For Nashville-based band the Features, striking while the iron is hot appears to be their prevailing mantra. With their latest album, "Wilderness," having barely hit the marketplace on July 26 — and in the wake of a lengthy 2010 tour with Atlanta-based Manchester Orchestra and in the midst of another that culminates Friday (July 29) at L.A. alt-rock mecca the Satellite (previously known as Spaceland) in Silverlake — they’re back in the studio recording a follow-up album.

No lengthy gaps between records for this tight five-piece outfit; no endless tinkering in the studio to polish their hook-laden tunes within an inch of their life a la Coldplay. These guys have music oozing out of their pores and are itching to get it documented and in the can as quickly as possible.

By STEVEN GAYDOS

In the early part of this new century, I was based in London and there was an amazing new musical act just breaking out. Over the phone between L.A. and London, my longtime Variety colleague Steve Chagollan and I shared our enthusiasm for the very retro and very now British rhythm and blues belter, Amy Winehouse.

In 2005, I was producing a charity event for Variety in London and I secured Amy Winehouse's services to sing at the event, which wound up drawing such luminaries as Cate Blanchett, Martin Scorsese, Charlie Kaufman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Claudia Schiffer, et al.

 At the last minute, Amy Winehouse cancelled on us.

I was pretty angry, but when Winehouse became notorious for canceling seemingly ALL her gigs, I still found humor in this.

We did a short blog piece on Variety.com claiming, with photographic proof, that this charity event was "the first gig Amy Winehouse ever cancelled." It contained a copy of the note from her manager stating it was "the first time we have had to pull a performance by Amy..."

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Unsung history: The first time Amy Winehouse canceled a gig

So now there's a Grammy Museum, only it seems to be short on actual, you know, Grammys. Variety to the rescue! Our recent move to new offices exposed the darkest reaches of executive editor Steve Gaydos' questionable filing system and he found a fax that claims to commemorate the first time Amy Winehouse canceled a gig.

It's a letter dated Feb. 22, 2005 from Nick Godwyn, the man who discovered Winehouse when she was 16 and became her first manager. More importantly, he's also the man who inspired her hit "Rehab," according to the Times: "It was Godwyn’s attempt to encourage Winehouse to seek professional help at a clinic in Guildford, after discovering her in her Camden flat one day, crying inconsolably and skinny as a rake, that inspired her bolshie riposte in Rehab: 'I said, no, no, no!' "

However, first Godwyn wrote this letter to then-UIP chairman Stewart Till, apologizing for "your disappointment that Amy was unable to perform on the night of the 11th February." And isn't that a hell of a lot more impressive, not mention more relevant, than a goldish mini gramophone?

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By February 2008, when Winehouse had been refused a visa to travel to the USA because of her well-publicized battle with addictions, there was no anger or humor, just sadness and it was summed up succinctly in an interview I did with singer-songwriter Steve Earle after a powerful performance Earle gave in Berlin.

"When the subject of the Amy Winehouse rehab/visa travails controversy came up, Earle, a long-time outspoken advocate for treatment programs for musicians, was adamant in his concern about the troubled Brit chanteuse. 'The woman is dying. It's that simple and very very sad.' "

And now the woman is dead.

 Winehouse's passing underscores the seriousness of the battles against addictions that so many individuals, not just gifted musicians, face. And it's a reminder that even when you're rich and famous and the whole world knows you're hurting and you need help, it takes more than hit songs and sold-out shows to make the trip from "no no no" to "yes yes yes."

Ask Steve Earle.

Who says you get what you pay for? Now that "Carmaheaven" is behind us, the only price Angelenos will pay is $10 (cash) for parking, not to mention encountering normal traffic, to enter the Skirball Cultural Center — set off that stretch of the 405 in West Los Angeles that created such a tempest in a teapot last weekend — to see free music beginning tonight through Aug. 25.

For six consecutive Thursday evenings, the Skirball’s Sunset Concerts offer up an eclectic mix of world music, including the July 28 West Coast premiere of Red Baraat, which mixes North Indian rhythm Bhangra with brass funk (think Fela Kuti meets A.R. Rahman). For a band that’s played the Montreal Jazz Fest and the Chicago World Music Festival, the Skirball’s outdoor courtyard is a relatively intimate venue for such a big, boisterous band.

Tonight, Maria de Barros (pictured), who hails from the West African island republic of Cafe Verde, kicks off the series, fusing African- and Latin-inflected coladeiras and bluesy mornas with Spanish, Caribbean and Latin American influences.

The 15th annual program, curated by Skirball music director Yatrika Shah-Rais, also features Yemen Blues (Aug. 4), led by Yemenite Israeli vocalist Ravid Kahalani (whom National Geographic called "ridiculously charismatic") and arranger/bassist Omer Avital; Mexico City native Nuriya (Aug. 11), who combines Spanish vocals with rumba, flamenco, Afro-Cuban drumming, Arabic melodies, Gypsy brass and rhythms from the Middle East and the Caribbean; Thomas Mapfumo (hailed in his homeland as the "Lion of Zimbabwe") and the Blacks Unlimited (Aug. 18), known for a brand of music called "Chimurenga," which means "revolutionary struggle" in Shona; and Mexican American accordion virtuoso Mr. Vallenato (Aug. 25), distinguished by his commitment to Colombian folk music, including cumbia and vallenato.

Not unlike the Hollywood Bowl, patrons are encouraged to picnic on the grounds, although no booze or chairs are permitted on the premises. Seating is limited, and accommodations are on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7 p.m., with performances beginning at 8 p.m.

For more info, go to www.skirball.org.