Local music notes: The Cedar's version of a swap meet

It's the songwriter's equivalent of trading your clothes with somebody for a fun night on the town: The Cedar Cultural Center has brought back its Song Exchange series for a couple of promising pairings next week, starting with Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Haley Bonar on Thursday and continuing with Astronautalis and Mark Mallman next Friday.

Not only do the shows typically feature a little onstage interaction between the performers, they come with the caveat that each singer has to perform three of the other singer's songs.

"A bit nerve-racking," is how Romantica's Ben Kyle put it during the first Song Exchange gig last year, as Chastity Brown looked on while he sang her tunes.

The Cedar's booking assistant, Grace Evenson — who dreamed up the series while an intern — said the idea "came from recognizing the tight-knit music community we have here." Case in point: She thought of putting Mallman and Astronautalis together simply because it "would be a unique musical contrast and would make for a very fun, energetic show," she said. "It turns out they are friends, too."

Mallman confirmed as much: "Our conversations get pretty heady — mostly about books and the theatrical process of live music," he said.

Bonar has opened for Louris on a few occasions, and the two shared the stage during Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders show at the Cedar last year. The younger tunesmith turned to Twitter to solicit suggestions for which of Louris' tunes might work for her. Kyle Matteson (@solace) shrewdly pointed out they each have an original song called "Big Star." Sounds like some kind of cosmic connection.

Better known for their one-man bands, Twin Cities sonic innovators Martin Dosh and Jon Davis have teamed up as the two-man act, Dosh & Ghostband, a more dance-oriented but no less aurally vibrant project. They're headlining 7th Street Entry on Saturday to celebrate their debut release for the Anticon label, "The Def Kith EP," offering a wild mash of drum-and-bass, house and other techno sounds alongside hints of Jamaican dub and Afro-Latin grooves. They're working on a full-length, too. Mux Mool and Aby Wolf will join their release party (11 p.m. Sat., $8-$10). …

John Swardson hosts "Ice: A Songwriter Night" in the Entry on Friday with Martin Devaney, Jillian Rae, Terry Walsh and more. Each will debut a song written on that night's theme (yep, ice; 9 p.m., $7). … It's not Black Friday, but Hymie's Records will welcome live in-store music anyway this Friday with the Ericksons and Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade (7 p.m., free.). …

Aside from their unannounced appearance on reopening night in August, the Turf Club's old-school country mainstays the Cactus Blossoms will play their first headlining set at their former home base since renovations (9 p.m. Wednesday with Erik Koskinen, $8). That's a good reminder that, even though local bookings have taken a back seat at the Turf since First Avenue took over, at least we know it's not going to be another Nye's, soon to be sold for redevelopment.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 • Twitter: @ChrisRstrib