You've probably heard this before. It's been said before. There's an attempt to pump new life into the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts.

Over the last few years, activity at the historic downtown complex has been sporadic at best. But Warnors has another new executive director, Jim Pacini, and he's managed to put some events on the calendar recently.

Warnors hosted a few concerts at the tail-end of 2011, including the first of what it hopes is an annual Christmas big band concert.

Now this week finds Warnors Theatre, 1400 Fulton St., and its adjoining club venue Frank's Place, 1432 Fulton St., with concerts on the docket.

Tonight actor/folk musician Ronny Cox plays Frank's Place in a show that gets an assist from the Fresno Folklore Society. Cox has appeared in films such as "RoboCop," "Deliverance" and "Total Recall," but he also has recorded folk music for years.

On Thursday, Warnors Theatre hosts a night of country music with Aaron Tippin, Sammy Kershaw and Joe Diffie, all of whom enjoyed their most success in the '90s. Between them, they have more than 40 top 10 hits.

Of local note: Rising country band Whisky Row is opening the show.

Coming up, Warnors hosts Christian rock band Superchick (Jan. 25) and Nickelodeon act The Fresh Beat Band (Feb. 16).

Elsewhere

• Local bands The Dirty Stomp and Panama Lane play a free show tonight at Joe's Steakhouse, 831 Van Ness Ave. 7 p.m.
• Audie's Olympic, 1426 N. Van Ness Ave., hosts a night of jazzy local music. It starts with an acoustic set from David Hull, then jazz/rock/funk from HR7 and ends with The Experience with Ray Moore and Eva Scow. 9:30 p.m. $5.
• Tonight Thai Palms, 7785 N. Palm Ave. #101, begins a new Friday local band showcase called Homegrown Fridays. Homebrew, Pawn and This Planet, Prelude perform. It's free and starts at 8 p.m. The series is tied into radio station New Rock 104.1's Homegrown radio show, which showcases local bands at 8 p.m. Sundays.
• L.A. rock band Modern American Theatre trucks into Fresno to play at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Lamp Post, 607 E. Divisadero St. $5.
• "American Idol" finalist James Durbin plays the first installment of Y101's "Unplugged" concert series for 2012. He's playing acoustic on Tuesday at Old Town Saloon, 450 Clovis Ave., in Clovis. It's a free show starting at 8 p.m.
• Cartright and American Sharks: 8:30 p.m. Jan. 10, Audie's Olympic, 1426 N. Van Ness Ave. Free (559) 233-3733.

  Two more Texas rock bands, Cartright (from Austin) and American Sharks (Houston) venture into Fresno on Tuesday night. They're playing in the featured spot at Audie's Olympic's weekly open mic night. The event is free to attend and open to local performers. It's hosted by local musician Thomas Medrano. The open mic starts with sign-ups at 8:30 p.m. The featured bands play around 10:30 p.m.

• The Young: 9:30 p.m. Jan. 6, The Cellar Door, 101 W. Main St., Visalia, $5, (559) 636-9463

  Austin-based rock band The Young are recent signees to Matador Records, home to artists such as Cat Power and Sonic Youth. The Young play a loud and energetic brand of rock, with punk influence. For its Cellar Door stop, the band is joined by Visalia bands XY Breakdown Party and Tyrannosaurus Zebra.

• Los Rakas: 9 p.m. today, Fulton 55, 875 Divisadero St., $5-$12, (559) 412-7400, fulton55.com.

  The most eclectic option on the music calendar this week? That's easy: Los Rakas. They're a Panama-born, Bay Area-bred duo whose music is equal parts Jamaican dancehall, Latin dance music and Bay Area hip-hop. The result is booming beats, dancefloor-friendly rhythms and vocals in Spanish.