Recently signed to Polyvinyl Records, Chicago-based quartet the M’s has already earned pre-release praise for its second album, Future Women. Filled with catchy three-part harmonies and blissed-out distortion, the M’s music recalls Village Green/Arthur-era Kinks or the sounds of early-’70s T.Rex. While touring with such modern greats as Wilco, Spoon and Of Montreal, the M’s garnered glowing reviews from critics who noted the band’s combination of noise rock and psyche-glazed pop. Having recently completed a month-long residency at Chicago’s legendary Schuba’s club, the M’s are currently on a nationwide tour and come to Buffalo on Tuesday for a performance at Mohawk Place. Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose, a band whose music recalls the sounds of early Jesus and Mary Chain or those intentionally enigmatic artists on the 4AD label of the 1980s, is also on the bill. Opening the show is Ice Cream Social, one of the best young local bands to appear this year.

When it comes to pure hip-hop, GZA is about as good as it gets. Often regarded as one of the best lyricists in hip-hop history, the Wu-Tang vet has plenty in his pen to carry not only an album but loyal fans as well. Possessing an innate flow and adroit storytelling skills, GZA is a living homage to hip-hop, the art and the science. On last year’s Grandmasters, GZA (a.k.a. the Genius) decided to move away from the RZA-produced tracks that dominated much of his earlier solo work. DJ Muggs, the primary beatmaker for Cypress Hill, infuses a West Coast flavor into the Genius’ Shaolin-style raps for their new album. If you want to hear what is arguably the best emcee-DJ partnership in years, check out this show. Expect a raw, no-frills performance and listen to the music carefully; you won’t be disappointed. You might even learn a new vocabulary word or two. Hangar 18 and Self Scientific open the show.

This weekend, the Freudig Singers present “Heard in Buffalo, Too,” a concert of choral music by Buffalo composers. Roland E. Martin is the music director. Martin’s own “Laus Trinitati” is a work with shifting meters and a blazing organ toccata that is fun and noisy. A piece by Martin’s late father, Roland Sr., “When Shadows are Falling,” will be familiar to listeners as Clint Buehlman’s theme music. Works by this writer include a setting of Walt Whitman’s poem, “To a Stranger,” followed by two provocative songs for women’s voices, “To a Fat Lady Seen from the Train” and “The Fat White Woman Speaks.” Other works on the program include “Music, the Food of Love” by Persis Vehar, “Psalm 150” by Chet Mais, “Nunc dimittis” by John Hofmann, “Magnificat and Nunc dimittis” by Herb Tinney, “Christ is the Redeemer of the World” by Hans Vigeland, “One Thing I Have Desired” by Jonathan Scarozza and “How Did I Find You?” by the late John Armesto.

The visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to the University at Buffalo won’t begin until September 18, but such an extraordinary event is bound to spur advance anticipation. On Thursday (March 9), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun opens a special series featuring notable films about Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and Tibetan Buddhism. A 35mm print of Scorsese’s rarely screened epic has been made specially available for this series, and will be introduced by Bruce Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture. Other highlights in the series include Werner Herzog’s new documentary Wheel of Time; the family comedy The Cup (1999), whose director Khyentse Norbu is a Buddhist monk officially recognized as the reincarnation of a 19th-century Tibetan saint; and Mirage in New York, directed by Tibetan filmmaker and UB graduate Tashi Wangchuk. Screenings will feature introductory comments and will be held on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm through April 27 (with the exception of March 16) at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre.