I really like Karen Marguth. She's the kind of vocalist who just makes you happy when you hear her sing. Hers is feel-good jazz music and she's giving her fans something new to feel good about.

Marguth has put together a new CD with local jazz group Espacio providing the soundscapes for her lush vocals. They're having a CD release party tonight at Tokyo Garden (see flier after the jump), but Marguth was nice enough to share a free mp3 with Beehive readers.

Listen to "Exactly Like You" below. The whole CD is available on CD Baby. I recommend the track "I Like Me When I'm With You," which was my favorite track on first spin.

LISTEN: Karen Marguth - Exactly Like You

We're going to put aside our Fashawn gushing for a while to talk about another local act with a big release today. That's rock band Fay Wrays who are releasing "Mata Hari" via JAXart Records. It's a digital release, so check your local iTunes.

Or, if you want to pick up a physical copy, stop by the band's CD release party on Thursday night at Audie's Olympic (flier below). You can read more about the band and the new release in this Bee story.

As a gift to all you Beehive readers, Fay Wrays have offered up a free mp3 of their rock goodness. Check out "Weatherman" below. We're not lying. It's super good.

DOWNLOAD: Fay Wrays - Weatherman

Local rapper Fashawn is doing really well for himself these days -- touring and getting props all over the hip-hop blogs. His proper debut album, "Boys Meets World," is primed for a September release. Before that, he's playing scattered dates on the Rock the Bells festival series.

I got an early listen and I'll testify that it's quite an impressive album, entirely produced by Exile (of Blu & Exile). Today we're giving you the new single from the album, "Life as a Shorty." (Warning: Language NSFW) As a bonus, check out a fresh video below from the recent "Boy Meets World" listening party held in L.A.

DOWNLOAD: Fashawn - Life as a Shorty (MP3)

I'm really diggin' this new local band Strange Vine. It's a duo made up of Toby Cordova and Ian Blesse, playing bluesy/psychedelic rock dripping with older influences.

Sidenote: Blesse is best known for playing in The Same Shape -- and he confirms that the band is broken up. You might remember I brought up that rumor here.

Strange Vine does well at picking up where The Same Shape left off, though. This song "Close Your Eyes" is one of my favorite local songs of the year. You can see Strange Vine twice this weekend in Fresno and Visalia (fliers below) and check out an interview with the band in The Bee's 7 section Friday.

DOWNLOAD:Strange Vine - Close Your Eyes (MP3)

Blake Jones (sans Trike Shop) is getting some nice attention lately for his most recent release -- an instrumental CD that contains plenty of theremin. The CD, titled "Theremins of Mystery," got featured on a CD Baby podcast and Star Trek-themed playlist. As the next in our Sounds of the City series, we're giving you a free MP3 from the CD.

If you like Jones with his poppy Trike Shop buddies, you're also in luck. They've got some summer dates lined up, starting next Saturday at Tokyo Garden. Details below.

DOWNLOAD: Blake Jones - Astronauts in Trouble (mp3)

Since we want you to love the Fresno music scene even more, we're teaming with local acts to give you 100%-free-of-charge music in a feature we're calling Sounds of the City.

We'll start with Americana/rockabilly band Motel Drive, which is putting out its debut CD, "$5 Tricks." The band is this week's Artist You Should Know in The Bee and is playing twice this week. Fliers below for those. Right now, here's my favorite song of Motel Drive's "Drifter Blues."

DOWNLOAD: Motel Drive - Drifter Blues (mp3)