Here's a rundown of the essential albums available online and in record stores today:

The crowd at Seattle's Vera Project was pin-drop quiet for the 70-minute duration of Iron and Wine's sold-out tour opener Monday night. The youth volunteer-run venue in the urban fairgrounds of Seattle Center, not far from the Space Needle, is an anomaly in the local scene: all-ages means no bar; no drinking means no loud drunkards talking during the show.

This past weekend, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park welcomed the eighth annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, with its truly eclectic bill, including Gogol Bordello, Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Iron & Wine, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy, among others. Another performer: country-lovin' indie-rocker Ben Kweller.