(5.12) Providence musician Jacob Haller is as unique as his lyrics are clever. When raising money to record his latest album, Circumstantial Evidence*, the bluesy/folksy/humorous singer/pianist/guitarist/accordionist incentivized CD sales by baking pies and hand-knitting slippers and dinosaurs for project backers. (One such stegosaurus has since been busy visiting cool places and meeting cool people).

This Saturday, Bristol’s Stone Church Coffee House will conclude its 5th season by hosting what might be the last show ever for Jacob Haller and The Running Commentary, the trio composed of Jake, guitarist Natalie Markward, and drummer Joe Auger that worked together so well on that album. JH & the RC will open for Anne’s Cordial, billed as a “musical cocktail of folk, blues and retro” combining the three-part vocal harmonies of guitarist Markward, harpist E. Reed Ferenbaugh, and keyboardist Eva Kendrick with Auger’s drums. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for students, and free for kids under 5 (sounds family-friendly; I hope that doesn’t mean Jake will cut back on those substance abuse songs). Yummy treats for sale.

*Bonus: follow that link to download the entire album for free throughout May in honor of Jake’s birthday month.

7:30 p.m. (doors 6:45), Saturday, May 12, First Congregational Church, 280 High Street, Bristol

After the jump: video of Jake and The Running Commentary playing “Blame the Train.”
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Rhode Island musician Chris Monti is busy as, well, a bee. In between state-wide solo gigs, local collaborations, and old-time-y tunes with The Yams at the Wintertime Farmer’s Market, he teams up with guitarist and keyboardist Jacob Haller and drummer Matt McLauren for two wildly different scenes: Americana/blues/rock band The Killdevils, who are about to embark on an East Coast tour, and high-energy reggae/Afro-pop collaboration the Double-Decker Dance Band, led by Liberian musician Joseph Paye.

Monti’s credits also include former membership of the marvelous ‘Mericans; opener for several Paul Geremia blues shows; and backup for Sierra Leone performer and activist Steady Bongo. In addition, he teaches guitar and banjo to adults and children and volunteers in hospitals, where his performances cheer up sick kids.

As if to personify the breadth of Monti’s varied musical interests, the other performers at the CD release party for his third album, Home, range from the Gypsy/acid folk/rock/trance/otherwise uncategorizable sounds of Alec K. Redfearn & the Eyesores to the rump-shakin’ music of the Double Decker Dance Band to the expert fiddling of Rachel Panitch and the Whatnots. Should be a heck of a show. More on the new album and this adorable but unrelated painting after the jump.

8 p.m., Friday the 4th, $8, Firehouse 13, 41 Central Street, Providence
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