Music for a hot mid-July weekend

 So if you're not headed to Oregon Country Fair, going to the Oregon Burlesque Festival or Harefest, holing up in some air-conditioned comfort, or maybe going coastal, there are some delightful distractions from the heat ... or ways to revel in it!

This weekend includes the annual Mississippi Street Fair on Saturday from 10 am to 9 pm with four stages of music from Fremont to Skidmore ... should be fun and crowded!

What else stands out?

Tonight 
Free music in the parks is underway, and tonight you can catch Sonny Hess and Lady Kat at Fernhill Park ... 6:30 pm

The Muddy Rudder has the dynamic string duo of Terry Robb and Lauren Sheehan ... 8 pm, no cover

Excited to see that Joe Henry will be in town at the Doug Fir! Clarence Bucaro opens ... 9 pm, $24. This is a pretty good summary of Henry:

A songwriter, musician, producer, poet, and essayist based in Los Angeles, Joe Henry has released 14 studio albums of his own over his 25+ year career and has worked with a diverse range of musicians - from Elvis Costello to Ornette Coleman to Joan Baez. Henry draws an author's eye for the overlooked detail across a broad swath of American musical styles - folk, rock, jazz and blues - rendering genre modifiers useless.

Great opportunity to hear the powerhouse vocals of the dynamic Liv Warfield, as she'll be at the Jack London Review for three nights (Fri, Sat, Sun) ... 9 pm, $25

At Bunk Bar it's Colorado bluegrass quintet Trout Steak Revival (winners of the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition) performing with Ben Morrison of The Brothers Comatose ... 9 pm, $20

Saturday
Don't miss the extended happy hour show at the Laurelthirst with The Minus 5. Scott McCaughey and the usual suspects will make for especially happy hours ... 6 - 9 pm

Check out the story behind the show at The Old Church - Myshkin Warbler & Jenny Q: TrustTogether w/The Cabin Project. This should be a wonderful and moving show ... 8 pm, $25

Another bluegrass show at Bunk Bar with Austin's Whiskey Shivers and Portland songwriter Chuck Westmoreland ... 7:30 pm, $20

Sunday

At the Doug Fir it's another year of Pickin' on Sundays! Free music on the patio ... starting this week with Redwood Son and Emily Eveleen & the Paper Hearts. Here's the rest of the sched: 7/22 - Jacob Miller / 7/29 - Melville / 8/5 - Nervous Jenny / 8/12 - Olivia Awbrey, Clara Baker, Tara Velarde / 8/26 - Lewi Longmire & The Left Coast Roasters. Music starts at 3 pm.

At the Zoo, it's An Evening with Melissa Etheridge ... 7 pm, $40-100

... And a reminder that on Monday at 6:30 in Sellwood Riverfront Park, it's the Lloyd Jones Quartet with special guest LaRhonda Steele. Come on down to the river for music at one of the sweetest settings in Portland!