Fall Arts 2013: One of the best music summers in recent history transitions to top-notch shows for the fall.

Just a few weeks ago, Monterey arguably had its two biggest days of music in recent history – Jazz Fest aside – with the inaugural First City Festival at the Fairgrounds hosting nearly 40 internationally known acts, including Neko Case, MGMT and Modest Mouse. Just a few miles away in Sand City, the West End Celebration simultaneously boasted its best music lineup since its inception, featuring the Mother Hips, Soft White Sixties and Moonalice. So there’s a lot of pressure on the fall season to follow up such an abundance of goodness. Though the Golden State Theatre has gone kaput (for the most part, and hopefully only for the time being) consistent go-to venues like Carmel’s Sunset Center and Big Sur’s Fernwood Resort are helping to ensure a great-sounding autumn – even with the Woodsist Festival and First Aid Kit at Henry Miller Memorial Library already sold out.

George Thorogood at Fox Theater

The Delaware bluesman’s infectious, high-energy concerts usually go for more than two continuous hours and showcase just about every one of Thorogood’s boozy classic sing-a-longs, from “I Drink Alone” to “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” to “Who Do You Love?” Salinas’ very own blues band, Red Beans & Rice, kicks off the night.

7:45pm Sept. 13. $37. 758-8459, www.foxtheatersalinas.com.

Boz Scaggs: The Memphis Tour at Sunset Center

The legendary musician behind early-’70s masterworks like My Time and Moments recently released his first record in five years. MEMPHIS – cut in Tennessee’s most musical city at the late Willie Mitchell’s Royal Studio with Willie Weeks, Ray Parker, Jr. and the Memphis Horns – features a stunning cover of Willy Deville’s “Mixed Up Shook Up Girl.” The tune has been running around Scaggs’ head for years and he finally put his baritone, Southern soul stamp on it.

8pm Sept. 17. $79; $109. 620-2048, www.sunsetcenter.org.

Father John Misty and Friends Benefit at Henry Miller Memorial Library

J. Tillman, formerly of Fleet Foxes, returns to the intimate Big Sur locale for its 10th annual Henry Miller Library Fundraiser. This time, he’ll be performing under the Father John Misty moniker. Tillman explained the name change to music journalist Doug Wallen: “It really doesn’t matter what the fuck you call yourself, as long as the goods are in the explicit honesty.” That explicit honesty runs throughout FJM’s debut Fear Fun – check out the “Ballad of John and Yoko”-flavored “I’m Writing a Novel” – making it one of the best records of 2012. Poets Anne Waldman, Ambrose Bye and Sara Goodman will open.

7:30pm Sept. 19. $50; $100 reserved seating/meet & greet; $350 VIP. 667-2574,www.henrymiller.org.

The 56th Monterey Jazz Festival at Monterey County Fairgrounds

With greats like jazz guitarist George Benson, maestro Bobby McFerrin, sultry vocalist Diana Krall and sax powerhouse Wayne Shorter on hand, one of the most distinguished jazz fests in the world has done it again. And that’s only a small sample of the 500 artists performing throughout the three days.

Sept. 20-22. $225-$580 3-day arena; $66 Friday arena; $132 Saturday or Sunday arena; $125 (military/student $50) 3-day grounds; $40 Friday grounds; $50 Saturday or Sunday grounds. 394-8432. www.montereyjazzfestival.org/2013.

First Annual Mollusk Jamboree at Fernwood Resort Campgrounds

A hipster surf store teaming up with a hipster boutique music and events presenter to put together two days of music, surfing and camping in Big Sur? Why not? The inaugural gathering, concocted by (((folkYEAH!))) Presents and Mollusk Surf Shop, is hosting an enticing lineup of music: Vetiver, Beachwood Sparks, Allah-Las, Sonny and the Sunsets, McCombs Skiffle Players (Cass McCombs’ supergroup) and several more.

4pm Sept. 27-28. $190 2-day camping pass (children 12 and under free); $25 car pass. 667-2422, http://mollusksurfshop.com/jamboree.

Robert Earl Keen at Fernwood Resort Campgrounds

Robert Earl Keen was alt-country before alt-country existed. Since the early ’80s, the Texas storyteller has been churning out an eclectic mix of country-his-way like his profound portrait of a blue collar worker “Corpus Christi Bay” and the boisterous saloon knee-slapper “That Buckin’ Song.” Without him, there’s no telling what direction folks like Lyle Lovett or k.d. lang would’ve gone with their music.

4pm Sept. 29. $90 camping; $75 non-camping; $25 car pass. 667-2422,http://folkyeah.com.

REO Speedwagon at Fox Theater

REO Speedwagon doesn’t care that it’s been more than 20 years since they’ve been a relevant part of pop culture. They’ve sold more than 40 million records, have had 13 Top 40 hits and still put on a live show that has sold out audiences singing along to “Keep On Loving You” and “Don’t Let Him Go.”

7:30pm Oct. 3. $60. 758-8459, www.foxtheatersalinas.com.

The Waterboys at Sunset Center

If someone filled a burlap sack with Bob Dylan, rural Celtic music, Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” and the work of C. S. Lewis and shook it up, you’d get The Waterboys. If you aren’t in the know, just listen to the Scotland group’s “Fisherman’s Blues” and you’ll be forever hooked.

7:30pm Oct. 8. $36; $47; $63. 620-2048, www.sunsetcenter.org.

Steve Earle and The Dukes at Fernwood Resort Campground

“I need to believe that there is a power greater than myself in order to survive,” Steve Earle told the Weekly last year prior to his solo acoustic gig at Henry Miller Library. That power is seemingly found in the genius that pours from the singer-songwriter’s pen. With Earle’s 2013 The Low Highway, with the Dukes (& Duchesses), he delves inside America’s underbelly to reveal the stuff this country constantly sweeps under its carpet, like the tale of a meth cook (“Calico County”) and homelessness (“Invisible”). Earle has to deal with his own demons on a daily basis. His songs are just trying to get the rest of the world to deal with theirs – or at least admit they’re there to begin with.

7:30pm. Oct. 8. $85 camping; $72 non-camping; $25 car pass. 667-2422, http://folkyeah.com.

Vince Gill at Sunset Center

“For the first time in 30 years, I don’t have a record deal,” Vince Gill announced last year at a lunch event in Nashville. “Don’t know that I want one.” If anyone can still sell millions of records without the crutch of a big-time label, it’s the Country Hall of Famer. This past July, Gill released Bakersfield, a tribute to the iconic “Bakersfield Sound” and the legends like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard that put the California arid town on the country music map.

7:30pm Oct. 27. $99; $129. 620-2048, www.sunsetcenter.org.

The Blank Tapes at Pierce Ranch Vineyards

Matt Adams, the mind behind The Blank Tapes, has routinely channeled the pre-garage rock doo-wop of The Kinks since the band’s inception 10 years ago. And he’s done it pretty much as a one-man operation both live and on recordings. Only recently did he enlist his girlfriend Pear Charles on drums and DA Humphrey on bass. Last May, as a trio, they released Vacation, an ideal, summertime Beach Blanket Bingo soundtrack.

9pm Nov. 9. $8. 372-8900, www.gusmadsackpresents.tumblr.com

Graham Nash at Sunset Center

He had already written an onslaught of hits including “Teach Your Children,” “Marrakesh Express” and “Our House,” but when Graham Nash began his solo career, his songwriting seemed to accelerate without Stills, Young and Crosby breathing down his neck. His 1971 debut Songs for Beginners is laced in politics, expressive authenticity, and has a dynamic pop sensibility. The man simply knows how to construct one hell of a good pop tune.

8pm Nov. 16. $45/level 2 seating, $105/level 1 seating. 620-2048, www.sunsetcenter.org.

Sinead O’Connor: The American Kindness Tour at Sunset Center

We all remember the heat Sinead O’Connor generated after tearing up a photo of the pope on Saturday Night Live back in 1992 following her performance of Bob Marley’s “War.” But we also remember the tears the Irish rabble rouser induced with her minimal heartfelt cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Love or hate her, the cue ball headed singer-songwriter’s non-traditional voice paired with always-brutally honest lyrics are still adored: O’Connor’s 2012 How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? was praised by Rolling Stone for having “empathy, with wit and beauty.”

8pm Nov. 29. $42; $102. 620-2048, www.sunsetcenter.org.