AS I have pointed out a few times, there seems to be a move on the part of more commercial driven indie and pop outfits to re-appropriate rootsier genres to add a bit of spice and intrigue to their sound.

Indie bands folking out, rock bands finding their inner bluesman and acts like Mumford and the flipping Whale playing pop banjo at a mile a minute in an effort to gain credence.

But if you want something a bit more authentic then I suggest that you head to The Victoria tonight for a slice of True Strays.

Sounding like a bunch of 1930s folk blues wranglers they seem to join dots between Memphis in 1956, Detroit in 1969 and London and New York in 1977, you can’t want for a better live experience, especially if your idea of a night out is a bourbon soaked, bar-room band from hell!

Meanwhile at The Beehive, Robert Brown is back with his dynamic acoustica and an ability to play with delicate Nick Drake-esque pastoral lines as easily as he captures an anthemic rock sound. Versatile or what?

Vintage roots music ranging from rockabilly, old school rock’n’roll, swing, blues and bop can be found at The Castle on Friday with The Moonshine Runnerz. Rugs will be cut, wigs will be flipped. Make sure you wear your best dancing trousers.

The Teddy White band deal in similar genres and are experts at digging out the more underground, obscure and half forgotten gems from the beat, blues and R&B canon. You can catch them at The Groves Company Inn.

Grunge fans have only one place to go on Friday as Shades of Seattle bring a tribute to Kurt Cobain and the scene in general to The Victoria. The first set is In Utero, the final Nirvana studio album which saw them reconnect with the angst and incendiary sound of their earlier days, played in its entirety and the second set is made up of a host of classic songs from a range of iconic bands.

Angel Up Front plays indie, classic and modern rock with accuracy, polish and a whole lot of fun at The Queen’s Tap and The Beat Routes, take a similar journey through soul, dance, pop, new wave and rocks back catalogue at The Beehive.

Rock is heavily represented on Saturday and leading the charge are those guy-linered, dystopian rockers Ghost of Machines. Post apocalyptic metal? Futuristic alt-rock? Soaring rock riffs delivered with pose and poise? It's all in there. Plus there is a host of great support acts to build up to the main event. The Harlers play screaming, blues infused rock, The Loved & Lost deliver melodic, wide-screen symphonic metal and Going Rogue inject their brand of rock with grunge grit.

Fireroad pull their current UK tour into The Swiss Chalet for a night of straight down the line, no nonsense melodic rock, hard Old World grooves with just a hint of New World heartland rock, and if there is a touch of Stereophonics' rawer, pre-fame, rock sound it is because front man Richard Jones once graced their ranks, though sensibly left before they associated themselves with that cover of Handbags and Gladrags… close call. Support comes from Awakening Savannah.

Other rock comes with Down and Dirty running the whole gamut of rock sounds at The Tawny Owl.

More general, pre-owned music offerings can be found with The Naughties and a set of that eras more carefully selected songs at The Queen’s Tap, The Shambles playing acoustic Brit-Pop at The Tap and Barrel and Bandantree mixing and matching hits and classics at The Groves Company Inn.

Sunday sees the return of Garance Louis et Les Mitochondries to The Beehive for another round of dirty tango, rock n roll, post-musette, tramp jazz, progressive gypsy and the like. Ignore the genres, just go along. You’ll love it.

Finally there is another chance to catch The Teddy White Band as they provide the beat, bop and groove at 20 At The Kings. And, if something more restrained but no less dexterous is required, then Emily Sheppard at The Plough adds unforgettable vocals and deft guitar work to the singer-songwriter experience.