Blizzard of music

This is the week when the Coppertop officially heats up for the season, and perusing the schedule put together thus far makes for some pretty fresh reading, music fans.

There are lots of new faces and pleasant returns to the mountain this season, starting with Fred Ellsworth and the House Shakers delivering danceable blues to the Coppertop this Friday. The acoustic duo Drunken Uncles (featuring Joe Rockhead front man Tom Hurley, who is the star of today's video pick) comes to the mountain Jan. 5, and Jay Graham, one of my favorite Central Mass guitar players whom I first caught playing in the Arthur Dent Foundation and more recently enjoyed listening to in Soulstice, brings his solo act to the Coppertop Feb. 19. Chris Reddy's intriguing, electronic  loops-enhanced guitar performance was a hit at this fall's Wachusett Musicfest and he'll bring his unique sound to the Coppertop on Feb. 9.

Some old faves are coming back too, so you'll get a chance to catch Sean Fullerton (Jan. 13), Chris Stovall Brown (Jan. 21), Dr. Harp (Feb. 11), and others who have made the trip to Princeton in the past. And as mentioned earlier, Glenn Stewart returns to ring in the new year Saturday with his kickin' country sound.

I'm seeing reggae, country, rock, blues, and acoustic acts already inked into the Thursday-through-Sunday music schedule, and also hearing good things about a new series of late-afternoon apres-ski shows in the works. So yeah, come for the skiing and riding, but be sure to catch some of the music.