Music critics' picks

Chambergrass is hardly a new concept. Aaron Copland got the ball going with grand symphonic works like "Appalachian Spring." In recent years classically trained, bluegrass-loving players like Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor have spun more intimate webs. What sets the Punch Brothers apart is the introduction of vocals, including a haunting song cycle inspired by the breakup of singer/composer/mandolin master Chris Thiele and his lady fair. A key figure in nu-grass sensations Nickel Creek (now on "hiatus"), Thile has put together a first-class acoustic assemblage: guitarist Chris Eldridge from the Infamous Stringdusters, bassist Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon), banjo player Noam Pikelny (who's tangled with Tony Trishka) and the exceptional violinist Gabe Witcher, part of Jerry Douglas band for years.

The group's debut album is aptly on Nonesuch, a label long associated with traditional chamber and contemporary crossover fare. They'll make their area debut at a showcase especially welcoming to hyphenated-grass bands.

Sellersville Theater, Main and Temple streets, Sellersville, 8 p.m. Thursday, $27.50, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com.

- Jonathan Takiff

The University of Pennsylvania might be known as the school that once protested Sonic Youth playing its Spring Fling, but you won't catch that vibe at the Pilam (Pi Lambda Phi) House, host to three decades of amazing punk, electronic and indie bills ranging from Husker Du to Of Montreal. Their ambitious annual Human BBQ is no exception: Highlights include A Place To Bury Strangers, Oxford Collapse, Japanther, Brown Recluse Sings and Birds of Maya, plus DJ sets by Blender faves and Baltimore club DJs Dave Nada and Cullen Stalin.

Pilam, 3914 Spruce St., noon tomorrow, $12, all ages, www.yarga.net.

- Sara Sherr

Cleveland-based multi-platinum group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony performs twice in the region this weekend. The group - which helped push hip-hop's creative envelope with its sing-song, rapid-rhyme style - debuted in 1995 with the amazing "E. 1999 Eternal" album, which produced such hits as "Tha Crossroads," also a Grammy winner.

Bizzy has since departed, and Flesh-N-Bone is in prison (though he's expected to be paroled later this year), leaving only Krayzie, Layzie and Wish to create the Swizz Beats-directed "Strength & Loyalty," the group's ninth album. Expect a stellar stage show, whichever venue you choose.

Crocodile Rock Cafe, 520 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, 8 tonight, $20 DOS, 610-434-4600, crocodilerockcafe.com. Fillmore at the TLA, 334 South St., 8 p.m. Sunday, $27.50, 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

- Damon C. Williams

There's something to be said for being a hometown hero. Seems like nary a saxophonist can pass through Philly without first making a call to trumpeter John Swana. He's stood alongside a growing list of notables, but this weekend he'll be front and center, leading a quartet of locals: organist Lucas Brown, drummer Byron Landham and guitarist Craig Ebner. Swana has a new CD, "Bright Moments," just out on the Netherlands-based Criss Cross label, so expect the group to burn its way through some fresh material.

Mt. Airy Presbyterian Church, Germantown and Mt. Pleasant avenues, 7:30 tonight, $15, 215-242-3983.

- Shaun Brady

The late Richard A. "Dick" Doran was a passionate advocate of the arts and a revered mentor to a generation of musicians. A star-studded benefit concert will create memorial funds for the Curtis Institute and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, of which he was board chairman. The roster includes pianist and Curtis ex-president Gary Graffman, his keyboard proteges Lang Lang and Yuja Wang, violist Roberto Diaz (Curtis' current president) and actor Henry Gibson. Ignat Solzhenitsyn will lead the Chamber Orchestra.

Holy Trinity Church, 1904 Walnut St., 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, $100, 215-893-1999, www.doranmemorial.com.

- Tom Di Nardo