The world's most popular historical vocal group thrives on a history that many often overlook. THE VIENNA CHOIR BOYS have been around in one incarnation or another for nearly 500 years and feature an impressive alumni group of vocalists, violinists and pianists that includes Franz Schubert, Hans Richter and Joseph Haydn. This venerable Austrian group, whose members range in age from 10 to 14, performs soprano renditions of works by such composers as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Igor Stravinksy. They have performed for countless popes and heads of state; this Sunday, they'll make a triumphant return to New Orleans at Loyola University's Holy Name of Jesus Church (6220 La Salle Place, 865-7430). "They haven't been to New Orleans in probably 20 years. This is a really big deal for us. We're absolutely expecting a full house," says Loyola publicist Reid Wick, who adds that, for a group that often performs in concert halls and stadiums, the choir will appreciate the improved acoustics of a cathedral. Each choir member is the product of extensive training. Boys enter a two-year preparatory period after which, at the age of 9, they must pass an exam to gain entrance into the elite Boys Choir Institute. Once accepted, the boys must balance 12 weeks on the road with schoolwork and family, a testimony to their now-famous discipline. After World War II, the choir began performing outside of Austria. Since then, the choir has made 50 trips to the United States and performs more than 300 international concerts a year. Some of classical music's great composers have collaborated with the choir at some point, including Antonio Salieri. They also have been conducted by some of the greats of the past century, such as Leonard Bernstein. The Austrian court organist, Anton Bruckner, rehearsed his masses with the choir, which still performs Mass every Sunday in Vienna's Hofburg Chapel. Requests for tickets have been coming in since September, so be sure to reserve yours by calling 865-3037 (credit card purchases only). Tickets $20 general admission, $10 students. For more information go to http://music.loyno.edu/montage or call 865-2074. Showtime 8 p.m.

Bruce Hornsby 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com When 'The Way It Is' became a hit in 1986, who really thought Bruce Hornsby would become a career artist? The song's matter-of-fact profundity and his reserved vocals seemed prematurely world-weary, but as the albums between then and the recent Halcyon Days (Columbia) demonstrate, his songwriting is far more varied in tone than his early singles might suggest. On songs like 'What the Hell Happened' and 'Heir Gordon,' he recalls Randy Newman, while 'Lost in the Snow' brings Paul Simon to mind. His piano is once again the musical heart of each song, but most tracks are lushly arranged, with guests Eric Clapton, Sting and Elton John adding guitar and vocals to a number of songs. Hornsby's audience grew when he became the keyboard player for the Grateful Dead in 1990. Like Dead shows, one of the appeals of Hornsby's concerts has been surprising cover choices. Tickets $28.50. -- Alex Rawls

The River May Cry 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 18-19 NOCCA/Riverfront, 2800 Chartres St., 940-2900; www.nocca.com When he's not running the Contemporary Arts Center or helping Terence Blanchard transcribe his latest music score for a Spike Lee movie, Jay Weigel is a well-respected composer in his own right. His latest work, The River May Cry, was commissioned for the 2003 opening of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the CAC's neighbor, and is co-presented by the NOCCA Insititute. It is another use of the river as metaphor, this time exploring the effect of industry on a segregated small town. The opera, which recently was released on CD, features eight movements, including a piano concerto that pays tribute to New Orleans' vast piano tradition. The production features dancers, choir and orchestra. The impressive cast features vocalist Leah Chase, the Rev. Lois DeJean and the Rev. Dwight Webster. NOCCA/Riverfront instructor Ray Vrazel will direct, with choreography by fellow instructor Miguel Lopez. Tickets $20. -- Simmons

The State of Mississippi and the Face of Emmett Till 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 18-19 and Feb. 21-23; 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 Dillard University, Samuel DuBois Cook Fine Arts & Communications Center, 2601 Gentilly Blvd., 816-4762 Stanley Nelson's 2003 American Experience documentary, The Murder of Emmett Till, captured in comprehensive detail the racially motivated 1955 killing of a 14-year-old African-American boy in Money, Miss., but also placed it in its proper historical perspective as a touchstone for the civil rights movement. Mamie Till-Mobley spent the remainder of her life crusading for justice for her son (the two accused killers were acquitted, and later sold their story to Life magazine). Before she died in 2003, Till-Mobley collaborated with writer David Barr III on a play that recounts the murder and its aftermath. Dillard's production, timed for Black History Month, marks both the 50th anniversary of Emmett Till's death and the Southern premiere of this work. Barr and Christopher Benson, co-author of Death of Innocence, will appear as special guests of the opening-night performance. Vergil Smith directs Devin McCoy, Tameka Smith and others. Tickets $10 general admission, $8 seniors and non-Dillard students with ID. -- Simmons

The Gourds 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS; www.tipitinas.com It says something about this Austin-based roots-rock outfit that, in a recent feature story in the alt-country magazine No Depression (a magazine whose credo is 'Alt-Country: Whatever That Is') spent its first three paragraphs agonizing over how particularly confusing the Gourds are to describe. Even if you don't know the name, it's likely you've heard their 2000 bluegrass rendition of Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice' on the radio. Its charms may sum up the band and its new album, Blood of the Ram (Eleven Thirty). In a nutshell, the album's an irreverent, culturally aware take on roots music with plenty of zydeco accordion, Charlie Daniels-style stoner-country aesthetics and pure redneck attitude. Considering their refusal to be categorized, we might even excuse their repeated use of the word 'gumbo' in their press release. Bob Schneider opens. Tickets $10. -- Alison Fensterstock

Dave Alvin 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 Mid City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl, 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133; www.rockandbowl.com When Dave Alvin says, 'I'm very much a folk songwriter,' he's not talking about chasing ethereal butterflies through the labyrinth of love. For him, that means his songs are an expression of who he is, and they're about working-class people. That's nowhere more apparent than in the title cut from Ashgrove (YepRoc), his critically acclaimed 2004 album. The song is a tribute to the blues musicians who mentored him at the Ash Grove club in Los Angeles, and it ends, 'I play the blues because that's what I do,' echoing their attitude. 'For the people I knew growing up -- Big Joe Turner, people like that, Lee Allen -- it was a job. It's a skilled profession,' he says. Whether on his own or in the Blasters, Alvin's music has been an encyclopedia of American roots music. He draws from sources as diverse as T-Bone Walker, Professor Longhair, and Merle Haggard, and in his hands, it all rocks. In the Blasters, he played with New Orleans saxophonist Lee Allen, who he credits with teaching him 'survival skills.' More recently, he collaborated with the Iguanas' Rod Hodges to write 'Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart,' which appears on Ashgrove and provided the title for the Iguanas' 2003 CD. (For the full interview with Alvin, see 'Opening Act' online.) Tickets $10. -- Rawls

Particle 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com Particle has enjoyed great exposure lately via iTunes. Tracks from the Los Angeles-based jam band's 2004 debut album, Launchpad, were remixed by Tom Findlay of Groove Armada and Tim Hutton of Sugar Daddy, then offered on the Apple music store last fall. The tracks are now available on CD as Launchpad Remixes (Or. Music), with Findlay and Hutton recalling Timo Maas' 'To Get Down' when they take the band's already electro-friendly grooves and create waves of crescendos on the track 'Butterfly.' This electronica production may be the bridge for jam band fans looking to crossover into a new genre. Perhaps some of the glow-stick crowd might start spinning in the groove, too? Tickets $14. -- Reuben Brody

Rick Trolsen's Gringo Do Choro 9 and 11 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696; www.snugjazz.com Rick Trolsen plays fun music. Whether it is in his funk-space-jazz project Neslort, the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Bonerama or the Naked Orchestra, Trolsen's trombone will put a smile on your face. His latest project, Gringo Do Choro (Lort), features his interpretations of the Brazilian Choro music that Trolsen became familiar with during a trip to Rio de Janeiro. The appeal, Trolsen says on his Web site, is that it has 'the perfect balance of European harmonies coupled with the rhythms of Brazil.' He recorded the CD in Brazil, and the results, like much of the music of New Orleans, straddle the contradiction of a laissez-faire, relaxed feel of wicker chairs, verandas and slow ceiling fans with an impassioned, go-for-broke attitude found in sweaty, late-night music clubs. Throughout the recording, Trolsen's trombone nimbly weaves between lines, lays back, or sometimes forcefully comes down right on top, but always plays with excellent taste. Admission $10. -- David Kunian

Musicians From Marlboro 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21 Tulane University, Dixon Hall, 865-0690; www.friendsofmusic.org New Orleans Friends of Music presents Musicians From Marlboro on Monday, Feb. 21, at Tulane's Dixon Hall. New Orleans Friends of Music continues its 50th anniversary celebration by presenting this group of classical musicians led by three-time Grammy-winning violist Samuel Rhodes. The group has been described by The Washington Post as 'a virtual guarantee of musical excellence' and promises some of classical music's rising stars, claiming such prestigious alumni as Richard Stoltzman, Richard Goode, Shlomo Mintz and Peter Serkin. A touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, the group includes cellist Efe Baltacigil, violinists Frank Huang and Tai Murray, violist Eric Nowlin and soprano Hyunah Yu, in addition to Rhodes. The violist has performed as a part of the Marlboro Music Festival since 1960, is a longtime member of the Juilliard School faculty and performs with the Juilliard String Quartet. The Musicians From Marlboro will perform Mozart's Quintet in B flat Major, K. 174 and Quintet in G Minor, K. 516 as well as Paul Hindemith's Melancholie, Opus 13. Tickets $18 at the door, $10 students. -- Simmons

Walter Inglis Anderson: Everything I See Is Strange and New Through April 17 The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St., 539-9600 Unlike contemporary self-promoters who become "famous for being famous," the late Mississippi Gulf Coast artist, Walter Anderson, is becoming famous for not being famous. In his review of last year's Anderson exhibit at the Smithsonian, Washington Post critic Paul Richard compared him with John Marin and Winslow Homer and asked that very question: "Why isn't he famous too?" The Chicago Tribune said, "There's been no one like him since Gauguin or Van Gogh," but Anderson took his time in all things, riding his bike from Ocean Springs to New Orleans, walking from Maryland to Mississippi. He was prolific, yet lived on desert islands where he learned the secrets of the pelicans and the tides. Like Van Gogh, he suffered; and like Van Gogh, he was a visionary psychedelic artist before his time. -- D. Eric Bookhardt