Audio By Carbonatix
Thursday August 14
The hills of Britain and the jungles of Africa may have little in common, but don’t tell that to Baka Beyond, the rollicking musical group that attempts some serious cultural bridge-building with its Afro-Celtic sound. The Brit contingent of the band spent several months with the Baka Pygmies in the rain forests of Cameroon. Music and dance are essential to this culture, and the rhythms of Baka Beyond are infused with that spirit. Add a Breton fiddle player to the mix, and you’ve got a wild and unique sound. Royalties from the group helped build a performance space for the Baka tribe. Also on the bill is English/Arabic artist Layla Kaylif. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Manuel Artime Theater, 900 SW 1st St. Tickets cost $25. Call 305-992-5163. — By John Anderson
Wednesday August 20
Bald and Blue Rock Invaders
Blue Man Group, that bug-eyed trio of mixed-media performance artists, is as postmodern as it gets, what with the product endorsements and the Blue Man franchise spread across the country. At last count, there were 33 blue people (one blue woman in the Boston outlet) doing their outlandish form of theater, always in threes, always blue. The onetime N.Y.C. street performance has played Vegas, but without compromising its Twinkie-flinging, pipe-playing vision. But Blue Man Group has always been more a spectacle, like circuses and half-time shows. Although the surreal world of Vegas may be the ideal place to see it, South Florida is a close second. Blue Man Group performs at 8:00 p.m. at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansbury’s Way, West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $30-$45. Call 561-795-8883. — By John Anderson
Thursday August 14
Music
Piano Prodigy Breaks Out
Budding concert pianist Yang Shen is working on a dream — to win the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition next month in England. Shen, a winner of 2 national competitions, needs to practice before a crowd in full recital to improve her chances. Tonight she’ll be performing pieces by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Liszt, and Schumann. The concert is organized by Piano Lovers, which helps aspiring classical musicians to perform in public. The show begins at 7:30 at Bet Shira Congregation, 7500 SW 120th St. Tickets cost $15. Call 786-417-7847. — Juan Carlos Rodriguez