Let me start by saying that I am sooooo happy “The Runaways” is playing at the Nick, I can hardly stand it. There is no way this weekend is going to come and go without me seeing that movie. May those in charge of audio do right by us and crank it up!

This week is bursting at the seams, so let me start with some rapid-fire shout-outs to all the shows I’m not mentioning below. Tonight at Space it’s the Tel Aviv trio Monotonix along with Wife, and Mink Wilde & the Gentlemen Callers.

On Friday night, it’s back to Space for a show with the Molenes, Grassholes and Coming Grass.

Anais Mitchell releases her latest, “The Music of Hadestown,” with a Saturday-night show at One Longfellow Square.

Another Friday night option – if it’s not sold out by then – is the Cowboy Junkies at the Stone Mountain Arts Center. I’ve seen them play there, and it’s really something else.

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles-based a cappella sextet Sonos will be headlining at the St. Lawrence Arts Center.

And finally, next Wednesday night back at Space, it’s a rockabilly explosion with Heavy Trash and King Memphis.

Shuffle these all into what I’ve got below, and it’s downright dizzying. I love that. Permit me to also send a sincere high-five to Bull Moose and the international success of Record Store Day, which will be enthusiastically celebrated on Saturday.

Tonight at Blue, catch Somerville, Mass., singer-songwriter Danielle Doyle, who’s been popping in and out of Portland in support of her debut album, “The Cartographer’s Wife.”

I checked out the title track and several other tracks at www.myspace.com/danielledoylemusic, and discovered a woman with a celestial voice who writes about longing, loneliness, cowboys, coal mines and murder confessions, among other things.

With a fresh turn into the alt-country landscape, Danielle Doyle certainly caught my ear.

P.S.: Night owls should plan on sticking around after Doyle’s performance, because Samuel James and Dana Gross will be taking to the Blue stage.

Danielle Doyle. 8 tonight. Blue, 650A Congress St., Portland. Free (donations). 774-4111; www.portcityblue.com. 

The Red Curtain Music Series continues with another night of four singer-songwriters gathering for an in-the-round style show at the North Star.

Our own Megan Jo Wilson is back in action after taking the winter off to focus on some other stuff, and she’ll be there on Saturday night.

The other Portlander is folk-rock-jazz-blues musician Pete Miller, who is getting ready to release his “Shake the Dawn” CD next month.

Denitia Odigie (deh-NEE-sha oh-DEE-jee) from Austin, Texas, is also gearing up to release a record. Hers is called “Vitality,” and you can listen to some of her fantastic folk-soul tunes at www.myspace.com/denitiaodigie.

Justin Thompson represents New York City, and his jazz-pop-swing can and should be sampled online at www.myspace.com/justinthompson.

Red Curtain Music Series with Megan Jo Wilson, Justin Thompson, Denitia Odigie and Pete Miller. 8 p.m. Saturday. North Star Music Cafe, 225 Congress St., Portland. $8; $5 for students. All ages. 699-2994; www.northstarmusiccafe.com.

Kaki King has just released a new record, “Junior,” and, well, not to get all Kylie Minogue on you, but I can’t get it out of my head. King’s first instrument was the drums, and she then metamorphosed into one of the most stunning contemporary guitarists I, for one, have ever heard.

Having seen her perform live, I can tell you firsthand that she makes sounds come out of her guitar that I didn’t know were possible. Don’t believe me? Just ask Sean Penn; he had the wisdom to use some of her songs on the “Into the Wild” soundtrack. Or just ask Dave Grohl, who brought her on a Foo Fighters tour and had her play on one of their albums. Or ask Patty Larkin, who included King on the La Guitarra album and tour.

Or better yet, hurry up and get a ticket to King’s Port City Music Hall show before it sells out, and you can see and hear it for yourself. Yes, she’s that good. And if that’s not enough, King added singing to her repertoire a few albums ago, and with “Junior,” she has reached new heights.

I’d like to coin a phrase right here and right now: King has reached “T-shirt” heights, meaning she is so good I am going to have to buy a T-shirt at her show – and I pretty much never buy T-shirts at shows.

The songs on “Junior” range from the out-for-blood rocker “The Betrayer” and the hypnotic “Everything Has an End Even Sadness” to the astral instrumental “Sloan Shore.” “My Nerves that Committed Suicide” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with a slow, ethereal start that flashes its fangs midway by way of thunderous drums, only to tuck you back in for the night before it’s over.

As for the record’s catchiest song, look no further than “Communist Friends.” It makes me want to skip around the room. “I mispronounced my own name, when you asked me to dance,” sings King in what’s actually a song cornered by fear and longing.

“Junior” ends with King’s striking acoustic guitar conjoined with remorse. “I wanted to be tangled up in someone long and blonde/ So honest in my belief that nothing would go wrong/ But now all we can say we have are some photographs and a weiner dog that chews up everything I love and all the things you left behind.”

P.S.: “Junior” was produced by Malcolm Burn, which enables me to coin my second phrase of this entry. Burn has produced Patti Smith, and therefore, King is already “cool by association,” though she clearly doesn’t need any help in that department.

Kaki King with An Horse. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland. $15 in advance; $18 day of show; $30 VIP. Ages 21 and older. 899-4990; www.portcitymusichall.com; www.kakiking.com. 

And speaking of Patty Larkin, she’ll be at Stone Mountain Arts Center on Saturday night, and when I saw who the supporting act was, I just about lost it. For you see, I’ve been smitten with the Nields since the early ’90s, and took a little stroll down Nields memory lane on Monday night.

I was so happy to pull my “Gotta Get Over Greta” out, because the songs “Bulletproof” and “Cowards” are all that. Next, I grabbed “If You Lived Here You’d Be Home Now” and continued the lovefest with “Jeremy Newborn Street,” “This Town Is Wrong” and “100 Names.”

Then I went back a few letters in the alphabet and pulled out some Patty Larkin, and there was no stopping me or the music. Last month she released the double-CD “25,” and it’s home to many of Larkin’s love songs that she re-recorded with a long list of friends, including Bruce Cockburn, Jonatha Brooke, Shawn Colvin and Martin Sexton, to name but a few.

There are four things about Patty Larkin that made be a big fan since the late ’80s. Her songwriting skills can bring tears to my eyes and a smile on my face. She’s an accomplished guitarist; I mean, seriously accomplished. She’s got a dynamite singing voice, and her live performance is both compelling and light-hearted.

Patty Larkin has written some of my all-time favorite songs,. I congratulate her for reaching this milestone, and look forward to hearing from her for years to come.

Patty Larkin with the Nields. Doors 6 p.m., show 8 p.m. Saturday. Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dugway Road, Brownfield. $23. 935-7292; www.stonemountainartscenter.com. 

Aimsel Ponti is a Portland freelance writer. Contact her at:

aimselponti@yahoo.com