Tues. Aug. 7

 Naturally, when we got "Hair," the CD by The Lonely H in the mail we assumed it was the new one by Local H, the massive power-rock duo we love. Only when we popped it in the player did we realize this was not screamin' hard rock but a grab-bag of smart pop and semi-prog rock, music that took twists and turns, musically and emotionally. Digging in - as we reporters are prone to - we realized we were dealing with not Local H, but The Lonely H, a quintet from Port Angeles, Wash. that just graduated high school. Yep, they released their first disc, "Kick Upstairs," in 2006, when most everyone was 16. Now, they've graduated high school and are out on their first national tour, which stops at T.T. the Bear's Place Tuesday Aug. 7. There's nothing kid-like about these kids. Do a blind listening test and you'd have 'em in their early 20s. You swear they've assimilated the Beatles, Beach Boys, R.E.M. and Led Zeppelin (they probably have). We're the last to predict stardom, but we do suggest you check out these guys, fronted by singer Mark Fredson and guitarist Eric Whitman, while they're in a small joint. The Lonely H is third on a quadruple bill. Starting at 9 is Pray for Polanski (great name), then Forest Henderson, the Lonely H, and finally, the headlining Kalta Eye. Tickets: $7.

10 Brookline St., Cambridge, 617-492-0082 www.ttthebears.com

 Sun. Aug. 5

 We forget exactly which musician said this. but when asked what folk music was, he replied, "It's music played by folks." The Newport Folk Festival, now sponspored by Dunkin' Donuts (not long ago by Ben & Jerry's) has long operated under that umbrella idea. (Yes, it's where Dylan went "electric" - shocking the purisists more than four decades back.) At the early July dinner at the Lenox Hotel, feting the upcoming the Folk and Jazz Festivals, organizer Bob Jones noted the headlining appearance of the Allman Brothers Band Aug. 4 and said, "The Allman Brothers will be doing some acoustic music, we hope." But the Newport Folk Festival incorporates not just pure folk (acoustic-based music) but roots music of all stripes and the ABB fit that bill, with its Southern-steeped sound. Plus, they may have brough a few new fans to Fort Adams State Park, a wonderful place for a show. (We've seen half a dozen or so, never had a bad time.) Today, Sunday's,  bill is topped by Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. Also: Emmylou Harris, Amos Lee, Alejandro Escovedo and Carolina Chocolate Drops. (Escovedo also headlines the Harbor Stage, with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Cheryl Wheeler and more.) Tickets for individual dates run $85-$30. Tickets can be purchased at the number or website below or at the main office at 770 Aquidneck Ave. in Middletown, RI. (For the first time, reserved tickets, with seats (!), are available on half of the lawn facing the stage - don't bring blankets if you buy these.)

Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI 888-468-7619 (tix) 401-847-3700 (info) www.ticketweb.com and www.newportfolk.com

  Sun. Aug. 5

How potent cheap music is! The line comes from Noel Coward, but Coward's music was not cheap. Whimsical, punny, enamored of dropping the names of every city in the world.  But not cheap. Frankly, Coward covered just about every emotion we humans have - the joy and pain of love, certainly among them. The A.R.T. is giving Boston a nice summer treat with "A Marvelous Party!: The Noel Coward Celebration," which is up at the Zero Arrow Theatre (renamed Club Zero, 'cause there are tables and a bar) Tuesdays-Sundays through August 4.  Remo Airaldi, Thomas Derrah, Will LeBow and Karen MacDonald are the actors who take us through song, skit and monologue, revealing Coward's cheerful, tart take on issues large and small. "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?" is as pertinent now as in 1961. "I Went to a Marvelous Party," sung by all the cast members from various viewpoints, has a wonderful time equating joy with another's, shall we say, public excesses. "London Pride" evokes Coward's hometown during the blitz. There's also his take on visiting a hospital full of wounded soldiers. He admires their pluck, their resilience, their stoicism in the face of great pain and wonders what a visit from "a successful playwright" could possibly bring them. Director Scott Edmiston follows that with "There Are Bad Times Around the Corner," with an Americanized version of this dour premonition. "Let's Fall in Love" is giddy and gleeful, of course, with Hillary and Bill Clinton added to the roll call of all those who do it - as are the family Bush. It's just ... they do it to us, sing all the actors, a bit angrily. As is typical with the A.R.T. players, there are A-level performances all around, each embodying different sides of Coward's persona. There's an almost tearfully sad song where the singer eschews any attempt to find love because when it comes to memories "the bitterness of the last goodbye is the one that wins." There's a sad farewell to Coward, too, and as they've brought him to life so well, you really miss him. Damn, he was a clever bastard. Tickets: $45-$25. It shuts down this weekend. with Sunday shows at 2 and 8 p.m. It's cabaret seating, tables and a bar.

0 Arrow St., Cambridge, 6176-547-8300 www.amrep.org

Sat. Aug. 4 

 The name of the band is Lez Zeppelin and guitarist Steph Haynes says, “It always elicits some response. It’s the greatest band name ever. They know we’re all girls and we’re playing Led Zeppelin. As to the other implications, whatever that may be or not be …We believe in a good dose of mystery, it’s so rare these days.” So, if any of the four are lesbians, well, we don’t know it here. We do know, from Paynes, that she’s heard back from one of the surviving Zeps and he gets it, loves what they’re doing. And they’ll be doing it Saturday Aug. 4 at the Middle East Downstairs.
   “We’re doing this is a sincere and reverent way, without sounding corny,” says Paynes. “We have total respect for the music. People enjoy we’re girls, There are twists, it’s a very sexy act. But the music we take extremely seriously. It’s not meant to be a piss-take. It’s the emotion you play with and the way you feel the power.”
The New York-based band – fleshed out by singer Sarah McLellan, bassist-keyboardist Lisa Brigantino and drummer Helen Destroy - just released their eponymous debut CD, recorded with Eddie Kramer (who’s worked with Zep, Kiss and many more). It features six Zep songs and two of their own Zep-like instrumentals. They have about 40 Zeppelin songs they can chose from in concert, pretty much everything through “Physical Graffiti.” “We’re itching to to do “In Through the Out Doors,’’’ says Paynes.
    Response? They just went over like gangbusters in England at a metal festival. Spin has said they might be “the most powerful all-female band in rock history.” The New Yorker says “these ladies channel the sonic bombast of Led Zeppelin and gleefully invert the band’s original sexual essence.” An important part if, says Paynes, is they’re not playing the tribute band circuit. Paynes, who put Lez Zep together, had been in original bands, including an all-female outfit, and saw this band “as an extension of our ballsiness. We’re just gonna present ourselves like classical musicians who would interpret Beethoven. We’ve created our little vibe to it and bring ourselves to it.”
     The audience, she says, is a demographic dream: young, middle, old, male, female. “Anyone alive has heard Zeppelin,” says Paynes. “The music is so timeless, it shocks many people how relevant it still is.” Band of Thieves opens around 10 p.m. Tickets: $20.

472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com

Sat. Aug. 4

A friend, a former DJ for WFNX, called recently from his new home in Las Vegas. He had just seen Joe Grushecky (of the Iron City Houserockers) play a sweaty, full-tilt gig at a club and marvelled at what Grushekcy could do at his age, and the passion he still had for gut-level rock and R&B. He wasn't making much money at the gig; he was doing it because, well, that's what he does. (He is, or was, a special needs teacher in a Pittsburgh high school. Day job.) Those are our thoughts when it comes to Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Some have always seen them as a B-level Springsteen and the E Street Band, but I've come to see them as a workingman's rock band, much like Grushecky and his Houserockers. (He dropped the Iron City), Like Grushecky, Southside Johnny has numerous tie-ins with the boss - on stage, songwriting - but the main thing is just that love of what an emotional high great rock or R&B can bring. We're darn happy Southside Johnny still brings it, and he's bringing it to Harpers Ferrry Saturday Aug. 4. Tickets: $25. Bonus:Boston up and comer Eli "Paperboy" Reed opens. Starts at 9:30.

158 Brighton Ave., Allston, 617-   www.harpersferryboston.com