Tormented, resigned and eternally breathy, Lisa Germano surfaces every few years to rediscover the comfort in being sad. Her latest album, In the Maybe World (Young God Records), rounds up ghosts and peeks into the half-empty beds they left behind. But amid all that solitude, it's the two-way conversation of "Red Thread" that best captures how intrinsically alone we all are.

Rituals and ceremonies, and the inherited right to play throbbing accompaniment to them — such is the legacy of the Royal Drummers of Burundi. The music is said to have changed very little over the centuries, with dancing and huge drums part of the riveting spectacle.

From his work with the still-revered Low Road to his shows with John Train and Marah, pedal-steel virtuoso Mike Brenner (aka Slo-Mo) adds magic to every song he touches. Brenner and the seven other members of his self-nicknamed band — which include vocalists Lauren Hart and Stargazer Lily alumni Sue and Steph — create an onstage groovefest with the help of spirited frontman, West Philly rapper Mic Wrecka.

Gene Coleman's Soundfield series has excelled in teaming improvisers from around the world with their American counterparts, but rarely have his guests delved this deeply into their musical ancestry. For this concert, titled "What Is the Sound of China?," Coleman's Ensemble Noamnesia joins with a trio of Chinese musicians playing traditional instruments for a new set of compositions that promise to bridge sonic centuries.

Yeah, screw it, I'm putting this James Sugg piece in the music section. But isn't it, like, theater? Didn't the Live Arts Fest book it at the Wilma? Well yeah, true, there are all these asides where his psycho sailor character tells you who he is and how he got here, but that's the mortar. The music is the bricks, and his backing band of salty dogs bring the Neutral Milk/Radiohead rock every chance they get.