The Drive-By Truckers' not-so-secret weapon, the charmingly haggard muscle-rock yin to Patterson Hood's contemplative yang, singer-songwriter Mike Cooley (aka "Stroker Ace," the best musical nickname known to man) plays a rare local solo show at the Melting Point this week. This year's DBT outing, English Oceans, found the band re-invigorated, thanks largely to Cooley's increased presence; he penned six of the record's 13 songs and was largely responsible for its no-nonsense vibe. The guitarist's personal creative resurgence also birthed a first-ever solo album, The Fool on Every Corner. Expect to hear tunes from both records, as well as a fair amount of classic Truckers material, at Friday's stripped-down show.

8 p.m. $15 (adv.), $20 (door). www.meltingpointathens.com