Skinflick does a good job aping the Foo Fighters, while Krescent 4 similarly worships Soundgarden. The UK's The Papers aim for Neil Finn territory with their catchy pop-rock nugget "Lonely Being Beautiful," and Anton Glamb's "Subway" is lighthearted and amusing. Tracy Stark - an in-demand session keyboardist in New York indie circles and beyond - nails a nifty, jazzed-up adult contemporary vibe in "So Cool." Patti Witten evokes Roseanne Cash's smooth country-pop-rock style with the lovely, atmospheric "Black Butterfly," and Salme Dahlstrom's "Hello California" is crystalline, guilty-pleasure pop.

OUT AND ABOUT: When is a concert a community? When it's Meg Braun (no relation to Norine Braun) and Sharon Goldman's fundraiser for the Summersongs non-profit adult songwriters' camps, with which more and more top-shelf folk musicians are associating. Last night's concert at Makor in New York City included mini-sets from about a dozen artists, among them the monstrously talented Sloan Wainwright, who writes sophisticated and captivating songs and gives a singers' clinic every time she opens her mouth; bluesman Scott Ainslie, who held the audience spellbound with his Allman-esque voice and what may be the only song about the Vietnam War ever written for a children's record; and - she'll forgive me for this characterization - modern folk's eminence grise Christine Lavin who had the crowd in stitches as she often does. Spotted in the crowd were other tour-circuit stalwarts like serious funnyman Eric Schwartz and jazz-pop original Allison Tartalia... Speaking of Allison, she'll be performing tonight when my Soul of the Blues series continues at Night and Day in Brooklyn, along with Ian Thomas ( "Best Nostalgia-Free Revival Act of 2005," NY Press) and Adam Payne whose soulful "sound is as big as his afro." If you're in the NYC area tonight, it's a show - and a mural - not to be missed.