New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has a great backstory, weaned on country music and Elvis Presley partly due to his father, a Maori punk singer. But Williams’ fiddle-tinged Americana can’t be pigeonholed, as his astounding voice shifts from ’50s-style crooning to dynamic flights more reminiscent of ’90s rocker Jeff Buckley, including a show-stopping take on Nina Simone’s “When I Was a Young Girl.” The 25-year-old Williams will surely turn heads at Great Scott on Friday with his band the Yarra Benders.

Rhode Island-bred, Arlington-based songsmith Tanya Donelly thrilled with her reunited alt-band Belly at Royale this summer. But Donelly get to visit material from her enchanting recent collection Swan Song Series when she plays the Once Ballroom on Friday with ex-Fuzzy friends Hilken Mancini and Chris Toppin. Here’s a jump to my recent interview with Donelly. And if that’s not enough of a ’90s flashback with local roots, catch Luna—fronted by ex-Galaxie 500 singer/guitarist Dean Wareham—at Royale the same night. Or the homespun roundtable Session Americana holds court at Harvard Square’s classy Club Oberon on Friday as well.

The Chris Robinson Band settles into a two-night stand at the Paradise Rock Club on Friday and Saturday to fire up their growing Grateful Dead-inspired songbook. On Saturday, Green Day also gets back to the clubs with a special House of Blues date just ahead of the Bay Area punks’ Oct. 7 release Revolution Radio, surging British singer James Bay headlines the harborside Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, and singer/songwriter Sara Watkins turns from her fiddle-grounded role in Nickel Creek to her own solo group at Brighton Music Hall. And atmospheric head-bangers Opeth help round out a busy weekend at House of Blues on Sunday.