The Bad Plus Sept. 18 | Nighttown A jazz trio that defies categorization and regularly busts out strange, reinvented versions of rock classics Pete Best & Band Oct. 3 | The Winchester Original Beatles drummer Pete Best performs songs he played with the Fab Four. Glen Phillips Oct. 7 | Beachland Ballroom The vocalist from ’90s alternative act Toad the Wet Sprocket Peter, Paul & Mary Nov. 2 | Palace Theatre The iconic ’60s folk act performs beloved songs such as “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Only the band and Billy Joel know for sure.

That’s the party line on the meaning of Maroon 5’s enigmatic moniker (so says the band’s official bio). Equally mysterious has been what’s taken the Los Angeles band so long to churn out their long-awaited sophomore album.

Vocalist Adam Levine and crew seem to know fans have been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the follow-up to 2002’s multiplatinum “Songs About Jane,” which earned the band a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2005. Maroon 5’s sly wink to fan patience, “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” debuted in May and the band is hitting the road this fall to make up for lost time. The tour stops at Quicken Loans Arena next month, with Swedish garage rockers The Hives as openers.