"Every music scene thrives on weekends. The good ones keep going strong throughout the week."

Those not-quite-immortal words were written by yours truly, just a month after I arrived back in Minneapolis in 2001 -- back when the Star Tribune still hired people, and I still had the stamina to go out every night of the week.

Yes, folks, after six years on the job, I've finally gotten around to regurgitating the same column idea, but it's really out of inspiration more than desperation. There's a great new crop of weekly gigs on the calendars around town, plus some old standbys that are as reliable as ever.

Old Stage at the Turf Club: Sunday nights at the Turf have taken on new life along with the acoustic folk/blues/Americana scene, whose stars sit down here on the club's smaller stage (where the big booth usually sits). Regulars include Charlie Parr, the Get-Up Johns and this weekend's guests, the Brass Kings. (9 p.m., free-$5, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul.)

Also recommended: The Combo (a k a Dr. Mambo's Combo or the Legendary Combo, with Michael Bland, Sonny Thompson, Billy Franze, etc.) has played a weekly gig at Bunkers going back to, like, the Eisenhower administration. Now, it plays Sundays and Mondays (9 p.m., $5, 761 Washington Av. N., Mpls.).

Roe Family Singers at 331 Club: It was 10 below this past Monday and warm as a campfire inside the crowded 331. Led by ex-Accident Clearinghouse co-leader Quillan Roe and his wife, Kim, and featuring Trailer Trash guitarist Dan Gaarder, the folksy acoustic troupe plays old Harry Smith-approved folk tunes, lots of Carter Family and clever originals with banjo, mandolin and even a musical saw. (9 p.m., free, 331 13th Av. NE., Mpls.)

Also recommended: Mondays at Memory Lanes are Punk Night, where bowling is $2 a game, PBR tallboys are $2.50 and the balls are rolled extra hard in the name of anarchy. (9 p.m., 2520 26th Av. S., Mpls.) Fat Kid Wednesdays or some of their friends host the improv-oriented Jazz Implosion at the Turf Club's downstairs Clown Lounge. (10 p.m., $5.) Trad-country vets Becky Thompson & Old School are back doing weekly gigs at Lee's Liquor Lounge. (9 p.m., free, 101 Glenwood Av. N., Mpls.)

Also recommended: The B-3 Organ Night at the Artists' Quarter didn't lose its groove when Bill Brown took over a couple years ago from Billy Holloman. (9 p.m., $5, 7th Place & St. Peter St., St. Paul.)

III Kings Reggae Jam at the Nomad Pub: The kings in question are three DJs who used to spin roots reggae, dub and dancehall jams at Rudolph's before relocating last year. At this better-suited West Bank pub, their booming international grooves are complemented by the local immigrant population, the occasional soccer match on TV, plus $3 Red Stripes and some hard-to-find African beers. (9 p.m., free, 501 Cedar Av. S., Mpls.)

Also recommended: KFAI-FM blues/roots specialist Jackson Buck hosts his Jackson's Juke Joint Series at the 331 Club (7 p.m., free).

Minneseries at the Nomad Pub: Each month, one band of the sort you're likely to hear on the Current/89.3 FM (the series co-sponsor) is picked to branch out over four consecutive weeks, usually with its own interesting choices for opening acts. Past months included Mouthful of Bees, Mel Gibson & the Pants and Romantica. Bouncy pop band Mighty Fairly is holding it down this month. Speed's the Name takes over in March. (10 p.m., free)

The Butanes at McMahon's Pub: "This is an old Irish tune." That's how the Cities' venerable Memphis-style R&B/soul band introduced "Green Onions" during last week's gig at the Irish bar that used to be the Poodle Club. In other words, the Butanes -- whose weekly Cabooze gigs from 15 to 20 years ago are still fondly remembered -- haven't altered their act to suit the green surroundings. (9 p.m.-1 a.m., free, 3001 E. Lake St., Mpls.)

There's a funny little line in the liner notes of the excellent new "Homegrown" compilation CD, "Silage: Foreclosure & Eviction," featuring live tracks from the archives of the now-silenced KQ92/Drive-105 local radio show.

"Thanks to Citadel Broadcasting for the airtime and for never listening," it reads, a punch line that becomes apparent once you hear the 22-song collection's expletive-filled opening and closing tracks by the White Iron Band and Tim Malloys -- the kind of bawdy songs that FM radio bosses have nightmares about.

"We pretty much got to do whatever we wanted, which was a lucky thing," said former "Homegrown" host David Campbell, whose show went off the air last May when Drive-105 did. Campbell will return to the air soon with a weekly shift on the Current, but he still hopes commercial FM stations will save room for local music.

Other acts on the "Silage" CD include Cloud Cult, Brother Ali, Charlie Parr, Dosh, P.O.S. and four of the five acts performing for tonight's release party at the Turf Club: Haley Bonar, Dan Israel, A Night in the Box and Ben Connelly. Proceeds benefit DEMO.

After coming off a bit like a frat-boy answer to funky brass ensembles early on, the Jack Brass Band shows how much it truly has grown up on its third CD, "Traditionally Speaking," which the Minneapolis septet will promote tonight at the Varsity Theater (9 p.m., $7). The disc is as thickly soaked in New Orleans music as a good bread pudding is in bourbon -- not just in its version of NOLA classics such as "A Closer Walk With Thee" and Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'," but in other covers such as Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman." Akin to a priest getting an endorsement from the Vatican, the album includes liner notes by Preservation Hall director Ben Jaffe.

After opening up its second-floor parlor for a well-received night-before-Halloween gig, Stasiu's Place will be bilevel and bisexual for Saturday's "Girls Rock Your Boys" mini-fest, featuring 10 Midwest bands who all have coed (boy/girl) lineups. Participants include Ouija Radio, Awesome Snakes, Gospel Gossip, Unicorn Basement and, from Madison, Wis., Screaming Cyn Cyn & the Pons (8 p.m., $10). ...

A few local albums landed on the Village Voice's 2007 Pazz & Jop Poll, voted on by critics nationwide: Low's "Drums and Guns" came in at No. 46, Brother Ali's "The Undisputed Truth" was No. 69 and Andrew Bird's Minne-centric "Armchair Apocrypha" was No. 42. LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver" took No. 1. ...

By the time you read this, Tapes 'N Tapes will have played a surprise gig at the Turf Club on Thursday night, a warmup to their London show on Monday. The England gig was supposed to be a surprise, too, but rumors falsely spread that the White Stripes were the mystery guests. Not quite. Tickets are now on sale for TNT's April 10 release show at First Ave. In the meantime, you can hear the first new track, "Hang 'Em All," at tapesntapes.com.