The Ani DiFranco appearing at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday might not be the same Ani DiFranco who became something of a legend over the past two decades.

The old Ani averaged a record a year from 1989 through 2006, toured incessantly, and was a punkish-folk, feminist, do-it-yourself, and bisexual icon.

The new Ani has a nearly-18-month-old child and a "baby daddy" (her words, referring to producer Mike Napolitano), and will be releasing her first studio album in two whole years in September: Red Letter Year.

Natalia Zukerman might as well have been born on the road. She is the child of two classical musicians who traveled a lot. (Her father is violinist, violist, and conductor Pinchas Zukerman.) She said last week that she got on a plane for the first time when she was six weeks old, and "I've learned to pack and unpack since I was a little kid.

"Having a regular, stay-at-home home life, that's the challenge for me and my family," she continued. "I love that it's something that is definitely in my blood. My grandfather was a klezmer musician and a gypsy of sorts. Traveling troubadour is part of my DNA."

She's carrying on the tradition.

We here at Daytrotter have been overjoyed with the response to the last two Daytrotter Presents shows at Huckleberry's -- Amos Lee/Shelley Short and Justin Townes Earle/David Vandervelde. We have to thank everyone for coming out, and if you were one of those people, bring two others with you for the next one.

We promise to continue bringing in high quality acts -- putting together diverse bills that you're only going to be able to see here. The next two shows that we have upcoming promise to be just as eclectic.

Three years ago, the Black Banjo Gathering was held in North Carolina to celebrate "the African American heritage of the banjo, which has not only a historic past, but also a resurgent present, and a great future," according to the event's Web site (http://blackbanjo.com).

Part of that future is the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African American string trio whose members first met at the gathering. The young group - two members are in their mid-20s, and one is 31 - should help keep alive a rich tradition of the Piedmont string band.