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[FOLK] + SAT., APRIL 9

Carrie Newcomer is as much a humanitarian as a musician. She has traveled to India and Kenya as a cultural ambassador. Her worldly, folk-influenced music has a Christianity-influenced message (she’s a Quaker), but it’s a refreshing one. While Christians at large can get a bad rap sometimes for being bigoted, Newcomer’s message is of acceptance and love for all people, and her deep and soothing voice hearkens to a simpler time. Tonight, Newcomer performs at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh with local opener Jenn Gooch. Andrew Woehrel 7:30 p.m. 650 Morewood Ave., Shadyside. $20-25. 412-682-0591 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2519308

[GAMELAN] + SAT., APRIL 9

Ismet Ruchimat is a Javanese composer who writes traditional Indonesian gamelan music and has been part of an artist-residency program at the University of Pittsburgh. Gamelan is a form of Indonesian music from the islands of Bali and Java, which features a heavy emphasis on percussion, and showcases the bamboo flute. Tonight, Pitt’s University Gamelan presents Gamelan Fusion: New and Traditional Music of West Java at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Student performers and classically trained vocalist Masyuning will present Ruchimat’s compositions, which combine gamelan with other forms of music, like reggae, salsa and West African. AW 8 p.m. 650 Schenley Drive, Oakland. $5-12. 412-624-7529 or www.music.pitt.edu

[VOCAL] + TUE., APRIL 12

Anqwenique Wingfield is an alumnus of IUP, and an extremely accomplished vocalist in a variety of styles, ranging from opera and jazz to neo-soul and gospel. She is a vocal teacher at various schools and programs within Pittsburgh, and has starred in several operas in the Pittsburgh area, including Mozart’s Don Giovanni. You can hear this remarkable talent tonight at The Cloak Room at the Livermore, as part of Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s new Pittsburgh Performs! series. AW 7 p.m. 124 S. Highland Ave., East Liberty. $10 suggested donation. 412-361-0600 or www.thelivermorepgh.com

[INDUSTRIAL METAL] + TUE., APRIL 12

Since 1989, Los Angeles-based metal group Fear Factory has skirted the line between death metal, industrial metal and thrash, and its mechanical rhythms and occasionally melodic vocals were a big influence on late ’90s nu-metal. Fear Factory was never really a nu-metal band, though, even though some of its members have definitely sported a goatee from time to time, and perhaps even a braided one. Tonight, the band plays at Altar Bar, with Soilwork and more. AW 8 p.m. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. $22-25. 412-263-2877 or www.thealtarbar.com

[DESERT BLUES] + TUE., APRIL 12

When I was a child, the word “Timbuktu,” represented a place so far away I’d never reach it. I wasn’t even sure it really existed. However, Timbuktu is a real city, located in Mali. And it’s the hometown of Songhoy Blues, a group that deftly combines African rhythms with Western, rock-influenced guitars. Exiled from Mali by a fundamentalist group that outlawed cigarettes, alcohol and music, Songhoy Blues is truly a band of modern-day rebels, and its infectious combination of rock, R&B and traditional Malian music (dubbed “desert blues”) is receiving accolades from many American critics, including this one. Tonight, Songhoy Blues plays at The Warhol. AW 8 p.m. 117 Sandusky St., North Side. $12-15. 412-237-8300 or www.warhol.org