Tri-Cities this week: Woody Platt in Erwin, Blackberry Smoke in Greeneville, Brother Dusty at Capone's

A bluegrass benefit at Capitol Hall, Blackberry Smoke's 25th-anniversary tour at the Niswonger and a $5 Saturday at Capone's: the Tri-Cities shows worth planning around, Nov. 4–8.

Saturday at 7:30 p.m., two very different crowds will be heading out on the same night. In Greeneville, Blackberry Smoke bring their 25th Anniversary Tour to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. In Erwin, Woody Platt and the Bluegrass Gentlemen play Capitol Hall in a show billed on its Eventbrite page as a concert for conservation. Both start at 7:30. You'll have to pick a direction.

Platt is a Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist and singer (Wikipedia), and the Bluegrass Gentlemen are a serious band: Daren Shumaker on mandolin, Bennett Sullivan on banjo, Casey Driessen on fiddle and Buddy Melton on bass, per PineCone. That's a lot of picking for a room in Erwin.

Here's the week, night by night:

Wed, Nov. 4 — Holywatr, Capone's, Johnson City, 8 p.m. Tickets

Sat, Nov. 7 — Blackberry Smoke, Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, 7:30 p.m. Tickets

Sat, Nov. 7 — Woody Platt and the Bluegrass Gentlemen, Capitol Hall, Erwin, 7:30 p.m. Tickets

Sat, Nov. 7 — Brother Dusty, Capone's, Johnson City, 9 p.m., $5–$10. Tickets

Sun, Nov. 8 — Big Daddy Weave, Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, 3 p.m. Billed as the My Hope Is Jesus Tour. Tickets

Sun, Nov. 8 — The Band Memo, Capitol Hall, Erwin, 7:30 p.m. Tickets

Blackberry Smoke's anniversary run has been on the road since the summer; Eleven PDX reported on the first leg in June. The tour carries some weight beyond the milestone. Venues on the run, including Connecticut's Warner Theatre, have noted that a portion of VIP package proceeds goes to the Brit Turner Family Fund at CURE Childhood Cancer, named for the band's late drummer and founding member. The Niswonger holds 1,150, which makes this a much closer look than most of the tour's stops.

If you want both Saturdays, the math works only one way: Capone's. Brother Dusty doesn't start until 9, and at $5 to $10 it's the cheapest good decision you'll make all week. Whichever 7:30 show you choose, Johnson City is still there afterward.

Sunday gives you a matinee and a nightcap. Big Daddy Weave play the Niswonger at 3 in the afternoon, and Capitol Hall has The Band Memo at 7:30 to close out the week.

Six shows, three rooms, two towns that aren't Johnson City getting the biggest nights. Go to Erwin if you've never been to Capitol Hall; go to Greeneville if you've waited 25 years for this one.

Sources: Woody Platt and the Bluegrass Gentlemen: A Concert for Conservation (Eventbrite) (eventbrite.com); Woody Platt — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Woody Platt and the Bluegrass Gentlemen (PineCone) (pinecone.org); Blackberry Smoke 25th Anniversary Tour (Warner Theatre) (warnertheatre.org); BLACKBERRY SMOKE to Bring 25th Anniversary Tour to Warner Theatre (BroadwayWorld) (broadwayworld.com); Blackberry Smoke at Revolution Hall (Eleven PDX) (elevenpdx.com)