Group Fiddles Around to Please the Masses : Cletus Bumpus & the Other Guys can be found every Thursday evening playing at Tommy’s Drive-In in Camarillo.

If you’re passing by Tommy’s Drive-In after softball practice tonight, treat yourself to some free down-home humor and fiddle licks by Cletus Bumpus & the Other Guys. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Thursday, Paul Skeels, David Buettner, Joe Hunsinger, Mark Smith and Jim Stephenson play what they call “music to please the masses.” And their repertoire of old-time fiddle, bluegrass and country-based tunes, original works and some classic oldies is a delightful change from Top 40 New Country. Tommy’s is at 596 Mobil Ave., Camarillo. Call 486-0945.

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The band will also perform from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of California and Main streets as part of the free entertainment at Ventura’s seven-block street fair. At the same time, you can catch Top 40 Country duo Sibling Rivalry at Main and Chestnut streets, Cajun-zydeco band Acadiana at Mission Park and the Old-Time Fiddlers at Main and Palm Streets. Guitarist Ron Sexton will be in Plaza Park from 10 a.m. to noon. For details, call 658-4755.

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For more free outdoor family-oriented country music, head over to the Carousel Marketplace stage at Ventura Harbor Village. Sibling Rivalry will entertain from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. And on Tuesday, the Rhythm Rangers supply its original brand of country-rock. You’ll also find lots of children’s activities at 1559 Spinnaker Drive. For more information, call 644-0169.

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The KHAY Country Band and the Witcher Brothers bluegrass band will be among the performers from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at a community fireworks display at Ventura College. Families are encouraged to bring picnics and blankets, but pets, glass containers and alcohol are prohibited. Gates open at 5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased in advance at several locations in Ventura. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children, ages 3 to 12. At the gate you’ll pay $8 and $5. The event will be held on the softball fields, 4667 Telegraph Road. For details, call 642-6797.

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You might want to catch the Fender Benders tonight through Saturday at the Galleon Room. At the end of the summer, Dan Wilson, Jim Monahan, Lee Rollag and Bob Nichols plan to pursue other projects and will only use the Fender Benders name when they occasionally perform together as a festival act.

Wilson will still be visible on the acoustic music scene, collaborating with his wife, Mary Wilson, Jimmy Adams and Peter J. Boles. And watch for an emerging group called the Rincon Ramblers, with an all-star lineup featuring Wilson; Acousticat and hot fiddler Phil Salazar, a founding member of defunct Sky King; Bill Flores from Little Johnny and the Giants; Marley’s Ghost mainstay Jon Wilcox, and Ojai’s local acoustic legend, Alan Thornhill.

The Galleon Room is inside the Orchid Bowl at 5925 Calle Real in Goleta. Call 967-0128.

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Beginning in July, the Silver Dollar Saloon in Simi Valley will be closed Mondays. But the club will still feature live bands six nights a week and free dance lessons from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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The Acousticats will perform its special progressive bluegrass music under the stars at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Olivas Adobe courtyard, 4200 Olivas Park Drive in Ventura. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children. Call 658-4726.

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Eight-week dance courses: Starting Tuesday, line-dance those calories away from noon to 1 p.m. with Kathy Bailey at the Borchard Community Center, 190 Reino Road in Newbury Park. Cost is $24. To register, call 498-3124. She’ll also offer the course from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Conejo Community Center, 1300 Hendrix Ave. in Thousand Oaks. Cost: $28. Call 495-2163.

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“Clogging is not a plumbing problem,” say fans of this highly aerobic, Appalachian Mountain-style dancing. It’s more like watching the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes precision-tap dance their way through the Achy Breaky. Starting Wednesday, 7 to 8:15 p.m., Julie Morris will have beginners at the Borchard Community Center hoofin’ like Jed Clampett. Cost: $24. Call 498-3124.