Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Iron and Wine put out one of the best albums of 2007. Stars is a great romantic indie act from Canada.

As a band, Derby is newish to Eugene, but its lead singer once ran track for the University of Oregon. And Rogue Wave is doing a

What these acts have in common should be obvious by now: They are all playing Eugene this week. What's more, they are all very good - and if you plan correctly, you can catch them all because the shows are at different times.

Iron and Wine

Iron and Wine plays Monday at the McDonald Theatre to lead this strong week of indie rock.

Since debuting in 2002, Samuel Beam, (for the uninitiated, he is Iron and Wine) has put out three full-length albums and four EPs, as well as having songs on two soundtracks. One of those soundtracks, "Garden State," boosted the careers of many indie artists it featured.

But it was when taste-making indie label Sub Pop took him under its wing that his career really shot up. Sub Pop released "The Shepherd's Dog" in September 2007.

Beam soon made the rounds of such artist-is-making-it stops as "Late Night With David Letterman" and "Austin City Limits," not to mention most of the more exclusive festivals that feature soft, sad, creative, folk-influenced indie music.

Beam started out the way most bearded, mysterious musicians do: making whispered, lo-fi recordings in his basement. By the time he got around to making his Sub Pop debut, his palette had expanded to include such accoutrements as dub effects and vibraphone.

Iron and Wine made many top 10 lists for 2007, including the No. 10 spot for Paste magazine, just edging out Radiohead's "In Rainbows."

Monday's show starts at 9 p.m. at 1010 Willamette St. Tickets are $23, and San Francisco-based trio Sholi opens.

Canadian Stars

Stars, which has a new EP out, called "Sad Robot," plays the WOW Hall on Tuesday. Word is that a special show is planned.

One of Stars' singers and guitarists, Amy Millan, made her local debut with a solo show at the WOW Hall in December on her 33rd birthday. The Canadian quintet will perform songs from all four of its albums.

"Stars will unveil the beauty and tragedy of `Sad Robots'a... draped in the `Sad Robots' visuals while they perform," a news release says.

"In Our Bedroom After the War," which sold 500,000 units in Canada, was a finalist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize, which honors the Canadian album with the highest artistic merit (according to a jury). Caribou was the winning artist and received $20,000.

Think About Life opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door, 291 W. Eighth Ave.

Dimes and Derby

Tonight is indie-pop night at Sam Bond's Garage.

Headliners the Dimes have played Eugene many times, including the Eugene Celebration last year. Less familiar to the locals is a delightful band called Derby.

It's no surprise that Derby's song "If Ever There's a Reason," with its charming hand claps and instantly memorable melody, was scooped up for use on the ABC series "Men in Trees," as well as a couple of small independent entertainment projects, according to the group's publicist. It's a song that begs for a visual, and you can see its video on the Ticket blog: www.registerguard.com/ticketfiles.

The Portland-based trio, fronted by former UO long jumper Nat Johnson, is promoting its second self-produced album, called "Posters Fade."

Dominic Castillo and the Rock Savants are also on the bill. These three acts, along with Oh Darling, have formed a collective called the Department - modeled after Montreal's Broken Social Scene (of which Stars is a member.)

"A collective is really about building community and family with other artists that have similar goals and interests," Dimes frontman Johnny Clay says in a news release. The collective also helps groups by "leveraging each other's talent and value."

The show starts at 9:30 p.m. for a $5 cover. Sam Bond's is at 407 Blair Blvd.

Rogue Wave

Derby has shared the stage with Oakland, Calif.-based Rogue Wave, which headlines the fall kickoff concert Saturday in the ballroom at the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave. on the University of Oregon campus.

Like Iron and Wine, Rogue Wave once had the Sub Pop blessing. But Rogue Wave is now signed to Jack Johnson's label, Brushfire Records.

Songs by Rogue Wave have appeared on "Weeds," "Heroes," "Friday Night Lights" and "The O.C.," according to a news release.

The free show starts at 7 p.m. with the Daveys and Greenlander, a band of UO students.

- Serena Markstrom