>>> Friday, March 8

RED JACKET MINE

By the time "Amy," the lead-off track on Red Jacket Mine's latest album, reaches the totally over-the-top organ breakdown, I'm completely sold on whatever Red Jacket Mine is doing. That organ solo hearkens back to the ballsy pop-mindedness of old guards like Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. At a time when punk was reestablishing simplicity and authenticity in music, people like Costello and Jackson were doubling down on the old ways - hitting them harder and more precisely than what was expected. Red Jacket Mine continues that tradition. Instead of running from pop music, the band's way of standing out is to do it better and tighter than its peers. The rest of the band's album is filled with equally outstanding and effortless-sounding moments. Every brilliant addition of a honky-tonk piano or crisply hand-clapping refrain just reeks of professionalism. - Rev. AM

THE NEW FRONTIER LOUNGE, W/ THE VARIETY HOUR, TREES AND TIMBER, 9 P.M., $5, 301 E. 25TH ST., TACOMA, 253.572.4020

>>> Friday, March 8

KARL BLAU

At the opening for the art installation, "It's Alright To Cry," there will be performances from three Olympia mainstays who have nothing but killed it for a long time: Broken Water, LAKE and Karl Blau. I can't impress upon you enough just what a powerhouse lineup this is. In particular, it's a thrill to see Karl Blau on the bill. A perennial innovator for more than 15 years, Blau has remained unpredictable for his entire career, incorporating elements of just about every genre - world music, drone, folk, hip-hop and just out-and-out weirdness. You never know what you'll get with Blau, both on record and in a live setting. In the past couple years, he's done less and less live performances, so you shouldn't miss the opportunity to catch him on this outstanding bill. - Rev. Adam McKinney

NORTHERN, W/ LAKE, BROKEN WATER, 7 P.M., $5-$10, 414 ½ LEGION WAY, OLYMPIA

>>> Friday, March 8

BRENT AMAKER AND THE RODEO, THE DIRTY BIRDS

Comedic country/western punk musicians Brent Amaker and The Rodeo are galloping into Olympia this Friday to turn The Royal Lounge into a corral of fun-lovin' rockers with the help of local  bad boys, The Dirty Birds. Amaker and crew have just been signed to Fin Records and will be releasing their fourth full-length record, Year of the Dragon, June 4. "We've been wanting to get back to Olympia and I'm so happy we were able to do it with The Dirty Birds," says Amaker,  "Mr. Scott Swayze of the Dirty Birds toured Europe with us as a guest guitarist. I wouldn't miss a chance to tear it up with Mr. Swayze again. Not to mention, The Rodeo has a new album coming out, and a whole ton of new songs. I think it's time to give our new live show a test run. Why not do it in Olympia?" Why not, indeed. - Nikki McCoy

The Royal Lounge, Friday, March 8, 9 p.m., 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.705.0760.

>>> Sunday, March 10

BRUCE MOLSKY

Bruce Molsky plays a mean fiddle. In one YouTube video, he sawed the hair right off his bow! Speaking of shredding, he tears up a banjo and guitar with the same vigor. And when he throws his voice in the mix, the combination is a complete expression of old-time music. Solo, or with other musicians, his music is simple, effective and at times haunting. A blurb on his record label website, Compass Records - where Molsky has six albums under his belt - reads, "Bruce Molsky has been exploring traditional music from an astonishingly broad range of cultures over the past two decades - synthesizing them and refracting them through his own evolving sensibilities to the point where the sources of his inspiration transform themselves into a sound that is uniquely his." If It Ain't Here When I Get Back, his latest album, dropped Tuesday. Enjoy this world-touring master of old-time Appalachian Sunday, March 10 at Traditions Cafe in Olympia. - NM

TRADITIONS CAFE, SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 7 P.M., $12-$18, 300 FIFTH AVE. SW, OLYMPIA, 360.705.2819