Live music and more, today through Thursday, compiled by Tom Di Nardo, Shaun Brady, Sara Sherr and Laurie T. Conrad.

POP/ROCK

Vonda Shepherd: You're probably humming "Searchin' My Soul" at the mere mention of her name. The throaty-voiced singer/songwriter sold more than 12 million records off her "Ally McBeal" theme song score. She's not reached that level since but continues touring and releasing albums of R&B-sweetened original material, including her most recent "From the Sun." Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville, 8 tonight, $29.50, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com.

Livingston Taylor: James' little bro returns annually to this venue by popular demand. Yes, he sounds like a Taylor, but he does the folkie pop thing his own way. Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville, 8 tonight, $22-$32, 610-917-1228 , www.thecolonialtheatre.com.

Bronze Radio Return: Chris Henderson's vocals bring to mind the Guess Who's Burton Cummings, and that's a fair comparison for the band's approach as well, though the group's unexpectedly seasoned sound is more rooted in blues. Nothing wrong with that. 8:30 tonight, $12, Puck, 14 E. Court St., Doylestown, 215-348-9000, www.pucklive.com.

The Refugees: Between them, Wendy Waldman, Cindy Bullins and Deborah Holland have more than 30 years of top-drawer music industry cred, with 19 solo albums and lots of Grammy nods. Together since 2007, with an album ("Unbound") expected to drop any day, they make beautiful harmonies that veer to the country side of the road. Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd St., 7 p.m. tomorrow, $15, 215-928-0770, www.tinangel.com.

Gary Hoey: If there are more than 12 days of Christmas in your holiday celebration, you might want to head to Upper Bucks County for "Gary Ho Ho Hoey's Rockin' Christmas." The tattooed guitarist's scorching riffs draw comparisons to surf-guitar icon Dick Dale (with whom he's shared this stage). Somehow he channels all that electric energy into a seasonal show. Deck the halls, indeed! Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville, 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, $19.50, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com.

HIP-HOP

Ryan Banks: He acts, he models, he mixtapes. You might have seen him on the last season of HBO's "The Wire" - and in the upcoming theatrical release, "Let the Game Begin." Schooled on Philly streets, orphaned as a teenager, Banks got noticed on producer P-Cutta's "Street Wars" and other mixtapes, as well as in commercials for Sneaker Villa. For this " . . . and Friends" show, he's lured the rarely seen Schoolly D out to play. Theatre of the Living Arts, 334 South St., doors open at 8 tonight , $20, 215-922-1011, www.livenation.com.

ALTERNATIVES

Voodoo Economics: One of Philadelphia's most unique bands, a mash of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Lene Lovich, open for Washington, D.C.'s, Imperial China, Busses and Persona. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 9 tonight, $8, 215-739-5577, www.themanhattanroom.com.

Bouffant Bangout: DJ Snackpak spins '50s punk precedents, '60s surf psychedelics, and French ye ye. Barbary, Delaware and Frankford avenues, 10 p.m. Wednesday, free, www.myspace.com/thenewbarbary.

Darlins: Trio of punk-rock, honky-tonk angels (guitar, bass and ukulele) from Murfreesboro, Tenn. Just like the Ramones, they take their band name as their last names. Two-thirds of them met when Kelly Darlin started the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp. Their tough but sweet, three-part harmonies have earned them kudos from The New Yorker and Kill Rock Stars. Say you saw them when. Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9 p.m. Wednesday, $8, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com.

The Rosebuds: North Carolina husband-and-wife duo return with their dark, '80s-inspired pop tunes. With Love Language and National Eye. Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9 p.m. Thursday, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com.

Metropolis: The DJs from Philadelphyinz, Robotique and Hurrah spin disco, hip-hop and electro. Barbary, Delaware and Frankford avenues, 10 p.m. Thursday, free, www.myspace.com/thenewbarbary.

CLASSICAL

Carol Wincenc, Gilbert Kalish, Hiroko Yajima, Marcy Rosen and Lydia Artymiw: Renowned flutist Wincenc and pianist Artymiw perform "Eight Impressions" by Settlement School prez Robert Capanna, with cellist Rosen joining them in Haydn's D Major Flute Trio. Smetana's Op. 15 Piano Trio features Artymiw, Rosen and violinist Yajima, and Rosen and pianist Kalish will play Richard Wernick's Cello Sonata. American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut St., 3 p.m. today, $16.50, 215-569-8080, www.pcmsconcerts.org.

Philadelphia Orchestra: San Francisco Opera maestro Donald Runnicles returns to our podium, leading Webern's early "Im Sommerwind" and Brahms' soaring Fourth Symphony. His soloist is the outstanding German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, who will tackle the resplendent Violin Concerto by Beethoven. Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce streets, 8 tonight, 2 p.m. tomorrow, $39-$125, 215-893-1999, www.philorch.org.

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Ignat Solzhenitsyn leads a remarkable program of works by Mozart, composed before the musical genius was 20. Two symphonies act as bookends: No. 17 (written at an astonishing age 16) and the stirring No. 29, the earliest of the Symphonies in the standard repertoire. The guest is violinist Korbinian Altenberger, an Astral artist who will perform the Rondo in B-Flat, K. 269 and the masterful Violin Concerto No. 5. Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce streets, 2:30 p.m. tomorrow and 7:30 p.m. Monday, $24-$81, 215-893-1999, www.chamberorchestra.org.

1807 and Friends: The esteemed Wister String Quartet, functioning as the core of this longtime chamber organization, has invited two Philadelphia Orchestra guests, violist Kerri Ryan and cellist Yumi Kendall for this special program. The resultant ensemble will offer two of music's most gorgeous string sextets: the flowing Op. 48 by Dvorak and Tchaikovsky's memoir of his trip to Italy, the "Souvenir de Florence." Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St., 7:30 p.m. Monday, $17, 215-438-4027.

Roberto Diaz, Efe Balticigil, Andres Cardenas and Jeremy Denk: Violist (and Curtis Institute president) Diaz, Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Balticigil, violinist Cardenas and pianist Denk are a formidable foursome. They'll lavish their collective gifts on two magnificent piano quartets: Mozart's E-Flat gem (K.493) and the sunny Op. 87 by Dvorak. In between, Diaz and Denk play a transcription for viola of Brahms' Op. 78 Sonata. Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 8 p.m. Wednesday, $23, 215-569-8080, www.pcmsconcerts.org.

Philadelphia Orchestra: For the first time since stepping down as music director, Christoph Eschenbach returns for two weekends before leading their 14-concert tour to Europe and the Canary Islands. He'll lead German composer Matthias Pintscher's "Osiris," which received its world premiere last February, and the scorching Fifth Symphony by Prokofiev. The expressive dynamo Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is soloist in Max Bruch's songful Violin Concerto No. 1. Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce streets, 8 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 16, $39-$125, 215-893-1999, www.philorch.org.