The Ebony Hillbillies, an old-time string band featuring washboard and fiddle, performs at 8 p.m. Friday, May 18, at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, 3800 E. Genesee St., on Syracuse’s East Side. Admission costs $15.

The band will also perform at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Southwest Community Center, 401 South Ave., on the city’s South Side. Donations will be accepted; 671-5834.

The Wall Street Journal says, “The Queens-based Ebony Hillbillies have been getting double-takes, if not full pauses, when they play in the subway stations at Grand Central Station, Herald Square or Times Square. Dressed in rural work clothes, vintage hats and vests with some modern touches, the band’s members resemble time-traveling sharecroppers from the 19th century having a jam session.”

The band’s repertoire includes tunes such as “Liza Jane,” “Ida Red” and “Bucket of Rain.” The May 18 concert is hosted by The Folkus Project. For reservations, call 440-7444; folkus.org.

The country’s premier black string band plays down-home dance music with a modern feel at 8 p.m. Friday, May 18, at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, 3800 E. Genesee St. and again at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Southwest Community Center, on South Avenue.

Americana Festival

After kicking off with a 5 p.m. jam session Friday, May 18, followed by evening performances from the Hamilton Ramblers, Folk Strings and Dusty Pascal, the second annual American Festival at Kellish Hill Farms welcomes some of the best fiddlers in the Empire State to its stages on Saturday, May 19.

Fiddlers Day at Kellish Hill Farm will feature vibrant violin work at 1 p.m. by Diamond Joe Davoli, Susan Barrington, Tom Fay, Keith Hunt, Liz Friedel, Lacey Lee, Toby Weinberg and members of The New York State Old Tyme Fiddlers Association.

Sets of bluegrass and acoustic Americana will be performed Saturday by Diamond Someday, Lake Effect Bluegrass, Bob Halligan, Jane Zell, Harvey Nusbaum and Greg Hoover, and an old-fashioned barn dance will be staged that evening.

On Sunday, the Americana Festival concludes with a Gospel Day, starting at 1 p.m.

Admission costs $20 for a weekend pass, $10 for Friday or Saturday day pass, and $5 for Sunday only. The Kellish Hill Farm Music Barn is at 3192 Pompey Center Road, 20 minutes from downtown Syracuse and just 4.2 miles from Route 92 in Manlius. Look for the big yellow wheels out front; kellishhillfarm.com; 682-1578.

Classic swing at Redhouse

Husband-and-wife guitarists Phil Flanigan and Hanna Richardson will be joined by clarinetist Brian Earle for an evening of classic American swing at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Redhouse, 201 S. West St., on the outskirts of Armory Square.

Flanigan is a world-renowned bass player, but he and Hanna often perform as Tenor Madness in which they each play four-string guitars. Hanna’s vocals have been favorably compared to the late Maxine Sullivan, to whom the duo dedicated a disc, “Something to Remember You By.”

Clarinetist Brian Earle is a member of the popular Ithaca Gyspy swing combo, Djug Django.

The Redhouse audience will hear songs Saturday such as “I Got the Sun in the Morning” and “Porter’s Love Song to a Chambermaid.” $15 or $10 for Redhouse members; 425-0405.

SU Brass in F’ville

The Syracuse University Brass Ensemble plays its annual Spring Fling pops concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the United Church of Fayetteville, 310 E. Genesee St., in Fayetteville. Admission costs $8 for adults and $6 for children, benefiting UCF’s Witness Ministries.

Conducted by James Spencer, the SU Brass is an award-winning 30-piece orchestra that performs for official university events and gives several concerts each year at regional venues; subrass.com; 443-3133.

Pizzarelli in Liverpool

The Woody Herman Orchestra will be joined by guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli at Liverpool High School’s annual Jumpin’ Jazz Jam at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, at the high-school auditorium at 4340 Wetzel Road, in the town of Clay. The Herman big band is led by saxophonist Frank Tiberi.

Also performing will be the LHS Stage Band and the LHS Jazz Ensemble conducted by Jim Spadafore who is retiring next month as LHS band director.

Admission costs $10 for adults, and $8 for students and seniors; 453-1500, ext. 4026.

Stage: Good grief!

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” the 1967 musical based on Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 18-19, and May 24, 25 and 26, at the New Times Theater inside the Art & Home Center at the New York State Fairgrounds, off State Fair Boulevard in Geddes.

Produced by Dustin Czarny and Bill Brod for Not Another Theater Co., “Charlie Brown” stars Devon Simmons, Justin Polly, Krystal Scott, Briana Duger, Alex Cupelo and Ceara Windhausen. The musical is directed by Colin Keating, with choreography by Stephfond Brunson.

Tickets cost $25, or $20 for students and seniors, $10 for children ages 9 and younger; and tables of eight cost $209. For show only, you pay $20. For tickets, call 446-1461.

Film: ‘Whisky Galore’

A 1949 comedy called “Tight Little Island” also known as “Whisky Galore” will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 21, as the Syracuse Cinephile Society continues its spring film series at the Spaghetti Warehouse, 689 N. Clinton St., near Syracuse’s Inner Harbor.

Monday’s movie stars Basil Radford and Joan Greenwood as inhabitants of a remote Scottish isle who attempt to recover the contents of a sinking whisky-laden ship.

On June 4, the Cinephiles will show “G-Men,” the iconic 1935 gangster flick starring James Cagney; syracusecinefest.com.

Admission costs $3, or $2.50 for Cinephile members. For dinner reservations, call Spaghetti Warehouse at 475-1807.

Pro Baseball: Clippers sail in May 24

The Syracuse Chiefs are on the road in Ohio this week, but manager Tony Beasley brings his International League ballclub back to the North Side’s Alliance Bank Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24, to face the Columbus Clippers. Games are also scheduled at ABS at 7 p.m. May 25-26, and at 6:30 p.m. May 27. In honor of Memorial Day, the May 27 game will be followed by fireworks.

Columbus is the top farm team of the American League’s Cleveland Indians while the Chiefs are affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Field-level ticket prices at ABS range from $9 to $20, while upper-deck seats cost $8, and $4 for kids and seniors. Parking costs $5 per vehicle; 474-7833; syracusechiefs.com.