THURSDAY, OCT. 16

Girl Talk

Party time: Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) mashes together Roy Orbison, Ludacris, Radiohead, Kanye West, Heart, T.I., Siouxsie and the Banshees, George Harrison and a laundry list of other musical samplings into his latest legally questionable party album, “Feed the Animals.” His shows are notoriously sweat-drenched, hedonistic rave-ups, so you might want to bring a change of clothes.

• 8 p.m.$15. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Little Five Points. 404-521-1786, www.variety-playhouse.com.

Los Lonely Boys

Go early: These Tex-Mex rockers and friends of Willie Nelson scored a big hit — and a Grammy — with “Heaven” back in 2004. Don’t be late for this one. Atlanta’s Zac Brown Band is opening the show, and these guys are mesmerizing. Brown’s players are fantastic, but the man at center stage has charisma to spare and a current Top 20 country hit with “Chicken Fried.”

• 8 p.m.$19-$25. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-659-9022, 404-249-6400, www.livenation.com.

FRIDAY, OCT. 17

Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet

Bluegrass to Beijing: It’s a measure of singing banjo player Washburn’s talent that her quartet consists of high-caliber players Ben Sollee on cello and fiddler Casey Driessen along with seven-time Grammy winner Bela Fleck on banjo. The fall edition of the now semi-annual No Depression magazine calls it a “bluegrass jazz gospel Chinese-American string quartet.” An odd hodgepodge, certainly, but Washburn — an Illinois-born Mandarin Chinese scholar — and her band make it sound natural and effortless on their recent debut album.

• 8 p.m. $32-$42. Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive N.W., Georgia Tech, Atlanta. 404-894-9600, www.ferstcenter.org.

The Magnetic Fields

Pop attraction: This Stephin Merritt-led chamber pop outfit got a big boost in recognition from the acclaimed 1999 triple-disc set “69 Love Songs,” a modern indie-pop classic. “Distortion,” the band’s 2008 album, adds a hefty dose of noise and guitar to the Magnetic Fields mix, creating a kind of homage to pop-meets-pandemonium predecessors Jesus and Mary Chain.

• 8 p.m. $26-$30. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Midtown. 404-733-5000, www.atlantasymphony.org.

Billy Currington

Round 3 begins: Currington was born in Savannah and raised in nearby Rincon. After two Top 10 country singles and a Top 20 debut album, he released his second album, “Doin’ Somethin’ Right, ” in October 2005. It contained two No. 1 singles, “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” and “Good Directions,” the latter written by fellow Georgian Luke Bryan. Currington’s third album, “Little Bit of Everything,” was released this week.

• 9 p.m. $12-$72. Wild Bill’s, 2075 Market St., Duluth. 678-473-1000, www.wildbillsatlanta.com.

SATURDAY, OCT. 18

Josh Turner, Lady Antebellum

Ga. meets S.C.: This South Carolinian’s canyon-deep voice is a stunner, and he began his career in 2003 with “Long Black Train,” a godly tune good enough to connect with even the most confirmed sinner. Last year he climbed to No. 2 on the country charts with the joyous, foot-stomping “Firecracker.” It’s rare for a band to get nominated for an award before releasing its debut album, but that’s what happened to Lady Antebellum. The trio was among the nominees for the Academy of Country Music’s top new duo or vocal group, and Augustans Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood and their bandmate Hillary Scott went home with the award.

• 8 p.m. $36.75. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 770-916-2800, 404-249-6400, www.cobbenergycentre.com.

TUESDAY, OCT. 21

Hawthorne Heights, Tickle Me Pink

Resilient rockers: Both of these bands have bounced back from major blows. Ohio pop-punk combo Hawthorne Heights’ 26-year-old guitarist, Casey Calvert, died in his sleep in November 2007, just days before a scheduled show at the Roxy in Buckhead. Bassist-guitarist-songwriter Johnny Schou of Colorado’s Tickle Me Pink was found dead in July, just hours before a Denver in-store appearance to coincide with the release of their Wind-Up Records debut “Madeline.” Former quintets, both bands carry on as four-piece units. With Emery, the Color Fred.

• 6:30 p.m. $18 advance. The Masquerade, 695 North Ave. N.E., Midtown. 404-577-8178, www.masq.com.