And now the News... In light of recent events I find my position as writer of Sounds Around Town no longer tenable and have therefore decided that the only proper course of action is to step aside and spend more time with my record collection and re-runs of Time Team.

I have appointed myself to the position of Acting Dave Franklin as an interim solution until the matter is resolved. So as to avoid any lengthy negotiations, I have also asked the paper to consider me for a £450,000 golden handshake but have, as yet, received no reply.

Apparently questions have been raised in the House about the situation (not my house, you understand, someone else’s house, but the windows were shut and I couldn’t hear what they were saying).

So on with the show.

It’s Songs of Praise at The Victoria again tonight and the tables and subdued lighting are out to welcome the dulcet tones of Emily and The Dogs. Mixing jazz, folk and rock, and coming off somewhere between Polly Harvey and Ani Di Franco, this trio of highly experienced musicians are something a bit special.

A slight change to the plans sees historically aware, baroque-pop stalwarts Mr Love and Justice take the middle spot, with Nick Felix opening up the evening.

Meanwhile jazz is on the menu at The Beehive with the guitar and vocal combo Ruba Tempo.

Friday night is all about the Children In Need show out at Riffs Bar. Burnthru bring their rock hybrid – part metal, part sleaze, part grunge – to the party, and joining them are The Dark Sinatra’s, a band whose ability to mix groove-driven bass lines, rocked-out jazz junkie drum fills and Byzantine heavy guitar work into something dark, experimental, yet accessible and danceable, is unprecedented.

Scud Penguin and 5 Lives Left are also helping this most worthy cause.

Over at The Furnace it’s all about old school rock. Out of the flatlands of the windswept east, otherwise known as Lincolnshire, come Nightvision; blistering classic rock, razor wire riffs and thunderous rhythms will be the order of the day.

Dead By Friday? and Wreckoning provide more of the same, but if you like your rock a bit more Sunset Strip, a bit more sleaze-boogie and street-smart, then make sure you catch Rough Cut.

In a week with an already heavy rock bias, The Victoria provides a roots music oasis on Saturday night.

The funky grooves and lap guitar blues of Hip Route are the musical destination of the evening, but first you will have to negotiate a wonderful journey through soulful acoustic jazz vibes of The Andy Grant Trio and the smorgasbord of southern sounds that tumble from Pignose.

The Royal Oak plays host to The Erin Bardwell Collective. Old school ska, reggae and rocksteady all go into the mix, and while you are there make sure you pick up a copy of their cracking new album, Bringing The Hope.

Back into the maelstrom of the heavy sounds that are dominating this week, and a perfect pairing washes up at The Furnace. Both Godsized and Eye For An Eye revel in thunderous riffs and colossal beats without losing their ear for melody. The result is a biker metal mix of the best of old school British, such as Sabbath, and the southern swagger and groove of ZZ Top turned up to 11. From Ruin play the role of the perfect opening act.

The 12 Bar also gets in on the act as Newquay hardcore outfit, Envy The Fallen, play a tribute set to Australian metalcore band, Parkway Drive. More metal is also forthcoming from Make No Mistake and the modest Dissolute whose website states that they are “way ahead of their time in terms of talent”.

Sunday afternoon is a bit more chilled out. When they cried Go West! one native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, came east, and you can hear the anglicised, alt-country and Costello-esque delivery of Bob Collum at The Beehive for the afternoon session.

Alternatively you can head for the Arts Centre and another outing for the west-coast jangle meets West Country lore of Mr Love and Justice. They are joined by Albion, a folk duo in the Greenwich Village coffee shop style.

Wednesday evening has its usual musical barrier against mid-week boredom. Missin’ Rosie deliver rocked out Celtic folk at The Running Horse, and a wonderfully charismatic and joyously upbeat support comes courtesy of The Real Raj.

There is a Bluegrass jam over at Riffs Bar or you can catch the new line up of The Blue Trees at The Victoria.