You know boundary-pushing sax player Colin Stetson, even if you don’t realize it. As a performer, he’s best known as a player with Bon Iver and Arcade Fire; as a studio musician, he’s sat in with Tom Waits, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and countless others. His latest solo record, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light, came out last week, and tonight he plays World Cafe Live on tour in support of it. The all-ages show with Sarah Neufield begins at 7:00 p.m., tickets are available here. Below, watch the music video for “In Mirrors” + “And In Truth.”

Vacationer‘s second Nude Beach party hits Underground Arts tonight with New Yorkers Body Language and local buzzmakers Night Panther on the bill, along with the vibey curators. Vacationer, fronted by Kenny Vasoli (formerly of The Starting Line and others), just wrapped up tour in support of its 2012 album Gone, and is looking to head into the studio this summer to lay down a second LP of its breezy, expansive electronic pop songs. Tickets and information on the show can be found here. Below, watch a video of Vacationer performing at the first installment of Nude Beach.

Folk music runs in Amy Helm‘s family tree. Her father is Levon Helm of The Band, and she’s into her second decade performing as a musician in her own right, both as a solo artist and in bands like Ollabelle and The Dirt Farmer Band. She was just announced as part of the 2013 Philadelphia Folk Festival lineup, and performs tonight at the Arden Gild Hall in Delaware. Information on the show can be found here. Below, see a video of Helm and her band performing “Makes No Difference” a couple weeks ago at the New Legacy Series in Passaic, New Jersey.

Lincoln, Nebraska native Joshua James performs at the Tin Angel tonight.  The folk singer is touring in support of his 2012 full-length From the Top of Willamette Mountain, an album that deals with James’s interactions with and personal thoughts on religion.  Leaving his farm in Utah to record in Oregon, the LP was co-produced by The Shins’ Richard Swift and borrowed the name of the studio for the album title.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Isaac Russell can be found here.  Watch Joshua James’s video for “Queen of the City” below.

Acres of Diamonds play Ortlieb’s Lounge tonight.  The local outfit released the Animal Trust EP in October after recording the three songs at Miner Street Recordings with Jon Low.  The EP followed up their 2010 debut with some great post-punk / pop vibes with vocals that bring to mind Kate Bush or Kim Krans.  On their Bandcamp, Acres of Diamonds professed a desire to release three new songs every six months – we’ll be keeping an ear out for new tracks this month.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show with Bueno and the Goods can be found here.  Below, stream “Blind City” from the EP.

St. James & The Apostles will be at Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  The local acid rock trio have been hitting the stage hard over the last few months with a string of dates that included an appearance at Johnny Brenda’s in February following the band’s Key Studio Session.  The band of cousins released their Baphomet LP last year, which features the song “St. James Infirmary Blues.”  Stream and download the Key Studio Session version of that song below and check out St. James & The Apostles live tonight with The Original Sins, The GTVs and Midwestern Exposure.  Tickets and information can be found here.

• Saint James Infirmary Bluesby Saint James and the Apostles from The Key Studio SessionsDownload

Vacationer bring their inaugural monthly gig to Underground Arts tonight.  The electronic dreamscape creators released their full-length Gone last March.  And though the production is totally 21st century, the album crackles and pulsates with a golden-aged nostalgia for childhood summers and excursions to exotic places.  Also playing tonight are Robert Delong and Cruiser.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, watch Vacationer’s video for “Trip.”

Local pop-rocker Shorty Boy Boy plays MilkBoy tonight.  After releasing 2006′s LP Kicking Your Ass, Then Smoking Your Grass, Shorty Boy Boy’s Josh Pannepacker announced his retirement from music “to focus on getting paid.”  The retirement eventually proved tiresome and Pannepacker was back in action in 2010 with a second LP titled Tru Luv in the works (expected out this spring).  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show at MilkBoy Philly with The Quelle Source and Seamus Browning can be found here.  Watch the video for Shorty Boy Boy’s “Closer” below.

If you were at yesterday’s Free at Noon, you know this already: it is impossible to not smile at a Free Energy show.  The dudes know how to get the crowd dancing with their catchy pop / rock songs.  If you don’t believe me, just listen to their recent full-length Love Sign and see how many beats it takes before you’re on your feet singing into a hairbrush.  Or you could check them out tonight at the Arden Gild Hall when they play with local shoegaze-inspired punks Bleeding Rainbow, who also have a brand new record out called Yeah Right.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show in Arden, DE can be found here.  Below, watch Free Energy’s video for “Girls Want Rock” and listen back to their Free at Noon performance here.

Free Energy – Girls Want Rock (Official Video) from Free Energy on Vimeo.

Philly’s Ape School and The Interest Group join forces tonight at Johnny Brenda’s.   Ape School is the brutally honest, relentlessly sarcastic and incredibly infectious project of man-about-town Michael Johnson.  In addition to recording LPs under that moniker, Johnson has played or recorded with a continually expanding list that currently includes Lilys, Kurt Vile, Nightlands and The War on Drugs.  Most recently, Johnson released his excellent second LP as Ape School called Junior Violence.  Meanwhile, The Interest Group will be premiering a new band and new songs at tonight’s 21+ show with Ramona Falls.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Watch Ape School’s video for “Weak in the Teeth” below.

Philly pop-rock heroes Free Energy dashed away today’s grey skies and rainy afternoon with a loud and lively performance that drew from their self-released new LP Love Sign as well as their 2009 debut Stuck on Nothing. The band plays the Arden Gild Hall tomorrow with Bleeding Rainbow opening; tickets and information on the show are available here. Check out photos of today’s performance in the gallery above; read the setlist below; and listen to Free Energy’s performance in its entirety here (via the WXPN media player).

Setlist
Backscratcher
Electric Fever
Free Energy
Dream City
Street Survivor
Hey Tonight
Dance All Night
Girls Want Rock

The Great Unknown are also celebrating a record release tonight over at Johnny Brenda’s.  The local five-piece are setting forth So Strange and Loud into the physical world, following the album’s digital release last May.  With reflective melodies and intricate arrangements, the The Great Unknown strive to make connections with their audiences both through live performance and recorded material.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with KC Jones and Ali Wadsworth can be found here.  Below, stream “The Laws of Energy” from So Strange and Loud.

XPN welcomes Martin Sexton to The Landis Theater tonight.  The singer-songwriter is a quintessentially American musician, blending a variety of traditional playing styles including country, rock, gospel and R&B.  Following up his 2010 LP Sugarcoating, Sexton released his Fall Like Rain EP last year.  Both efforts come after his commercial breakthrough with 2007′s Seeds, which debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with The Alternate Routes in Vineland, NJ can be found here.  Below, watch Martin Sexton perform “Can’t Stop Thinking ‘Bout You” with John Mayer.

Dave Hartley continues his busy start to the year with a Nightlands show at the Arden Gild Hall tonight.  The solo project of the War on Drugs’ bass player, Nightlands released its sophomore effort Oak Island last week.  The album fuses Hartley’s affinity for mystery and sci-fi with rollicking melodies and percussion, creating layer upon layer of rich textures through overdubbing and tape machine manipulation.  Hartley spoke with ArtInfo recently to share some of his recording techniques and tricks; read the full interview here.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with School of Seven Bells can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “I Fell In Love With a Feeling.”

Delaware-via-Brooklyn trio The Spring Standards are playing tonight at Arden Gild Hall. The band, who originally started performing together as high school students in the tri-state area, reunited after all moving to New York in their twenties only to hone their unique oldies rock/pop-meets-folk sound. Their unconventional style was mirrored by their decision to release a double EP this year instead of a full-length album. The collection, Yellow/Gold, was released in May before their tour with The Serial Lady Killers this past summer. Tickets for tonight’s show are available here; check out their video for “Here We Go ” from Yellow/Gold below.

L.A. band Concrete Blonde play World Cafe Live tonight.  Now in the third era of the outfit’s career, Concrete Blonde was built around singer-songwriter/bassist Johnette Napolitano in 1982.  The alt-rock trio picked up again in 2010 following a couple of breaks and reunions in nineties and early 2000s, though the band’s last studio album was released in 2004.  Tonight, Concrete Blonde perform with Jim Bianco.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show can be found here.  Below, watch video of the title track from Bloodletting.

Philadelphia’s psych-rock project Ape School headlines Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  Led by local multi-instrumentalist Michael Johnson (Lilys, Kurt Vile and more), Ape School released its second LP Junior Violence in August on Hometapes.  Johnson and his band stopped by the station during the release of the record and recorded a Key Studio Session, which you can listen to here.  Joining Ape School tonight are labelmates The Caribbean and Leverage Models.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, watch the video for Ape School’s “Weak in the Teeth.”

XPN welcomes singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin to The Landis Theater in Vineland, NJ tonight.  Colvin released her latest disc All Fall Down earlier this year, recorded in Nashville with Buddy Miller and a number of musician friends including Jakob Dylan and Parry Griffin.  All Fall Down is the first album from the Grammy Award-winning musician since 2006′s These Four Walls.  Shawn Colvin comes to The Landis Theater tonight with local duo The Royal You.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show can be found here.  Below, watch the video for Shawn Colvin’s “All Fall Down.”

XPN welcomes Jane Siberry to the Arden Gild Hall in Arden, DE.  The Canadian singer found success with her 1984 song “Mimi on the Beach,” positioning the performance artist to reach gold status with the follow-up The Speckless Sky.  Following a string of years performing and recording as Issa, Siberry is back in support of her 2011 record Meshach Dreams Back, the final installment in her “Three Queens Trilogy.”  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show can be found here.  Below, watch Jane Siberry’s 1985 video for “One More Colour.”

XPN Welcomes quirky New England folk singer Erin McKeown to the Tin Angel tonight. McKeown, known for her alternative approach and clever lyrics, started her career while still studying at Brown University. Go here for information and tickets for tonight’s 21+ show; the show begins at 7 PM. Below, watch McKeown perform “Taste of You” from 2001′s Grand.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are playing tonight at Johnny Brenda’s promoting their recent release of Lost Songs. This is the alt-rock group’s eighth studio album, and shows a transformation in style and composition since the departure of the group’s original drummer, bassist, and keyboardist. Tickets for tonight’s 21+ concert can be found here; the show begins at 9. Below, watch the Trail of Dead’s new politically-themed video for “Catatonic.”

The Arden Gild Hall is hosting a Concert for Haiti Delaware this evening. Proceeds from the show will go towards the Haiti Family Initiative summer camp in Jacmel, Haiti. Come on out and groove with headliners for tonight’s jam rock and classic performances, including Mallory Square and Dream Killers among others. Details and tickets for the all-ages show can be found here; attendees 18 and younger are free. The event’s set to kick off at 4:30 so be sure to get there early to grab a seat. Below, check out Mallory Square’s performance of “Steppin’” at the 2012 S.H.A.R.E. festival.

Hot off the release of their sophomore album, New York’s Freelance Whales swim into Union Transfer tonight.  The pop band that brought us the indie gem “Hannah” on 2010′s Weathervanes charmed fans again with Diluvia and the catchy lead single “Locked Out” earlier this month.  Also performing is San Francisco synth-pop band Geographer.  Tickets are $15; with each online ticket purchase you will also get a download of Diluvia in its entirety.  Go here for more information.  The doors will open at 8:00 p.m. for the all-ages show.  Below, watch a backstage/rehearsal video for “Locked Out.”

Foot-stomping Americana band Spirit Family Reunion come to The Abbey Bar at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg tonight.  Formed in New York City, the revivalist sextet has been receiving national praise for its debut LP No Separation, a reference to the band’s communal-style shows where the line between performer and audience member is often blurred.  Tickets for tonight’s 21+ show are $7 here; doors are at 8:00 p.m.  Below, watch the band perform around Bob Boilen’s desk for an episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

XPN welcomes Donavon Frankenreiter to World Cafe Live.  Tickets are $23 here for the all-ages show.  HEad over here for tickets and information.  You can pick up tickets here.  XPN also welcomes Shemekia Copeland to the Arden Gild Hall in Arden, Deleware.  Please note that Rickie Lee Jones‘ show at The Sellersville Theater has been postponed until Monday, November 12th, and the Fountains of Wayne show World Cafe Live at The Queen in Wilmington has been canceled.