The Old, Weird America - A night of American Folk Music @ Jianghu Bar

Jianghu Bar is hosting a series of American folk music events. These will range from workshops for musicians to live performances for anybody who likes to listen, dance to or even join in with a tambourine or guitar on some fine American folk jams. The first event will happen tonight, with performances from Liu Yusi, guitarist of the Randy Abel Stable,  Kirk Kenny, multi-instrumentalist working with the Beijing Alchemists, the Little Handsome and a co-organizer of the Beijing Pickers. The event gives an extra incentive to encourage audience participation, too. Anybody who brings in their own instruments to the show will get in for free.

When: 9 to 11:30 pm, Wednesday, December 26

Where: No. 7, Dongmianhua Hutong, Jiaodaokou Nandajie, Dongcheng district

Tickets: 30 yuan; free with your own instrument

Contact: 6401-5269

Shaanxi Music Special @ Yugong Yishan

Three music groups from Shaanxi Province - Huayin Laoqiang, Heisha Yuedui and Ma Fei - will head up a concert full of Shaanxi flavor. Their blend of local culture from the northwest combined with modern approaches gives audiences a taste of the wild, the touching and the humorous. Each band brings a different style and presence, but each is deeply steeped in the 5,000-year-old culture that unites them.

When: 8:30 to 11 pm, Saturday, December 29

Where: No. 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng district

Tickets: 100 yuan (advance); 120 yuan (door)

Contact: 5876-0181

Flamenco Master's Elegance: Rafael Amargo's Masterpiece @ National Centre for the Performing Arts

Rafael Amargo, a native Spainard, has learned the finer points of traditional flamenco as both dancer and choreographer. Amargo can draw from a variety of sources, such as his time spent studying with Martha Graham, to fuse flamenco with modern dance styles. You can catch his innovative style in the four-night run of his work at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

When: Monday, December 31, to Thursday, January 3

Where: No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district

Tickets: 180 yuan to 880 yuan

Contact: 6655-0000