People hitting the road for the holiday weekend will conveniently find most of the best concert action out of town, though brothers-led LA pop band R5 rock the Paradise Rock Club on Friday. To the north the same night, the sublime Aimee Mann performs at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, N.H., while John Mellencamp kicks off a banner weekend at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook with Emmylou Harris and Carlene Carter — before that bill moves west to a date at Tanglewood on Saturday. Tedeschi Trucks Band – featuring ex-Allman Brothers guitar star Derek Trucks and local hero Susan Tedeschi (pictured), plus keyboard sub Carey Frank while Kofi Burbridge recovers from heart surgery – hit the New Hampshire pavilion on Saturday, before Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald round out that northward trifecta on Sunday.

To the south on Saturday, there’s a promising free festival with the United Folk Festival at Wilcox Park in Westerly, R.I., featuring excellent folk-rockers Blitzen Trapper, the Barr Brothers, Langhorne Slim, Woods (who move up into town at the Sinclair on Sunday), the Low Anthem and Elvis Perkins. Here’s a website for the United Folk Fest, which runs noon to 9 p.m. And if you’re down on Cape Cod, Pink Talking Fish – a jam-band that pays tribute to Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish – takes over the Beachcomber in Wellfleet both Monday and Tuesday.

And if you’re really adventurous for a road trip, the Montreal Jazz Festival roars into its final week with an action-packed slate that includes an orchestral tribute to the film “La La Land” on Sunday, premier prog-rockers King Crimson (now with a fourth drummer) on Monday, and the colorful Canadian combo Walk Off the Earth for Tuesday’s annual free July 4 blowout. Boom! Here’s the website with all the details.