Dean Johnson visits The Belfry Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Three fine, fine singer-songwriters will play three different venues across Central Oregon this week, providing you, dear reader, with three opportunities to get out of your hour, go somewhere and support live music and the musicians who make it.

Ian George at Suttle Lodge

One of the best albums to come out of the state of Oregon this year is “A Fair,” an 11-track collection of soulful, sure-handed indie-folk from Ian George.

Old-timers in the region may remember George’s bluegrass band Patchy Sanders, which used to come up from Ashland to play locally. More recently, George performed in Central Oregon with Fellow Pynins, the excellent old-world folk duo he shares with his wife Dani Aubert.

George’s solo work comes from a more contemporary perspective than either of those projects, with interesting full-band arrangements that bring to the surface an array of influences, from pop, folk and soul to jazz, experimental music and beyond. Check out the tumble-down pace and wonderfully noisy guitar solo of “Amerikay” to hear what I’m talking about.

Ian George: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, $10, The Suttle Lodge, 13300 U.S. Highway 20, Sisters, thesuttlelodge.com.

Dean Johnson at The Belfry

Back in February, the wonderful Washington-based country band The Sons of Rainier played at Silver Moon Brewing, and we ran an interview with Devin Champlin, because he writes the songs for the band.

But Champlin is not the only great songwriter in the Sons. Singer and guitarist Dean Johnson is a local legend in Seattle — he’s known as the bartender who occasionally grabs a guitar and plays a few tunes, but who had never released an album. That finally changed in 2023 when Johnson put out “Nothing For Me, Please,” a collection of new and old tunes that, according to Bandcamp Daily, “showcase (his) homespun tenor, graceful melodies and softly swaying country-folk, flecked with hints of Everly Brothers pop ‘n’ soul.”

I wrote that, by the way, after listening to Johnson’s songs several times a year and a half ago. I just revisited them for the first time since, and they sound every bit as lovely today as they did back then. Seeing him play in The Belfry is going to feel like a delightful treat beamed in from simpler, more substantive times.

Dean Johnson, with Ian George: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, $20, The Belfry, 302 E Main Street, Sisters, belfryevents.com.

Matt Axton at Silver Moon Brewing

It’s not terribly common to come across an artist with a “Musical Legacy” section of their official website.

Then again, most artists aren’t Matt Axton, a singer-songwriter and member of the famous musical family with the same last name. Matt’s father is Hoyt Axton, a well-known actor and songwriter who penned songs like “Joy to the World” (a hit for Three Dog Night), “Greenback Dollar” (Kingston Trio), “The Pusher” (Steppenwolf) and “The No No Song” (Ringo Starr), and his grandmother is Mae Boren Axton, who co-wrote Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”

So music is in Matt Axton’s blood, and he calls his own style a “humble slice of Americana.” Check out his two singles from earlier this year — “Crazy City” and “Badmoon” — to get a sense for his easygoing blend of folk, rock, country, soul and funky jams. The guy knows his way around a memorable melody — no surprise, given his lineage.

Matt Axton: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, $12, Silver Moon Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend, silvermoonbrewing.com.