Here we go, sublime:

A highlight of the weekend has to be Freddie Redd’s appearance at Smalls. The jazzer seldom makes a visit to New York, and he’ll be at the joint both Friday and Saturday.

Also appearing Friday is Jonathan Coulton, whose songs can be both jokey and earnest. He’s at Symphony Space.

But wait, there’s more!

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Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, you’d think we’d be awash in Irish acts tonight. Curiously, not so much. The Chieftains, those ageless torchbearers for Irish tradition and cosmopolitan innovation, hit Newark last night, but aren’t playing Carnegie Hall this year; meanwhile, the Pogues came and went last week.

Happily, your best (and nearly only) bet for a touch of seasonal spirit is a strong one: Rogue’s March leader Joe Hurley is hosting his 10th Annual Irish Rock Revue at (Le) Poisson Rouge tonight, and the lineup includes such Celtic-at-heart luminaries as Garland Jeffreys, Laura Cantrell, Ivan Julian, Don Fleming, John S. Hall, Susan McKeown, La La Brooks and Michael Cerveris, as well as members of Cracker, the Ian Hunter Band, the Patti Smith Band and the Dictators.

For a more interactive approach to Irish music, refer to TONY contributor Gwen Orel’s handy primer on New York seisiúns, low-key jams in which amateurs rub elbows with seasoned pros. Even if you think uilleann pipes are found under the sink and a bodhrán is a Star Trek alien, you’ll find these pubs hopping tonight.

And if Irish music holds no lucky charms for you, your alternatives follow the jump. Read more »

Tonight, the Allman Brothers Band begins a 15-night stand at the Beacon Theatre, a New York tradition that recurs with uncanny regularity. Are all jam-band fans afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or just a vast majority? This year’s cluster of shows marks the 40th anniversary of the band’s inception and, using some fuzzy math, the 20th year of the residency. (While the Allman Brothers Band started playing the Beacon Theatre in 1989, Gregg Allman has claimed the residency commenced in 1994.) I interviewed Allman while he was gearing up for the 2005 shows. He talked from his home outside Savannah, with a poodle on his lap. Upon hearing I had never visited his home state, he promoted a visit with the slick eagerness of a travel agent. “Man, you’d love Georgia!” he said. “People are real nice and friendly and kind, the food is killer, and the women are gorgeous. What more could a man ask for?”