Sinners Circle comes back around

And so it will be: one of the best things going in the local music arena is the Sinners Circle series. The latest edition, Number Three if you're keeping track, takes place Saturday at the Bean & Leaf Café in New London.

While hardly a new concept - four different singer-songwriters gather for each event, then take turns playing their songs, offering anecdotes and pertinent info about the whole process - the Circle is still fresh around here. Plus, we're blessed in these parts with a rich vein of killer artists in a variety of styles, and the Sinners series continues to pair interesting and different songwriters each time out.

This week, the Rivergods' Ben Parent, the Hoolios' Jim Carpenter, Paul Brockett without his Roadshow Band, and blues-rock diva Sue Menhart take the stage. Expect musical interplay, banter and a few en masse offerings.

- Rick Koster

Sinners Circle, 8 p.m. Saturday, Bean & Leaf Café, 13 Washington St., New London; free, donations accepted; 701-0000, sinnerscircle.net.