By Michael Witthaus
mwitthaus@hippopress.com
• Red Band: Two very different interpretations of Americana are on display as Matt Litzinger performs three songs each from The Band’s eponymous second album and Taylor Swift’s Red, followed by a few of his own original tunes. It’s part of an ongoing series called Live From The Countertop, where a local musician picks a pair of albums from the Billboard 100 to showcase. Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., The Moka Pot, 8 Hanover St., Manchester, $5 at the door, mattlitzingermusic.com.
• Fugee flight: A group of self-confessed “music obsessed weirdos,” Diaspora Radio takes its Press Room covers show on the road, performing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in Manchester. The evening begins with music historian Zach Foote providing a backgrounder, followed by a “respectful but not reverent” recreation of the Fugees singer’s first solo flight by an all-star band. Friday, Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, $34, palacetheatre.org.
• By request: Few tribute acts are like Yesterday and Today: An Interactive Beatles Experience, which builds a setlist from request cards filled out by the audience right before the show begins. Created by brothers Billy, Matthew and Ryan McGuigan to honor their late father, an Air Force veteran and Fab Four fan, it mixes memories with timeless music for a unique evening. Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., Stockbridge Theatre, 44 N. Main St., Derry, $33 and up, pinkertonacademy.org.
• Book party: A comedian who can read the room for both laughs and emotional health, Jody Sloane performs a set and officially launches her first book. Hold The Field lays out a framework for understanding social situations without taking on other people’s problems in the process, with writing both relatable and helpful. Fellow comics Matt Barry and Jolanda Logan also appear. Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., Headliners Comedy Club, 700 Elm St., Manchester, $20, ovationtix.com.
• Strange music: A New Hampshire sister act that’s one of rock’s weirdest stories is the subject of We Are The Shaggs, a documentary being screened in Epping. Forced to play by their father, the three daughters made a truly offbeat 1969 album that even tolerant denizens of Woodstock Nation couldn’t comprehend. In the ensuing years, Kurt Cobain and other artists cited the record as influential. Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m., Epping Playhouse, 38 Ladds Lane, Epping, free, reserve at tix.com.