THURSDAY 10/20
Longtime local music supporter and bartender Derek Kass passed away last week. A host of local musicians, including Go Fast, Mandy McBryde and Adrian Bozeman, R.I.O.T.S. and The Muddlestuds, gather to perform at an all-ages show at Revolution to raise money to benefit the family he left behind, 8 p.m. Push it real good to Philander Smith College’s M.L. Harris Auditorium to hear Cheryl “Salt” James offer a lecture as part of the college’s “Bless the Mic” series, 7 p.m., free. Local piano-pop favorite John Willis plays the “Music in the Garden” series at Dunbar Community Garden, 5:30 p.m., $3-$5. At Browning’s, The New Tulsa Sound is a modern twist on the Tulsa Shuffle, made famous by J.J. Cale; it features a rotating cast of Tulsa and Arkansas musicians that this week includes Greg Spradlin, Jason Weinheimer, Joshua Spillyards and Jesse Aycock, 10 p.m., $5. At Cajun’s, one of Central Arkansas’s most enduring and popular party bands, Tragikly White, headlines, 9 p.m., $5.
FRIDAY 10/21
Guitar Shorty has played in bands with Ray Charles, Guitar Slim and Sam Cooke, and he once won “The Gong Show” while performing his theme song while balanced on his head; he returns to Stickyz in a mandatory show for blues geeks, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. Local promoter Langston Carr throws himself a birthday party at Revolution with Grammy nominee and Kanye collaborator Dwele doing the serenading; Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers, Epiphany and others are also on the bill, 9 p.m., $15. “Hills” guest star and pop-rock singer/songwriter Ryan Cabrera performs at Juanita’s with Jerard Finck opening, 10 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.
SATURDAY 11/22
North Little Rock metal act Rwake is internationally acclaimed — even more so after the release of its latest album, “Rest,” which the Times‘ Robert Bell called “a dense, sprawling masterpiece” — but we suspect the band is far from a household name even among fans of hard rock in Arkansas. High-profile all-ages gigs like the one the band plays on Saturday at Revolution should help; Black Pussy, Eagle Claw, Snakedriver, Holy Angell open, 8 p.m., $7. At White Water Tavern, Cameron Holifield, Michael Inscoe, J.T. Tarpley and Natalie Elliott DJ a dance party, 9 p.m., $3 (if you wear sunglasses or a wig), otherwise $5. Tennessee singer/songwriter Will Hoge returns to Stickyz with Elenowen opening, 9 p.m., $10.