from John Scofield to Arlo Guthrie to Kings of Leon, touring acts beef up the season’s set list

The Seacoast music scene continues to grow, bringing a proliferation not only of local talent, but also a more interesting infusion of touring acts. The coming months are no exception. With the Stone Church in Newmarket, the State Theatre in Portland, the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom all posting ambitious schedules, there’s plenty to be excited about. The only major genre missing from their lists is hip hop, an absence which ought rightly to be remedied, but just about all other listeners should be satisfied.

Though it’s the smallest of the sites mentioned above, the Stone Church competes with all of them for the best fall lineup. Beginning Sept. 8 with the grungy rock of Paranoid Social Club, and stretching through the month with gritty bluesman Tab Benoit on Sept. 16 and folk icon David Mallet on Sept. 18, the Church rolls toward an even more exciting October. The crucial show not to miss is John Scofield, the great jazz/funk guitarist, who is currently focused on performing the influential music of Ray Charles. Scofield hits the Church on Oct. 12. (This is also by far the most expensive show at the Church, at $42, but worth it.) Other highlights of the fall include folk-rocker Tom Rush on Oct. 8, and the always spirited Sam Kininger Band on Oct. 13.

It is difficult to capture the pulse of New Hampshire’s most famous and trashiest stretch of coast, but somehow the Casino Ballroom’s music lineups always seem to tap into the spirit of Hampton Beach. Some of it is garbage (Hootie and the Blowfish on Sept. 25, Hanson on Nov. 5), some of it is funny (Boston Comedy Allstars on Sept. 10, Lewis Black on Oct. 7), and some of it is respectable, depending on your taste (Los Lonely Boys on Sept. 24, Kings of Leon on Sept. 30, the String Cheese Incident on Oct. 8 and 9, Buddy Guy on Oct. 21). In any case, I defend the Ballroom as a damn good place to see a show, if you can find something you like.

At The Music Hall in Portsmouth, the pop performance schedule is strikingly scant at the moment—folk queen Nancy Griffith Sept. 30, blues legend John Mayall Nov. 13—but they promise more installments of the Intimately Yours concert series, which began with John Hiatt and Shawn Colvin in August.

A little further away, the State Theatre’s fall season is distinctly impressive in its diversity of acts. If you fancy classic rock, check out Little Feat on Sept. 16 or the Derek Trucks Band on Nov. 16. If you prefer a heavier brand of rock, you can choose between Judas Priest on Oct. 4 and Queensryche on Oct. 8. On the jam bandwagon? You’ve got The String Cheese Incident on Oct. 6 and 7, Rusted Root with the Jazz Mandolin Project on Oct. 21, and the Dark Star Orchestra on Nov. 27 (also in Concord Nov. 17). Blues fans can catch Susan Tedeschi on Oct. 29 or the not-so-deep blues of The Robert Cray Band on Nov. 6 (in Concord Nov. 12). Badfish conducts a tribute to Sublime on Sept. 17. I leave it up to you to decide which of these shows are extremely cheesy.

There are some unique musical acts appearing at the Capitol Center this fall. For example, fiddler Alisdair Fraser performs on Sept. 23, Celtic quartet The Barra Macneils plays on Sept. 24, obnoxiously grandiose Manhattan Transfer plays on Oct. 20, and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra plays on Nov. 1. If none of those names really grab you, and there’s a good chance none of them do, some more recognizable highlights come later, like Bright Eyes on Nov. 23 and, by far the most intriguing highlight for my money, Arlo Guthrie comes to the Capitol on Nov. 20 as part of the 40th Anniversary Tour for his masterpiece, “Alice’s Restaurant.”