MUSIC

PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MEMORIAL HALL, CHAPEL HILL

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28Monday, Sept. 29 Under the direction of conductor Manfred Honeck, the acclaimed Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra brings two very textured programs on tour. Their Sunday performance features a Mahler symphony and a Rachmaninoff rhapsody, alongside “Rusty Air in Carolina,” an electronics-rich piece by DJ-turned-Guggenheim-winning-composer Mason Bates. On Monday, the PSO follows with Steven Stucky’s tribute to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and a Shostakovich symphony on a program that also includes The Elements, a commission for five Pittsburgh-based composers. It’s a chance to see Ukrainian-born, North Carolina-based pianist Valentina Lisitsa play live, too. Since launching her career via social media, her YouTube performances have garnered more than 50 million views. Sunday 8 p.m., Monday 7:30 p.m., $10–$69, 114 E Cameron Ave, 919-843-3333, carolinaperformingarts.org. Chris Vitiello

CARRBORO MUSIC FESTIVAL

VARIOUS VENUES, CARRBORO

SATURDAY, SEPT. 27–SUNDAY, SEPT. 28 During the last two decades, the Carrboro Music Festival has become an annual tradition for the convivial town. With dozens of bands scattered across proper rock clubs and makeshift venues like restaurants, lumberyards and banks, the ambitious effort has managed to remain low-key. There’s a lot going on, sure, but the Carrboro Music Festival’s central asset its abundance of local music and lack of major commitment, financial or otherwise, required by most music festivals. The festival adds a Saturday component this year, with an afternoon show in the Town Commons and a gig from The Love Language in the Cat’s Cradle Back Room. But Sunday is the busy day, and highlights this year include Tom Maxwell & The Minor Drag, Supreme Fiction and Morning Brigade. Simply take a stroll, and discover your new local favorite. Saturday 2 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m., free, carrboromusicfestival.com. Allison Hussey

THE BLUEGRASS RAMBLE

VARIOUS VENUES, RALEIGH

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30–THURSDAY, OCT. 2

The component of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s now-annual takeover of Raleigh that gets the most notice is Wide Open Bluegrass. Just as fall begins, the free and family-friendly party allows thousands to roam downtown, like fish subsisting on a sea of mandolins, six-strings and street-fair food. But last year at least, the best listening happened earlier in the week with The Bluegrass Ramble. A festival within a festival, The Ramble allows ticket buyers to hopscotch between seven venues in search of remarkable talent, sometimes known and sometimes new. On Tuesday night, for instance, you can catch sterling songwriter Jim Lauderdale, the driving-and-smiling Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen and the brassy bucolics of Claire Lynche. And on Wednesday, you can plant yourself at Lincoln Theatre to catch a remarkable three-act sequence: Raleigh bluegrass emissaries Chatham County Line at 11 p.m., fleet-fingered dynamo Sierra Hull at midnight and Steep Canyon Rangers taking the night toward last call. 7 p.m., $25–$75, wideopenbluegrass.com. Grayson Haver Currin

VISUAL ART

CAROLINA FOLKWAYS OPENING RECEPTION

BLOCK GALLERY, RALEIGH

MONDAY, SEPT. 29 As the Triangle and Triad grow more metropolitan, North Carolina has been upping its fine-arts profile in recent decades, but its status as an incubator of folk music and folk art goes back much further. That rich heritage is celebrated in this show of documentary photographs at Raleigh’s municipal gallery. Carolina Folkways features the work of Titus Brooks Heagins, who specializes in photographing folk musicians, and Michael Schwalbe, who immortalizes N.C. artisans in dynamic photos with interview excerpts. Artist Gabrielle Duggan ties art and craft together with Case Study, an installation in fiber and thread. After this opening reception, which coincides with the launch of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Week and features live music by Hank Smith and Lindsey Tims, the show is on view through Nov. 14. 5 p.m., free, 222 W. Hargett St., 919-996-3610, www.facebook.com/blockgallery. Brian Howe

DANCE

GASPARD & COMPANY

REYNOLDS INDUSTRIES THEATER, DURHAM

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25–FRIDAY, SEPT. 26

Durham choreographer Gaspard Louis’ thoughts keep returning to his native Haiti. Souke (Shake), his first work addressing the massive earthquake there in 2009, centered on a group of survivors, falling and regrouping over and over in the disaster’s aftermath. By contrast, 2013’s Annatations, which opened his company’s stand at the American Dance Festival, seemed to explore a waiting area in the afterlife, where souls in thoughtful or jubilant contemplation prepared for whatever was to follow. Louis completes the trilogy in his fifth annual concert, which comes at a major turning point. Eight of his company’s 10 current members were hired after summertime auditions at ADF. The pressure’s on: the new incarnation debuts after only four weeks together as a group. 8 p.m., $15–$25, 125 Science Dr., 919-684-4444, www.tickets.duke.edu. Byron Woods

THEATER + MUSIC

TAYLOR MAC: 1910s

UNC MEMORIAL HALL, CHAPEL HILL

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1–THURSDAY, OCT. 2 As a part of its 10th season, Carolina Performing Arts honors the centenary of World War I with a string of programming inspired by the conflict. This series-within-a-series kicks off with a world-premiere performance by the mercurial musical theater artist Taylor Mac, focusing primarily on the popular music of the 1910s. Commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts, it’s part of Mac’s A 24 Decade History of Popular Music, an ambitious cycle that will culminate in a 24-hour marathon performance in New York next year. For now, this first look divides the decade into pre-war, war and post-war songs. Expect theatrics, social commentary and astonishing music. 7:30 p.m., $10–$29, 114 E. Cameron Ave., 919-843-3333, www.carolinaperformingarts.org. Allison Hussey