Mac Comer at O’Mainnin’s; Mountain Heart at Down Home; The Crystal Concert at Martha Washington

MAC COMER
Mac Comer may look like a hippie. He even refers to himself on occasion as something of a hippie, and perhaps he is at that.
Scheduled to unplug on Oct. 15 at O’Mainnin’s Pub in Bristol, Tenn., the Knoxville, Tenn., tunesmith features an acoustic sound. Think unplugged hints of jam band Widewpread Panic.
Yet as heard on Comer’s two albums, his style reaches deeper. Sometimes he’s rock, and sometimes he’s folk.
The University of Tennessee graduate with a mathematics degree features a slashing guitar style that evokes Dave Matthews crossed with Richie Havens. His raspy voice seemingly borrows from no one. But hippie, eh, you be the judge.

IF YOU GO
Who: Mac Comer
When: Oct. 15, 10 p.m.
Where: O’Mainnins Pub, 712 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Info: (423) 844-0049
Web and video: http://www.maccomer.com
And: http://www.myspace.com/maccomer

MOUNTAIN HEART
Not even during the days of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs has bluegrass enjoyed success as today.
Count Mountain Heart among today’s best in bluegrass that bends. Set to appear on Oct. 16 at Down Home in Johnson City, Tenn., six-man band Mountain Heart maintains an all-acoustic sound that’s rooted in bluegrass.
Yet particularly since the exit of Steve Gulley and the entrance of new lead singer Josh Shilling, Mountain Heart has ventured to fuse more sounds to its base.
Mingled now among their bluegrass fans may hear a Lynyrd Skynyrd song or perhaps Shilling playing the piano. Toss in tastes of jazz, rock, blues, country and whatever else suits them, and Mountain Heart’s heart bleeds more than just bluegrass.

IF YOU GO
Who: Mountain Heart
When: Oct. 16, 9 p.m.
Where: Down Home, 300 W. Main St., Johnson City, Tenn.
Admission: $18
Info: (423) 929-9822
Web and video: http://www.mountainheart.com

CRYSTAL CONCERT
If saws and jugs can make music, then surely glass can, too.
And so it will on Oct. 18 when Dean Shostak presents The Crystal Concert at the Martha Washington Inn Ballroom in Abingdon, Va.
His instruments made of glass, Shostak’s repertoire includes the classical of Mozart to Beethoven to his own compositions.
That’s one thing. His instruments are another. Among them, he plays the glass armonica, which Benjamin Franklin invented in 1761. He also plays crystal hand bells, a harmonicon and a glass violin.
Emerging sounds range from the ethereal to the piercing for a batch of music that’s underlines the essence of alternative music. Oh so different.

IF YOU GO
Who: Dean Shostak: The Crystal Concert
When: Oct. 18, 3 p.m.
Where: Martha Washington Inn Ballroom, 150 W. Main St., Abingdon, Va.
Admission: $10
Info: (276) 628-3161
Web and audio: http://www.crystalconcert.com

MUSIC NOTES
—Last weekend’s 30th Annual Tennessee Fall Homecoming on the grounds of the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn., amounted to a grand salute to the state’s rural heritage. Music included Bristol’s Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Grand Ole Opry member Mike Snider and fabulous bluegrass supergroup Grasstowne.
Music intertwined with country cooking, livestock, barns and a sea of blue overalls. Missed it? Missed out.
—Nominees for the American Music Awards were announced this week. Leading the pack were Taylor Swift with six nominations, the late Michael Jackson with five and rapper Eminem with four. The show airs live from Los Angeles on Nov. 22 on ABC.
—Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher left the band in August. Now the British rock band has apparently followed suit.
“Oasis is no longer,” said Noel’s brother Liam Gallagher via an interview with Times U.K. “We had a good run at it.”
—New albums on store shelves this week include Bob Dylan’s long-awaited first Christmas album, the charming “Christmas in the Heart.”
Fans of on-the-edge rock will rejoice to the Flaming Lips’ new album “Embryonic,” while fans of pop with tints of country have Sugarland’s first Christmas album “Gold and Green” to check out.
—This week’s free MP3 download features Raul Malo, one of the finest singers from any genre in the past 20 years. Visit http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/media/audio/ for the former Mavericks lead singer’s spellbinding “Lucky One.”
And so it goes. Return next week for another round of Short Takes and Music Notes, though until then and without question, please do stay tuned.

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .