Live Music Picks

TODAY

500 Songs for Kids

In 2007, tireless man about town and musician Josh Rifkind started a fund-raiser that combined 500 artists with Rolling Stone magazine's 500 best rock songs. This year, each artist takes on one of the 500 most passionate songs of all time. The money goes to Rifkind's Songs for Kids Foundation and to other charities. The final 100 songs of the 10-day event are performed tonight and Saturday. Among the acts scheduled are Shawn Mullins, Arrested Development, the Whigs, Joi and the Coathangers.

6:30 p.m. May 8-9. $10 May 8; $20 May 9. Smith's Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Road. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com.

Trent Tomlinson

This Missouri native's 2006 debut album "Country Is My Rock," spawned two Top 20 country hits in "Drunker Than Me" and "One Wing in the Fire." The follow-up, "A Guy Like Me," drops in July.

9:30 p.m. May 8. $14-$100. Wild Bill's, 2075 Market St., Duluth. 678-473-1000. www.wildbillsatlanta.com.

Richard Shindell

Folk music is alive, well and thriving in Shindell's songs, which have the power to transport the listener anywhere they please. His latest album, "Not Far Now," was recorded in his current hometown, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

8 p.m. May 8. $20-$24. Eddie's Attic, 515 N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com.

"Southern Music: Shaken & Stirred"

Some of Atlanta's finest blues talent converges at "Straight Up Blues," part of this Atlanta History Center series. Big-voiced belter and class act Francine Reed headlines, and she's joined by walking blues encyclopedia and energetic entertainer Danny "Mudcat" Dudeck and talented young multi-instrumentalist Nick Edelstein.

7:30 p.m. May 8. $20-$35. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road. 404-814-4000, www.atlantahistorycenter.com.

SATURDAY

Sound of the '60s —- British Invasion

This time-traveling musical extravaganza hosts Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, Peter and Gordon, Badfinger's Joey Molland, Terry Sylvester (formerly of the Hollies) and Fleetwood Mac tribute band the Woodys.

6 p.m. May 9. $25 bleacher; $35 seats; $75 table seat. Heritage Park, 101 Lake Dow Road, McDonough. 770-957-0768, www.reallybigproductionsinc.com.

WEDNESDAY

Alkaline Trio

Pop-punk isn't known for its intelligence and depth, but the imagery of Alkaline Trio has always been an exception. It released its first album a decade ago, but 2008's "Agony and Irony" marks the band's major-label debut.

7:30 p.m. May 13. $19-$23. Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St. 404-885-1365. www.centerstage-atlanta.com.