Raleigh
Scott Miller & The Commonwealth
The Pour House--The songs and albums of songwriter/ guitarist/ vocalist Scott Miller have always possessed a strong sense of place, however you want to define that slippery term. The new Jim Dickinson-produced Citation is no exception, sporting songs that emerge, breathing heavy, from a broken-in backseat and that roar down the highway, and songs set stateside and on battlefields. And the tunes breathe even heavier and roar even louder live. Stoll Vaughan opens. The 10 p.m. show costs $10-12. --Rick Cornell
Into the Woods
Meredith College--True, what is now officially Stephen Sondheim's most frequently produced musical has already garnered significant local airtime in the past couple of years. But Meredith College's Theater has lately been on the ascent, and this production promises the strongest cast of recent local efforts. Plus, this magical book of recombinant fairy tales, a spiritually direct descendent of Anne Sexton's Transfor-mations, still has much to say about reconciling individual dreams with the greater good, and desire with responsibility. If you can't catch it tonight, it runs from Thursday until Sunday at Jones Auditorium; tickets are $10-$5. Call 760-2840 for more. --Byron Woods
Durham
Terrence Blanchard
Duke University--Trumpeter Terrence Blanchard provides an 8 p.m. preamble in Page Auditorium to tomorrow's festival, happening from 1-7 p.m. on the East Campus Quad. For more, see music.duke.edu.