LEGEND has it, a stranger wrapped his car round an old oak tree at Devil's Curve in Deer Lick Holler Valley, Appalachia.

He died but his music lived on or, rather, the box of vinyl on his back seat came into the possession of bluegrass mountain hicks Hayseed Dixie.

And lo it came to pass that the Oz rock of AC/DC mutated into rockgrass, as Whole Lotta Rosie, Touch Too Much and Highway To Hell were given the hoedown lowdown by Barley Scotch and his good ole' boys. Kiss, Queen, Motorhead, Aerosmith all now walk the hillbilly way, and even the latest in retro rock, The Darkness's I Believe In A Thing Called Love, enjoys a country kicking. Did anyone dare say The Wurzels? Wash your mouth; Hayseed Dixie sure play a mean banjo.

After the fun, the serious: a fund-raising tribute to the songs of ailing TexMex songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, who fell ill with Hepatitis C last year. Thirty-two acts - friends, family, peers, influences, admirers - interpret a songbook of sophistication, eloquence and musical breadth that, like the work of Townes Van Zandt, should be better known. Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Cowboy Junkies, Calexico, Jayhawks, Son Volt and John Cale all rally round; Bob Beuwirth, Rosie Flores and the Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra shine too, and fittingly Escovedo has the final say with Break This Time. He deserves a break.

Updated: 11:07 Thursday, September 09, 2004