Sept. 21, Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek

When Mary J. Blige emerged in the early 1990s, there was little sign of staying power. But from her cheeky beginnings, Blige has grown into her persona of "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul." Her run continues Sept. 21 at Raleigh's Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. Robin Thicke opens. 834-4000, www.ticketmaster.com.

Allman Brothers

Oct. 3, Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek

Raleigh's Walnut Creek Amphitheatre has had several different names over the years, but only one act has played there every year since 1991's opening season. That's the Allman Brothers, still at it four decades on. The venerable Southern rock band's streak continues for an 18th season with an Oct. 3 show. Phil Lesh & Friends open. 834-4000, www.ticketmaster.com.

Magnetic Fields

Oct. 18, Meymandi Concert Hall

Stephin Merritt, the mastermind behind Magnetic Fields, has done everything from low-tech new wave to theater-style showtunes. But his latest move was truly shocking, a guitar-grunge album bearing the apt title "Distortion" (Nonesuch Records). No telling what guise awaits when Magnetic Fields play Meymandi Concert Hall on Oct. 18 in a Cat's Cradle-sponsored concert. 834-4000, www.ticketmaster.com.

Billy Bragg

Nov. 2, Page Auditorium

Billy Bragg is an Englishman, but also a citizen of the world -- a peerless raconteur with strong opinions about everything, including U.S. elections. It should be a politically charged evening when Duke Performances brings Bragg to Page Auditorium on Nov. 1, just three days before the presidential election. 684-4444, tickets.duke.edu.

B.B. King

Nov. 30, Durham Performing Arts Center

Brand names don't get much more reliable than B.B. King, a giant of soulful blues who just released a new album produced by T-Bone Burnett (the mastermind behind the recent Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration). King plays opening night at the brand spankin' new Durham Performang Arts Center on Nov. 30, a show billed as the "Bull Durham Winter Blues Concert." 834-4000, www.ticketmaster.com.

Kirov Orchestra

Nov. 11-12, Memorial Hall

Valery Gergiev has transformed the Kirov Opera and its orchestra into a world-class ensemble. Hailed for his visceral operatic conducting, Gergiev also wows critics in symphonic works. His Nov. 11 concert for Carolina Performing Arts is appropriately all-Russian and all-Prokofiev, while the Nov. 12 performance mixes Beethoven with Prokofiev. 843-3333, www.carolinaperformingarts.org.

Nicole Cabell

Sept. 12-13, Meymandi Concert Hall

American soprano Nicole Cabell has risen quickly to top ranks since winning the 2005 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Hearing her rich, clear voice confidently soaring in the most taxing repertoire easily justifies her newfound fame and Decca recording contract. With the N.C. Symphony, she sings Barber's lush, nostalgic "Knoxville: Summer of 1915." 733-2750, www.ncsymphony.org.

Borromeo String Quartet

Oct. 26, Fletcher Opera Theater

Led by Durham native son Nicholas Kitchen, the popular quartet returns to the Triangle for the state premiere of N.C. State University composer J. Mark Scearce's String Quartet No. 2. Written for the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, the piece includes tenor Wade Henderson singing texts from Hart Crane's poem about the bridge. Presented by the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild. 821-2030, www.rcmg.org.

N.C. Master Chorale

Nov. 15, Fletcher Opera Theater

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