POP NOTES : Sunday Forecast: Beneficial Morning Blues, Rock Later

We’ve heard of blues in the night, but John (Juke) Logan will play blues in the morning on Sunday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Fashion Island in Newport Beach after the annual “Run for Cover” benefit footraces.

The harmonica player and organ whiz from L.A. (he’s the guy who can be heard blowing sprightly harp during interludes on the “Roseanne” TV show) is expected to start playing around 9 a.m. His concert will be free; the early morning races, in which contestants in adult and child categories pay to compete, will raise money for HomeAid, a local charity that helps provide shelter for the transitionally homeless. (714) 491-4177.

SPEAKING OF SUNDAY BENEFITS: Three Blind Mice, Psychic Rain and Castle will play at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana starting at 5 p.m. on Sunday to help pay the funeral expenses of Jonothan Croweagle Fabbro Curtis, one of four youths killed July 29 in car wreck in the Mojave Desert. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. (714) 957-0600.

OFFSPRING UPDATE: O.C.’s contenders in the big punk sweepstakes will reissue their out-of-print 1989 debut album, “The Offspring,” on Nov. 21 on Nitro Records, an independent label headed by the band’s singer, Dexter Holland. In January, Holland says, the band will begin recording the follow-up to its multi-platinum 1994 release, “Smash.” Meanwhile, Offspring drummer Ron Welty is busy playing in the band Spinning Fish, which will open for the Lunachicks and Joyride on Nov. 14 at the Showcase Theatre, 683 S. Main St., Corona. (909) 340-0988.

PROG-NOSIS: Progressive rock isn’t nearly as hot in the marketplace as punk, but Greg Walker of Stanton continues to keep the flame alive with Progfest, his annual, internationally flavored showcase for contemporary bands that play in the venerable genre.

Progfest ’95 takes place Nov. 11 and 12 at the Variety Arts Center, 940 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, with Solaris (Hungary), Deus Ex Machina (Italy), White Willow (Norway) and Ars Nova (Japan) playing Nov. 11, and Pendragon (England), Lanberk (Sweden) and Spock’s Beard (United States) firing up the synths on Nov. 12.

The music starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets, $20 per day or $35 for both, are available through Ticketmaster or from Syn-Phonic/Progfest ‘95, P.O. Box 2034, La Habra, CA 90631. A sampler cassette featuring all the bands is available for $1 from Syn-Phonic, Walker’s record label, at the same address. (714) 894-5756.

LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD FOLKS: Traditional folk is another musical form that’s out of the commercial loop; the Living Tradition, the nonprofit group whose monthly shows at Ball Junior High School in Anaheim are among the few outlets for touring traditional folk artists in Orange County, seeks volunteers to help plan, stage and promote its events. Upcoming concerts include the Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble on Nov. 11 and blues guitarist Bob Brozman on Jan. 13. (714) 638-1466.