• Gigantour, the heavy-metal festival headlined by the venerable Megadeth, will include top-shelf newcomers Lamb of God and Arch Enemy. (Sept. 23, Nationwide Arena)

• Esteemed bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley, 79, and his band the Clinch Mountain Boys will head up a night of mountain music that includes expert players Tony Rice and Peter Rowan. (Oct. 4, Southern Theatre)

• The Wexner Center for the Arts’ Black Box series, featuring bands that rarely play Midwestern cities performing on a stage shared with the audience, is one of the consistently winning concert experiences. The first show of the 2006 installment will feature Ladytron — which blends goth, pop and electronica — and the Brazilian dance-music/rock band CSS. (Oct. 5, Mershon Auditorium)

• According to www.barbraarchives.com, Barbra Streisand’s first Ohio performances were in Cleveland in 1963. Admission was $7, which included dinner and drinks. Her first proper concert in Ohio will set fans back a bit more. Renting one of the cheap seats will cost $152.50 (plus service and handling fees). Still, there is only one Barbra, and if you want to hear The Way We Were live for the first time in Columbus, you know who you are. The pop-opera quartet Il Divo will perform first. (Oct. 6, Value City Arena)

• The CityMusic World Music Series, featuring groups from around the globe that span blues, folk, jazz, pop and indigenous music, will begin its season with the Wailin’ Jennys. The Canadian folk group specializes in taut, gorgeous harmonies. (Oct. 13, Fawcett Center)

• The Mulgrew Miller Trio will perform the first show of the Jazz Arts Group’s intimate "Jazz on the Avenue" series — the new name of the series formerly known as the Firehouse Jazz Series. Miller, a tremendous pianist in the tradition of McCoy Tyner, has been a member of bands led by Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Mercer Ellington, Woody Shaw and Tony Williams. (Oct. 14, King Arts Complex)

• The Blue Man Group will bring its "How To Be a Megastar Tour 2.0" to Columbus. The blue men will download a new "how-to-manual," which is sure to require pounding away on PVC pipes. (Nov. 15, Nationwide Arena)