Concert Previews

Last year's

The Bright Mississippi

was the Allen Toussaint album some of us had waited for: a mostly instrumental set of piano blues, with Toussaint fronting a crack band and giving a lesson in the history of jazz. Toussaint's legacy was secure before that wonderful record: He's had a hand - or two, as a piano player - in many of New Orleans' finest recordings, including some from Ernie K. Doe, Irma Thomas, the Meters, and others. He's written classics such as "Working in a Coalmine" and "Yes We Can Can," and he's recorded with Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, and the Band. He's no slouch as a singer, either, although he's been overshadowed by working with many great ones. He'll be solo for Saturday's show at the Sellersville Theater, but the man needs no assistance: He has history at, and in, his fingertips.

- Steve Klinge

Kate Miller-Heidke's second album (and recent American debut),

Curiouser

, is nearing double-platinum in her native Australia, but 'round these parts the 28-year-old singer-songwriter remains essentially an unknown commodity - for now, anyway. Fresh off an impressive showcase at Austin's SXSW music festival, the classically trained, pop-loving Miller-Heidke is spending a month on the road with longtime musical collaborator (and now husband), guitarist Keir Nuttall, to plug the album. Between

Curiouser

's oddball album cover and its recent viral hit, "Are You -ing Kidding Me? (The Facebook Song)," Miller-Heidke runs the risk of being perceived as something of a novelty act, but that's hardly the case. In fact, she and Nuttall became the first Aussies to win the $25,000 Grand Prize in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition (for "Caught in the Crowd," included on the new CD), and her live performances - mixing stellar musicianship with a touch of cabaret - have earned raves.

- Nicole Pensiero

You probably know that Kara DioGuardi, the fourth judge on

American Idol

, is a hitmaking songwriter. You know because if you still bother to watch

AI

(and there seem to be fewer every week) you've heard the 39-year-old DioGuardi say so. Contestants love to sing her songs back to her. Sometimes you can even catch DioGuardi mouthing the words to her own tunes while auditioners struggle. If that's not as weird as Ellen DeGeneres' being there, it's strange enough. But along with cowriting and/or producing smashes for

Idol

winners such as Kelly Clarkson ("Walk Away") and Taylor Hicks, DioGuardi has done stuff for Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson (and her sister Ashlee Simpson), Paris Hilton, Ashley Tisdale, Demi Lovato, Vanessa Hudgens, Celine Dion, and the whole Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus mess. DioGuardi is very, very responsible for helping make the pop charts a blander place to be, and she will surely take on a slew of those songs this weekend. Wow, do I wish there was a Q&A portion to this show. She's got a lot of explaining to do.

- A.D. Amorosi