Jacques returns and bonus day at the 'Top

Bruce Jacques

With the MLK Day holiday on Monday, the Coppertop tacks on an extra day of music, and party starter Bruce Jacques gets the cycle going Thursday.

Jacques has redefined the concept of one-man-band with his use of computers and other electronics to enhance his show, which all start with a guy and a guitar. But from there he can layer on backing tracks, sound effects and other sonic dressing, which he further augments with plenty of theatrical twists. Jacques is a funny front man with a seriously deep repertoire of crowd-pleasing tunes. His show Thursday starts at 8 p.m.

Rugged Road then pulls into the Coppertop on Friday (not to be confused with 5 on Friday, which plays Saturday). Rugged Road blends classic rock hits with deeper rock and blues cuts, touching on a spectrum from Allmans to Cheap Trick. The Friday and Saturday shows are from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Rugged Road

The acoustic duo Brian and AJ returns to the Coppertop Sunday for an afternoon gig starting at 4 p.m.

Then the bonus offering on Monday features James Keyes and gets under way at 3 p.m. Keyes returns to the mountain after being one of the featured local performers at the Wachusett MusicFest held in September. While some may recognize Keyes from his work in the Numbskulls punk band, his solo shows offer a whole other bag. When working alone, Keyes favors the steely resonance of acoustic guitar and haunted lyrics of the sort you come across in a Johnny Cash song.  I’ll have more details on Keyes’ latest project in a post coming later in the week. ’Til then, happy schussing.