles and the Homewreckers, Big Uns, John D and the Thunderboltz, Earl’s Garage, Jamie Wolfe and the Wranglers, Pam Nelson Band and Wes Hart Band. There’ll be food from the Habitual Smokers and a silent auction. Tickets are $10 at the door and a good time is guaranteed.

Music for free

This is a great week to start motivating into the holidays by getting out for a number of fantastic free, yes free, music concerts by faculty or students from the UA. There’s a woodwind ensemble, percussion ensemble, saxophone ensemble, tuba recital, take a look at the options in the Music section of 8 Days a week and take your pick. A couple of the highlights are The UA Jazz Ensemble on Friday night and the Boston Mountain Brassworks on Monday night.

he UA Jazz Ensemble, an 18-piece big band, under the leadership of James Greeson and Claudia Burson will perform music by Count Basie, Matt Harris, Sammy Nestico, Neal Hefti and Horace Silver in the Arkansas Union Theater on the University of Arkansas campus. The combo Pentomino will also perform, as well as a trio made up of Greeson, Burson and Ben Harris. The theater is in the Arkansas Union. Concert at 7:30 p.m.
If brass is your bag, at 7:30 Monday night, The Boston Mountain Brassworks will be performing work by Girolamo Frescobaldi, Dan Welcher, Kevin McKee, Stanley Friedman, and Kerry Turner at the UA Fine Arts Concert Hall in the University of Arkansas Fine Arts Building. The Boston Mountain Brassworks quintet is composed of University of Arkansas faculty members Richard Rulli and Brian Glass on trumpets, Timothy Thompson on horn, Gerald Sloan on trombone and Benjamin Pierce on tuba.
And like we said, these concerts are gifts to you. They’re free and you will be totally impressed by the talent.

Star Struck

The Andromeda Galaxy and Pleiades are above us now and if you want to head out of town and away from the lights, star gazing is going to be good. If you want a little advice on where to look for what, meet at the Hidden Diversity parking lot at Hobbs State Park on Saturday when the Sugar Creek Astronomy Society will present a program on the night sky. An instructional program will begin at 4:30 p.m. followed by viewing at around 5:30 p.m. If you have a telescope binoculars and a star chart, bring them along with a chair and a flashlight covered with a red cloth. To get there, take Arkansas-12 east from Rogers. After about 12 miles turn right onto Townsend Ridge Road and go two miles to Hidden Diversity Trail parking lot.