When Mike Cooley returns to the Hole in the Wall tonight and Friday, it will be a homecoming of sorts. Stretching back to the late Nineties, the Drag-bound bar was a regular stop for the Drive-By Truckers, the Southern rock band Cooley and Patterson Hood front, as well as the scene of the raucous crew’s earliest successes in Austin.

When it comes to British jam bands, the conversation begins and ends with Traffic. Sunday night, the band’s driving force – Steve Winwood – wore that crown proudly at the Moody Theater.

As F1 weekend approached, talk of nightmare crowds overtook Austin. Personally, I was worried about accessing the music. Surprisingly – thankfully – fears were unfounded. I heard the helicopters and saw pictures of the grandstand at the track, but otherwise there was little to inform me that a major international event was taking place in town.

I spoke with singer Robin Zander of nearly 40-year-old rock legends Cheap Trick, who open for Aerosmith tonight at the Frank Erwin Center.

After three albums, Pegi Young remains a relative newcomer. Mention that she’s Neil Young's wife and the light bulbs go on. She sang backup in her husband’s band before releasing a self-titled disc in 2007. Young’s Bracing For Impact, out last winter, finds her confident, inventive, and at times comical. She plays tonight, Wednesday, at Lamberts.

It's odd so many of my favorite artists are releasing new discs this fall. Every season should bring this kind of windfall. New CDs from Jim Lauderdale, Wanda Jackson, Tift Merritt, and Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson are just the start, with Iris Dement, Paul Kelly, Jason Isbell and too many more to mention coming soon or already on shelves.

With a new album and a two-piece band in tow, Kentucky cellist Ben Sollee arrives at the Cactus Cafe on Saturday night, Nov. 3. Half Made Man, his fourth disc, arrives as both a quick follow-up to last year's Inclusions and perhaps his most straightforward work yet.

I’ve been to all 11 Austin City Limits Music Festivals. This year’s falls into the middle of the pack in terms of excitement and interest. Discovered a couple of fab new acts, was disappointed I couldn’t get close to a couple I wanted to see, and Neil Young with Crazy Horse wailed through their way one of the festival's most memorable sets.

Beginning tonight, Patterson Hood, frontman, mainstay, and guiding light of Southern rock juggernaut Drive-By Truckers, rolls into town with his own band, the Downtown Rumblers. Catch them tonight and tomorrow at the Cactus Cafe, then Friday afternoon on the BMI Stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.