PROVIDENCE JOURNAL ILLUSTRATION/ DAVE WEYERMANN

The music may move (mostly) indoors during the fall, but there’s still plenty of it: As the outdoor mega-shows pack it in for the year, the smaller venues come alive.

Heck, you can start your fall concert-going season tonight — Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies come to the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, one of Rhode Island’s best places to hear music. It’s small, the sound is great and people really sit and listen — perfect for hearing Lowe, one of the best no-nonsense singer-songwriters out there.

While you’re marking your calendar, slot the BRT in for the 25th-anniverary celebration of local Celtic kingpins Pendragon on Saturday, the Nordic folk of Frigg Oct. 10, The Highwaymen Oct. 24 and 25 and a rare small-venue show by Roomful of Blues on Nov. 7. Call (401) 725-9272 or go to www.riverfolk.org to get the whole skinny.

The Narrows Center for the Arts is a rough-hewn jewel of a venue in a Fall River loft, with a wide-ranging roster of performers that this fall includes blues-jazz legend Mose Allison on Friday and power-pop godfather Marshall Crenshaw Oct. 4. Call (508) 324-1926 or go to www.ncfta.org.

Meanwhile, at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, in Providence, the fall schedule includes rapper Nas on Friday, the modern rock of TV on the Radio Oct. 11, The Black Crowes Oct. 14 and the excellent Hasidic reggae-rapper Matisyahu Oct. 28. Call (401) 331-5876 or go to www.lupos.com for more.

The Providence Performing Arts Center gets back into gear with Alanis Morrissette on Sept. 29, and follows up with the Experience Hendrix Tour — a tribute with a revolving cast of guitarists and a band that includes original Hendrix backing dudes Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell — Oct. 17. And the country-music legend Dolly Parton headlines the big gala on Nov. 1. Call (401) 421-2787 or go to www.ppacriorg.

The Dunkin’ Donuts Center revs back up after a summer of renovation, and so far anyway it’s more comfortable and better sounding than ever. You can judge for yourself at the country-music throwdown Sept. 27 that includes Brad Paisley, the newly gone-country Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough. The Rock the Ink Festival celebrates the tattoos-rock connection for three days in October, including shows by Godsmack Oct. 25 and Bret Michaels Oct. 26. And the New Kids on the Block reunion rolls in Nov. 6. For more information, call (401) 331-0700 or go to www.dunkindonutscenter.com; for tickets, call (401) 331-2211 or go to www.ticketmaster.com for tickets. Anyone who goes to all four shows gets — well, a hearty handshake from me, anyway.

And if the outdoor-shed experience is too excellent to do without until May, you’ve got one more shot: Farm Aid 2008, featuring John Cougar Mellencamp, Paisley, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson and a whole lot more, finishes up the season at the Comcast Center, in Mansfield, Mass., Saturday. Call (401) 331-2211 or go to www.ticketmaster.com for tickets. Late September at the Comcast? Bundle up. Trust me.

rmassimo@projo.com