Family style.(Preview)

Byline: GREG HAYMES Staff Writer

Music is often a legacy passed down from generation to generation.

Arlo Guthrie and his son Abe kick off the summer concert season at the Guthrie Center (4 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington, Mass.) at 8 p.m. Sunday. Of course, Arlo's dad was the great folksinger Woody Guthrie.

Blues guitarist Murali Coryell heads into the Van Dyck (237 Union St., Schenectady) at 8 p.m. Saturday. His father is jazz guitar great Larry Coryell, while his brother is rocker Julian Coryell.

And on Friday night, Martha Wainwright steps into the spotlight at Valentine's. Her dad is Loudon Wainwright III. Her mom is folksinger-songwriter Kate McGarrigle. And her brother is pop star Rufus Wainwright.

With her long-awaited self-titled debut album earning rave reviews, the 29-year-old Martha Wainwright isn't simply riding on her family's coattails. In fact, she considered avoiding the music business altogether for a career in acting. (She appears as a nightclub singer in "The Aviator," which is showing at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady through Monday.)

"I like the stage a lot," Wainwright admits, "and acting made me feel special because the rest of …