SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR Reverent and rousing, this 20-plus-member choir has been an ambassador of South African spirituals and songs of uplift. Sprinkled among the sacred material is more contemporary fare such as ‘‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’’ and ‘‘One Love.’’ In support of its 2010 album, ‘‘Grace,’’ the group is on a broad North American tour. Feb. 12, 3 p.m. Tickets: $47-$60. Symphony Hall. 617-482-6661, www.celebrityseries.org
YELLOWBIRDS Once a member of Apollo Sunshine, the Boston-bred indie-pop band that quietly faded out, Sam Cohen now leads a new group called Yellowbirds. From the hazy vocals to the sweeping melodies, the time stamp is still firmly in the ’60s. Presented by Fenway Recordings Sessions, the show will also include an opening set from Quilt, the rising local psych-folk band. Feb. 15, 9 p.m. Tickets: $12, $10 in advance. Great Scott. 617-566-9014, www.ticketweb.com
JAMES REED
FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY
HA HA TONKA Named after a state park in its native Missouri, Ha Ha Tonka makes a sense of place a recurring theme in its sometimes-rootsy, sometimes rock-y music, even providing inspiration - via Harold Bell Wright’s classic Ozark novel, “The Shepherd of the Hills’’ - for the entirety of its 2009 album, “Novel Songs of the Nouveau South.’’ Feb. 9, 9 p.m. Tickets: $16.50. Paradise Rock Club. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com
LE VENT DU NORD The band hails from Quebec, but Le Vent du Nord’s musical approach doesn’t stop at the province’s borders. It draws not only from French and French-Canadian but Celtic and other Canadian traditions and adds original compositions as well, including an orchestral rendering that the group has performed and recorded as “Le Vent du Nord Symphonique.’’ Feb. 11, 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. Somerville Theatre. 617-876-4275, www.worldmusic.org
