Antone’s
HAAM Corporate Battle of the Bands
6:00
Rock, Electro, Blues, Pop
It’s been said that if you walk down any Austin street, you’ll pass by a dozen guitarists. Apparently, you can’t walk in an Austin office building without doing the same, albeit a less professional-quality musician...or is it? An assembly of bands comprised of lawyers, tech geeks, pencil-pushers, secretaries and more will compete in the Battle of the Corporate Bands. Proceeds will go the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, which helps give the full-time musicians the health and dental care the contestants enjoy from their day jobs. Winners will be announced for best original band, cover band, fan favorite, and grand prize winner. A few special guests are said to be in store for the evening. The event will be a warmup for the October 7 HAAM Benefit Day.

Artz Rib House
Shelley King & Susan Gibson
7:30 / Free
Folk Rock, Acoustic Roots
Susan Gibson, still well-known for her “Wide Open Spaces,” propelled by the Dixie Chicks into one of the all-time, best-selling country songs, is wowing critics with her just-released New Dog, Old Tricks. Here she teams up with Shelley King, current Texas Musician of the Year. Now that’s a good combo plate.

Austin Moose Lodge #1735
Lonesome Dave Fisher
8:30
Country, Rockabilly
Does rockabilly the way the originators like Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash done it.

Austin’s Pizza
Natalie Zoe Jazz Trio
8:00
Jazz
Accomplished musician turned jazz vocalist, whose sung with the Taj Mahal, Warren Zevon, And David Allen Coe. Now that’s a palette.

B.D. Riley’s
Hosea Hargrove
10:00 / No Cover
Blues, R&B
Even in the juxtaposition of an Irish pub setting, Hargrove is real enough to feel the experience of the 1960s Chitlin’ Circuit with a busted air conditioner.

Cactus Café
Bill Morrissey
8:30 / $12
Singer-Songwriter
Longtime Rounder recording artist, Morrissey has frequently been dubbed a New England musical poet. His understated music sneaks bits of delta blues in the folk rock base; his lyrics are genius.

Carousel Lounge
Frantic Clam
9:00 / No Cover
Art Rock
 
Cedar Street
SPAZMATICS
8:00 / No Cover
’80s Rock, New Wave
The SPAZMATICS will stop at nothing to entertain, complete with ridiculous attire and choreography. Thing is, they succeed at what they set out to do: good times are had.  

Continental Club
James McMurtry, Jon Dee Graham
10:00 / $7
Roots Rock, Americana
Gravelly-voiced, grungy-guitared songwriting hero Jon Dee Graham returns after suffering injuries from a nasty car accident. The energy should be beyond intense. Americana laureate James McMurtry completes the roots rock double bill, mixing acerbic social commentary, quaint storytelling, and gritty Crzy Horse rock.

Cuba Libre
Cadaques
8:00 / Free
Latin, Jazz, World
If Al Dimeola grew up in Latin America, that’s what Cadaques sounds like. Smoldering Nuevo Flamenco, that’s another way to put it.  

Eddie V’s
Kat Edmonson
8:00 / No Cover
Jazz
Singular jazz singer Kat Edmonson recently crossed to pop success with single “Be the Change.” More of her jazz roots will show at the upscale restaurant’s lounge.

Elephant Room (happy hour)
Jazz Pharaohs
6:30 / No Cover
Jazz
Jazz Pharaohs weekly happy hour is easily the best regular jazz gig in town. Toe tappin’ jazz from the pre-bop era.

Elephant Room
Ephraim Owens Quartet
9:30 / No Cover
Jazz
Trumpet man and all-around jazz cat extraordinaire, Ephraim Owens is among top chops in town.

Emo’s
GZA performing Liquid Swords
9:00 / $17
Hip-Hop, Rap
Wu-Tang Clan founding member RZA (aka Genius) delivered his first solo album, Liquid Swords, in 1995 at the height if the Wu-Tang reign on hip-hop supremacy. The album continually appears in “best of” lists, is considered the best of Wu-Tang solo projects, and highly influential in the development of East Coast rap. RZA is performing the album in its entirety, for the first time in Austin. With any luck, this will be a warm-up stop for GZA, who is dropping a brand new disc, Pro Tools (Babygrande Records), two weeks before the Austin Liquid Swords gig. Equally inventive, thought-provoking, and full of wordplay, Pro Tools should warrant a follow-up tour.

Flipnotics Coffeespace
Jenny & the Whalers
8:00
Folk Rock, Roots
Jennifer Leonhardt leads the Whalers with a Joni Mitchell songbird quality tempered by Carole King’s songwriting style and a delivery touching on everyone from Crissy Hynde to Edie Brickell.

Ginny’s Little Longhorn
Roger Wallace
9:00
Country
Wallace coaxes dancers out of their seats with a resonating country voice.

Headhunters
The Anchor, Stranded, Capitalist Kids, nanoSmash
9:30
Space Rock, Experimental
NanoSmash sound like a robot with several circuits fried.

Hole in the Wall
Chris Brecht, Leatherbag, Cayce Rose & The Mind Games
10:00 / No Cover
Alt-Country, Indie
Brecht’s folk rock is a bit too much rock to keep the folk moniker. Leatherbag’s indie rock at points conjures Velvet Underground to the T; poppier side of What Made Milwaukee Famous at others. Cayce Rose is duo with Rose and beau Mario Matteoli.

Lamberts (early)
The Moonhangers
7:00
Roots Rock
A CCR bayou feel lies not too far beneath the oft-twangy surface of the Moonhangers.

Lamberts
DJ Mel
10:30
Turntables, House
Everything’s fair game with DJ Mel. Expect the unexpected with mixes that make you go hmmmm.

Lucky Lounge
Lucky Jam Sessions w/ Tyler & Lance
10:00 / No Cover

Mohawk
The Donkeys, Golden Bear, The Visitors
Indie Rock
Golden Bear is credited with a lot of influence, but let’s cut to the chase and say they rock.

Momo’s
Dan Dyer, Patchwork, Kacy Crowley, Nathan Hubble
7:00 / $5-$7
Soul, Rock, Indie
Dan Dyer’s (9:30, $7) piano-led, soulful musicscape draws on Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and modern jam poppines to reach incredible heights. Folksy songwriter Kacy Crowley (7:00, $5) continues with her fresh, adventurous pop since refusing to cave into Atlantic Records and going independent several years ago.

Parmer Lane Tavern
Pete Benz
9:00
Country
Straight-up, George Strait-style country.

Red Fez
Atash
10:00 / No Cover
World, Afro-beat, Persian
The eight members come from almost as many countries and the music touches many, many more. Get yourself a hookah at the corner booth and let your imagination go with the music.

Roadhouse Rags
Mike Runnels, Dixie Beal & The Group W Bench
8:00
Country, Folk Rock
Runnels’ twang has drawn comparison to Faron Young, and his distinct voice lends itself to Jimmie Dale Gilmore nods. It’s hard to imagine he fronted punk bands for so long before doing country so well. Taking their name from Arlo Guthrie’s designated area for deviant misfits should be a clue Dixie Beal’s folksy Americana outfit is gonna stray from the formula a bit.

Ruta Maya
Cienfuegos
9:00 / $5
Latin, Cuban
The perfectly exquisite Cuban sounds start at 9. But come earlier (7:30) and a salsa lesson is included with the cover. Good thing; you’ll want to dance all night long.

Saxon Pub (happy hour)
Bo Porter
6:00 / No Cover
Country, Twangabilly
Revved up versions of classic classic-country.

Saxon Pub
Monte Montgomery, Meagan Tubb, Chris Gates
8:00 / $5-$10
Rock, Blues Rock, Roots
Monte Montgomery’s (10:00; $10) fretwork is typically described as mind blowing, or crazy difficult. He combines deft finger picking with advanced chording that gets guitar nuts goin’ nuts. Guitarist, singer and songwriter Meagan Tubb (midnight; $5) closes with electrifying blues-based rock.

Scholz Garden
Bruce Robison
7:30 / No Cover
Americana, Folk, Singer Songwriter
With a new album slated for September, folk rock favorite Bruce Robison is poised to show a New World. Robison typically plays for $15, so this limited time weekly gem is quite the catch.

Speakeasy
The Brew
9:00 / No Cover
Latin, Flamenco, Jazz
A quick salsa lesson primer and away we go. The Brew comprise impeccable talented musicianship with an energetic flair.

Stubb’s (outside)
The Toadies, Lions, Her Holy Spain
8:00 / $27
Rock, Punk
Fort Worth post-grunge rockers The Toadies achieved as much acclaim in legend as when during their constant touring of the early ‘90s. Their first album in seven years, No Deliverance, kicks out muddy, screaming guitar rock like they never went away. First of three nights, but this is the only night with Austin’s chest-jarring, blues-metal rockers, Lions.

Trophy’s
The Little Morts, Autons, Ramifications
8:00 / $5
Country, Rock, Heavy Metal
Little Morts mix fine, twanging’ musicianship with off-the-wall lyrics and a blatant love for booze and good times. They better; following metalheads Autons with a banjo isn’t necessarily the safest gig.

Z’Tejas
Stephen Doster, Will Sexton, and Bill Carter
6:30 / Free
Roots Rock, Singer-Songwriter
In the bar side of the popular restaurant, the weekly gig showcases brilliant songwriting and musicianship. Doster and Sexton have played together for years, and it shows. Even the off-the-cuff nuances are seamless.