Check the “Music Calendar” and “Lucky 7” this week. If the plethora of holiday-themed events doesn't get you in the mood, nothing will. And just to add a little to the insanity, New Mexico Tech's Macey Center in Socorro will host “Christmas Joy,” a performance by the lavishly costumed, brilliantly choreographed Performers Ballet Company, featuring Socorro-based dancer Johnnie Taylor Trujillo, who will reprise her role in four performances at UNM's Popejoy Hall later in the month. The Macey Center performance takes place Saturday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $14 and $12. Call (505) 835-5688 for more information and tickets. ... Also on Saturday, Dec. 4, the Bill Hearne Trio (with Susan Hyde Holmes and Don Richmond) will appear at the Outpost Performance Space at 8 p.m. with special guest Linda Myers. Call 268-0044 for more information. ... On a lighter note, Bury Your Dead, Scars of Tomorrow, The Acacia Strain and Minus 7 will present their own version of an all-ages holiday-themed concert on Sunday, Dec. 5, at the Launchpad at 7 p.m. ... Finally, former Flat Duo Jets guitarist and personal hero Dexter Romweber will appear Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the Lobo Theater with the musical desert oasis that is The Sadies and headliner Neko Case, all of whom have new records out.

with Brian Keane

Saturday, Dec. 4; Super-secret AMP House Concert Location Near You (all ages, 7:30 p.m.): Wisconsinite Jeffrey Foucault could just be the risen savior of the country-folk inflected flock of contemporary singer-songwriters. He's recorded just two albums during a career influenced by the Texas Great Ones—Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt—and marked by nods to the varied talents of Greg Brown, Chris Smither, Kelly Joe Phelps, John Hammond, etc.

with Jumbo's Killcrane, Black Maria and Under The Sun

Tuesday, Dec. 7; Launchpad (21 and over, 9 p.m.): Man, they must grow some killer skunk in Wilmington, N.C. There's simply no other excuse—no other likely cause—for the likes of Weedeater, whose Dixie Witch-meets-Lynyrd Skynyrd brand of bong water-soaked, Southern-fried swamp sludge will make you a believer, whether you're a stinky pot head or not.

Like labelmate Suzanne Vega, Vanessa Carlton has a knack for setting her deepest emotions to craftily hewn melodies in such a way as to infect the listener with the actual feelings. A remarkable feat for a 24-year-old who's made but two albums, but Carlton's Harmonium sounds ageless and timeless nonetheless. There's a depth here, both lyrically and instrumentally, and with regard to arrangement, that creates a far greater sense of urgency and maturity in Carlton's latest batch of songs than in the previous bunch, including her breakout hit, “A Thousand Miles.” To ignore this record would be criminal.