There’s a lot of great music coming this fall, but these four shows stand out.

For whatever reason — be it the creativity triggered by a change of seasons, the return of an involved student population or simply our seasonal good fortune — fall is when the most exciting musical performances of the year traditionally commence in Lexington and Central Kentucky.

This autumn is no different.

In the months ahead, we can look forward to the Scandanavian jazz combo Cortex on Sept. 17 at the University of Kentucky Niles Gallery for the Outside the Spotlight Series, the singer-song stylist tag team of Josh Rouse on Sept. 19 and Lera Lynn on Sept. 20 at The Burl, the serious rock ‘n’ roll cheer of Dan Baird on Oct. 5 at Willie’s Locally Known and the folk-blues groove music of the Wood Brothers on Oct. 24 at the Kentucky Theatre. 

This year, though, the fall’s most promising performances boil down to a roster of four essential and refreshingly diverse artists. There are all kinds of great sounds heading our way in the months ahead, but these are the four to look out for. 

Martha Redbone 

A childhood spent in the coal mining terrain of Harlan County was merely the start of a journey that informed the remarkable roots music of Martha Redbone. Appalachian and Clinch Mountain soul, Native American inspiration (from her mother’s Cherokee and Choctaw heritage) and Piedmont Blues are but some of the influences the make up her sound. She eventually settled in Brooklyn after establishing critically lauded residencies at such famed New York haunts as Joe’s Pub and the Living Room. Redbone shook up the stylistic shades of multiple generations even further on her newest album, “The Garden of Love.” With Nitty Gritty Dirt Band banjo alum John McEuen as producer, Redbone set the words of 18 th century English poet William Blake to the diverse string band sounds Redbone has soaked in since childhood. (Martha Redbone Roots Project: 8 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Weisiger Theatre of the Norton Center for the Arts, 600 W. Walnut St. in Danville. nortoncenter.com.) 

Marty Stuart 

Few artists of national acclaim will get to serve such prestigious double duty on Central Kentucky soil as country traditionalist Marty Stuart will in late October. First, Stuart and his aptly named Fabulous Superlatives band will serve as the back-up band for Byrds co-founders Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman at the EKU Center for the Arts. The two are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the vanguard Byrds album “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” by performing the record in its entirety. 

A mere four days later, Stuart and the Superlatives land in Lexington. They will serve, along with young Americana maverick Brent Cobb, as show openers for Kentucky megastar Chris Stapleton at Rupp Arena in what promises to be, from top to bottom, the strongest country bill to land at the venue in ages. (Sweetheart of the Rodeo 50th Anniversary: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at the EKU Center for the Arts, 1 Hall Dr. in Richmond. ekucenter.com. Chris Stapleton, Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives and Brent Cobb: 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Rupp Arena. rupparena.com.)

Christian McBride 

Making his first Lexington appearance since a debut concert for the Spotlight Jazz series two decades ago, Christian McBride has become one of the most visible and versed jazz artists of his generation. Part of a pack of young jazz titans that emerged in the 1990s, McBride has become a talent that can truly do it all — from leading trios and small combos to fronting his own big band. Similarly, he is as at home playing straight-ahead bop as he is funky fusion. 

A six-time Grammy winner, McBride will be the star attraction in the second season of the Origin Jazz Series, which will present monthly concerts through next spring. His Lexington return comes on the heels of two prestigious projects. It falls a week after an Apollo Theater concert honoring the 50th anniversary of James Brown’s “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud,” for which the bassist will serve as musical director, and two days after the release of “Christian McBride’s New Jawn,” the debut album from the band he will be performing with at the Lyric. (Christian McBride’s New Jawn: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, 300 E. Third St. lexingtonlyric.tix.com.) 

Bob Dylan 

Depending on your perspective — and, in all likelihood, your age — a Bob Dylan concert is either a communion with a legend or a Mayday descent into the rock ‘n’ roll abyss. A Nobel Prize, Oscar and multiple Grammy winner, Dylan was the most celebrated folk and rock poet of the 1960s. During the ensuing decades, he has almost purposely stymied critics and fans alike with radical stylistic shifts. Perhaps that explains why his work of the last 25 years his run from the transcendent (1997’s “Time Out of Mind”) to the confounding (a series of three albums devoted to covers of vintage pop standards that culminated with 2017’s “Triplicate). Similarly, his concerts are invariably a voyage upon turbulent waters with drastically rearranged versions of some of his most beloved songs led by increasingly corrosive vocals. Despite (or because) of that, a Dylan performance thrives on a fascinating sense of uncertain immediacy. (Bob Dylan and his Band: 8 p.m. Nov. 11 at the EKU Center for the Arts, 1 Hall Dr. in Richmond. ekucenter.com.)