You gotta wonder what the late, lamented Nick Drake would think of the term 'celebration' being used in conjunction with his life and music, what with his 1974 death officially termed a suicide (though that's disputed by friends and family). Drake's tender, tear-stained music has found a new audience in recent years, and now there's a documentary film by Jerome Berkvens exploring his life. Philly's own Phil Roy hosts and, along with John Francis, will perform some of Drake's achingly sweet songs.

--Nicole Pensiero

After a decade of slurring sludge, Japan's mightiest power trio has, with its last two records, turned to droning shoegazey boogie metal. Boris' riff magnet monstrosities Akuma No Uta and Pink (the latter, filled with a dense punk-ambient melody) have a rude, rumbling bottom and a meth head chatter to them—thick, skull-fucking songs like "My Machine" that sound like a louder Queens of Stone Age but without that damnable nattering sense of irony.

--A.D. Amorosi

Every year I write about how this thing's always getting postponed due to rain and then it goes and gets rained out again. So I'm not gonna do that this year. Go to the luxuriously soft and green and sunny Liberty Lands park this weekend to see local music acts 716, Jeff Bradbury, The Lara and Joe Show, Gildon Works, Rio Vouga, Blood Feathers and Mr. Unloved (in that order). Drink a beer outside. Get a tan. Don't bring an umbrella. What? That is so not a jinx.

--Patrick Rapa

A leader in the new acoustic blues movement, singer-songwriter-actor Guy Davis has steadily built a fan base through relentless touring and a slew of hummable, stomp-your-feet blues albums. The son of actors Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee, Guy is known for his masterful picking, growling vocals and witty/retro storytelling. He's in town to plug his latest CD, Skunkmello, which has him still workin' the blues, while touching on more edgy, urban sounds.

--Nicole Pensiero

Already a huge star in her native England (and much of Europe), Natasha Bedingfield is attempting to win over the Yanks with a much-praised debut album, Unwritten, that entered the U.K. charts in the number one spot, fueled by the song "These Words." Compared to Dido, Annie Lennox, and sometimes even Beyoncé, the 24-year-old Bedingfield calls her music a "quirky mixture of pop and soul." The younger sister of U.K. pop star Daniel Bedingfield, Natasha's the more diverse sib, tackling hip-shaking electro-pop ("I'm a Bomb"), smooth R&B ("Single") and aching ballads ("I Bruise Easily").

--Nicole Pensiero

Philly's rulers of GameBoy-driven grime, icy cinematic spacejunk and Theremin-stroked chaos won't be around for awhile. Not because two of its crew just had babies. Rather, Chromelodeon—whose recent Heart of Sawdust is an A.D. household fave—will be touring. Along the way they'll hit places like A-KON 17, America's largest anime convention (they'll play to 15,000+ and lecture regarding fringe media). Chrome-dome Ryan Soloby says, "We're so well-known in these convention circles. I'm in talks with several others spanning into 2007."

--A.D. Amorosi