Monterey County isn’t home to a bustling metropolis. Salinas is about the same size as Paterson, New Jersey, while Monterey has a population closer to that of Juneau, Alaska (thankfully without the Palin factor, except for the out-of-towners who show up at the health care town hall meetings).

But, while there’s no big music event in Paterson this fall and Juneau is only hosting something called “Bowzer’s Rock ‘N Roll Party,” Monterey County is stuffed with great music events, including performances by household names and an eclectic crop of boundary-pushing acts.

Of course, the most reliable music event in Monterey County during the fall months is the Monterey Jazz Festival (925-275-9255), which takes over the Monterey Fairgrounds Sept. 18-20. As always, the festival lineup is impressive and unexpected, with folk singer Pete Seeger and jam band Soulive joining Susan Tedeschi and other famed cool cats, including Wynton Marsalis, the Dave Brubeck Quartet and Jason Moran.

A little over a week later, the Monterey Fairgrounds will be drawing a notably different crew of local music fans with promoter David Drew’s Monterey Rock Festival (372-5863) on Sept. 27. The headliners of the six-and-a-half-hour event are ’80s rocker Billy Squier, who is known for the hit “The Stroke,” and Heart, the female-fronted hard rock band that spawned the classic rock staples “Crazy on You” and “Barracuda.”

In the past, Henry Miller Library’s (667-2574) annual fundraising concerts have included performances by composer Phillip Glass, punk icon Henry Rollins and performance artist Laurie Anderson. This year, the big show will be an evening with Marianne Faithfull Oct. 9. Faithfull has had an extraordinary life to say the least, from co-writing the Rolling Stones’ “Sister Morphine” to acting in films (Marie Antoinette) and theater (Tom Waits’ The Black Ryder) to recent musical collaborations with Beck, Billy Corgan and Nick Cave.

Singer/songwriter Joan Osborne, who hit it big way back in 1996 with her single “One of Us,” comes to Monterey’s Golden State Theatre (372-3800) on Oct. 18. She’ll be joined by boxer-turned-songwriter Paul Thorn and The Holmes Brothers, a great blues, soul and gospel trio known for their originals and superb covers of Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle” and Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free.”

Even though it’s hard to dance within Carmel’s Sunset Center (620-2048), I’d be surprised if people didn’t try for War’s Nov. 7 appearance at the venue. After all, this is the master funk group that released “Spill the Wine” and “Low Rider.”

Even though they are not immediately recognizable, Vermont’s Wood Tea Company will evoke America’s rich musical past while performing at the CSUMB World Theater (582-4580) on Oct. 23. The quartet employs quaint instruments including penny whistle and something called a clog board to play a mix of bluegrass, Celtic, sea shanties and folk songs.

As for up-and-coming acts, local promotion house Folk Yeah is always on the cutting edge of new music. On Sept. 25, Folk Yeah brings MV & EE to the Henry Miller Library for what they call “lunar ragas,” a mix of Indian music, Appalachian folk and psychedelic rock. The next day, on Sept. 26, The Dodos perform at Henry Miller Library between appearances at the Outside Lands Festival and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Later, on Oct. 3, The Hot Toddies return to Jose’s (655-4419) to perform their spunky take on ’60s girl group music and New Wave. They do Big Sur’s Fernwood (667-2422) the next evening, Oct. 4.

Sugar and Gold, a San Francisco funk rock band with Monterey roots, returns to the area for a show Oct. 18 at the Blue Fin Café and Billiards (717-4280). The same night, Daikaiju plays just across the recreation trail at Jose’s (655-4419). The Alabama-based surf rock band is known for donning kabuki masks while ripping through songs like “Mothra Girls” and “Attack of the Crabwomen.”

Across the county, the seven-piece Santana cover band Zebop storms Salinas’ Casa Sorrento (757-2720) on Oct. 18. Expect covers of “Europa,” “Oye Como Va” and “Black Magic Woman.”

An up and comer who’s a little more mainstream, Rodney Atkins graces Salinas’ Fox Theater (758-8459) on Oct. 29. With five number one country music hits, this guy is on a roll.