Quick Picks

You can add to your album collection Friday night with a pair of local CD release parties: Free Dirt, self-described "drunk rock" with a country twang, will release The Last Sip at the Way Out Club, while the sophisticated bar rock of River Gypsy (powered by the sweet vocal cords of singer Amy Ehrlich) gives birth to a self-titled debut at Mississippi Nights.

How well did Jewel's transformation into a digital diva work out? Does the fact that her show at the Family Arena is being billed as "solo acoustic" answer the question? Yup. Don't expect too many tracks from 0304 to make the cut when Jewel takes the stage with her guitar and no backup dancers.