On Saturday night, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m., the Montague Center Common Hall will host a special concert and workshop featuring music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Orkestar Banitsa and Myrtle Street Klezmer, local bands who play different styles of music from Eastern Europe, will be the two acts performing at this concert. OrkestsrBanitsa plays traditional music of the Balkans, while Myrtle Street Klezmer plays Ashkenazi Jewish dance music.

But do they sound anything alike? One of the reasons for this concert is to showcase these two styles of music and expose audiences to their similarities and differences. You’ll hear different instrumentation and rhythms, but they share one aspect: these two bands play lively and uplifting music that will provide the perfect soundtrack for a cold winter night.

Considering that they are both local bands, one might assume they have shared the stage before, but this show will be the first time they have played together.

“Most of us had never even met before rehearsing for this concert,” said Jesse Olsen Bay, who sings and plays bass, bouzouki, and percussion for Myrtle Street Klezmer in an email about the band’s shared history. “Addie Rose, the clarinetist in OrkestarBanitsa, and I are neighbors in Montague Center. We play in the Montague Marching Band (a fantastic grassroots band) together and see each other around town all the time.”

“Addie Rose and Joe Blumenthal (bassist in OrkestarBanitsa) contacted me about the event — the three of us are organizing it together,” added Bay.

The evening will begin with a workshop at 7 p.m. that is open to all levels of musicians.

“We’ll teach a song that appears in both the Klezmer and Balkan repertoire and talk a bit about the theory, history, and cultural significance of the song,” said Bay. “Workshop participants will be invited to join the bands onstage for a ‘grand finale’ at the end of the evening.”

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After the workshop, OrkestarBanitsa will take the stage, playing a set of lively traditional dance music from the Balkans, including Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Albania, and Bosnia.

The band is led by Becky Asheden of Shelburne, a longtime valley musician who has played this music for years. In addition to Rose and Blumenthal, the group includes Gawain Thomas, who joins her on accordion and percussion, and Barbara Blumenthal on Bulgarian tambura. Some of you may be familiar with Ashenden’s previous band, Xopo, which included some of the same musicians.

OrkestarBanitsa plays dances throughout the northeast but plays fewer concerts, so seeing them in this setting will be a treat.

Myrtle Street Klezmer will follow at 8:30 p.m. The band, led by clarinetist Joe Ditzian of Northampton, formed in 2022 to explore “the ecstatic past, present, and future of Klezmer music.” Ditzian has an extensive history working in the tradition of old-world klezmer. He was a member of the San Franciso-based band Kugelplex, which to date is one of the most successful klezmer bands on the West Coast. He spent years performing and recording with radical vocalist Jewlia Eisenberg and her ensemble, Charming Hostess.

When it came time to assemble Myrtle Street Klezmer, he enlisted a group of accomplished musicians who had experience with various folk traditions. In addition to Bay, the group includes Myk Freedman on guitar, Doug Plavin on percussion, Dan Baker on tuba, and Marié Abe on accordion. Myrtle Street Klezmer has played all over the valley, including the Arcadia Folk Festival, Bombyx, the Parlor Room, and many other venues.

The evening will conclude with the aforementioned grand finale when everyone, including workshop participants, joins forces to end the night with some one-of-a-kind music making.

Admission is a suggested donation of $15 to $20. Kids are free, and nobody is turned away due to lack of funds. The Montague Center Common Hall is located at 34 Main St.

If you are looking for some reggae grooves to get you through the winter, look no further than Deja Brew Cafe and Pub in Wendell. Beginning on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m., reggae artist Simon White will headline the first Full Moon-Reggae-Dance Party at the cafe. White will be backed by the Roots All-Stars, the house reggae band, for what will be a monthly series, taking place the third Saturday of every month through the winter. Various singers and DJs will headline the shows. White, a native of Wendell who also organizes the annual Wendell Reggae Festival, will also be organizing the Full Moon-Reggae-Dance Party series.

White’s show on Saturday night will be his final one in the area for a while as he is about to leave for Jamaica. He’s recently been making a lot of new music and shows no signs of slowing down.

“Recently, I have opened for Kabaka Pyramid and Anthony B. I have a bunch of singles that will start being released at the end of February that I recorded at NorthFire recording studio and also at Black State recording studio in Kingston during my stay in Jamaica,” said White. “I plan on recording more music while I’m down there and working on a couple of music videos.”

“Andrew Blaxx, who owns Black State Studios that I’m working out of in Kingston, Jamaica, is a Grammy Award-winning Dancehall and reggae producer,” he added. “He recently won a Grammy award for working on Damian Marley’s album ‘Stoney Hill.’”

Expect to hear new material at this show and songs from his latest recording, “The Wishing Tree,” which he recorded with his band, Rhythm Inc.

Admission is $5. Deja Brew is located at 57 Lockes Village Road in Wendell.

Tickets are on sale for a Friday, March 1 performance by sad clown Puddles Pity Party at the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls. For the uninitiated, Puddles Pity Party is the alter-ego of Mike Grier, a musician from Atlanta who started performing as Puddles in 2013. Puddles is a Pagliacci-type clown with a sad face and a big baritone voice. You may be familiar with Puddles from his popular YouTube channel, his appearance on America’s Got Talent, or his many collaborations with Post Modern Jukebox. Puddles primarily sings reimagined covers, taking on everything from Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.”

Puddles believes life is sad but beautiful, and his concerts reflect both sadness and beauty and include plenty of humor.

Tickets, including a special VIP meet-and-greet package, are on sale now at sheatheater.org.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.