RALEIGH -- There's good news and bad news about the Berkeley Cafe. The good news is that the downtown club and restaurant at 217 W. Martin St. is staying open. But the bad news is that it's losing the big 200-capacity music room.

That space will close June 30 and be converted to a retail store called Island Tobacco, according to landlord York Properties. The Berkeley will be down to the smaller adjoining cafe space. It will continue to have live music, but on a smaller scale with a capacity closer to 100.

"We hate downsizing," owner John Blomquist said on Monday. "It's not the end of an era, but it is the end of the big side and we'll miss it. It's gonna be a transition."

Blomquist opened the Berkeley in 1980, expanding its live-music operation into the big hall in the early 1990s. The Berkeley has hosted everything from country singers to hip-hop and metal over the past two decades, including some of the local scene's biggest names -- Chatham County Line and Ryan Adams' Whiskeytown among them.

"I've always liked the Berkeley, the funkiness of it," said Marianne Taylor, one of several outside promoters who booked concerts there.

For a number of years, the big music hall also included a storefront space on Martin Street, which housed a series of businesses including a coffee shop and convenience store. The last one, Taz's, moved out in late 2010. After the Berkeley's lease on the music-hall space expired last November, York began shopping the property to potential tenants.

"York told us they were exercising their out and it was pretty short, less than 30 days," said Jim Shires, managing partner who oversees the Berkeley's live music. "We asked for another month to fulfill some obligations to bands and customers, and they agreed to give us until June 30. So there are no hard feelings. We've always known this was a possibility."

So goes another downtown club, but at least the Berkeley Cafe will remain. Blomquist's lease runs until 2023, and he promised he's not going anywhere.

"A man needs a place to go and I want to continue coming here," Blomquist said. "I love my customers."

Whenever you're trying to pick and choose which shows to attend, here's a pretty handy rule of thumb: If any of the Megafaun guys are involved with something in any capacity, it's going to be worth your time. Friday night brings the latest example, "Boomer's Story: A Celebration of Ry Cooder," inspired by the iconic and eclectic California blues-rock man. For "Boomer's Story," Megafaun's Phil Cook assembled a local supergroup he calls the Guitarheels (featuring members of Chatham County Line, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mount Moriah and others) to present a tribute to Cooder's 1972 cult-classic album, which remains much-beloved even though it was never anything like a "hit."

The show happens Friday at Saxapahaw's Haw River Ballroom. Meantime, a short documentary film about the project hit the interwebs today -- check that out here.

ADDENDUM: There's a very nice video from the show making the rounds.

Singer/songwriter Tokyo Rosenthal has a decent-sized following around his hometown of Chapel Hill, but that's nothing compared to his profile across the pond in Ireland. In fact, he's set to receive an honor as part of The Gathering Clare on Friday, in a ceremony in the Irish town of Killaloe -- where he is held in very high regard thanks to "Killaloe," a song on his current album "Tokyo's Fifth."

"Killaloe" features instrumental contributions from Chatham County Line fiddler John Teer (who knows a thing or two about popularity in far-away places) and dB's co-leader Chris Stamey. Rosenthal's aunt and uncle lived in Killaloe 30-some years ago, and the song is a remembrance of his visits there. It's the seventh track listed here, if you'd like to take a listen.

Got a song in you that seems like it would make a fitting anthem for North Carolina? Our State wants to hear it. The magazine is sponsoring a "Carolina Songs Singer/Songwriter Competition," seeking an original song "inspired by the place we call home."

Organizers say its open to all genres, as long as the song is original, about North Carolina and upload-able. Rhiannon Giddens, Dave Wilson and Laurelyn Dossett are among the judges; and the grand prize includes $500 cash and recording of the song in a professional studio. Best of all, there's no entry fee.

Deadline for submission is Sept. 30. Go here for details.

Speaking of upcoming outdoor shows, Durham's American Tobacco Amphitheatre has put out a 10-show schedule for this year's Music on the Lawn series. Sponsored by WUNC-FM's Back Porch Music, the lineup draws from the roots and Americana end of the spectrum:

April 30 -- Chatham County Line

May 21 -- Mike Cross

June 4 -- Uncle Earl

June 18 -- Kickin' Grass

July 30 -- Laura Boosinger & Josh Goforth

Aug. 13 -- Stillhouse Bottom Band

Aug. 20 -- Thad Cockrell

Sept. 10 -- Gravy Boys

Sept. 17 -- Paul Brown and the Mostly Mountain Boys

Oct. 8 -- Music Maker Relief Foundation showcase with Cool John Ferguson, Captain Luke, John Dee Holeman, others

The Grammy Awards happen on Sunday night, and we'll have more to say about one of our local nominees later this week. In the meantime, however, there's other award-type news from half a world away to report. Local bluegrass band Chatham County Line has been nominated for a Spellemann Prize, the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammys, for the group's latest collaboration with Jonas Fjeld. The ceremony is March 6, and frontman Dave Wilson says CCL plans to attend "if it works out and the label will pay."

Meantime, the next Fjeld-less CCL album is coming along. Titled "Wildwood," it's at the mixing stage and features Tift Merritt drummer Zeke Hutchins in a prominent role that Wison promises will "continue to confuse the bluegrass community wholeheartedly." Look for that to emerge this summer.

Dave Wilson is a man of few regrets. But nowadays, he does regret something that might seem peculiar -- that he never learned to speak the native language in Norway, where his Triangle-based bluegrass band Chatham County Line is borderline huge.

"Yeah, I kinda wish I'd hit that harder on the first trip over, because I never figured we'd be going over there very much," Wilson says. "I was thinking, 'This is a flash in the pan, we'll never be coming back again.' So I never learned it and now I wish I had because we've been over there a bunch. I can say a few things. Greg [Readling] can read the paper, which is impressive. It's hard to decipher what they're saying to you. They always sound real drunk. But I did get so drunk in a bar one night that I did in fact begin to speak Norwegian."

Chatham County Line is in the midst of recording a new album, and the group's annual Christmas show is nigh. For more details, see the story in Friday's paper.

New to the Berkeley Cafe concert calendar, Norwegian singer Jonas Fjeld on Feb. 12, backed up by the Triangle's own Chatham County Line. Fjeld and CCL are wildly popular over in Fjeld's home country, and this show is a "dress rehearsal" for the duo's upcoming Norwegian tour in support of "Brother of Song" -- due out Feb. 24 in Norway. No U.S. release yet, but we can hope.

ADDENDUM: Here's a bit of CCL live, courtesy of NBC-17.

Incoming governor Bev Perdue has a most impressive lineup of North Carolina acts set to play at her inaugural ball in Raleigh next month. The festivities kick off Jan. 8 at the Lincoln Theatre with pop bands old and new, Dillon Fence and Pico vs. Island Trees. Then on Jan. 9, the formal ball at the Raleigh Convention Center will have musicians including Durham jazzman Branford Marsalis, Granite Falls-born country singer Eric Church and two of the Triangle's best alternative-country acts, Tres Chicas and Chatham County Line.

For complete lineup and ticket details, check here.

This year has seen a ton of fantastic local records perfect for gift-giving -- just check the tags on this post for a few suggestions on acts to look for. And for further specifics, click here.

Meanwhile, the annual "alternative" musical gift guide is coming on Dec. 14. Check previous years' installments here.