Music: Lost Highway

For those who don't know her, Lucinda Williams is the godmother of a generation of guitar-playing and world-weary songstresses. Ani DiFranco, Aimee Mann and Tift Merritt each owe Williams a debt of gratitude. Williams' self-titled 1988 album produced "The Night's Too Long" and the Grammy-winning "Passionate Kisses," each of which became a modern country standard. Williams' next masterpiece, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road netted her another Grammy in 1998. Next Thursday, Williams will showcase many of these songs and others from her newest album, the critic's darling World Without Tears at the Lost Highway Records show. The newest album, released in April, is a genre-blending kaleidoscope: "Sweet Side" features rap-spoken word lyricism, while "Minneapolis" and "Ventura" are intricately orchestrated and mellow break-up songs. But ultimately, Williams knows enough to dance with the one that brung her: the best tunes on World Without Tears are typical Lucinda. "Fingers/Strings" proves the highlight of Williams' recent oeuvre, providing a foot-stomping rocker reminiscent of Joan Jett.

 Still the undisputed queen of drunken 51-year-olds whose hearts have been broken too many times, Williams brings all her critically-acclaimed material to her typically unique live performance. And Lucinda Williams isn't the only urban cowboy taking the Lost Highway to Raleigh. Fellow label-mates the Jayhawks will warm up the crowd for her as the opening act, bringing a shade under 20 years of know-how with them. Formed in Minneapolis in 1985, the Jayhawks practically invented alt-country, and throughout a long and winding journey that has witnessed a constant revolving door lineup and seven albums, they have possibly perfected it.

 Best known for 1992's Hollywood Town Hall and the 1995 follow-up Tomorrow the Green Grass, the Jayhawks are one of those enigmatic acts that has survived long enough to see some of its best work forgotten by an Americana-come-lately crowd. Fortunately, Jayhawkers of yore view the band's career as an epic journey, a fable of Homeric proportions that demands respect and encourages discipleship. There's probably even a secret handshake.

 Their new album, Rainy Day Music, is filled with somber roots-rock anthems and honest but troubling love songs that can't shake off their residual gloom. In fact, the Jayhawks have always been good at breaking hearts and jerking tears. The secret's in the songwriting, so they say. Frontman Gary Louris has more than filled the void left when ex-Jayhawk Mark Olson flew the coop years ago, and while the harmonies aren't as haunting as they were on old favorites like "Blue" and "Settled Down Like Rain," new songs like "All the Right Reasons" and "Angelyne" prove that Louris is still on top of his lyrical game.

 Bottom line: alt-country is alive and kicking, and Lucinda Williams and the Jayhawks are two of the best acts you're gonna see. Pick up World Without Tears and Rainy Day Music if you need a crash course in the genre, and roll on over to Disco Rodeo on Sept. 25 for all the bang-n-twang you can handle.