Live music picks for TUESDAY MAY 15 through SATURDAY MAY 19, 2012.

TUESDAY MAY 15 / PS I LOVE YOU / THE GARRISON / 1197 DUNDAS W / $10.50 / 19+
This is as polarizing a band as you're ever going to find, and on a personal level, I'm not even entirely sure what I think of them. On the one hand, PS I Love You is made up of two clearly talented musicians. And they're from Kingston, which is only a stone's throw away from Toronto, so it's nice to see some borderline-local boys enjoy some success. But on the other hand, their music is...well, it is what it is. I'm not going to pass judgment on it, as I truly believe that you should give it a listen. We'll have an in-depth look at the band later this week. Stay tuned.

WEDNESDAY MAY 16 / OLD MAN LUEDECKE / HUGH'S ROOM / 2261 DUNDAS W / $22 - $25 / ALL AGES

Regular readers of the Hot Ticket might remember Old Man Luedecke making a brief appearance a few weeks ago, when he opened for The Deep Dark Woods at their Great Hall show. This time around, he's headlining, and any fan of alt-country and bluegrass will want to make an effort to check him out. Luedecke plays a mean banjo, and his songs will definitely get your feet tapping and your hands clapping. Del Barber will offer support.

THURSDAY MAY 17 / RON SEXSMITH / QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE / 190 PRINCES' BLVD / $38.50 / ALL AGES

You'll rarely, if ever, hear someone say something negative about Ron Sexsmith. Here's a guy who came from humble beginnings in St. Catharines, has paid his dues, and consistently released critically-acclaimed and highly accessible records. The fact that he hasn't seen much commercial success is practically criminal, in my opinion, but he's never let it get him down. He's arguably one of the finest musicians in the country, and this concert is not to be missed.

FRIDAY MAY 18 / THE JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY / QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE / 190 PRINCES' BLVD / $38.50 / ALL AGES

I think that I can count on one hand the number of times that concerts at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre have made it onto these pages, and this week there's two on back-to-back nights. And wouldn't you know it, it's another immensely talented and woefully underappreciated Canadian talent. Joel Plaskett and his band have been making awesome music for the last decade, and while you're probably familiar with their biggest hit, "Nowhere With You," there's a lot more to them than that.

SATURDAY MAY 19 / ROCKY VOTOLATO / THE DRAKE HOTEL / 1150 QUEEN W / $19.38 / 19+

If you're looking for a nice little jam on Saturday night, why not take a trip down to the Drake? Rocky Votolato is a singer-songwriter out of Seattle, who does mellow tunes about as good as anybody. His music touches on a plethora of genres, from folk, to alt-country, to straight-up rock, and it's all kinds of awesome. Jeff Pianki will open.

For more music listings, head on over to our events calendar.

Looking for tickets? Check out Rotate This or Soundscapes to avoid Ticketmaster robbery.

Have an event you'd like us to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO events calendar.

Photo of PS I Love You courtesy of sidrguelph on Flickr.