2-night festival to feature dope music

Published 1:30 am Friday, December 16, 2016

The Dope Music Festival will roll out again this weekend.

The two-night festival will split itself into an “old school” night and a night featuring fresh acts, with the shows at 5 tonight, Dec. 16, and 5 p.m. Dec. 17.

The old school night kicks things off. The line-up includes a long list of well-known names, including Busta Rhymes, E-40, Method Man and Redman, Too Short and Da Brat, among others.

Those acts will be followed on Saturday night with a list of names hot on today’s hip-hop charts, including headliners Meek Mill, Jeremih and Yo Gotti.

Music aside, the festival also serves as a celebration of weed, offering showcases for art, clothes and “innovative products,” which, one assumes, is fancy talk for nice bongs.

Tickets are $45 to $202.50 at ticketmaster.com.

Cash Cash also is headed to Seattle, playing the Showbox SoDo at 7 tonight, Dec. 16.

The New Jersey-based electronica trio started attracting attention with its dance club hit “Party In Your Bedroom” in 2008. Since then, its star has quickly risen. The group has remixed Kelly Clarkson and Bruno Mars, and released hit albums of its own.

Its touring now behind this year’s “Blood, Sweat and 3 Years,” a party-friendly disc that found the group partnering with rapper Nelly and alt-rock hitmaker Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums, among many others.

Tickets are $27.75 to $35 at axs.com.

The Sounds, meanwhile, will hit the Showbox at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 20.

The Swedish alt-pop group has made a name for itself with its high-sheen blend of modern rock and 1980s-inspired new wave.

The group first made a dent on the U.S. charts back in 2003, when its debut album, “Living in America,” made a splash. Since then, singer Maja Ivarsson and company have helped score some minor hits like “Painted by Numbers” and “Tony the Beat.”

Both those songs appeared on the group’s best-loved album, “Dying to Say This to You,” which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The band will play that disc in its entirety during their Seattle stop.

Tickets are $25 at axs.com.

Local favorite David Bazan will play a Christmas show at 8 p.m. Dec. 18 at Neumos.

The frontman for influential indie folk act Pedro the Lion, Bazan has been releasing his solo material for a decade now. His latest album, “Dark Sacred Night,” promises to be a gloomy, folky take on classic Christmas songs.

He’ll play a small string of dates focused on that holiday material, culminating at the Seattle show.

Tickets are $18 at etix.com.

Finally, Ebi will come to Seattle’s Moore Theatre on his world tour, playing the venue at 8 p.m. Dec. 17.

The so-called Prince of Persian Pop has been a staple of world music for decades, establishing a name for himself in Iran before the Islamic Revolution.

He left Iran on a tour before that country’s political shift, and decided to never go back. Since then he’s released more than a dozen other albums, all showcasing his famed baritone.

He is touring now behind his latest album, “Jane Javani,” which saw release in 2014.

Tickets are $50 to $200 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.

Correction: Stevie Nicks is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of her album “Bella Donna.” The Pretenders hit it big 35 years ago, as well. In a story Dec. 9, the anniversaries were misstated.