Best bets: Music

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival kicks off three days of revelry in Lafayette Square on Oct. 14 with Walter “Wolfman” Washington. The New Orleans event also boasts Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit and Eric Lindell, among others.

Sassy-voiced underground soul singer and former Motown star Bettye LaVette, known for “Let Me Down Easy” and “Right Out of Time,” brings her sultry brand of R&B to Baton Rouge for a performance on Oct. 17 at Manship Theatre.

In March, former Magnetic Zeroes keyboardist Tyler James scored a Top 5 Billboard hit with “Call My Name,” and the Nashville singer-songwriter is giving his first solo performance in Baton Rouge on Oct. 21 at Haven Gallery & Listening Room. Local R&B crooner Ian Von opens.