3-"A Few Good Men," University Theatre, Stewart Theatre, NCSU, Raleigh. Through Oct. 7.

Duke Symphony Orchestra with Cecilia Yudha, piano, Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University.

4-highlight jazz

Jae Sinnett Quartet with Steve Wilson, Hill Hall Auditorium, UNC-CH.

Sinnett, a drummer who has recorded eight albums as a leader, teaches at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. Fellow Virginian Wilson plays lead alto saxophone in the Maria Schneider Orchestra, among other high-profile New York gigs. Expect a tasteful and exhilarating session.

"The Comedy of Errors," N.C. Shakespeare Festival, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 7.

Byron Cage, gospel, Meymandi Concert Hall, Progress Energy Center.

Charanga Carolina, Cuban music, Durham Academy, Durham.

Henry Butler, jazz piano, Nelson Music Room, Duke University.

Jai Uttal, Indian devotional singing, with Daniel Paul, ArtsCenter, Carrboro.

5-highlight jazz

Bud Shank with the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra, Temple Theatre, Sanford.

The alto saxophonist, now 81, grew up in Durham, graduated from UNC-CH and wound up as a highly respected studio musician in Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s, he shed his cool, West Coast jazzman image and became a fierce bebop player, a course he pursues avidly today.

N.C. Symphony with pianist Vladimir Feltsman and music director Grant Llewellyn. Meymandi Concert Hall, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 6.

Khmer Arts Ensemble, "Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute," opera, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

"The Crucible," classic drama, N.C. Shakespeare Festival, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 6.

"The Battle of Shallowford," North Carolina-based comedy, Raleigh Little Theatre. Through Oct. 21.

"The Miss Firecracker Contest," Southern comedy, Ghost & Spice Productions, Common Ground Theatre, Durham. Through Oct. 20.

JCC Country Music Showcase, Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield. Also Oct. 6.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, string band, American Tobacco Campus Amphitheatre, Durham.

6-highlight theater

"Man of La Mancha," Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center.

It takes a big personality to play the mad knight Don Quixote, and few are as supersized as Ira David Wood III. Best known as the caricaturish Scrooge, Wood has also carved a niche as the imprisoned writer Miguel de Cervantes and his alter ego, Quixote. This will be his third turn playing the role for N.C. Theatre.

Oktoberfest, with Duke University String School, Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University.

Saludos Company, Lise Uyanik & The Mobile City Band with magician Josh Lozoff, ArtsCenter, Carrboro.

Fall Fair of Arts & Crafts, Jordan Hall ArtsCenter, Cary.

World Beer Festival, Historic Durham Athletic Park, Durham. www.allaboutbeer.com.

Selma Railroad Days, Raeford Street, Selma. www.visitselmanc.com.

7-Dianne Reeves, jazz, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

Raleigh Symphony Orchestra with Yang Xi, violin, and Nate Leyland, cello, Jones Auditorium, Meredith College.

"Panchavaktram: A Dance Drama on Shiva, Lord of the Five Elements," Indian Classical Music & Dance Society, East Chapel Hill High School.

Celebrate N.C. Wines, JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh. www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum.

Beach Music Day, featuring the Greg Woolard Band, Holly Springs Cultural Center, Holly Springs.

Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra, student-community ensemble, Talley Student Center Ballroom, NCSU, Raleigh.

Festifall, street festival, Plant Road, Chapel Hill. www.chapelhillparks.com.

9- "Catch 22," theatrical adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel, Aquila Theatre Company, Stewart Theatre, NCSU.

UNC Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

10-UNC Symphony Orchestra, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

11-highlight roots music

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, Shakori Hills Famstead, Silk Hope.

This eco-friendly festival offers four days of music, arts and crafts, and food. Highlights include old-time fiddler Benton Flippen, country-bluegrass artist Jim Lauderdale, Canada's world music ensemble the Duhks and host band Donna the Buffalo. Through Oct. 14.

"Taste of the Modern: Rothko, Rauschenberg, Oldenburg, Kline," Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University. Through Sept. 14, 2008.

N.C. Symphony with assistant conductor Joan Landry. Carolina Theatre, Durham.

Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band with Omar Sosa Quartet, jazz, Reynolds Theater, Duke University.

"One Noble Journey," drama based on slave stories, Mike Wiley Productions, Hayti Heritage Center, Durham.

"Columbinus," documentary-style drama, Raleigh Ensemble Players, Gallery 2 of Artspace, Raleigh. Also Oct. 12-13, 18-20, 25-17.

12-highlight jazz

N.C. Symphony with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Meymandi Concert Hall, Progress Energy Center.

New Orleans may be a shadow of its Katrina-ravaged self, but Preservation Hall Jazz Band still brings the sound of the city to audiences all over the world. This tour coincides with an impressive new album, "Hurricane Sessions," featuring an unexpected New Orleans jazz treatment of the Kinks' "Complicated Life." Through Oct. 14.

N.C. Jazz Repertory Orchestra with the N.C. Youth Tap Ensemble and Two Near the Edge, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

"Works of Heart," art auction to benefit Alliance of AIDS Services, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 13. www.worksofheart.org.

Stanley Crouch, talk by the jazz critic, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch," rock musical, ArtsCenter Stage, Carrboro, Through Oct. 14.

The Donnas, rock, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro.

13-D.L. Hughley, comedy, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

Diwali: Indian Festival of Lights, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Regency Park, Cary.

Charles Tolliver Orchestra, jazz, Page Auditorium, Duke University.

N.C. Songwriters Co-op Contest Finals, Holly Springs Cultural Center, Holly Springs.

Del the Funky Homosapien with Devin The Dude & The Coughee Brothaz, Bukue One and Serendipity Project, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro.

14-A.B. Jackson: Face Conjurer," NCCU Art Museum, Durham. Through Dec. 14.

Take 6, a capella, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

Orion Quartet with David Krakauer (presented by Raleigh Chamber Music Guild) Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.

Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle Concert, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

"Greig by Three" with Isidor Saslav, Richard Luby, Matthew Kiefer, Ann Saslav, Tonu Kalam and Wonmin Kim, Hill Hall Auditorium, UNC-CH.

Elizabeth Tomlin, piano, Nelson Music Room, Duke University.

John Walker, organ recital, Duke Chapel, Duke University.

15-Celtic Woman, Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 16.

16-Anna Deavere Smith, lecture by the actress-playwright, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

Cirque Le Masque, dance and mime, Louisburg College Auditorium, Louisburg.

18N.C. Symphony with violinist Henning Kraggerud and guest conductor Joseph Swensen. Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

Jeff Dunham, comedy, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center.

"A Lesson From Aloes," drama set in South Africa, Deep Dish Theater, University Mall, Chapel Hill. Through Nov. 10.

Andy Bey Trio, jazz, Reynolds Industries Theater, Duke University.

Kent Lyman, piano, Carswell Concert Hall, Meredith College, Raleigh.

NCSU faculty recital with Wesley Parker, trombone, and Tom Koch, piano, Forest Hills Baptist Church, Raleigh.

19-The Shins, indie rock, with Vetiver, Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.

N.C. Symphony, with violinist Henning Kraggerud and guest conductor Joseph Swensen. Meymandi Concert Hall, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 20.

"La Traviata," Capital Opera, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center. Also Oct. 21.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, retro-swing band, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

"Monk Movements," BattleWorks Dance Company, Reynolds Theater, Duke University.

"Annie," musical, Temple Theatre, Sanford. Through Nov. 11.

20- highlight old-time

Doc Watson, Clayton Center, Clayton.

An evening of old-time ballads, bluegrass, folk and blues with Watson, a master guitarist and National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow. He'll be accompanied by his grandson Richard Watson and storyteller-musician David Holt.

"Mysteries of the Lost Colony" and "A New World: England's First View of America From the British Museum," watercolors and other objects, N.C. Musuem of History, Raleigh. Through Jan. 13.

Jerry Butler with Gene Chandler, Billy Paul and the Impressions, Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.

Kathy Mattea, country, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

Randy Weston Trio with Kenny Barron Trio, jazz, Page Auditorium, Duke University.

"The Three Little Pigs," Opera Express, Duke Gardens, Duke University.

Mary Gauthier, alt-country, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro.

Issa Trio, pop-rock, with Adrienne Pierce, ArtsCenter, Carrboro

Laughing With the Legends, comedy sketches, JCC Performing Arts, Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield.

21-"Landscapes From the Age of Impressionism," N.C. Musuem of Art, Raleigh. Through Jan. 13.

Regis Philbin & Susan Lucci, Vegas-style show, Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh.

Triangle Wind Ensemble, Cary Academy Fine Arts Center, Cary.

Raleigh Boychoir, St. Michael's Catholic Church, Cary.

23-Tango Buenos Aires, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

Cirque Eloize, "Rain," circus arts/theater, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

Blackmore's Night, minstrel band, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center.

Meredith Chorus, Chorale, and Encore, Jones Chapel, Meredith College.

24-"Crimes of the Heart," Southern Gothic drama, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Center for Dramatic Art, UNC-CH. Through Nov. 11.

Hold Steady/Art Brut, rock, Disco Rodeo, Raleigh.

Virginia Rodrigues Quartet, Reynolds Theater, Duke University.

"Hello Penis: A Man-Ifesto," exploration of sexuality and masculinity, Manbites Dog Theater, Durham. Through Oct. 27.

25- highlight dance

nicholasleichterdance, Stewart Theatre, NCSU.

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" as a hip-hop awakening? Could happen, as Leichter interprets this timeless masterpiece in his vocabulary of jazz, modern and street-style dance. The program also includes Leichter's interpretations of songs by Everything but the Girl, Bjork and Stevie Wonder.

25-"Carmina Burana," ballet/oratorio, Carolina Ballet and N.C. Master Chorale, Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy Center. Through Oct. 28.

"Making the Mold, Breaking the Mold: The Art of Tom Spleth," retrospective, Gregg Museum of Art & Design, NCSU. Also opening: "Sock Monkey Madness!" works by Michael Traister. Through Dec. 20.

Gran Folklorico de Mexico, dance, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

"The Bell Witch," adaptaion of the Tennessee legend, UNC Department of Communication Studies, Swain Hall, UNC-CH. Through Oct. 30.

Jessica Williams, jazz piano, Nelson Music Room, Duke University.

26- highlight bluegrass

Bradley Walker and Alecia Nugent, Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center.

Two of the brightest young voices in bluegrass join for an evening of high lonesome singing the way Bill Monroe and Wilma Lee Cooper thought it should sound. PineCone is the presenter.

26- highlight classical

St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Memorial Hall, UNC-CH.

This oft-recorded world-class orchestra brings its rich Russian traditions to bear on works by Prokofiev, Schubert and Schumann, under the experienced leadership of conductor Yuri Temirkanov. The concert is sold out.

"Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries," models and artifacts, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh. Through March 2.

They Might Be Giants, rock, with Oppenheimer, Carolina Theatre, Durham.

"Surviving Pearl," comedy, ArtsCenter Stage, Carrboro. Also Oct. 28.

N.C. Symphony, lunchtime concert with music director Grant Llewellyn. Meymandi Concert Hall, Progress Energy Center.

Common Woman Chorus, Nelson Music Room, Duke University. Also Oct. 27 at United Church of Christ, Chapel Hill.

27-Jason Moran, jazz piano, Page Auditorium, Duke University.

Celtic Halloween, with Bill Leslie & Lorica and Historical Enrichment Society, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Regency Park, Cary.

InDecision Theatre, improv, Common Ground Theatre, Durham.

28-Blue Ridge Chamber Players (presented by Raleigh Chamber Music Guild), Fletcher Opera Theater, Progress Energy Center.

Tejendra Majumdar, sarod, Ramesh Misra, sarangi, Manasi Majumdar, vocals, with tabla, Hindustani jugalbandi program, N.C. Museum of History.

Barry Harris, jazz piano, Nelson Music Room, Duke University.

CityFolk, acoustic duo, Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary.

Faculty recital, Penelope Jensen, soprano; Mary Gayle Greene, mezzo soprano; R. Larry Todd, piano, Nelson Music Room, Duke University.

30-"Mamma Mia!" touring Broadway musical, Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh. Through Nov. 4.

"Tales of Terror," Peace College Theatre, Leggett Theater, Peace College, Raleigh.

New Music from the Composition Studio, Person Recital Hall, UNC-CH.

31-Nada Surf, rock, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro.

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