Wow - I'm actually glad that I'm down in Florida this week, so I don't have to decide which shows I'm going to see in town. As if there isn't enough going on already this weekend, Martha Wainwright is going to be at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport on Friday night, July 11. To those not hip to this future starlet, she is the sister of Rufus Wainwright (one of my favorite performers), which means she's the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, both amazing performers in their own right.

Martha is a singer/songwriter, more known for her live performances than her recordings, and with a voice that elicits chills. Her new album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, is getting great reviews, and the Firehouse's intimate setting is the perfect venue for her show. I've never seen her solo, but I've had the chance to see her with bro Rufus, and their live version of his beautiful song "One Man Guy" was breathtaking.

If you're within 20 miles of Newburyport on Friday night, drop in and see Martha Wainwright live. It'll be a beautiful thing. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $25.

Well, the ladies may be owning the stage at Boarding House Park this weekend, but bookending the Lowell Summer Music Series will be performances from two music legends up at Hampton Beach Casino. On Thursday, July 10, the Godfather of Funk himself, George Clinton, will be tearing it up with Parliament Funkadelic in the Casino Ballroom. The two times I've seen this outfit were non-stop parties, with one ten-minute funk epic following another and barely a second to breathe in between. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $27.

On Sunday, July 13, legendary Beach Boy Brian Wilson will be back in town, hopefully bringing some of his infamous summer sounds with him. This show is being billed as "an intimate evening with," which, given Wilson's personal history, sounds a little threatening, but let's just hope it means a night of warm, smile-inducing tuneage. That show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $80 (Gold), $50 (Reserved), and $35 (General Admission).

Summer music is in full swing, as evidenced by the slew of concert series that have been popping up lately. One of the latest is Manchester, New Hampshire's "Thursday Night Live" Summer Concert Series, which will be held every Thursday night (duh!) in July at 7 p.m. at Veterans Park downtown. Even better, these shows are all FREE!

The Palace Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Robert C. Babb, kick things off this Thursday, July 10, while bluegrass/blues/country quartet Ollabelle bring their unique combination of traditional sounds to the stage on July 17. I saw these guys at the Newport Folk Festival several years back, and I was thoroughly impressed, mainly with their haunting harmonies.

The fun continues on July 24 with Martha’s Vineyard jam band Entrain, and rounding things out will be Latin rock renegades deSol. I’ve seen these guys several times, and they always bring a rump-shaking party.

If the Lowell Summer Music Series just isn’t giving you enough, then hit Manchester on Thursday nights this month to fill in the gaps. Any of these bands are worth the trip up.

Speaking of Manch Vegas, the Great White North's original prog rock power trio, Rush, will be at the Verizon Wireless Arena this Friday night, July 11, bringing a slew of classic rock hits to a venue sure to be packed with pony-tailed dudes and their music-nerd friends (or reluctant significant others). I saw Geddy and co. - for the first time, I'm ashamed to say - at the Garden in Boston five years ago, and all I can say is I would probably be up in Manchester this weekend if I wasn't out of town for business.

So if the Indigo Girls in Lowell ain't your cup of tea (and if you're interested in Rush, they most certainly aren't), then head up to Manchester and relive the days of your youth, when you had more than enough time to study every awe-inspiring lyric and sci-fi themed album cover you could get your hands on.

Ah, the wonderful Fifth of July. That day after the Fourth, when you’re all fireworked up and ready to see a great live show…or at least buy some tickets to one later in the year. It turns out those of us in the Merrimack Valley will have the chance to do both this Saturday.

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Great outdoor venues are synonymous with summer music, but even more satisfying than spreading out on a blanket to hear your favorite band - to some people, at least - is boarding a cruise ship to do it. This Saturday night, June 28, the Newburyport Blues Cruise will be setting sail at 7 p.m. with Boston's First Lady of the Blues, Shirley Lewis, along with her backup band The Experience. The ship will cruise up the Merrimack River and give patrons the chance to see the city's historic waterfront and skyline, as well as the surrounding islands.

The organizers claim that their cruises "are extremely smooth, stable and gentle with no wave action that sea-going charter boats encounter." They provide chips, salsa and a cash bar. The rain date is Sunday, July 13. For more deets and to order tickets, check out the Newburyport Blues Cruise web site at http://newburyportbluescruise.com.

Before you’ve convinced yourself that MySpace has made finding talented new artists impossible, check out who’s coming to our neighborhood this weekend. Melodic pop rocker Brendan James was born and raised in Derry, New Hampshire, but relocated to Manhattan a few years ago and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.

His debut album, The Day is Brave, was just released this month. It was produced by Mikal Blue, who recently hit platinum status with another debut album he produced - Colbie Caillat’s Coco. James is a pianist by nature, and his powerful vocal style fits perfectly with his songs about the pain of lost love, the horror of war, and growing up in New Hampshire. James will be at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry on Thursday, June 19, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.

Meanwhile, out on the coast, Newburyport’s Firehouse Center for the Arts will host ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro for two shows this weekend. Famous for his YouTube video featuring a cover of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (see below), Shimabukuro has been wowing audiences on the islands for the last ten years. But after he plugged in and began using effects pedals to push the limits of his instrument, Jake found himself more in the limelight, even earning the nickname “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.” His lightning-fast fingers are on display once again on his latest album, My Life.

Jake Shimabukuro will be at the Firehouse on Sunday, June 22, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are $22 for members and $25 for non-members.

Don White is the clown prince of folk. Whether in song or in banter between songs, he tells humorous stories of American life that involve his wife, his kids, his dog, or any combination thereof. A perfect sense of timing is crucial in the limited space he inhabits, and White always hits the mark, making him all the more appealing in a hushed auditorium environment. His latest venture is Memoirs of a C Student, a 264-page collection of 12 short stories that follow a similar thread as his memorable acoustic folk songs.

This Saturday, June 14, White is playing a special Father’s Day show at the Union Hall Coffeehouse in Carlisle. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $18. I highly recommend seeing him in concert if you enjoy creative and humorous singer/songwriters.

Vermont-based blues/rock/jam sensations Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have been rocking New Englanders for several years now, but something tells me that the intimate barroom shows are over. Since the release of last year’s album This is Somewhere, Grace and the boys have seen their songs pop up on television shows like Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill, plus they made the evening and morning talk show circuit last fall and toured with Gov't Mule.

The lid is sure to blow wide open this summer as they make the festival circuit, also opening for the Dave Matthews Band on a few dates and the Black Crowes on several others. The attention and success are warranted, as Potter is an immensely talented musician. Her pounding on the Hammond B-3 and licks on her flying V-neck guitar are always a joy to watch. She’s cute, too, which never hurts.

Your last chance for a while to see the band headline in New England will be this weekend. They’re playing the Palace Theater in Manchester on Friday, June 6, and way up at the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon on Saturday, June 7. See them while you can still brag about knowing them before 50 million other people do.

When I was in seventh grade, I wrote a ten-line poem for Tracy, a girl I was desperately in love with. At around the same age, Gordon Goodwin wrote his first big band chart. Now, it could be argued that my accomplishment was more important in the grand scheme of things, but by high school, Tracy had dumped me. Gordo went on to become a Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated composer. I’ll let you be the judge.

These days, Goodwin is leading the Big Phat Band, an 18-piece L.A.-based jazz ensemble that honors the big band tradition with a creative and contemporary twist. They have two Grammy-nominated albums, and their latest is called The Phat Pack (get it?). This Saturday night, May 31, they’ll phatten up Manchester locals with a healthy dose of big band shenanigans at the Palace Theater.

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The Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H., was built in 1878, and it’s one of the oldest operating theaters in the United States. Season after season, they keep bringing great performances to the Seacoast (and those of us lucky enough to live within driving distance of it). Last week, the Music Hall announced their 2008-2009 season, and it’s another doozie.

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Oh, how I remember the sweet strums of that guitar opening. It was celestial melancholy, and it would burrow into my mind for days. “Under the Milky Way” by The Church is, in my humble opinion, one of the most timeless songs of the 1980s. It was the song that broke the band into the mainstream after eight years of kicking around in their native Australia.

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Ah, the glorious, majestic coffee house. Perhaps it's the soft sound of milk frothing in the background, or that wonderful aroma enhancing the heady music emanating from the front of the room...whatever it is, it's hard to deny that live music in a coffee house just feels right (and I don't even drink coffee!).

Fortunately, we are blessed with three great coffee shops in Lowell, but unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of live music at them...at least not at the moment. But if you're willing to hop in the car for a drive this weekend, there are some good shows at some of our area coffee houses.

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Ten-piece L.A. band Ozomatli have been bringing their unique stew of hip-hop, salsa, funk, and reggae sounds to awestruck audiences for more than ten years. I was lucky enough to catch them on their first major US tour in 1998, and I've been a diehard fan ever since. When I tell you that their concerts are a hip-shaking, fist-pumping, mind-altering experience, it's not an exaggeration. Blasting horns, percussion breaks, ukulele solos, dancing MCs, and a drum circle only scratch the surface of the things you'll get at this non-stop party.

More than just a party, though, Ozomatli have a message in their mayhem. They inject a healthy amount of political themes in their addictive hooks and rump-shaking beats. I must admit that it was rather shocking to see them on Dancing with the Stars recently, but I suppose in this age of declining record sales and disappearing record labels, you have to do what you can to get your name out there.

It's nice to see the band adding an extra show outside of Boston this tour, so by all means, get up to the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H., if you can this Sunday, May 11. It all starts at 8 p.m., with tickets going for $30 and $26. By the way, there's also the regular live date at the Paradise in Boston (more room there for dancing, actually) on Saturday, May 10, at 8 p.m.

Okay, let's get this out of the way. I was secretly...well, until now...addicted to the show Rock of Love. Not that I thought there was anything even remotely real or sincere about it (were there any women on there who weren't actresses or strippers?), but there was something fascinating about watching dolled-up, attention-hungry chicks scrap with each other in an effort to win their chance in the limelight...I mean, their chance at love with Bret Michaels.

Truth be told, Michaels came across on the show as a surprisingly low-key, down-to-earth guy. I actually tried to get an interview with him for the Sun, but unfortunately, I never heard back from his management. Michaels will be at the Hampton Beach Casino this Friday night, although it's actually sold out if you're interested in hearing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - and, er, any other minor hits Poison may have had. I can't seem to remember any.

The show is this Friday night, May 2, at 8 p.m., with opening act Jaded. Tix are $30.00, if you can find them.