Most people have some sort of plans for this Tuesday. But for those who don’t celebrate Christmas — and, especially, for those who need a family-gathering escape hatch — MOTR Pub and The Guitars have an easy (and free!) out.   

Unless you’ve seen Delta Spirit before, there is no way you are fully prepared for one of its concerts. Not so much a raging, thrashing party as just a gentle, bouncing ocean of people, the crowd’s vibe at a Delta Spirit concert is transcendent, almost spiritual.   

James McMurtry has gone from strength to strength in the past 23 years, compiling an estimable catalog of eight studio albums and a pair of stellar live recordings as proof of his compelling stage presence.   

Band of Horses is back and its music is sexier than ever. The members’ beards are luscious and their button-down shirts are oh-so-tantalizing, but it’s BoH’s awesome new(ish) sound that will truly make you squirm.  

You know who there aren’t enough of in America? Guys like Paul Thorn. Thorn plays a loud version of Americana, a bluesy, Southern Rock. His lyrics often illustrate stories about rough lives, hard times and rowdy women, making him a sort of funkier Johnny Cash.  

This year has already been a huge one for Halestorm. In February, the song “Here’s to Us” was performed on Glee and the band’s sophomore album, The Strange Case of... was released in April, hitting Billboard’s Top 20 in its first week.   

In the past, Chris Robinson has incorporated his musical influences into his original material the way an Italian chef works four cloves of garlic into a recipe — with total pride and absolute confidence in the distinct flavor of the finished product.   

At least twice recently, Rolling Stone has referred to someone’s sound as “Laurel Canyon.” If you were born after the late ’70s and don’t have a soft spot for Neil Young and his friends, you  

Based on sound alone, The Donkeys come off as pretty mature. The San Diego band plays a tender, starlit kind of Rock with a folky side that isn’t too sleepy, an AltCountry side that isn’t too twangy, a Blues side that isn’t too reverb-heavy and a Psych Rock side that isn’t too psychedelic.   

 Although Natural Child coalesced back in 2009, they sound like they’ve been around forever. Almost stereotypically young, the Nashville trio’s influences date to their parents’ record collections and that sense of musical classicism is infused with an appropriate dose of hormonal rage and rebellion.