Back in the day, Jason Ringenberg was at the forefront of the cowpunk movement. In the '80s, as leader of Jason & the Scorchers, he kicked country music in the ass by playing it twice or even three times its normal speed, injecting it with much-needed fervor. These days, Ringenberg is doing the same thing with children's music. "I felt it would be a nice idea to make a CD that [my daughters] could listen to when I'm on the road," he says. A Day at the Farm With Farmer Jason includes original songs -- like "A Guitar Pickin' Chicken" and "Corny Corn" -- that even parents can dig. "Farmer Jason is friendly, egoless, and unassuming," says Ringenberg. "I had no plans to make it a second, parallel career, but that is what seems to be happening." Ringenberg plays a special matinee show at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Road. Tickets are $6; call 216-383-1124. -- Michael Gallucci
Jingle Belle
TUE 12/7
Linda Eder just unwrapped her first DVD, Christmas Stays the Same (which includes such standards as "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"), and the Star Search winner and Jekyll & Hyde Broadway diva is coming to town to spread holiday cheer with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and the North Coast Men's Chorus. But don't sneeze: Ederites know that she can get a little too wigged out on the health watch. Last winter, for a while, she laid off her post-performance ritual of greeting fans at the backstage door because of a pesky flu epidemic. "I consider myself a big chicken -- a big 5-foot-10-inch chicken," she says. "And there are plenty of times when I just want to bury my head in the sand." Eder performs at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue. Tickets are $20 to $150, available by calling 216-231-1111. -- Cris Glaser
Hop and Pop
12/3 - 1/2
Chaos erupts in the Jungle of Nool, and Horton the Elephant is there to save the day in Seussical!, a musical mix spanning 60 years' worth of Dr. Seuss books and characters -- from Horton discovering civilization on a speck of dust to the birdlike Gertrude McFuzz realizing that she's perfect just the way she is. The simple lesson -- believe in yourself -- is wrapped in a soundtrack of pop, rock, and R&B songs. It's at Beck Center, 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Friday through January 2. Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $17 to $28; call 216-521-2540. -- Cris Glaser
