What you get On Tuesdays Sydney's Jazzgroove Association presents a couple of acts. At other times during the week you get local musicians, and a few more exotic flavours such as Afro-Cuban or Middle Eastern jazz. Weekend nights welcome established artists from Sydney and interstate. Late on Fridays, from 11.30pm to 2am, there are freestyle MC, poetry and singing sessions to a naturally evolving soundtrack of live jazz, soul and hip-hop. Musicians from R&B superstars Chaka Khan and Jill Scott's bands stopped by for a jam when in town recently. Feels like someone's lounge room: The Newsagency in Marrickville. Credit:Wolter Peeters Who's playing? Tonight: pianist Chris Cody, $21.50. Tomorrow: singer-songwriter Natalie Dietz, $21.50. Thursday: Mark Isaacs Trio featuring American bassist Jay Anderson, $27.50. MISS PEACHES Where is it? 201 Missenden Road, Newtown. misspeaches.com.au, 9557 7280.

What's the vibe? A neon arrow points you above the much-loved Marlborough Hotel in Newtown to Miss Peaches. It calls itself a ''soul food kitchen'' - and there are some hearty treats on its menu, such as cornbread sliders and collard greens - but it's also a stylish bar, all exposed brick walls and low ceiling, with a decent selection of North American beers. More importantly, the satisfyingly loud, swinging blues of Thursday-night house band Ray Beadle and the Silver Dollars brings a juke-joint feel and gets plenty of people dancing. (This is unsurprising - Sharon Hanley leads dance classes at Miss Peaches on Wednesdays and Thursdays for both beginners, $14 a lesson, and intermediate, $16.) What they say Richie Haines, general manager: ''The concept and main ideology of Miss Peaches is to transport the casual Sydney bar-goer over to the deep south of the States, through music, drinks and food. If we can allow people that release from their everyday lives in Sydney, then we have succeeded. Social club vibe: The Soda Factory in Surry Hills attracts big names for late-night shows. Credit:Wolter Peeters ''We've created a little piece of the southern States and transported it to Newtown and that is a very special thing to have done … Miss Peaches isn't just one thing or another, it has it all.'' What you get The three main concepts, Haines says, are ''a very strict music policy with its roots in '50s and '60s R&B and soul, a bar with the best ingredients and a kitchen pumping out our specific twist on southern food''. It's also worth noting that Miss Peaches is only open from Wednesday to Sunday, so no spontaneous visiting early in the week.

Right note: Foundry 616 at 616 Harris st. Prymont. Credit:Edwina Pickles Who's playing? Thursdays: Boom Boom with Ray Beadle and the Silver Dollars, free. Sundays: Rickety Racket with music from bluegrass outfit 200k and others, free. THE NEWSAGENCY Where is it? 375 Enmore Road, Marrickville. alisonavron.com/the-newsagency, 8095 0246. What's the vibe? If it feels like you're watching a show in someone's lounge room at the Newsagency, you're not far off the mark - and not just because it seats only about 40 on primary-school chairs or because its lessee, singer-songwriter and singing teacher Alison Avron, intended to use this former news agency (if you hadn't yet guessed from its name) for her own professional purposes. As the acts performing here are often fellow local musician friends of Avron - not to mention that the Newsagency is an all-ages venue and family-friendly - there's a genuine warmth to the room; headline artists watch the support acts and cheer them on, and vice versa. There's no bar or kitchen but the Vic on the Park pub across the road offers a 10 per cent discount to Newsagency patrons, while Supreme Pizza next door delivers to your seat.

What they say Avron: ''The reason I took over the lease was because I wanted a place to teach singing out of. Then it just sort of evolved into this space where everyone wanted to come and perform … and now it's kind of an institution among independent singer-songwriters. It's a real listening space. It's not like a pub or bar where there's sort of incidental music - people come here specifically to listen to the artist. The music is the main priority.'' What you get ''Because it's so small it leans more towards solo/duo kind of folk stuff,'' Avron says. ''But, having said that, jazz goes down really well here - we've had up to six people on the stage before.'' Who's playing? Saturday: Matt Glass, Jamie MacDowell, $16.50. February 15: Peter Miller-Robinson, Christina Mimmocchi, $16.50. February 21: Mali, James Leahy, Helen Perris, $21.50. THE SODA FACTORY Where is it? 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills. sodafactory.com.au, 8096 9120.

What's the vibe? Behind the American diner facade welcoming you to ''Bobby's Boss Dogs'' on Wentworth Avenue is a pair of double doors that take you into our favourite venue of the four, the Soda Factory. Inside it looks nothing like a factory or, indeed, a diner; rather it's a warm, dimly lit room with a stage at one end (cutely decked out like a lounge room, complete with sofa and paintings), a bar in the middle and tables dotted around. There's none of the intimidating pretentiousness of some other city bars, the cocktail list is sensational and the food is delicious, if hardly healthy - an issue that will be addressed to some extent later this month when the Soda Factory extends the menu beyond hot dogs and fries to include a selection of salads, as well as yet more indulgent treats such as cheeseburger spring rolls and popcorn shrimp. What they say ''Boss Dog'' Graham Cordery: ''We wanted to be a lot of different things under one roof: a small bar-meets-American diner-meets-live-music venue - and do all of those things really well … You wouldn't really find a cocktail bar particularly at too many live music gigs. It's like a social club kind of vibe. It almost takes it back to the days where your restaurants and bars or clubs in the '50s and '60s - you know, you've got someone on stage but at the same time there's people eating dinner and having a drink.'' What you get Among the nightly attractions are $1 gourmet hot dogs and live acoustic music on Tuesdays, Mad Men-themed cocktails and rockabilly outfit Dick Smithers & the Doo Wops (and others) on Thursdays, and yet more live bands after the 5-7pm happy hour(s) on Fridays. Also look out for late-night sets from big names - indie stars Foals and Bloc Party have played post-gig DJ sets there, while singer-songwriter Jason Mraz performed an acoustic set after his recent Entertainment Centre gig. Who's playing? February 22: legendary hip-hop DJ Grandmaster Flash, free.