New blues: With imaginative compositions and an eye for eclectic experimentation, guitarist and vocalist Corey Harris has his own vision of the blues. Drawing on his origins as a New Orleans street singer and his travels through the South and Cameroon, Harris takes the traditional blues formula to the next level with influences from reggae, soul, rock, and West African music. Harris will celebrate the release of his new album, Insurrection Blues, and book, Bluespeople Illustrated: Legends of the Blues, while also raising money for the Charlottesville-Winneba Foundation, a nonprofit that works to strengthen the sister city partnership of Charlottesville and Winneba, Ghana.
Thursday 12/2. $25-35, 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net.