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Nathan Granner and Beau Bledsoe perform "Give Me Jesus"

If the thought of rocking out to classical music seems a bit unconventional, singer Nathan Granner (a member of the Sony Classical recording trio The American Tenors) is here to prove that theory wrong. Claiming that “Mozart was a punk” (he likens the great composer to The Clash), Granner and his friend and guitar accompanist Beau Bledsoe are on a mission to introduce the world to a new era of classical music, one that he hopes will attract a hip, younger crowd and shelve the notion that the mature age of the average classical enthusiast should define the genre. Granner and Bledsoe’s carefully crafted record The Departure (Tzigane Records) is an album of varied and emotive music. Granner’s tenor voice is vibrant and flexible as he arbitrarily dips into pieces of opera, Broadway, jazz, flamenco, and pop. Bledsoe’s guitar is at times subdued and at others forthcoming, all the while ready to throw the standards of classical music to the wind and transition into a whole new sound. These two young, talented guys prove that classical is anything but dull, so check them out at Nietzsche’s next Thursday night to see what they’re all about.

Thursday, March 22 at 8pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539) www.nietzsches.com