McDONALD'S GOSPELFEST Do fries go with that sermon? Deities may not accept branding, but music sometimes does, and the fast-food giant has latched on to the not-so-secret ingredient in African-American pop. Gospel has always kept up a two-way traffic in ideas with secular music, from blues to hip-hop, shifting idioms while trading pop's worldly joys and woes for Christian certainties. The annual McDonald's Gospelfest is a showcase for established gospel stars - including, this year, current R & B-influenced singers like Donnie McClurkin and Vickie Winans - as well as a steppingstone for winners of gospel talent competitions. But the headliner for this year's Gospelfest is a singer who grew far more famous outside the church: Aretha Franklin, above. A preacher's daughter who packed gospel dynamics into her 1960's soul classics, Ms. Franklin grows both fervent and flamboyant on the rare occasions when she drops her secular repertory and returns to gospel songs. There will be plenty of impressive voices onstage, and Ms. Franklin, a fiercely competitive singer when she chooses to be, just may sing rings around all of them. (Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Theater at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 465-6741, $56.50 to $96.50.) JON PARELES

RYAN ADAMS (Tomorrow) Ryan Adams keeps changing his mind about whom he's emulating; he's gone from Van Morrison to the Replacements. With his new band, the Cardinals, his songs are kindly and lovelorn and he's in a Grateful Dead mood, ready to jam. 7:30; Starland Ballroom, 570 Jernee Mill Road, Sayreville, N.J., (732) 238-5500, $25. (Jon Pareles)

BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA (Monday) After more than 60 years as a group, the Blind Boys of Alabama are no longer boys, but gray-haired eminences of gospel quartet singing. Led by Clarence Fountain, they proclaim their reverence in close harmonies and gutsy improvisations that leap heavenward. They perform Monday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's That's Entertainment spring benefit gala also featuring Lyle Lovett and Wynton Marsalis. 7:30 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, Harlem, 212 258-9961, $1,000. (Pareles)

B. B. KING (Monday) The great bluesman B. B. King and his latest guitar called Lucille can, on a good night, summon all the tribulation and joy and resilience of the blues. This show was moved from May 31; all tickets will be honored. 7 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club and Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, (212) 997-4144, $70, $75 at the door. (Pareles)

BLANCHE (Thursday) This Detroit band's debut single featured the White Stripes frontman Jack White (who also covered a Blanche song as a B-side to his single "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself"). Both bands share an idealization of a pre-modern sound. Blanche's acoustic goth Americana meanders the foothills of an imagined Appalachia. 10 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, $12. (Laura Sinagra)

BLUE MERLE (Wednesday) This Nashville group's folk-rock is best when it opens into jam-band expanse. 10 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, $12, $14 at the door. (Sinagra)

THE CORAL (Thursday) This British band's psychedelic pop has yet to find the glorious meeting of newfound structure and early chaos it would need to take listeners by storm. Still, the amiable lads seem to be gesturing toward trendy punk-disco these days, which isn't a bad move . 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111, $16, $18 at the door. (Sinagra)

COWBOY JUNKIES (Tomorrow) Nearing the 20-year mark, this soporific alt-country group nurtures a base of vaguely alienatied yuppy fans still intrigued by the band's relatively safe journey to country's dark side, and the sibling tension between its singer, Margo Timmins, and her guitarist and songwriter brother, Michael. 8 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, (212) 777-6800, $35. (Sinagra)

ROBERT CRAY BAND AND MARCIA BALL AND JEREMIAH LOCKWOOD ((Tonight) Robert Cray, who brings convincing passion to songs about a tortured conscience, meshes blues with Memphis soul. Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time. 8:30 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, (212) 777-6800, $32.50. (Pareles)

DICK DALE (Tomorrow) Dick Dale, king of the surf guitar, provides no polite nostalgia trip to the mid-1960's. He's out to summon elemental forces with the stomping beat of his band and his heavily reverbed, brusquely attacked guitar lines, along with the dive-bombing, tremolo glissandos that literally melt his guitar picks from the heat of their friction on the strings. 7 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, (212) 997-4144, $20.50, $25.50 at the door. (Pareles)

DAVE'S TRUE STORY (Tonight) Easy-swinging jazz, bossa nova, Steely Dan pop and touches of country are wrapped around existential ruminations in the songs of Dave's True Story. 7:30 p.m., Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212) 576-1155, $15. (Pareles)

ELECTRELANE (Tonight) The spacey European art-pop favored by this British band, played on vintage analog equipment and influenced by 1970's German electronic rock, hasn't been in vogue since the late 90's, but the group plays it with verve, often subverting its music's sheen with messy garage-rock heft. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111, $15. (Sinagra)

JOHN FOGERTY (Wednesday) The Creedence Clearwater Revival's songwriter, guitarist and singer's wild-eyed wail and the distilled twang of his guitar remain undiminished, the sound of a mythic backwoods Southland where barefoot girls dance in the moonlight. 8 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, (212) 777-6800, $75. (Pareles)

THE FUTUREHEADS, HIGH SPEED SCENE, PITTY SING (Monday) Vying with Bloc Party for the mantle of least derivative dance-punk revival band, the Futureheads' reverence for the music of polestars like XTC and Wire extends beyond sonic mimicry, adding nuance to pro forma punk panic. 6:30 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212) 353-1600, $20. (Sinagra)

THE FUNKY METERS (Tonight and Thursday) The Funky Meters include Art Neville on keyboards and George Porter Jr. on bass from the Meters, the band that was the cornerstone of New Orleans funk. With Russell Batiste Jr. on drums, they still set up grooves and syncopations that carry every hip into irresistible motion. Thursday's free outdoor concert is part of the BAM R & B Festival. Tonight at 8 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club and Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, (212) 997-4144, $30, $35 at the door. Thursday at noon, MetroTech Commons Plaza, Flatbush Avenue and Myrtle Street, Downtown Brooklyn. (Pareles)

HOT 97'S SUMMER JAM 2005 (Sunday) The annual meeting of hip-hop stars has a stunningly strong line-up this year with the ubiquitous Snoop Dogg; the mega-producer Kanye West; The Game, Ludacris; Lil' Jon; the Ying Yang Twins and Miami's Cuban sensation Ciara, Harlem's multitalented Cam'ron, and hard-as-nails Jadakiss. And MC battle in parking lot 15 at 3 p.m., doors open at 5:30 p.m., Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N. J., (201) 935-3900 and ticketmaster.com, $27 to $162. (Sinagra)

GRÁDA (Wednesday) Though they play their guitars, fiddles, flutes and bodhrans in the traditional Celtic style, this young Dublin group has set itself apart by composing original music, innovating on Irish, Breton and Eastern Eurpoean styes while staying recognizably within the forms. 7:30 p.m., Satalla, 37 West 26 Street,Chelsea, (212) 576-1155, $15, $18 at the door. (Sinagra)

JUCIFER (Thursday) For a two-member group - Amber Valentine on guitar and vocals, Edgar Livengood on drums - Jucifer makes a mighty noise with its songs about death and desolation. Its blasts its way through power-chorded mayhem, slow or at punk speeds, topped by Ms. Valentine's airy voice. 9 p.m., with Shellshag and Godsgun opening. Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103, $10. (Pareles)

JURASSIC 5 (Tuesday) Reaching back to rap's old school era of simple funky beats and sing-along choruses, this nostalgic California group was popular in the late-90's when hip-hop fans tired of Puff Daddy's sampling of whole songs and mainstream rap's increasingly money-grubbing aesthetic. 11 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club and Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, (212) 997-4144, $25.50, $27 at the door. (Sinagra)

KEANE AND REGINA SPEKTOR (Tuesday) Keane is a piano-drums-vocals band that piles on one hooky melodic flourish after another as if to distance ifself from the artiness of its main influence, Radiohead. The music of the bill's opener, The Russian-born singer-pianist Regina Spektor, goes down less smoothly, bringing punk immediacy into a caberet setting, reveling in knotty rhymes and unhinged melodrama. 7:30 p.m., Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, (212) 465-6741, $39.50 and $29.50. (Sinagra)

KEREN ANN (Thursday) This Dutch-Javanese, Russian-Israeli chanteuse Keren Ann applies her velvety voice to jazz-inflected, rainy day urban valentines. Her lolling shows that the strongest memory of a visited place is often the homesickness endured there. 8 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, at Sterling Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 230-0236, $13, $15 at the door. (Sinagra)

THE KILLERS, LOUIS XIV (Tomorrow) Maybe it's their Las Vegas roots, maybe it's the singer Brendan Flowers' glam charisma or maybe its their simple nostalgic perference for the MTV version of the 80's over their peers' more complicated recollections. Whatever the reason, the Killers are the pop smash of the neo-New Wave boomlet. 5:30 p.m., Central Park Summerstage, $32.50, $35. Sold out.

(Sinagra)

AMOS LEE (Tomorrow) After touring extensively with the like-minded Norah Jones, this Philadelphia singer-songwriter now headlines in support of his new album of soothing acoustic folk-soul ruminations. 7 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111, $15, $20 at the door.

(Sinagra)

LOSERS LOUNGE: THE CURE VS THE SMITHS (Tonight and Tomorrow) A true treasure, the city's tireless pop tribute outfit takes advantage of the current post-punk revival and ongoing adoration of the mope-rock heros Morrissey and Robert Smith, both of whom offer endless options for loving parody and stylistic license. 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3132, $17, $20 at the door.

(Sinagra)

LUCERO (Tuesday) The Arkansan Jim Nichols's convincingly weathered singing, an earthy growl that fits nicely in the groove of his band's wistful, ragged road rock. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111, $13, $15 at the door. (Sinagra)

STEPHEN MALKMUS (Tuesday) The abstract poetic songwriting and quirky, blazing guitar work of the former Pavement frontman are still worth checking out. Recent work has increasingly seemed geared for cultists, while moving closer to universal topics like family, aging and commitment. 9 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, East Village, (212) 777-6800, $22.50, $25 at the door. Sold out. (Sinagra)

MARAH WITH NICK HORNBY (Sunday) Marah's articulate songs are doused in greasy, sweaty, exuberant rock. Before Marah's 90-minute set, Nick Hornby, the author and sometime rock critic, will read new stories and essays inspired by rock music, and Marah will play songs by the bands in the readings. 8- p.m. Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111. $20 (Pareles)

M.I.A., DIPLO (Tuesday) With her remix-friendly slogans and readymade radical chic, the British Sri Lankan Maya Arulpragasam has become an emblem of global beat matching and post-colonial shakedowns. The clever Philadelphia hip-hop producer Diplo is responsible for her popular underground mix "Piracy Funds Terrorism" (Hollertronix), which lays her vocals on music as diverse as 80's new wave and Brazillian baille funk. 8 p.m., S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940, $20. Sold out. (Sinagra)

RAUL MIDÓN (Tuesday) Raul Midón's percussive guitar syncopations and supple, high-flying tenor, both akin to Jose Feliciano's style, have wowed audiences in his regular Joe's Pub appearances. His debut album, "State of Mind" (Manhattan), shifts the focus to his thoroughly earnest, positive-thinking songs, 7:30; Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8777 or (212) 239-6200, $15. (Pareles)

JUANA MOLINA (Thursday) The reveries of this Argentinean songwriter stem from her acoustic guitar picking, her hushed voice, melodies with the simplicity of lullabies and rustling synthesizer backdrops that fill the songs with mystery. 9:30 Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8777, $15. (Pareles)

TRAVIS MORRISON (Sunday) This singer-guitarist's former band, the Dismemberment Plan, played virtuoso fusion-rock. Its transcendent quality was the anguished, cutesy break-up lyrics, written and sung, by Mr. Morrison. Though artier and more pretentious on his own, he manages to remain winsome. 9 p.m., Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103, $10. (Sinagra)

STEVIE NICKS AND DON HENLEY (Tomorrow) Most will come out to this show to see the Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks, who continues to fascinate though her vocal range has narrowed, edging those rich lows into raspier territory. One assumes that she and Don Henley of Eagles fame will perform their hit 80's duet "Leather and Lace." 8 p.m., PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J., Garden State Parkway Exit 116, (732) 335-0400, $26 to $126. (Sinagra)

OLD 97'S, BOBBY BARE JR. (Thursday) Having grown out of their smart-aleck phase long ago, the Old 97's were swerving toward slickness before to their latest release. The songwriter Rhett Miller is still writing near-genius tunes though he often resorts to mere craft. The Nashville songwriter Bobby Bare Jr. shares the bill. 8 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, East Village, (212) 777-6800, $25.

(Sinagra)

KELLY OSBOURNE (Monday) As Kelly Osbourne charts her route from reality television to the Broadway stage , she stops off to release another pop album, this time working with the popular song-doctor Linda Perry, who has worked with everyone from Pink to Fischerspooner. She performs here at Chelsea Marquee's weekly "Charm School' party. 10 p.m., Marquee, 289 10th Avenue near 26th Street, Chelsea, (646) 473-0202, $20.

(Sinagra)

GRAHAM PARKER & THE FIGGS (Tonight) Emerging from England just before the arrival of punk-rock, Graham Parker used the sturdy structures of soul and 1960's rock as he spat out angry, articulate songs that chafed against dishonesties large and small. These days, he's less furious and more cranky, but he's still holding the world around him to high standards. 9 p.m., Maxwell's, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, N.J., (201) 653-1703, $20. (Pareles)

SAM PREKOP (Tonight) One of the Chicago musicians who pioneered mid-90's jazz and electroinc post-rock music, the singer and guitarist Prekop is a smooth, if overly genteel singer, and fluid player. His group The Sea and Cake benefited from his light touch, and wistful vocals. 8 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, $15. (Sinagra)

IKE REILLY (Sunday) This St. Paul rocker's visceral, outlandishly catchy 2001 album, "Salesman and Racists" (Universal), captured a certain kind of in-the-cups cockiness and bar-clown wit that almost made the listener overlook its macho nudges and winks. Mr. Reilly and his band tear it up live. 9 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, $10. (Sinagra)

DUKE ROBILLARD (Tomorrow) Duke Robillard, a guitarist and singer, founded Roomful of Blues in 1967, and in his solo career since leaving the band he hasn't forgotten the suave swing of vintage jump blues; he also played lead guitar on Bob Dylan's album "Time Out of Mind." 7:30; Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212) 576-1155, $18, $22 tomorrow. (Pareles)

URSULA RUCKER (Tonight) Ursula Rucker has been the poet on call for Philadelphians like the Roots. With a band, she applies her "shelectricity" to replacing bad myths with good ones, mixing righteousness and seduction with fast-talking ease. 7:30 p.m. Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8778 or (212) 239-6200, $15. (Pareles)

XAVIER RUDD (Monday) An Australian songwriter who has been working the jam-band circuit, Xavier Rudd plays jazzy, syncopated guitar as he broods, something like Dave Matthews with an occasional toot of a didjeridu. 8:00 p.m., with Kyle Riabko opening. Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111. $15, $17 Monday. (Pareles)

SPOON, THE CLIENTELE (Wednesday and Thursday) The Austin indie standout Brit Daniels's latest album, "Gimme Fiction" (Merge), is a tougher nut to crack than 2002's nearly flawless jitter-rock "Kill the Moonlight" (Merge), but live his tight group listens to each other, as the vibe swings from slacker angst to caffeinated bravado. 7 p.m., Webster Hall,125 East 11th Street, East Village, (917) 577-2499, $18, $20 at the door. Sold out. (Sinagra)

WOLF PARADE, RICK MOODY VS. BROTHER DANIELSON (Tomorrow) Part of Montreal's wave of "It" art-pop bands that includes the Arcade Fire and Unicorns, Wolf Parade has a Northern noir take on keyboard-heavy epics. Rick Moody and the Christian art rocker Brother Danielson debate the finer points of religion beforehand. 7:30 p.m., Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 420-1466. $12, $15 at the door. Sold out (Sinagra)

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III (Sunday and Monday) Mr. Wainwright has had topical songs commissioned by NPR in the past, but he saves his sharpest barbs for himself, confronting middle age and mortality without letting himself off the hook. He was recently seen in Martin Scorsese's "Aviator," performing with his children Rufus and Martha. Here, he will perform recent songs, which deal with, among other things, the Iraq war. 7 and 9:30 p.m., Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8777, $30. (Pareles)

ZLATNE USTE (Sunday) Zlatne Uste ("Golden Lips") is an American brass band that plays raucous high-speed, zig-zagging Balkan dance tunes. 7:30; Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212) 576-1155, $12 (Pareles)