The Duke Robillard Band plays the blues Friday night at 8 as part of the Blackstone River Oktoberfest at the German Club in Pawtucket.

No time like the present, they say. I know I’m supposed to be writing about the whole fall, and I will, but this weekend sees a few winners coming to our area.

Sara Tavares is a Cape Verdean-born, Lisbon-based singer and songwriter whose gentle voice, acoustic guitar and music borrow from Afro-Caribbean traditions on both sides of the Atlantic. On her first North American release, Balance, she writes and sings about the diaspora of people from Cape Verde, who have an international, multicultural upbringing and knowledge, but lack the grounding sense of a homeland. It parallels her personal story and her cultural heritage, and it combines for a sweet, sometimes-wistful, sometimes-joyous emotional impact.

She’s at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, 79 Washington St., Providence, Saturday night at 8. Tickets are $25 in advance, $27 the day of the show. Call (401) 331-5876 or go to www.etix.com.

Speaking of Tavares, the hit vocal group from Providence and Fall River (no relation) brings out the hits such as “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel,” “It Only Takes a Minute” and the blows-the-Bee-Gees-away version of “More Than a Woman” to the Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway, Providence, Saturday at 7. Tickets are $39 and $49; call (401) 640-3274 or go to www.arttixri.com.

The Blackstone River Theatre may be the best place to see a show in Rhode Island, and they celebrate their seventh anniversary with Celtic heavyweights Pendragon (including BRT officials Russell Gusetti, Bob Drouin and Mary Lee Partington) Saturday night at 8. Tickets are $15; call (401) 725-9272.

The Blackstone River Oktoberfest sees a slew of acts coming to the German Club, 78 Carter Ave., Pawtucket, this weekend. The Duke Robillard Band plays the blues Friday night at 8 ($15), and on Saturday the excellent zydeco of Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble headlines a bill with Jesse Lege and Bayou Brew and local faves The Stumbleweeds, starting at 4:30 and running until midnight ($25). For tickets, call my man Joe from Sal’s Productions at (401) 965-0849 or go to www.salsrbclub.com.

AS220 has one of the bigger shows in their storied history Wednesday, when The Plastic People of the Universe roll in straight outta Prague to show the psych-rock crowd how it’s done. These guys started in Prague in 1968, and if the combination of that year and that city ring a bell then you know where they’re at. They rose out of the ashes of the failed revolution in their country and rocked in a time and place when rocking could land you in jail — and, in their case, did. They tend to combine primitive rhythm patterns with squawking guitar, sax and violin, but from there they can take it anywhere. And the rest of the bill is no slouch either — Suishou no Fune, from Japan; Alasehir, from Philadelphia (with members of Bardo Pond) and locals DÉjÀ vu Mountain. It’s all at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence, Wednesday at 8; admission is $10. Call (401) 831-9327 for information, and for advance tickets (rare at AS220), go to www.brownpapertickets.com.

OK, that’s this week. For a look forward, see Fall Guide: Pop Music, Sept. 20-Nov. 22

rmassimo@projo.com