Raised in Maine, Cleaves cut his teeth as a street player in Ireland during college, then relocated to Austin to fully realize his singer-songwriter cred. His bio? "Writes songs. Makes records. Travels around. Tries to be good."

Trust us - he's good.

Six String Concerts presents Cleaves and opener Gurf Morlix Friday, Sept. 25, at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $20/$23. Call (614) 470-FOLK.

You didn't really think Jason Isbell was going to go all soft when he left southern roots rockers Drive-By Truckers, did you?

Of course you didn't. Isbell and his new band, the 400 Unit, continue to embrace the gritty and grimy and bask in the glow of Southern-fried riff-rock.

Isbell and band play Rumba Caf Friday, Sept. 25. Tickets are $12. Call (614) 268-1841.

No-Cal psychedelic rock ain't what it used to be. And yet, the 21st century version benefits from modern-day sounds that would've made the genre's progenitors trip, man.

Point is, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound approximates all the cosmic nuances of, say, Jefferson Airplane, but seems filtered through a Dave Grohl-Wolfmother experience.

AHISB plays Caf Bourbon Street Friday, Sept. 25. Call (614) 268-9377.

Almost five years ago, The Academy Is frontman William Beckett told The Beat "We want everyone in the world to hear our music."

Help a brother out, will ya?

TAI, on tour in support of last year's Fast Times at Barrington High, joins Mayday Parade for a power-pop double-bill at the Newport Music Hall Saturday, Sept. 26.

Tickets are $15. Call 1-800-745-3000.

Dayton's Heartless Bastards may be from the opposite side of the state, but Erika Wennerstrom channels Chrissie Hynde without being derivative, carving out a classic-style rock n' roll niche all her own.

Touring in support of its latest, The Mountain, HB will play The Basement Saturday, Sept. 26. Tickets are $12/$14. Call 1-800-745-3000.

Naming his band Secondhand Serenade was meant to imply that audiences were hearing the songs John Vesely was serenading his wife with "second-hand."

The band's 2008 release, A Twist in My Story, deals with his divorce from the same woman.

You figure it out, while Vesely earnestly recounts his highs and lows in beautiful pop-rock form Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Newport Music Hall. Tickets are $17/$20. Call 1-800-745-3000.

We wrote about Michael Franti & Spearhead this past June when we thought they were headed this way with Counting Crows.

Stupid us - the Columbus date was like the only one that Franti was off the tour for a headlining show already booked. The cross-genre Franti, who also boasts an unabashed conscience, finally makes it our way Wednesday, Sept. 30, for a show at the Newport Music Hall.

Tickets are $25. Call 1-800-745-3000.

Few acts are as associated with a "sound" as Idaho's Built to Spill is with the "Northwest sound," a dense, wall-of-guitar monstrosity that teeters on the brink between good and evil.

Doug Martsch and mates are planning the release of their first full-length record of new material since 2006 - There Is No Enemy comes out early next month.

Meantime, their tour stops at the Newport Music Hall Thursday, Oct. 1. Tickets are $17/$20. Call 1-800-745-3000.

Modern-day gypsies Caravan of Thieves hide a rapier wit beneath a ragamuffin folkie exterior. The quartet recently released its debut, Bouquet, and is venturing forth from its New England home for shows across the Midwest.

Keep an eye out for a Romani-style vardo wagon headed down High Street, as the Caravan comes to Circus Thursday, Oct. 1. Tickets are $7. Call (614) 421-2998.

The So You Think You Can Dance Tour stops at Nationwide Arena Thursday, Oct. 1. Is it wrong that all we can think of when considering that show is that one judge's teeth?

The good news for the tour is more dancing, less banal commentary.

Tickets are $56/$48.50/$38.50. Call 1-800-745-3000.