Music

You can't tell the story of Martha Wainwright without talking about family. Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, her mother, Kate McGarrigle — both legends of the 1970's folk scene. Along with her brother, Rufus, she followed her parents into the music world.

Based in Lancaster County, Penn., The Stray Birds is one of the most promising bands on the folk music circuit these days. With three-part harmonies which fall somewhere in the sonic spectrum between Gillian Welch and Crooked Still, their songs are at once resonant and emotional, dreamy and sad.

On this Piano Jazz session from 2004, Tony Bennett brings his effortlessly swinging singing to an impeccable set of tunes from the Great American Songbook, including music from Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Ted Koehler, Alec Wilder and more.

Logan Venderlic makes his first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. A native of the small West Virginia town called Saint Marys, Venderlic's first collection of tunes prompted Yahoo Music to name him one of the top artists during the first half of 2012.

A resident of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., Bob Shank has appeared on Mountain Stage multiple times, going back to the early 1980s, when he was a member of the Americana group Hickory Wind. He also appeared in 2007 with the instrumental band Freeman, Bloom & Shank. But it's unlikely that he ever appeared under such short notice — Shank graciously joined the lineup only hours before show time, when another artist canceled because of illness.

Ninety years ago near the village of Katonah, N.Y., art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen bought Caramoor, a wooded estate, and built a home for their collection of painting and sculpture. Every room was a gallery, including their favorite, the Music Room; after they lost their only son in World War II, they presented a small concert series there to honor him. So began the transformation of Caramoor from a private home to an arts center and treasure for Westchester County, north of New York City.

As you prepare to feast upon cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and your choice of entree this Thanksgiving, there's also an operatic feast to be had.