New Orleans Legends
Joshua Bell, 9/20
A friend texted me twice in rapid succession early one morning in June. Very early. Then she called. “Where should I sit for the Joshua Bell concert?!” It was the day tickets went on sale for the violinist superstar, who performs with the Richmond Symphony on Sept. 20 at the Carpenter Theatre. Seats are still available, but don’t wait too long. (See a Q&A with Bell on page 46.) 8 p.m. $25 to $125. 788-1212 or richmondsymphony.com. —Angela Lehman-Rios
Cher with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, 10/15
Break out your jean jacket and tease those bangs — Richmond’s concert scene is taking you back in time this fall with a couple of guilty pleasures. Despite 2003’s Wig Gate, where someone stole one of her precious $8K wigs from a dressing room (later turned in to police, anonymously), Cher will return to the scene of the crime for a show Oct. 15 at the Richmond Coliseum during her “Dressed to Kill Tour.” 7:30 p.m. $21.50 to $127. 780-4970 or richmondcoliseum.net. –Melissa Chase, 103.7 Play
Jordan Knight and Nick Carter, 10/18
Even if you roll your eyes at your kids screaming for tween hearthrobs like One Direction or Austin Mahone, your inner school girl can’t help but squeal when Jordan Knight (New Kids on the Block) and Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) team up for their “Nick & Knight Tour” at The National on Oct. 18. Get one of them to wink at you from the stage, and it will justify all that allowance and babysitting money spent on their cassingles at Sam Goody. 8 p.m. $39.50. 612-1900 or thenationalva.com. —MC
New York Brass Arts Trio, 10/25
In the world of chamber music, string ensembles sell seats. So do pianists. Wind or brass groups, not so much. But that’s exactly why you should get a ticket for the New York Brass Arts Trio on Oct. 25 at VCU’s W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. You can always go see Another String Quartet later.8 p.m. $34. 828-1166 or arts.vcu.edu/music/events/rennolds. —ALR
New Orleans Legends, 10/29
To many, pianist Allen Toussaint is New Orleans music — a songwriter, producer and singer behind many iconic touchstones (“Mother in Law,” anyone?) — and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been keeping Bayou brass alive almost as long as Toussaint has been pounding out hits. Together, they bring sublime syncopation to the Modlin Center on Oct. 29. 7:30 p.m. $45. 289-8980 or modlin.richmond.edu. —Don Harrison
Richmond Symphony, 11/13, 16
Beethoven shares the bill with Americans David Diamond and Peter Schickele (alter ego, P.D.Q. Bach), and the symphony’s Tom Schneider solos on bassoon during “Symphony Rush Hour” at Richmond CenterStage’s Gottwald Playhouse on Nov. 13 (6:30 p.m., $20) and “Beethoven: Symphony No. 2” at Randolph-Macon College on Nov. 16 (3 p.m., $20). 788-1212 or richmondsymphony.com. —ALR
Aretha Franklin, 11/17 —CANCELLED
It would be tough to pass up a chance to see the Queen of Soul. Among her other achievements that demand “Respect” (such as 18 Grammys), Franklin was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 8 p.m. $70 to $125. 592-3368 or altriatheater.com.—Tina Eshleman
