The Outsiders is the third album from Needtobreathe, a rock quartet hailing from a town in South Carolina called Possum Kingdom. Brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart formed the band 10 years ago with friends Joe Stillwell and Seth Bolt, and they enjoyed a successful independent run before singing to Atlantic for their 2006 debut. They’ve scored multiple successful singles and three major-label album releases, and you’ve never heard of them. That’s because Needtobreathe are what we like to call a “stealth Christian” act—they’re not overtly promoted as such, but it’s hard to miss the gist of a song like “Washed by the Water.” Railbird and Sean Rowe open tonight’s show. (Nov. 19, 7 PM, $15, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)

Frank Sinatra Jr.

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Friday

It hardly seems possible that Frank Sinatra’s been gone for more than a decade. Perhaps that’s because, until a few months before the Chairman checked out, Sinatra Sr. was on the road performing, as per Bono’s Grammy tribute, more one-night stands than a punk band. Back in those days, Frank Sinatra Jr. was right there with his dad, as musical director and bandleader. Now, on his own, Junior has been carrying on the family tradition of performing the “great American songbook” in beautiful arrangements with style and wit. And, as his old man might have said, the kid can sing. In the unlikely event that any youngsters have read to the end of this blurb, Frank Sinatra Jr. has guest-voiced—and sung with Stewie—on Family Guy. Family Guy! You kids like that, right? (Nov. 20, 8 PM, $39-$65, 2nd and State streets, Troy, 273-0038)

Jeremy Kittel Band

Old Songs, Saturday

Ask five violinists to name the venue they’d most like to play, and (at least) four of them will say Carnegie Hall. Jeremy Kittel has played on that stage, and he credits the historic performance space with shaping “Disconnect,” a song that would eventually find its way to his brand new album, Chasing Sparks. The song is at the center of an album that visits all of Kittel’s various musical backgrounds—Celtic, jazz, folk and traditional styles are represented in the classically trained 25-year-old’s repertoire. Catch this self-described “quixotic” musician, whose tastes expand from Indian classical music to Stevie Ray Vaughan, on the Old Songs stage this week. It’s a considerably cozier room than Carnegie, so, your win. (Nov. 21, 8 PM, $20, $5 children, 37 S. Main St., Voorheesville, 765-2815)

Metric, Band Of Skulls

Northern Lights, Saturday

Radiohead, Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails all had hit albums in recent years without the backing of major labels. Nice for them, but they were already hugely popular before emancipating themselves. On the other hand, Metric did some truly big shit with their recent self-released fourth album, Fantasies: The Canadian rock act scored a Top 20 radio hit with “Help I’m Alive,” and found The New York Times pointing to them as one of the model bands for a post-label music biz. Furthermore, the album brought the Canadian band their first major commercial success, outselling their last release in just eight weeks. And their music is actually good! U.K.-based trio Band of Skulls, riding high on a placement on the new Twilight soundtrack, open the show. (Nov. 21, 7 PM, $17, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)

MC Chris

Valentine’s, Saturday

A pioneer of nerdcore, the distinctive subgenre of hip-hop made up mainly of white 20-somethings reveling in the days of their socially awkward youth, Christopher Ward (aka MC Chris) produced all four of his own albums, the latest of which debuted at No. 13 on iTunes hip-hop chart last year and got him nominated for Spin magazine’s Underground Band of the Year Award. Though best known for his voice contributions to the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim shows (most notably, MC Pee Pants on Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Ward tours the country in a white minivan with one roadie, no band, and a MacBook to supply the Kanye-esque beats that provide the backdrop to his high-pitched raps about the Care Bears, Star Trek, and masturbation. Opening for MC Chris this weekend are “original Dirty South punk band” Whole Wheat Bread. (Nov. 21, 8 PM, $11, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)