HIT PICK

Celeste Krenz, Saturday, February 10, at the Bluebird Theater, with the Tyler Brothers, is slowly but surely gaining acceptance from a notoriously fickle segment of her audience: radio programmers. Slow Burning Flame, Krenz's latest CD, has found favor at stations experimenting with Americana, a format that's proven to be a godsend for artists who love country music but refuse to make the compromises that the Shania Twains of the world have made de rigueur for commercial success. A woman with a severe allergy to stereotype, Krenz doesn't know how far she can go with her sonic approach, but given her silky voice, noteworthy compositional skills and the assistance of Tyler Brothers comrade Bob Tyler (whose new recording, Nothing to Be Afraid Of, should be available at this performance), betting against her could wind up being a big mistake.