Concerts

9 must-see artists at the 10th Back Porch Festival this weekend

50 artists — including a Springsteen tribute and a Western Mass. salute to Willie Nelson — hit Northampton March 15-17.

Artists at this year's Back Porch Festival include, clockwise from top, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Richard Thompson, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, and Aisha Burns. Courtesy Photos

By Lauren Daley

4 minutes to read

50 artists. 10 venues. Three days. It’s Northampton’s 10th annual Back Porch Festival.

From New Orleans jazz to a British guitar god, tributes to Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen, and local talent in spades, there’s a near-overwhelming amount of music hitting Northampton Friday-Sunday, March 15-17.

Fear not, Boston music fans. We’re here to lend a helping hand. Here are nine acts to circle on the schedule. (Download map and the full schedule here.) Note that some evening shows are ticketed. (Info on that here.)

Richard Thompson

All hail a guitar hero.

The Fairport Convention alum is one of our greatest living guitarists. Often called a guitarist’s guitarist, the Londoner’s finger-picking is so intricate, his fingers seem to blur over the strings at times.

If you know one song, it’s probably “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.” If you don’t, good God, YouTube it. (Watch his fingers. Mind-blowing.)

“Beeswing” and “Wall of Death” are also must-streams. It’s not just the 74-year-old’s virtuosic playing, though. It’s his songwriting — which earned him in 2006 a lifetime achievement award from BBC Radio — and, on stage, his dry Brit humor. While he earned a 2011 OBE from Queen Elizabeth II, he’s not resting on his laurels. His latest, “Ship to Shore” arrives May 31. March 17, 8 p.m. Tickets and details here.

Aisha Burns

A tremendous talent.

The Western Massachusetts-based violinist/guitarist singer/songwriter has such an ethereal voice I could listen to her sing the phone book. The Texas native blew me away with her recent covers of Gillian Welsh’s “Look at Miss Ohio” and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” Her interpretation of “Game,” she notes on Bandcamp: “Anything from imbalanced or one-sided friendships, to being at home in a country that was not designed with my survival or best interests as a Black woman in mind.”

Burns began playing violin at 10. After years of “secret singing,” according to her website, she released her solo debut in 2013. Sample a bit of her 2018 album, “Argonauta” — written in the wake of her mother’s death, as she told NPR — here. March 15, 6:15 p.m. Details here.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Party time.

If you can’t get tickets to see them with Neil Young & Crazy Horse, the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Queen Latifah & more at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest April 25 — fear not. Pack your dancing shoes for their Massachusetts show. The storied band, bringing the jazz of the Big Easy to the rest of the world since 1961, is a must-see, must-move experience. Learn more here. It’s worth checking out the 2018 SXSW doc “A Tuba to Cuba.” March 16, 8 p.m. Tickets and details here.

Larry Campbell & Teresa Willians

Session man to the stars, Campbell played guitar on Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour from 1997 to 2004. (Fun fact: He also appeared in “Masked and Anonymous,” the 2003 film Dylan co-wrote and starred in.)

Campbell and Williams, who have been “coupled consciously since 1986,” according to their website, were singing on Dylan’s tour bus one night, when Dylan’s manager Jeff Kramer suggested they record. The couple soon became a part of the late, great Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band. The chemistry is palpable. For a taste, listen to this live cover of Jerry Garcia’s “Sugaree.” March 17, 2 p.m. Details here.

A Willie Nelson tribute

Raise one — well, maybe light one (but not in the venue) — for Willie.

Western Mass. celebrates the music of the 90-year-old long-haired legend in “An All-Star Tribute To Willie Nelson.” Performers include Melrose’s Mark Erelli; Scituate’s Ward Hayden; Western Mass.’s Jon Carroll, Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault, the Deep River Ramblers, and more. I’m hoping someone covers “Buddy,” but there are (checks notes) zero bad Willie Nelson songs. March 15, 8 p.m. Tickets and details here.

Springsteen tunes

If you miss him covering Willie, check out Hayden — frontman of Ward Hayden & The Outliers — covering Bruce. March 16 at 2 p.m. Details here. He then plays his own set at 3 p.m. Details here.

Rachel Sumner

Passim’s School of Music manager and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Folk Grand Prize winner is not only a talented songwriter — she’s got pipes. Listen to her new single “Katie” for a sense. The Winchester musician performs with her band Traveling Light March 16 at 2:45. Details here.

‘A Tribute to Sinead O’Connor, Shane McGowan & The Irish Poets’

St. Patrick’s Day is an apt day to honor two late Irish singer/songwriters, O’Connor and McGowan, at a brewery. And aptly, singer/songwriter Peter Mulvey — who began his career busking in Dublin and Boston — hosts the tribute, featuring performances by Winterpills and others. March 17, 3 p.m. Details here.

Charlie Parr

If you miss him at Passim this week, catch him March 17 in Northampton. I first fell in love with Parr’s old-time sound in college when I heard “1922 Blues.” If you don’t know the Minnesotan, start with that album: “1922.” Vibes range from trad/folk to neo-bluegrass to old bluegrass to folky Warren Zevon-esque humor like “Jesus at the Kenmore.”

If you’re already a fan, know that his 18th album, “Little Sun,” releases via Smithsonian Folkways March 22. Must-listen track: “Boombox.” March 17, 5:45 p.m. Details here.

Lauren Daley can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1.

Lauren Daley

Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.

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