Discover the Secret - Vieux Farka Touré at the 9:30 Club 8/30

Forget what you read on those Zodiacs in Chinese restaurants - 2011 is the Year of the Donkey. Or Farka, to be exact. Farka was the nickname bestowed upon Ali Ibrahim Touré, the late Grammy-winning Malian vocalist and African fingerstyle guitarist, for his tenacity in being the first of 10 sons to survive past infancy. Over a three-decade career, the elder Touré established himself as the first African bluesman to enjoy widespread popularity not only in Africa but around the world.

This past year marked the culmination of a remarkable run for Vieux Farka Touré, the son who demonstrated his own tenacity when he disregarded his father's discouragement and secretly taught himself to play the guitar. He collaborated with the South African band BLK JKS, played to a worldwide television audience of more than a billion people at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremonies, and released The Secret in May of this year. The Secret, his third studio album, was produced by Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno and featured collaborators as diverse and important as Derek Trucks, Dave Matthews, Ivan Neville and John Scofield. If Ali was "the African John Lee Hooker", Vieux has established himself as an African analogue to Eric Clapton, a virtuosic musician who expands the boundaries of his vision through his choices in producers and collaborators.

Barring any last-minute Irene-induced travel hiccups, Touré will be at the 9:30 Club this Tuesday. Opening for Vieux will be Cheick Hamala Diabate, a West African singer and storyteller and master of the traditional Malian instrument the ngoni. Tickets are $25, and doors open at 7 pm.

Vieux Farka Touré - Aigna (featuring Derek Trucks)

Be Assimilated Into the Culture of Fear - Thievery Corporation at Washington Kastles Stadium 8/20

The Dude thinks it's shaping up to be an nonstop-dance weekend. Thievery Corporation, the erudite elders of the DC electronica scene who've epitomized District Cool for 15 years, kick off their tour in support of their sixth studio album, Culture of Fear, at the recently inaugurated Washington Kastles Stadium at the Wharf. The new album, with its gauzy, almost Madchester feel, marks a return to form of their early productions. The sound may be slightly retro, but the mood is thoroughly modern, tinged with the socio-political tension for which Eric Hilton and Rob Garza are famous.

Opening for Thievery will be The Arkives, an ESL Music group aiming to help their audiences reconnect with reggae's rhythmic roots, and The Funk Ark, a funk ensemble whose broad influences include African and Latin dance and soul music. The event will feature full bar service, at least eight food trucks, and unlimited booty shaking into the night.

Doors open at 5pm, and general admission tickets are $45. Don't miss your chance to be acculturated!

The District Sleeps Alone Friday Night - Dntel at the Red Palace 8/19

Jimmy Tamburello, also known as Dntel but probably best known as 1/2 of the Postal Service, brings his Soft Alarm Tour to The Red Palace on Friday night.  Known for a variety of sounds from his early glitch-oriented compositions to the more electroacoustic collaborations with Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear) on his 2007 album Dumb Luck, Tamburello is one of those electronic artists, like Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, who defies expectations of what the electronic music genre should be.

Joining Dntel on this tour are The One AM Radio and Geotic. The One AM Radio, a project of Hrishikesh Hirway known for its lush arrangements and otherworldly sound, strikes me as the kind of music Sam Beam would have made had he gone electronic rather than acoustic. Geotic is an ambient, minimalist side project of Baths' Will Wiesenfeld.

Doors are at 8:30pm this Friday (August 19th), the show is 18+, and admission is $10Adv/$12DoS

Check out the title track from Dntel's Dumb Luck (Sub Pop 2007)
Dumb Luck - mp3

Junior League Band at the 9:30 Club Saturday 8/13

Whether you're a frequent traveler, casual listener, or just-plain-slow-to-get-onboard the Junior League Band express, Saturday night's show at the 9:30 Club is your absolute last chance to catch Lissy Rosemont and her band for the foreseeable future. Have you been telling yourself that you'd catch them the "next" time they play a gig? Have you been waiting for the right headlining gig, and for the cosmic tumblers to fall into place? If so, the future is now. Scientist-cum-multi-instrumentalist Rosemont has embarked upon her most ambitious biology project, and will be taking a little break from recording and touring following the birth of her daughter. The concert will double as an early birthday party for Rosemont, who turns 30 on August 17th.

The Atlanta-born Rosemont defies easy categorization, and in her voice one hears the the rootsy earnestness of Gilian Welch as well as the abstruse seduction of Jenny Lewis. Her band - which features drummer Will Waikart, bassist Brandon Kalber and guitarist John Lee - rounds out the sound of this multi-talented fiddler, banjo- and harmonica-playing vocalist.

Opening for the Junior League Band are Kingsley Flood, the Boston-based new Americana band and recent NPR Song of the Day selection known for their blistering live shows, and DC indie rockers Typefighter, who sound more than a little like Blind Pilot covering Thao with the Get Down Stay Down.

Doors open at 8pm, and the cover is $15. All aboard!