Mix these sounds: A little B.B. King, a touch of the Rolling Stones, and maybe even a dash of Cream, and the end result will be a simmering hot, hard-rocking blues musician by the name of Tinsley Ellis. Born in Atlanta during the late ‘50s, Ellis knew his fate was sealed as a musician after B.B. King handed him a string from a guitar he was playing that broke during a set. He still has that string, and he’s still banging out his blend of bluesy rock that has taken him on tours all over the country, averaging 150 performances per year, with a stop in Buffalo every time. Come to Nietzsche’s for a fun night this Thursday (tonight, April 26), because this is the kind of blues that won’t get you down. Ann Philippone opens the show at 8pm

Jazz great Roscoe Mitchell, a composer who’s recorded an impressive 87 albums and written over 250 compositions in the 30 years he’s been in the music industry, has mastered the art of organized improvisation. He plays in a structured, very passionate and intense fashion, all the while improvising and building upon the foundations he’s laid without straying from the base melody. Mitchell can do it all —he’s not only dabbled with the saxophone family, he’s mastered every instrument and then some, and he’s skilled enough to formulate a cohesive-sounding piece of music off the top of his head. Catch this award-winning composer as he comes to the Albright-Knox for a free performance on Friday night (April 27) during Gusto at the Gallery, at 8pm

The countdown begins to the third annual Buffalo Infringement Festival, otherwise known as “11 days of art under the radar.” Of course, 11 days of anything takes some doing, with planning, organizing, creating, and basically making it all happen. When “it all” includes practically every type of multi-media imaginable, it takes even more doing. That’s why members of the arts, music, theater, and literary communities come together for a fundraiser each year a few months prior to the event (this year’s Infringement Fest is set for July 26-Aug. 8). The InfringeBuffalo Fundraiser takes place at Nietzsche’s on Saturday (April 28), beginning at 8pm, and features performances by The Skiffle Minstrals (pictured), Jax Deluca, Z. Mann Zilla, Gentlemen Callerz, Acoustic Therapy, and Buffalo Soundpainting Ensemble. A $5 donation is requested at the door.

On Monday (April 30), at 7pm, The New Phoenix Theater on Johnson Park will host “Handclaps and Cowbells,” a multi-media CD Release Party. The event is a celebration for The Ginger Lovers/Casperous Vine Vol. 1, a collection of music written by Paul Kozlowski over the past few years, not only for the band (Ginger Lovers) but for various theatrical productions (at The New Phoenix and Torn Space Theaters), as well as his solo work as Casperous Vine. This is also something of a farewell party for Paul (pictured left with “ANU,” an instrument he built for the New Phoenix play Gilgamesh), who’ll be leaving mid-May for an indefinite visit to South/Central America. Besides the Ginger Lovers, there will be solo sets from Pam Swarts and Lara Buckley, a show by Can of Worms Puppetry, and an exhibition of new paintings by Jeff Vincent.

You may remember Casper & the Cookies opening up for The Apples In Stereo in Buffalo a few months back. If you were there, you may also remember being struck by the band’s intricate psychedelic power pop that perfectly complimented The Apples’ set. Formed in 1998 in Athens, Georgia, Casper & the Cookies is a band comprised of various songwriters, including Jason NeSmith (aka Casper Fandango, ex-Of Montreal), all collaborating to create a harmonic blend of innocence, youth and naivete. On their most recent recording, The Optimist Club (Happy Birthday to Me), both the lyrical and cultural references are truly powerful and posess a beauty all but the most cynical could relate to. Casper & the Cookies play at Mohawk Place on Tuesday (May 1), at 8pm, with The Icicles. The Missing Planes will also be performing

The last time notorious Japanese out-rockers Acid Mothers Temple visited Buffalo, the group’s two hour set of cosmic jams, stoner freak-outs and joyous noise excursions concluded with leader Kawabata Makoto smashing his guitar against a backdrop of flashing psychedelic weirdness. The act was not flaccid nostalgia, but a moment of pure cosmic abandon, the only path out of such an ecstatic set. To be sure, AMT are unapologetic students of psychedelic cult rock, conjuring Black Sabbath heaviness, Zappa prog weirdness, Kraut rock space jams and surrealist visual imagery, but the effect is totally inspired and new. This Wednesday (May 2), at 9pm, Kawabata and his constantly morphing soul collective return to Soundlab for another “underground freak out,” this time including female vocalist Kitagawa Hao, whose ethereal vocals carry the group’s music even deeper into the cosmic unknown.

Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog is one of those bands that’s been heard of more than actually heard. The buzz in the music blogosphere has put their name on the minds of music-savvy netizens, and reviews of their new LP We All Belong (Park The Van) have been glowing (The Village Voice compared their sparkling, hooky psych rock to the Beatles, Beach Boys and The Band). They’re the cool band that all the other cool bands want to have open for them, so Dr. Dog can boast tours with My Morning Jacket, The Raconteurs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and The Strokes. When not sharing stages with big rock and roll stars, they’re hitting every US city they can on their own headline dates. Dr. Dog finally puts Buffalo on the list when they play Mohawk Place on Thursday (May 3) with support from tourmates The Teeth and Hoots & Hellmouth