Soundadvice

Get Out!

At 19, California native Alela Diane packed up and traveled to Europe with little more than a guitar in hand. It was there she wrote her first album. But it's Americana, especially Appalachian ballads and lilting country rock, which informs her sound. Against a minimalist backdrop of alternating folksy instrumentation — banjo, steel guitar and violin — Diane paints a series of striking musical vignettes, utilizing her soaring vocals to fill out the sparseness provided by the stark percussion and slow, lonesome picking.

—Kevin Pearson

Sun., March 1, 7.30 p.m., $12, with Blitzen Trapper, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

Stebmo

Seattle-based keyboardist and trombonist Steven Moore isn't a bluesman like the similarly nicknamed Keb'Mo', but that may be one of the only styles he doesn't dabble in. Moore's Wurlitzer has logged time with everyone from guitarist Bill Frisell to Sunn0))), and his self-titled debut is an amalgamation of that multiplicity. He's pared down his band to a trio with the same proclivities: bassist Todd Sickafoose, who tours regularly with Ani DiFranco; and drummer Kenny Wollesen, a constant collaborator of Frisell and member of Steven Bernstein's Sex Mob.

—Shaun Brady

Mon., March 2, 8 p.m., $10, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St., arsnovaworkshop.com.

Hilary Hahn

Every few years or so, a Curtis student comes along who is recognized as a soloist of international stature even before graduation. Last year it was pianist Yuja Wang, already well into a major career, with record deals and concert schedules to rival any old pro. Before her there was violinist Hilary Hahn, one of the most sought-out soloists on today's scene, winning over audiences with poised yet unfussy style and poetically expressive tone. Her solo outing at Verizon, with pianist Valentina Lisitsa as accompanist, offers an intriguing program that includes three of the beautiful and rarely performed Violin Sonatas of Charles Ives.

—Peter Burwasser

Wed., March 4, 8 p.m., $29-$70, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

Mariza

You might not know a word of Portuguese, but the power in Mariza's vocals makes that seem like a quibbling detail. To set the scale of her magnetism, consider this: Architect Frank Gehry was so seduced by the pure emotion of Mariza's singing that he offered to design a stage set for her, used for only a single night, evoking a taverna — fado's natural home — when she played his Disney Hall. Fado is working-folks' music, nothing pretentious about it. Mariza's set often does not stick strictly to fado, but her additions make organic sense. On this tour she has an acoustic band, just as you might hear at home in Lisbon.

—Mary Armstrong

Sun., March 1, 7:30 p.m., $35-$56, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

Does humor belong in music? That question, which used to be asked by Frank Zappa, has been answered in the affirmative by drummer Matt Wilson. But where Zappa's response too often veered into the sophomoric, Wilson's playful antics are always phrased in a fresh, spontaneous way that has made him one of the most in-demand drummers on the jazz scene. At MontCo, Wilson will mount his Carl Sandburg Project, a multi-disciplinary take on the poet's work with his Arts and Crafts quartet.

—Shaun Brady

Sat., Feb. 28, 8 p.m., $22, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, 215-641-6300, ext. 5, mc3.edu.