Music Events

Toubab Krewe

In today's music world, there is a grievous challenge to distinguish oneself. Almost every direction in which you set off to explore is met with another's footprints. The challenge can prove too frustrating for many music pioneers.

Asheville's Toubab Krewe has taken on that challenge wholeheartedly and managed to established itself as one of the premier jam bands in the world, as well as one of the most innovative.

Formed in 2005, the quintet began making frequent trips to Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast to submerse itself in the music and culture of West Africa. The band's patchwork of West African and American music is intricately woven. The band's attention to detail and authentic work has earned them slots at Bonnaroo and Voodoo music festivals as well as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Toubab Krewe will perform Saturday at The Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy., with James Justin Burke and Co. Doors open at 10 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online at etix.com or at the door.

Groundation

It's a genre-bending experiment that, at first glance, might have seemed a little mismatched when the California-based band Groundation first emerged in 1998.

The nine-piece group is composed mostly of accomplished jazz musicians and music scholars who together have mixed shades of jazz, roots-reggae, funk and Dub music into a complex masterpiece.

Groundation celebrated the release of its ninth studio album, "Here I Am," last year and continues to awe live audiences with its flawless and interactive performances.

Groundation will perform two sets Wednesday at The Pour House, 1977

Maybank Hwy., as part of the bar's Bob Marley birthday celebration.

Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online at etix.com or at the door.

Shortwave Society

From time to time, people are lucky enough to catch a band before they take off.

Such is the case with Knoxville-based quintet Shortwave Society. This experimental indie group teeters along genre borders that range from electronic to classical and draws on influences as varied as Sufjan Stevens, The Beatles, Thelonius Monk and Arcade Fire.

Just last year, the unsigned up-and-comers were asking for donations to aid in making a debut record. Through the collaboration of fan support and old-fashioned DIY fundraising, Shortwave Society recorded its debut LP late last year and is in the middle of its groundbreaking regional tour.

Shortwave Society will perform Saturday at the Tin Roof, 1117 Magnolia Road.

Visit myspace.com/westashleytinroof or call 571-0775 for more information about the show.