Benefit show and more for Thursday

Thursday is always a quality evening for music around town ... here's what I'd check out tonight.

First off there's a great show at the Laurelthirst - Tom Waits For No One is a cleverly titled evening of 30 artists doing songs of Tom Waits ... plus celebrating Little Sue's 40th birthday, and raising money for the creation of Recipes for Disaster, a cookbook of recipes from the Portland music community that will be sold to benefit the Jeremy Wilson Foundation. The foundation raises money to assist musicians who are without medical insurance. Performers include Fernando, Stephanie Schneiderman, Lewi Longmire, Jen Bernard, Lynn Conover, Ezra Holbrook, Duover, and Tahoe Jackson. Good story here from the Oregonian about the show. This will be a big fun evening! ... 9 PM,  $10 suggested donation

But wait, there's more ...

Show up early at the Laurelthirst for Lewi Longmire's happy hour (6 pm, no cover), or the Secret Society Ballroom for Rollie Tussing (6 pm, no cover), Biddy McGraw's for Morgan Grace (6 pm, no cover), Duff's Garage for the Portland Playboys (6 pm, $2), or the Kennedy School for the Freak Mountain Ramblers (7 pm, no cover).

Mel Brown's B3 Organ Band has the regular Thursday evening slot at Jimmy Mak's where tonight they're joined by dynamite vocalist Karen Lovely (who will perform there tomorrow with her band) ... 8:30 pm, $5

The dynamic duo of Curtis Salgado and Alan Hagar are at the Blue Monk ... 8 pm, $5

Pianist Ben Darwish is at the Brasserie Montmartre ... 8 pm, no cover

Steve Kerin will take your requests and play them on the Chapel Pub's organ starting at 8 pm tonight.

And, it looks like a very cool show at the Mt Tabor Theater with saxophonist Charles Neville and Senegalese kora virtuoso Youssoupha Sidibe ... 9 pm, $15

Hope to see ya out and about ... Live music - good for the body, good for the soul!