I know I bang on about gig information being a bit thin on the ground, especially for those not trained in the art of covert music research and stealth operations to locate said gigs but I have just thought of the real advantage to the people of Swindon to spreading the information.

If I have plenty of gigs to write about then you don’t have to suffer my ponderous and tangential (not to mention overly verbose) introductions. Luckily for you, dear reader, this is one of those weeks, so on with the show.

Fans of folk and Americana have only one gig to concern themselves with tonight.

Songs of Praise at The Victoria sees the timely return of one of their most popular bookings, Case Hardin’.

This is a band that channels the eloquence of Steve Earle, wistful emotion of Ryan Adams and travels the bleak hinterland of Springsteen’s Nebraska without once sounding like a tribute or a pastiche to the genre.

After nearly destroying The Beehive as the final act of this year’s Shuffle, The Shudders join the bill for their unique blend of energetic indie-country and opening up is Songs of Praise favourite, sweet and soulful acoustic troubadour, Tamsin Quin.

Riffs Bar, meanwhile, has John Fogerty sideman Bob Malone.

LA- based Bob (that’s Los Angeles not Long Ashton) plays a high-energy blues, roots and rock hybrid mixed in with more than a dash of New Orleans R&B.

Anglo-Swedish alternative acoustic trio, We Ghosts, will be filling The (newly-refurbished) Beehive with their glorious harmonies and their wondrous weave of jazz, blues, folk and pop.

Tomorrow is a mixture of rock and acoustic and you will find a bit of both in Bren Haze, who is playing Riffs Acoustic Session. Once known for being the man behind the hi-octane, razor-wire riffs of The Unforeseen, Bren now does a neat line in dexterous, acoustic charm with just a hint of his former sound lurking in the background.

The other acoustic offerings are The Regent Acoustic Circus, which features Joely and Wilmor, Tom McCarthy and your regular host, Nick Felix and Teddy White at The Beehive.

The rock element comes into play with Hot Flex who trade in metal and rock covers at The Rolleston and a tribute to Bon Jovi at The Victoria.

Possibly slightly outside the remit of the column but worth a mention on the basis that gig goers buy records, I want to just give a quick shout out to The CD and Record fair taking place on Saturday afternoon at the Central Community Centre in Emlyn Square. There, I did.

There is only room to touch briefly on the big event for Saturday, yes, The Reggae Garden is back at the Old Town Bowl.

A huge line-up of live music and DJ’s in the reggae, roots, dub and lovers rock genres, a wide range of soul food, BBQ and Caribbean cuisine plus children’s activities will make for a great day out. Check out their website for full details.

If you wish to continue the flavour of the day, catch The Shocks of Mighty DJ’s spinning the same vibe at The Beehive that evening. Elsewhere Syntronix take a wander through the eighties pop archive at The Victoria and Innes Sibun returns to The Rolleston for some blues standards and originals.

Fans of the likes of Rory Gallagher will find a lot to like in his music.

Next door, Level 3 wanders into new territory (for a club still very much associated with rock and metal) and hosts Felix and The Funk for a night of dance, disco, funk and frolics. Viva La Difference!

Sunday afternoon and S’Go, which derives from the ancient Icelandic word Skoe, (okay it doesn’t, but it sounds plausible) are a multi-instrumental group who play a set of original and covers, genre hopping through folk, blues, gypsy, country and more besides.

At The Victoria two rock leviathans hove into view. Obzidian play a brand of progressive thrash metal and they are joined by Shadows of Serenity who music trivia buffs should note contains ex-members of Sienna, Battlewitch and Traitor Born.

Finally, one last slice of acoustica can be found at The Roaring Donkey on Wednesday in the guise of Drew Bryant.