Bill Kirchen

An Ann Arbor native who first gained fame as the guitarist in Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen and his band play a rowdy mix of rockabilly, honky-tonk, blues, swing, and truck-driving songs that critics have dubbed “dieselbilly.” Kirchen, who has lived in Washington, D.C., since 1986, has been inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame. “[Kirchen’s] no-nonsense diesel guitar attack, powered by great booming, bottom-heavy licks still covered with axle grease, is undoubtedly the real thing. Scattering scorching guitar runs in all directions, it’s all immediate, in your face, and more than a little dangerous,” says the Austin American-Statesman. $29.