Summer Guide O utdoor Concerts & M usic Festivals 'BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival at MetroTech' Shades of blues: Amadou & Mariam perform at Summerstage M etroT ech Commons, corner of Flatbush photo: Bernard Bernand and M yrtle avenues, 718-636-4100, bam.org June 8 Easy Star A ll-Stars June 22 O detta w ith Catherine R ussell June 29 Salif Keita June 30 Eddie Palmieri July 6 W illie Colón July 13 A madou & M ariam:W hether the blues originated in M ali or bounced back there in a felicitous echo makes no difference as soon as this fabulous blind couple hits the stage (or the M P3 file "D imanche a B amako" w as one of last year's highlights). A madou B agayoko plays nasty vamping blues beside w ife M ariam D oumbia, a pepper-voiced chanteuse. T he results are glorious. G EH R July 20 T he R adiators July 27 T he Spinners August 3 T ortured Soul August 4 J ames B lood U lmer: Guitarist J ames B lood U lmer spent his formative years playing w ith O rnette Coleman and deciphering his mysterious "harmolodic" music theory system, learning a structure for Coleman's seemingly unstructured free jazz. R ecently he's been w orking out his dow ntow n jazz in a D elta blues format, and his outside lyricism conjures up the eerie mysticism of Skip J ames and Son H ouse. B EH R M AN August 10 B illy Paul August 11 Lonnie Liston Smith+ Eliane Elias 'Celebrate Brooklyn' Prospect Park B andshell, 9th Street and Prospect Park W est, 718-855-7882 x 45, celebratebrooklyn.org June 15 M aceo Parker June 16 T iempo Libre +J avier Garcia + Cuban Cow boys June 17 Laurie A nderson +Chirgilchin June 22 Los Lonely B oys + J ames H unter June 23 N atalie M acM aster's Cape B reton June 24 Savion Glover & Friends + R obert Glasper June 30 T V on the Radio + M att Pond PA : If their rousing, almost-religious spring show s are any indication, T V O T R 's forthcoming major label debut w ill bring the stomping rhythms, gospel-inflected harmonies, and arty, soulful guitars—w hich, live, fuzz and crackle under T unde A debimpe's smooth doo- w op croon—to a much w ider audience. T onight they're joined by fellow B rooklyners M att Pond PA and their O C-approved, midtempo chamber pop. A lso: V oxtrot. R AB ER July 1 A ngelique Kidjo + V usi M ahlasela July 7 B arrington Levy +Patrick J unior July 8 T oshi R eagon & B ig Lovely +J uca July 9 R alph's W orld + R ita H ouston July 12 Guster + R ay LaM ontagne July 13 Y o La T engo: H oboken's finest w ill perform T he Sounds O f Science—their soundtrack to eight short nature documentaries by French director J ean Painlevé—as a live accompaniment to the films. A w arm B rooklyn night w ill set the perfect scene for these surreal images of jellyfish and octopus accompanied by some of the most experimental, dreamy sounds of Y o La T engo's career. W ith Samara Lubelski. R AB ER July 14 B rooklyn Philharmonic July 15 N ortec Collective +B eto & R ichie Grupo Sonador July 21 A lloy O rchestra + M orley July 27 Philip Glass & Kronos Q uartet + Slavic Soul Party July 28 Leela J ames + B FE Sound System July 29 Sonora Poncena +J oe Bataan August 3 B ill Frisell + T he M oonlighters August 4 Los A migos Invisibles +Los T res + Z oe August 5 A frican Festival: Kekele + Lagbaja + A frican U nderground A ll-stars + M artino A tangana & the A frican B lue N ote: M asked Lagos singer- saxophonist and serious Fela fan Lagbaja w ill rev things higher in the w ake of locally-based Cameroonian guitarist M artino A tangana and the pan- A frican hip-hop of the A frican U nderground A ll-Stars. B ut headlining Kinshasa-to-Paris supergroup Kekele, constructed around the revered Papa N oel and featuring crack guitarists Syran M 'Benza and R igo Star, w ill go for the beauty in the great Congolese rumba tradition—even if they have to mine the Cuban songbook to get there. CH R IS T G AU 'Central Park SummerStage' R umsey Playfield, mid-park at 72nd Street, summerstage.org June 16 Charlie H unter T rio + Sex M ob + M athew Shipp + N ils Petter M olvaer June 25 Feist + B uck 65 + J ason Collette: A lthough it's not so secretly Canadian day in Central Park, those pining for some M ontreal vibe should be forew arned. Feist features Calgary-born, T oronto-based, B roken Social Scene–linked chanteuse—no, singer-songw riter—Leslie Feist, and how about that? Feist appears on the most recent album by the N ova Scotia–born, T oronto-based R ichard T erfry, a/k/a B uck 65, w hich features a band no one w ould call hip-hop. CH R IS T G AU June 28 Bonnie R aitt + Keb' M o': M s. R aitt's take on electric blues can still be incendiary, especially if you keep your ear on the guitar. She's also venturing into new , jazzier territory these days; along w ith her more soulful pop, these should make for an especially good pairing w ith Keb' M o's flow ing, mellifluous update of acoustic blues. M AZ O R June 29 Carnegie H all's N eighborhood Concert Series 30th A nniversary: A udra M acD onald July 2 Seu J orge + J ose Gonzales + A lex Cuba B and: B est know n for his lilting Portuguese B ow ie covers in T he Life A quatic W ith Steve Z issou, J orge should be better know n for his ow n earthy inner-city sambas. Gonzalez is an A rgentinean-Sw ede w ho sings lucidly, in English, w hile playing clean classical- influenced guitar. B orn and raised in Cuba, A lex Cuba B and multi- instrumentlist–leader A lex Puente sounds it. G EH R July 8 H akim July 13 A ni D iFranco July 15 T he Family Stand July 16 A madou & M ariam + D aby T oure July 20 U mphrey's M cGee + Galactic July 23 Konono N o. 1: D ancey and trancey, this W est A frican Congo troop takes likembé pianos (thumb pianos in the same family as mbiras) but amplifies them via a hodgepodge of magnets, microphones, and old car parts; dancers, singers, and traditional percussion provide ornamentation to the rustic and tribal grooves. Last years lauded show s at J oe's Pub w ere the first stateside appearances since their inception around 1980—w ell recommended! Fans of T homas M apfumo take note. A lso: D aara J . B O S LER July 26 Fiona A pple + D amien R ice + D avid Garza: Last D ecember at the N okia, A pple proved that the extraordinary circumstances of Extraordinary M achine's creation hadn't dulled her ability to get onstage and flip w igs. A half-year later, she'll likely be sharper still. Irish balladeer R ice is pretty snoozy on record, but live he channels the intensity of the old souls he w orships. A ustin-based Garza makes perfect pow er pop of w hich too few people are aw are. W O O D July 29 Goapele + A lice Smith July 30 Lady Sovereign + Pete R ock + J ean Grae + D J R ekha August 3 T he N ew Pornographers + Calexico + T he Frames: Canadian pow er pop supergroup N ew Pornographers could give you a toothache w ith their cotton candy vocals, cheerful rhythms, and ripe, catchy hooks, but leader Carl N ew man know s just how to balance the sw eet w ith the minor-key sour, making for the perfect pop confection. Calexico's dusty, Southw estern ranch rock w ill be the perfect, tart margarita chaser. R AB ER August 12 T he W ild M agnolia M ardi Gras Indians w ith B ig Chief B o D ollis + Irma T homas + T he H ot 8 B rass B and June 29 Carnegie H all's N eighborhood Concert Series 30th A nniversary: A udra M acD onald July 29 Goapele + A lice Smith August 12 T he W ild M agnolia M ardi Gras Indians + Irma T homas + H ot 8 B rass B and Central Park R umsey Playfield, mid-park at 72nd Street June13 moe. S eptem ber 5 & 6 Ben H arper + D amian J r. "Gong" M arley: Folk-soul dynamo H arper's alw ays buttered his bread on the road; in recent years he's cultivated a loyal constituency on the jam-band scene, w here his ability to sing gives him the aura of a prophet. H arper's new Both Sides of the Gun— one disc of rockers, one disc of ballads—should provide plenty of live-show fodder. O pener (and son of B ob) M arley made one of 2005's best albums in W elcome to J amrock, a bracing contemporization of his dad's conscious throb. W O O D S eptem ber 28 Clap Y our H ands Say Y eah: T hese local quirk-pop merchants have averted (or at least delayed) the hipster backlash that aw aits them by lying relatively low for the last couple of months.