Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Whoo-wee! Will you look at that lineup of pickers they’ve got coming to Grey Fox this year. Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Marty Stuart, David Bromberg, Crooked Still, the Lee Boys, the Waybacks . . . listen to us carryin’ on again.

In addition to the seemingly endless lineup of bluegrass performers, the four-day festival offers a Masters Tent for workshops and demonstrations, a dance pavillion with nonstop contra and square dancing, and a family stage offering events such as the Grey Fox Clown College. Throw in food vendors, camping, raffles, and you’ve got the Northeast’s largest bluegrass festival.

The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is at Walsh Farm (1 Poultney Road, Oak Hill) from Thursday (July 16) to Sunday (July 19). Camping tickets cost $175 and single-day tickets range from $25-$55. Call (888) 946-8495 or visit greyfoxbluegrass.com for more info.

Glimmerglass Opera

One of the most acclaimed festivals in the Northeast opens this weekend, as Glimmerglass Opera begins its summer season in Cooperstown, a town more widely known for balls and strikes than baritones.

Glimmerglass is offering the usual four productions this summer; two open this week.

Verdi’s beloved La Traviata, based on Dumas’ tragic story about the consumptive courtesan (here called Violetta) opens with performances Saturday and Monday. La Cenerentola (pictured), a lighthearted version of the Cinderella story by the considerably more cheerful Rossini, opens Sunday.

La Traviata will be performed Saturday (July 18) at 8 PM and Monday (July 20) at 2 PM at Glimmerglass Opera (Route 80, Cooperstown). La Cenerentola will be performed Sunday (July 19) at 2 PM. The season runs through Aug. 25. Tickets for all shows are $75 to $130. For more info, call (607) 547-2255.

Maxwell

Don’t call it “baby-making music.” OK, go ahead. Maxwell probably won’t mind. Ever since the muscle-bound, baby-faced, silky-voiced R&B singer released his Grammy-winning ’96 debut Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, sex appeal has been foundational to his falsetto-laden slow jams. Only, back in the ’90s, they used to call it “neo-soul.”

While genre-mate Erykah Badu has since gone all P-Funk on us, Maxwell’s growing into his soul chops by moving closer and closer to the fare he grew up on: Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Prince. Earlier this month, he released the first installation of a three-year trilogy called BLACKsummer’snight. A purist, Maxwell recorded the album sans synthesizers, with a live 10-piece band. And, yeah, it’s about love and stuff.

Maxwell will put you in the mood at 8 PM on Tuesday (July 21) at the Palace Theatre (19 Clinton Ave., Albany). Tickets are $39.50 to $125. Call 465-4663 for more info.