Roy and Gene may be gone, but Western music lives on. And it may be growing in popularity, say musicians who will be coming to Albuquerque beginning Thursday, Nov. 19, for the Western Music Association's annual Showcase and Awards Show. The annual show, at the Albuquerque Marriott, will feature specialized workshops and showcases for true Western buffs and an awards ceremony andfeature specialized workshops and showcases for true Western buffs and an awards ceremony and evening concerts.Though there are many traditionalists who stick to the classic songs and classic tunes, several new groups are picking up where the singing cowboys left off and are writing new Western songs. Groups like the Tumbling Tumbleweeds and the Diamond W Wranglers will perform. The 2009 Western Music Association Showcase and Awards Show will be Thursday, Nov. 19, to Nov. 22 at the Albuquerque Marriott, 2101 Louisiana NE. Ticket prices vary. Visit www.westernmusic.com for more.

Julian and Stephen Marley have done what they can to keep their family's positive reggae traditions alive. Stephen, who's a five-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter and Julian, a hit maker in his own right, are on tour together supporting Julian's new record "Awake North America." The record has a great flow that reminds you of the brothers' famous father, without exactly stealing his music. The two will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. at the Sunshine Theater, 120 W. Central. Tickets are $19 through Ticketmaster outlets, 800-745-3000 and through www.sunshinetheaterlive.com. All-ages.

There are few performers more popular than Pepe Aguilar. He has sold more than 10 million records and won five Grammy Awards for his modern mariachi and ranchera songs. Aguilar, who grew up in San Antonio, Texas, started as a rock singer but soon discovered the sounds of traditional Spanish songs from Mexico and mixed them with a smooth pop style. The result has been a career spanning 16 records and numerous hits, including "Por Mujeres Como Tu," which spent a year on Billboard's Latin Music charts. Aguilar doesn't just sing about rough-and-tumble cowboys; he is one. Aguilar will perform at the New Mexico State University Pan American Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in Las Cruces. Tickets are $37 to $97 through www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

The big birds are back at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Every year the Festival of the Cranes welcomes sandhill cranes, these giants of the sky who bask in the bosque and often pose for wonderful pictures. As part of this year's festival, there will be more than 100 lectures, workshops, tours and hikes from Tuesday, Nov. 17, to Nov. 22. Costs to attend the events vary. Visit www.friendsofthebosque.org for more information. The visitors center at the Bosque Del Apache is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends. Call 575-835-1828 for more.

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When she was just 13, Tanya Tucker hit the top of the country charts with the song "Delta Dawn," and she's been on every country music lover's list since then. With songs like "What's Your Mama's Name," "I'm Not Lisa" and rockers like "When Will I Be Loved," she's enshrined in the country music pantheon. Tucker's new album, "My Way," is full of the kinds of songs that made her a star in the first place. When she sings "There's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone" on "After the Fire," you know she's not a faded rose. If anyone else recorded the record, they'd be called traditional, but Tucker's the real deal. She will perform at 8  p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Isleta Casino & Resort. Tickets are $20 to $30 through
www.isletaeagle.com. Call 244-8191.

More Dia de Los Muertos celebrations continue on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Old Town with a parade and party. Santisima Gallery in Old Town, the Old Town Merchants Association and Lo Maduro de La Cultura are hosting the free event. The parade starts at the east entrance to Old Town at 6 p.m., and ends at the Poco a Poco Patio. From 7-10  p.m. there will be music, dancing, a community altar to honor the dead, a costume contest and more. The New Mexico Marimba Band, Mariachi Nuevo Mexico, Wagogo and others will perform. Call Santisima at 410-6447 or 311 for more information.

The intro of the INXS song "Suicide Blonde" enshriend Charlie Musselwhite in pop culture. The blues harmonica in the No. 1 song was performed by Musselwhite, a blues performer who already had a loyal, but niche, following for his deeply-rooted blues harp. Since the 1960s Musselwhite had been fronting some of San Francisco's best-known blues outfits and rocking out with future greats. Once he conquered a drinking problem in the 1980s, though, the sky was the limit and his latest albums have been his best and most highly regarded. Tickets for the Albuquerque concert are $20 in advance and $25 day of show and are available at www.ampconcerts.org or at Bookworks and Natural Sound. Musselwhite and his band are performing at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at The Cooperage, 7220 Lomas NE, and at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Evangelo's, 200 W. San Francisco in Santa Fe. Tickets for the Santa Fe concert are $35 and are available in advance at www.ticketssantafe.org, by calling 505-988-1234, at the Lensic box office or at the door.

In "The Wedding Singer," it's 1985 and rock-star wannabe Robbie Heart is New Jersey's favorite wedding singer. He's the life of the party until his own fiancé leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own. No, the show doesn't feature a cameo by Billy Idol, but the rest of this campy musical stage show is based on the Adam Sandler movie from 1988. The touring production will be staged for five performances through Sunday, Nov. 8, at Popejoy Hall on Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $32.50 to $52.50 through www.unmtickets.com or by calling 925-5858.

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I don't think the warewolves will be out. But if you're looking for an alternative to trick-or-treating this year, check out the Zoo Boo. The annual event at the Rio Grande Zoo lets kids roam around the zoo in costume to get treats from volunteers in costume and to see some of the animals, who won't be in costume. There will be games, performances, a costume parade and more to keep the little ones occupied all afternoon. The 21st Annual Zoo Boo will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the zoo, 903 10th SW. Up to four children in costume get in free with a paying adult, which is $7. Park and ride is available from the main lot at the Albuquerque Aquarium, 2601 W. Central, to the zoo from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Visit www.cabq.gov, or call 311, for more information.

After Halloween, on Sunday Nov. 1, there will be plenty of events for Di De Los Muertos, the annual celebration of the dead. The National Hispanic Cultural Center will host a full slate of events for the special day, including a community altar, a film at 8 p.m., and an art show continuing through Nov. 8.  The NHCC is at 1701 Fourth Street SW. Call 724-4771 for more. The South Broadway Cultural Center will also host a full day of events, beginning with a free art show and sale at noon and continuing through Sunday evening with a poetry jam at 7 p.m. Tickets to the poetry performance are $10 adults, $7 seniors, youths and students. Call 311 for more.

Geeks of the world, get your groove on. When he raps on "Fett's Vette," "My backpack's got jets. I'm Boba the Fett. I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt to finance my 'Vette," you have to grin along with MC Chris. But this is a guy who takes his nerdcore or geeksta rap seriously, whether he's rapping about "Star Wars," Dairy Queen Blizzards or girls with cookie breath. The entire nerdcore scene has exploded over the last few years, with rappers like MC Frontalot and Optimus Rhyme writing songs about the best Neo-Geo games, Dungeons and Dragons and, of course, "Star Wars." MC Chris will perform at Launchpad, 618 W. Central, on Monday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 through www.launchpadrocks.com. Call 764-8887 for more.

Kathy Mattea may best be known for her hits "18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses" and "Where've You Been" but her legacy may actually come from coal. Her new record is named "Coal," and she's dedicated the last few years of her career to talking about the environment. She doesn't sound preachy or political on the new record. Instead, "Coal" is an album of songs coal miners would sing, an album of songs about growing up in coal mining towns, and an album of uplfifting Americana that longs for the days before  the environment was a concern. Mattea will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5 at the KiMo Theatre, 423 W. Central. Tickets are $34 and $38 through www.ticketmaster.com, at the KiMo box office or by calling 800-745-3000.

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Comedian Steve Martin is trying to prove he's more than just a wild and crazy guy. Since he was in his teens, he's gone beyond pratfalls and has performed with his banjo. He's surprisingly accomplished. If you don't believe it, check out the YouTube.com video of Martin tearing up "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" with none other than Earl Scruggs. It's hard to believe that Martin can take anything seriously, but it's clear that music is a passion for him. Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers will perform at 7:30  p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco in Santa Fe. Tickets are $49 to $84 through www.ticketssantafe.org or by calling 505-988-1234.

Brother Ali turns rap and hip-hop on its head. Instead of rapping about his chains, his women and his whips, he raps about the homeless, politics and the human condition on songs like "Freedom Ain't Free." In the vein of Public Enemy, but without Chuck D's rapid-fire delivery and anger, Ali's music has a sadness in it that's absent in many of today's club-bangin' rap tracks. On his new album, "Us," Ali continues to try to push boundaries of what many consider to be socially conscious rap, but he does it with danceable beats that let his message go down like a milkshake. Ali will perform at 8  p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, with Evidence and BK One, at the Sunshine Theater, 120 W. Central. Tickets are $20 through www.sunshinetheaterlive.com. Call 764-0249 for more.

For more than 4,000 years, drumming has been used top announce big things in China. Births. Deaths. Victories in war. Marriages. But 1,000 years ago drumming turned into a performance art, honoring gods, or almost anything else. The show "Jigu!" will share some of these ancient drum dances and melodies on the Popejoy Hall stage Sunday, Oct. 25, at 3 p.m. with performers playing an array of provincial drums from Shanxi in a full evening of musical numbers and costumes. Tickets are $22, $29 and $35 at the UNM Bookstore, at select Albertsons supermarkets, online at www.unmtickets.com, by calling 925-5858.

Kate Voegele has become a huge star, quickly. Much like Michelle Branch or Jewel, she's filled a gap for every tween girl who wants to grow up to be singer/songwriter. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's also become a star on the CW's "One Tree Hill," playing - and what else? - a singer/songwriter. Her music, though it's sad and bitter, is full of pop hooks. She will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29 at the 618 W. Central. Tickets are $15 through www.launchpadrocks.com.

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