It’s closing in on a year since the legendary Mark Freeland passed away, and the energy with which his fellow artists and musicians recall his influence has not diminished a bit. Next weekend a host of artists and venues take part in a prolonged tribute, which centers around a 10-band bill at Nietzsche’s. These include the Fems, Peanut Brittle Satellite, Handsome Jack, the Found, Ed Koban, Lonesome Roads (with Bob Wieder), David Kane, Mike Wagner, and the Cowboys of Scotland. Down the street from Nietzsche’s, both the College Street Gallery and Sp@ce 224 display original Freeland artwork, along with work by local photographers. (Lagniappes has had a show of Freeland’s art hanging all month, so pop in there as well.) The Antique Man on Allen has Freeland’s books, CDs, and other merchandise for sale, and the DJ at the Old Pink will have Freeland’s music cued up. A couple weeks down the road, on May 15, Gallery 164 will host an evening of video projections and recordings, featuring Martin McGee’s project to record people’s stories about Freeland. David Kane will provide music.

Is it hoedown? Is it a tent revival? Is it the soundtrack of a clandestine Mississippi Delta cookout? What the Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band does is actually a little of all those things—all done well—but the whole “Big Damn Band” name is only partly true. They do make the kind of noise that suggests a lot more than what they are, which is actually a stripped down trio. The family affair—fronted by “Reverend” Josh Peyton on guitar and dobro, along with his wife “Washboard” Breezy Peyton on washboard, and his brother Jayme Peyton on three piece drum kit—comprise the Indiana-based band that has issued four excellent albums of countrified blues, primitive gospel, and backwoods rambling. However their greatest feat is probably their live show. Peyton and his “Big Damn” cohorts have been steadily converting audiences into loyal believers within minutes of hitting the stage and breaking out their true-to-the-bone brand of music. The passion in their rollicking sets highlights songs reveling in the duality of good times and bad times and never leaves a crowd disappointed. On their recent tour, they just about stole the show from headliners Flogging Molly on a nightly basis, which is a Big Damn task! Rev. Peyton’s BDB headlines their own show at this time, with special guest support in the form of accordion and acoustic-guitar-playing one-man-band Jason Webley.

This ironically hip, quintessentially New York band may be even bigger in popularity in the UK than here, following in the footsteps of Euro-wannabes like the Killers, the Strokes et al. and channeling Robert Smith and Morrissey shamelessly. Yet whatever poseurdom is in effect, it is so effortless, so chic, so fashionable, and so cool, it’s difficult not to get swept along by the wave of Bravery fanaticism. After their smash hit “An Honest Mistake” hit the airwaves, even before the first EP was released (2004’s Unconditional), the Bravery found themselves opening for both the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Razorlight on their European tours and being hailed as “New York’s Official Next Big Thing” by the Village Voice. Lead singer Sam Endicott landed on the cover of L’Uomo Vogue, and the band was soon signed to Island Def Jam in the US. 2005’s self-titled debut, featuring cover art by C. Finley, spread their international reputation and spawned a highly publicized, only slightly tongue-in-cheek feud with label-mates and rival post new-wave band the Killers. Their success has continued with the release of The Sun and the Moon (2007), an album so immaculately produced and delivered it has annoyed some critics. I guess that’s a problem, when a band is too good.

A large piece of Broken Social Scene’s musical shards, which have been flinging in all directions in the past couple years, Canadian songstress Leslie Feist seems by now to have surpassed the supergroup from whence she came. Her third solo album, The Reminder, was released last year to international acclaim, accompanied by a worldwide tour to promote the album. She thankfully took time out to appear at last summer’s “Rockin’ at the Knox,” nestled in between Paolo Nutini and Elvis Costello. She performed in the pouring rain, a fitting if slightly uncomfortable backdrop for her melancholy music. Haunting and ephemeral yet deliciously poppy (the track “Mushaboom” from 2004’s Let It Die may be the cutest song ever written), Feist’s range is wide enough to avoid repetition but still fits firmly into the timeless genre attributed to erstwhile folk heroines like Joni Mitchell and Carole King. The Reminder’s biggest hit, “1234,” was featured in that catchy iPod Nano commercial, bringing Feist even more attention from the masses. She’s won too many Juno awards to mention and was nominated for four Grammys this year. Feist appears with special guest Hayden, a.k.a Paul Hayden Desser, a fellow Canadian who is reportedly one of her musical inspirations.