Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver at WEAG
What with art not being a high priority of government these days, when the National Endowment for the Arts gives an award, it’s a sign that the artist is doing some good for the culture. Lawson won the National Heritage Fellowship last September, an honor shared by fellow bluegrass legends Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs, all of whom have kept the traditions of mountain music from disappearing back up the mountain. Lawson and his bluegrass gospel gang come to the West End Assembly of God, hot on the heels of the church’s Christmas über-pageant, where, if you pay attention, you can probably still hear the camel humming along with the banjo. The show is Saturday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m. $14-$16. 320-7067.
Richmond Symphony Poppin’
Indifferent to the debate raging over the “new blond James Bond,” the symphony, led by outgoing associate conductor and firebrand Sarah Hatsuko Hicks, fires up the Wachovia Securities Pops Concert for a night of non-Mozartian music. Ever controversial, they’re poppin’ through tunes from “The Sound of Music,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and, sure to start fistfights in the aisles of the Landmark Theater, music from the James Bond movies. Pray the police are on standby Saturday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. $35-$60. Call 262-8003 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.
Chris Hillman at Ashland Coffee & Tea
Hillman, of The Byrds, is one of those genre-benders who ties together country-rock, bluegrass, jazz and psychedelic rock. But after 40 years, your résumé can’t say just “folk.” Although he’s made his name with that, too. Now he’s touring with all that music in his head and bringing along fellow Desert Rose Band-mate Herb Pederson to sort of ease us all into that big pot of influences Saturday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. Rod Picott opens. $35. 798-1702. S