All the way from London, Ontario, comes one of the hottest husband-wife country singing duos since Bonnie and Buck Owens or Tammy Wynette and George Jones (or Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard, or…). You see, it’s tough to make these comparisons without implicitly dooming the couple to a future of heartbreak and/or divorce, so let’s just live in the moment and enjoy the heartfelt harmonies of Tom and Tara Dunphy, the jubilant motor that drives this great Canadian quintet. A fabulous fiddler, Tara had been performing traditional Irish music since age three, but when she first saw handsome Tom in a London barroom singing a heartbroken song of palpable loneliness, there was nothing the red-haired Irish lass could do but fall in love with him, get married and form the Rizdales. In 2002, they released their debut disc Another Payday Night (Link Horn Records) and followed it up with 2004’s critically acclaimed Bar & Lounge. While it’s clear they know their classic country inside and out, it’s too easy to hide them under some geeky, “no depression” buzzword like alt-country, because their songs are so full of energy and life that it’s hard to imagine anybody with a pulse not responding with a grin as Tara sails through these cheatin’ lyrics: “I could fall in love with someone new/but I won’t let go of you/I’ll just roam a while/and then come home and smile.” This is the real thing, folks, and when they unpack the new tunes from their current release Pay What You Can, you’ll agree that they’re the most lovable male-female country duo since Dolly and Porter, or Loretta and Conway, or Emmylou and Gram, or Faith and Tim. Oh…wait…Faith and Tim aren’t really a country duo, are they?

Kentucky boy Adrian Belew, the “Twang Bar King,” has built a reputation as one of progressive rock’s most influential guitarists—often by making his instrument sound like anything but what it is (a guitar). Improbably discovered by Frank Zappa while playing in a cover band in Nashville, Belew then toured with the legendary musician and was soon tapped by David Bowie to play on his classic records Stage (1979) and Lodger (1980). He also played on the Talking Heads’ Brian Eno-produced Remain in Light (1980), which is widely regarded as their best album. On the first day of the tour to support that release, Belew met Robert Fripp, who asked him to join the re-formed King Crimson. The following year he played on Talking Heads spinoff project the Tom Tom Club, co-writing their dance hit “Genius of Love.” In 1982 Belew released his first solo record, Lone Rhino/Twang Bar King, and since then he’s remained extremely active as a solo performer and sideman for everyone from Bowie to King Crimson to Primus to Tori Amos to the Bears (another pet project). Opening the show is New York City-based singer-songwriter Saul Zonana, whose record 42 Days was produced by Belew himself.

Hailing from Oakland, Rogue Wave began out of a degree of desperation. Leader Zach Rogue was frustrated with his job as a Web designer, as well as with the direction his former band was taking. After moving to New York, Rogue began writing more personal songs, with an off-kilter pop edge. He christened his new project Rogue Wave, and, catching the attention of Sub Pop Records, Rogue released Out of the Shadow, which for all intents and purposes was a solo album under a band name heading. Caught somewhere between Simon and Garfunkel and Yo La Tengo, Out of the Shadow was a mysterious record filled with themes of hope and despair—often within the context of the same song. After releasing the record, Rogue assembled Rogue Wave as a live band. Now a quartet, the band released last year’s Descended Like Vultures, a brilliant recording filled with weary songs about traveling the country. More filled-out than its predecessor, Descended Like Vultures is a beautiful time capsule filled with the longing and dread that often comes with love and the unfamiliar feelings of optimism that often accompany that emotion. Opening the show is the Love Parade and Ken Reaume.

You can’t debate that the pop-punk explosion rooted itself in the mid 1990s, and with the success of acts like Green Day and Offspring, its underground status didn’t last long. While those bands (along with a bevy of Warped Tour comers) seem to get all the credit, some of the best bands who helped define pop-punk’s sound and spirit should also get their due, and what better example of this than the Smoking Popes? Led by the Carterer brothers, the band perfected a sound highlighted by smooth vocal delivery (courtesy singer Josh) paired with guitar (Matt) and bass (Eli) turned way up for hearty, hook-y punk. It had been nearly eight years since the beloved Chicago quartet packed it in, and just when everyone—still clutching a copy of 1995’s Born to Quit—thought it was time to give up the ship, the Popes reemerged in 2005 for a reunion at Chicago’s Club Metro. That show resulted in a double CD/DVD, At Metro (Victory), and the Popes were back. The band makes a stop in Buffalo with support from feted Saddle Creek outfit Criteria (led by former Cursive guitarist Stephen Pederson), who is due for a full-length release following a pair of well received EPs last year, along with Above the City and Marionette.