Since his Alligator debut 30 years ago, Southern blues-rock guitar wizard, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis has become a bona fide worldwide guitar hero. The Chicago Sun-Times says, “It’s hard to overstate the raw power of his music.” Now, he makes his triumphant return to Alligator Records with a powerful new album, Winning Hand. Armed with his signature molten licks, melodic riffs and rousing, intense solos, Ellis, as his legions of fans will attest, is among the blues world’s best-loved, hardest working and most well-travelled statesmen. He has performed in all 50 United States as well as in Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, Australia and South America, earning legions of fans with his guitar virtuosity, passionate vocals and memorable original songs. Ellis is also revered as a guitarist’s guitarist, with famous friends including Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Oliver Wood, Jonny Lang and members of Widespread Panic calling on him to sit in and jam. “A musician never got famous staying home,” he says.

Vishten’s unique blend of traditional Celtic, French and Acadian influences with modern rock and indie folk is hard to categorize — but the “Pittsburgh News” gave it a shot when they called the group “Buckwheat Zydeco meets the Irish.” The band is as acclaimed for their lively, high-energy performances as they are for their eclectic influences, so whatever you want to call Vishten’s style, you can be sure you’ll have a good time watching them.

Téada is the Gaelic word for “strings,” but this five-piece traditional Irish band isn’t just limited to stringed instruments like the fiddle and bouzouki — they use flutes, an accordion and even whistles to perform authentic folk music of the Emerald Isle. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, it’s hard to think of a better way to get into the spirit of the season.

Soulsha is a party, a revolution, and an adventure through different traditions. It brings together some of Boston’s top musicians in Scottish, West African, and Funk music to create a sound you won’t find anywhere else on the planet. Soulful call and response singing, masterful improvisation, traditional Senegalese and Scottish dancing and incredible energy make every Soulsha show an unforgettable live experience. Intricate rhythms, soaring bagpipe melodies, and New Orleans-infused horn lines come together seamlessly, reminding us that we’re all in this together. The band formed through a series of serendipitous meetings in the thriving and intersecting multi-cultural melting pot of Boston. Many of the members are virtuosic and highly esteemed tradition-bearers in their styles. The music they’ve created is a conversation between cultures that breaks down all the boundaries, moving the audience to abandon their assumptions as they lose themselves on the dance floor. While it shares obvious roots with Afro-Celt Sound System’s electronic fusion, the funk-inspired sound of Soulsha puts tradition and interchange center stage, bringing the party energy of Rebirth Brass Band, and the cultural gravitas of masters like Malian Toumani Diabaté. The sound is fun but deep, fresh but familiar, immigrant and yet deeply American.