A New Place to Brush Up on Old Dance Steps : C.J. Nelson’s in Ventura offers line and couples instruction every Wednesday, taught by Lori McGee and Jay Byam.

A new Country Night debuted last week at C.J. Nelson’s in Ventura. Show up at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays to learn a line dance or at 8 p.m. for couples instruction, both taught by deejay-instructors Lori McGee and Jay Byam. Open dancing is 9 to 11 p.m. There’s no cover charge except for the 6:30 p.m. hour, which is reserved for serious dance students who have paid a fee. You can take a free look-see from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Caught Red Handed will provide live music June 30 and July 1. C.J. Nelson’s is in the Doubletree Hotel, 2055 E. Harbor Blvd., Ventura. For information or to register for dance lessons, call 529-8241.

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Maxie’s in Oak View kicks off a four-day Country-Western Celebration featuring free dance lessons at 7:30 tonight through Saturday and at 4 p.m. Sunday with deejay Vince Fiske. The Rhythm Rangers take the stage at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s activities roll at noon with a pool tournament. Belly up for the barbecue at 3 p.m. Maxie’s is at 101 Short St. Call 649-9931.

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Save a buck on plaza chair seating and bring a lawn chair for Acadiana’s free outdoor Cajun-zydeco and country music concert, 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Heritage Square, 8th and B streets in Oxnard. For details, call 483-7960.

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If those bayou tunes give you Happy Feet, head for the weekly Friday night Country-Western Dance at the American Legion Hall, 83 S. Palm St. in Ventura. Learn some steps from Kathy Culley at 7:30 p.m. Then catch the KHAY Country Band’s harmony vocals and novel Top 40 country arrangements, 8 p.m. to midnight in the smoke-free room. Admission is $5 per person. Call 643-8833.

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KTND radio’s free Thunder Summer Concert Series continues with a country music doubleheader this weekend at Toyota of Simi Valley, 2380 1st St. On Saturday, noon to 3 p.m., Caught Red Handed plays the tunes, Rick Henderson teaches and prize giveaways are courtesy of deejays Billy Gibson and Bob Allen. On Sunday, same time, same place, they turn the Rhythm Rangers loose. Call 650-7999.

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Yes, that was the Rhythm Rangers you heard last week on KSAC, the popular Los Angeles adult album-alternative station. Deejay Mimi Chen spotlighted “Garbage Man,” a funky R&B; cut from the band’s country-blues-American roots CD.

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Now that Philip (Jackson) Claypool has been signed by Curb records and is touring, writing and recording with the legendary Carl Perkins, Santa Barbara fans can say “we knew him when.” Just a year ago, he was a Cold Springs Tavern favorite, playing with other local groups, from Spaghetti Western to the Cache Valley Drifters.

Claypool dropped by KHAY’s Santa Fe Cafe request show recently to perform his current single, “Swingin’ on My Baby’s Chain,” and the ballad “Yellow Rose,” which he wrote while following a flower truck from Ventura to Santa Barbara.