If it weren’t for the slow but sure power of the independent music industry, Paul Thorn’s record label, Perpetual Obscurity, might actually be fitting. But as it is, Thorn, a Tupelo, Miss. Native, is far too talented to be contained by the usual languish. Since hanging up his gloves as a professional boxer, he’s been noticed by everyone from Mark Knopfler to Bonnie Raitt (“I told her that the next time she went out on tour,” Thorn joked recently, “if she didn’t pick me as her opening act, she and her dog would surely burn in hell”). A born storyteller with an endearingly halted drawl, Thorn is a pleasure to watch live; the setting is perfect for his tales of the dry South when he appears at a barbecue on the lawn on Sunday, Aug. 2, at Rancho Nicasio. Town Square, Nicasio. 4pm. $22–$25. 415.662.2219.Gabe Meline
.Aug. 2: Paul Thorn at Rancho Nicasio
