5/12/16: Today’s Top Tips: Thursday

MUSIC: Sam Baker @ Club Helsinki, Hudson. The Austin singer-songwriter has won fans as diverse as Fred Eaglesmith and Gurf Morlix. Often compared to John Prine, Baker counts Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark as key influences. With Carrie Elkin. 8pm. $22.

MUSIC: Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra @ Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy. The nouveau flamenco guitarist is an international favorite, melding his unique guitar playing with influences of South American percussion, rock, jazz and pop. 7:30pm. $30.

THEATER: “Once” @ Proctors, Schenectady. Based on the charming, Oscar-winning film of the same name and featuring the music of the Swell Season (Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard), the acclaimed stage musical won eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical), as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. 1:30 & 8pm. $20-$80. Through Sunday. GO HERE to read review…

MUSIC/FUNDRAISER: Ecuadorian Earthquake Victims Relief Concert @ the Parish Public House, Albany. Locally based non-profit Eden’s Rose Foundation and Guthrie/Bell Productions present Too Much Too Fast, Lord Electro, School Bus Yellow and Ampevene in this benefit concert. All proceeds from this show will go to aid the victims of this horrific disaster. 8pm. $10 minimum donation.

MUSIC: Eilen Jewell Band @ the Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton. The marvelously eclectic singer-songwriter in support of her new album, Sundown Over Ghost Town. 7pm. $25.

MUSIC: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band @ the Calvin Theatre, Northampton. The jug band-gone-country celebrates its 50th anniversary. With the Boxcar Lilies and Jim Henry. 8pm. $39.50 & $49.50.

THEATER: “The Producers” @ Schenectady Light Opera Company, Schenectady. Directed by Suzanne Rayome, this Mel Brooks stage adaptation of his classic 1968 comedy film stars Eric Shovah as Max Bialystock and Brendan Brierley as Leo Bloom. 8pm. $18-$28. Through Sunday.

MUSIC: Holly Bowling @ the College of St. Rose’s Massry Center for the Arts, Albany. The classically trained pianist performs unique interpretations of the music of Phish and the Grateful Dead reimagined for solo piano. 7:30pm. $20; $10 students. GO HERE to read review…

MUSIC: Floodwood @ NaNola, Malta. 9pm.

MUSIC: Formula 5 @ NaNola, Malta. 5pm.

MUSIC: Ken & Brad Kolodner @ Crandall Public Library’s Folklife Center, Glens Falls. Regarded as one of today’s most influential hammered dulcimer players and old-time fiddlers, Ken Kolodner has joined forces with his son Brad Kolodner, a rising star in the clawhammer banjo world, to perform tight and musical arrangements of original and traditional old-time music with a creative curiosity that lets all listeners know that a passion for traditional music yet thrives in every generation. 7pm. FREE.

MUSIC/COMEDY: Bare Mattress @ the Low Beat, Albany. With Jasmine Shea. $10.

THEATER: “A Trip to Bountiful” @ Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany. Join the inspiring pilgrimage to the small town of Bountiful, Texas with Carrie Watts, the charming, aging widow who escapes her controlling daughter-in-law and son’s three-room Houston apartment to visit her childhood home one last time. 7:30pm. $20-$55. Through Sunday, May 15.

MUSIC: Marty McDermott @ Cave Mountain Brewing Co., Windham. The Reverberators’ frontman delivers a solo show. 8pm.

MUSIC: Bobbie Van Detta & the Split @ the Van Dyck, Schenectady. 7pm. FREE.

MUSIC: Cardboard Crowns @ Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs. 9:30pm. FREE.

MUSIC: Moonshine Holler @ the Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Old-time music duo featuring Paula Bradley and Bill Dillof. 8pm. Donation suggested.

MUSIC: Deb Cavanaugh @ Dali Mamma Café, Albany. It’s Dali After Dark. With Ragliacci Rags. 7pm.

MUSIC: The Wheel @ the Twisted Vine Wine & Tap, Delmar. Goin’ acoustic… and outdoors. 7pm.

FILM: “Purple Rain” @ the Landmark Spectrum 8 Theatres, Albany. One screening only. 7pm.

FILM: On Screen/Sound No. 15 @ EMPAC at RPI, Troy. Michael Snow’s groundbreaking structural film “La Région Centrale” will be shown with Miguel Angel Rios’ “Untitled (The Ghost of Modernity).” 7pm. $6.