Maine this fall: Bob Dylan leads an impressive lineup

It’s that time of year.

I’m not talking about pumpkin-flavored beer starting to hit the shelves. Nor am I talking about having so many fresh tomatoes from the garden that you start chucking them at passing vehicles, or using them for a game of dodgeball. And heaven forbid, I’m not talking about the Red Sox starting to fall apart like a cheap pair of sneakers.

No, I’m talking about the bumper crop of concerts coming up around the state – from big, big acts to not so big (but still awesome) acts. There’s a lot of stuff to talk about, so let’s get right into it.

First things first: Bob Dylan, fresh off the critically swooned-over release of his 44th album, “Modern Times,” will make his first Maine appearance in four years on Thursday, Nov. 9, with a concert at the Cumberland County Civic Center. I’ve already bought my ticket, so by all means, rush out and grab yours – I bet you this one will sell out. As if that wasn’t cool enough, Jack White’s new band, the Raconteurs, featuring the White Stripe and his fellow Detroit musician Brendan Benson, are opening.

Moving onto the realm of hip-hop, New York MC Papoose takes the stage at Ushuaia in Orono tonight in a show organized by Bangor’s own Queen City Entertainment. Also known as “The Lyrical One,” he’s worked with luminaries such as Kool G Rap and Busta Rhymes, and recently signed a deal with Jive Records. Indie hip-hop duo Atmosphere will come to the Asylum in Portland on Sunday, Sept. 24. Rapper Slug and producer Ant make thoughtful, political hip-hop that’s made them famous in underground rap circles.

Longtime Maine regulars Assembly of Dust make a stop at the Asylum on Thursday, Oct. 19. Lead singer and songwriter Reid Genauer used to sing for Strangefolk, another Maine jam band favorite who also happen to be scheduled to play a show at the Asylum, this time on Saturday, Oct. 28

Boston Irish punk rabble-rousers the Dropkick Murphys will make an appearance at Ushuaia on Friday, Sept. 15, so save up for a couple pints of Guinness and practice your drunken singalongs. Later the rollicking bar band Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers will play its blues-influenced rock at the Asylum on Thursday, Nov. 9.

Portland’s Space Gallery has a September schedule featuring the low-key acoustic rock of Mason Jennings on Thursday, Sept. 14, in a double bill with NYC songstress Jennifer O’Connor. A few days later, the dark country-folk band the Willard Grant Conspiracy takes the stage on Sunday, Sept. 17, playing its southern gothic songs of love, death and redemption.

Elf Power, one of many psychedelic pop bands to come out of the Athens, Ga., indie-rock scene in the 1990s, makes a stop at the Space on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and the next day the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players will perform. They’re actually a family (father Jason, mother Tina Pina and preteen daughter and drummer Rachel), and they take slideshow collections found at yard sales and auctions and write a soundtrack to them, which they then display and perform at their shows.

Speaking of cool Portland venues, the Skinny (www.theskinnyspace.com), which closed in early 2003, is finally reopening in a new location at 575 Congress St. sometime this fall (an exact date has not yet been announced). The old place played host to everyone from Ween to Cat Power, from the Strokes to Jack Johnson, so for Maine music fans, this is undeniably exciting news.

Blues fans have much to rejoice about this fall. For starters, Louisiana blues guitarist Sonny Landreth makes a stop at the Grand Theatre in Ellsworth on Saturday, Sept. 9. None other than Eric Clapton has called him “probably the most underestimated musician on the planet,” as well as probably one of the most advanced. On Tuesday, Sept. 12, North Atlantic Blues Festival favorite and soul queen Shemekia Copeland will perform at the Strand Theatre in Rockland. Finally, Gregg Allman, he of the famous band of brothers and a long-standing solo career, will play at Merrill Auditorium in Portland on Friday, Oct. 13.

Folk legend Richie Havens makes an appearance on Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Grand Theatre, with special guest Erin Klein, an up-and-coming songwriter. Newfoundland, Canada’s most famous exports, Great Big Sea, play energetic folk-rock, and will take the stage at Merrill Auditorium on Saturday, Oct. 14. And then Jewel, who went from a folk singer to a pop star to once again a folkie, also plays at Merrill, this time on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Ticket information: The Asylum, Ushuaia and Space Gallery tickets are available at all Bull Moose Music locations. Merrill Auditorium tickets are available at www.porttix.com. Cumberland County Civic Center tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For the Grand Theatre, go to www.grandonline.org; for the Strand Theatre, visit www.rocklandstrand.com. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.