Roadtrips

Those of us who can't make annual pilgrimages to New Orleans -- and even some who can -- rely on the annual Cajun and Bluegrass festival in Escoheag, Rhode Island, for an infusion of spicy, late-summer swamp sonics. With that annual festival taking a year off, the Rhythm & Roots Festival at Escoheag -- at the same location, the Stepping Stone Ranch (888-855-6940) -- has come up with an all-killer, no-filler weekend featuring an expanded line-up, plus daytime workshops for Cajun, zydeco, and old-time swing players. Candye Kane & the Swinging Armadillos, the Austin Lounge Lizards, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Salamander Crossing, and Skip Gorman kick things off on September 4. Delafose and Salamader Crossing return the following day along with Asleep at the Wheel, Tim O'Brien, Fred Eaglesmith, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, and Filé. And on September 6 Doc Watson headlines a bill with Dave Allen, Northern Lights, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, the Mollie O'Brien Band, Balfa Toujours, and Natalie McMaster. In area satellite gigs, you can catch the Austin Lounge Lizards at Johnny D's (617-776-9667) in Somerville on September 3; Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas at the same club on September 10; and Big Sandy at the Iron Horse (413-584-0610) in Northampton on September 3, as well as at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence on September 6.

And for our annual dose of music from the really deep south -- south of heaven, that is -- we rely, of course, on the scatological pyrotechnics of Slayer, who're back in classic speedmetal form at the Palladium (508-797-9696) in Worcester on September 5 with metal machine musicians Fear Factory and New England's contribution to the post-Alice in Chains sweepstakes, Kilgore.

It's the last week of the season to catch tunes on the dunes at the Wellfleet Beachcomber (508-349-6055), and they're winding it down island-style this Labor Day weekend with mambo punks Babaloo on September 4 -- you can also catch 'em at the aforementioned Johnny D's on September 5 -- and seminal skank masters Bim Skala Bim on September 5 (with Big D & the Kids' Table) and September 6 (with the club's house band, the Incredible Casuals).

-- CC