WILLIE NELSON The country crooner’s voice is singular not just in Nashville but across the whole of pop, conveying heartbreak and hope in the space of a weathered sigh.Sept. 12,  7:30 p.m. $30-$80. Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN The Boss closes out his tour spotlighting his 1980 double album “The River’’ with a show at Gillette Stadium. Springsteen has been playing lengthy sets that run the gamut of his career. Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m. $25- $155. Gillette Stadium. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com

NAO This British up-and-comer with a lightning-bolt voice calls her home-baked genre “wonky funk.’’ She blends influences from R&B’s high points then adds a bit of 21st-century futurism. Sept. 15, 9 p.m. $15. Brighton Music Hall. 617-779-0140, www.crossroads presents.com

LUSH These college-rock darlings of yore blended airy vocals with frizzled guitars and helped put their stamp on the beloved rock subgenre known as shoegaze.Sept. 15. 7 p.m. $35, advance $32.50. Royale. 617-338-7699, www.boweryboston.com MAURA JOHNSTON