Some bands are genuinely unclassifiable, blending genres in ways that defy any easy description. Shomberg Fair is not one of those bands. The Toronto trio play speed gospel, which is like gospel, but faster. And a bit heavier. If that sounds like your scene (and really, who doesn’t like banjoes and booze?), head to the Palomino on Thursday, November 19. Calgary blues, roots and surf combo The Bobby Kork Orchestra is opening.

Also on Thursday, Toronto piano balladeer Royal Wood will be at The Marquee Room with Rose Cousins. With a voice that splits the difference between Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley (and shows far more restraint than either of those two), Wood is an easy charmer, while Cousins does folk music purely and simply.

Friday, November 20 sees former Rheostatic Dave Bidini take the stage at Local 522. Calgary theatregoers might also remember Bidini from Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica, his collaboration with local luminaries One Yellow Rabbit. Bidini has a knack for hiding serious topics in sing-song melodies and flights of whimsy that occasionally sound borrowed from children’s tunes, and he’s surrounded himself with some top-notch musicians (including an ex-Rheostat) in his Bidiniband.

Bidini’s got some tough competition in the form of a Carolyn Mark-NW Arbuckle-Matt Masters triple-header at Broken City that same night. Masters, of course, is Calgary’s leading country troubadour (who recently represented our fair city as a cultural ambassador in Turkey). Arbuckle — a band, not a solo artist, for the record — is expert at conjuring whiskey-soaked atmosphere, thanks largely to frontman Neville Quinlan’s sandpaper vocals, while Mark will add a touch of sweetness to the proceedings, just like she did on their collaboration, Let’s Just Stay Here.

On Saturday, November 21, Ryan Bourne, Thighs, Pale Moon Lights and Ghostkeeper will all be at The Marquee Room for what was originally supposed to be the release of Bourne’s new album. That’s no longer the case, which is a shame considering Bourne has been relatively quiet since his days in Interstellar Root Cellar, blending funk, pop, reggae, ska and whatever else the band felt like, and especially since Jay Crocker had a hand in producing the disc. Still, with Thighs’ carefully calibrated pop, Pale Moon Lights’ polished roots and Ghostkeeper’s manic energy (not to mention what’s sure to be a great performance from Bourne), it’s still well worth a listen.

And since that’s a lot of roots for one week, one that’s a little different: Fresh from their legal woes in the U.S., King Khan and BBQ will garage-rock the shit out of The Warehouse on Wednesday, November 25. Expect plenty of blood, sweat and cheers.