Jackson Free Press

This is a fantastic week for people looking to hear great music. This Thursday, Nov. 13, the Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music will host an 18th-century fortepiano concert by Dr. Malcolm Bilson at St. Philip's Episcopal Church on Old Canton Road, 7:30 p.m. The period-instrument concert will feature music by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Bilson has been on the forefront of the period-instrument movement for more than 30 years, performing as a member of the Cornell University music department since 1968. Call 601-977-7782 or 601-852-4848 for details. If you're picking this issue up on Wednesday, Bilson will teach a free master class at Millsaps at 4 p.m. Call 601-974-1422 about the class.

This Friday, the Five Live Quintet from the Julliard Jazz Ensemble will perform at Millsaps as part of their Bell Concert Series in the Academic Complex Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., with a pre-concert talk in AC Room 215 at 6:45 p.m. Get tickets at the door or call 601-974-1422.

Stay downtown after Millsaps' Friday jazz concert, and head to Martin's at 10 p.m. for blues legend Alvin "Youngblood" Heart. He received the 1997 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist and two Living Blues Awards. His hard-jamming guitar licks are a self-proclaimed "cosmic love child of Howlin' Wolf and Link Wray." It'll be good times.

Good seats are still available for the Mississippi Opera's season opener, Verdi's "Rigoletto," Saturday, Nov. 15, at Thalia Mara Hall, 7:30 p.m. $20-$55. If you've never experienced the high-caliber performances the opera puts on, now's your chance. Tickets and info are available at msopera.org or by calling 877-MS-OPERA. After the opera Saturday, head straight to Hal & Mal's for JJ Grey & Mofro. Front man JJ Grey kicks out an amalgam of southern groove, funk-rock and soul for your dancing pleasure. Mofro has toured with the Allman Brothers and played top festivals like Voodoo and South by Southwest. Test drive them at JJ Grey & MOFRO. If that isn't enough for Saturday night, Nashville duo and 2008 American Music Award nominee Sugarland will be at the Mississippi Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.

The Nicole Marquez Benefit and Dancing Drawdown is also this Saturday with Lisa Palmer, Rhonda Richmond, Jewel Bass and These Days at the Country Club of Jackson, $50, 7-11 p.m. Then next Saturday, Nov. 22, Hal & Mal's is hosting another benefit for the Nicole Marquez fund with Red Hill City, Patrick Harkins, The Pates, Bobby Rush, Eddie Cotton and Brady Champion. 8 p.m., $15 donation suggested. You can find out more about Nicole's recovery and the benefit shows at YouCantStopThisDancer.com.

Tickets are still available for the KesslerBroadway.com series performance "Rain: A Tribute To the Beatles" this Monday and Tuesday at Thalia Mara Hall, 7:30 p.m. If you've missed the ads, it's a live musical retrospective of The Fab Four from the Ed Sullivan Show to Sgt. Pepper to Abbey Road. The Broadway-caliber show is the second in the Kessler series this season. Tickets are $15-$55 and available at 601-981-1847, or KesslerBroadway.com.

Mark your calendars for Nov. 22, when the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Chorus join together at Thalia Mara for the music of Vaughn-Williams. And, if you're in the mood for a road trip, check out the Nevilles at Beau Rivage in Biloxi Friday, Nov. 21.