www.stephaniebettman.com

To the high-class culture hounds of OC, the Soka Performing Arts center is typically synonymous with suit-wearing symphonies, renowned jazz giants and cultural dance troupes. But duo Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin don't fall under any of those categories. In fact, their folk/Americana sound and spirit already make them an anomaly of the venue's concert schedule when they hit the stage on on April 11. But trust us when we tell you that their show will allow even the stuffiest classical buffs to walk away accepting the fiddle and mandolin as instruments of fine art.

Known by their fans as simply Bettman and Halpin, the two had a  vision to utilize their long list of musical talents to create a solid, historical sound throughout the years. On paper, Battman and Halpin are the quintessential opposites: Stephanie is classically trained in opera, violin and voice, and studied at the Oberlin Conservatory. She's also a former aerialist. Luke is self-taught - at the age of 8, his dad handed him a mandolin and a Mel Bay book and said "learn how to play, you're in my band." Despite their differences, once they met they became inseparable.

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Drop The Lime, born Luca Venezia

Just when you thought festival season was over and the surge of electronic dance music events had come to a halt, 2013 has kicked off into high gear with sick shows every week. We already know holidays are big for EDM DJs to ensure a gig, but what about during off months like in January? Well let's just say that dance music fans love to party because the amount of shows in OC from now until Winter Music Conference is only growing right here in our own backyard. We broke down a list of the five best EDM shows this month to keep you up to date on all of the bacchanals worth buying tickets for.

See Also:
Five EDM Artists We'd Like to See at Coachella This Year
NYE EDM Festivals in 2012: Which One Was the Best?
Zedd Tells Us Why He Dislikes the Phrase "EDM"

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In a month, alternative rock radio behemoth KROQ will be throwing down their annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concerts. After some sleuthing and perusal of other regional radio holiday shows, the dates for KROQ will be December 8th and 9th at the Gibson Amphitheater. Let's look at the potential line-up by reviewing the other announced radio station shows.
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TV On the Radio

When you think of the U.S. Open of Surfing, you think about people on their boards gracing the Pacific. Though the event usually features free live music, there may not be another free concert in the area that can compare to this year's event. Presented by Converse, Hurley and Nike, the show will take place from August 1-3, during the middle of the week-long event in Huntington Beach with TV On the Radio, Grouplove and Best Coast set to headline the music stage.

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Baby-making music, courtesy of Leo Dan

Southern Californian baby boomers got a nostalgic musical fix earlier this month when The Beach Boys, cruised into the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for their 50th Anniversary Tour. On Friday, June 15, their Spanish-speaking counterparts will get their own trip down memoria lane, when--in a rare appearance-- music legend Leo Dan, performs at Santa Ana's West Coast Theatre. If you were born in the '60s or '70s, and your parents spoke Spanish, there's a possibility--nay, a likelihood-- that you were conceived while one of Mr. Dan's tunes played on the AM radio.

In the English-speaking world, the '60s represented a time of social unrest as the so-called innocence of the 50s was fading out. Although there were plenty of tunes documenting these transitions, a lá Bob Dylan and Jim Hendrix, there was still room for the love-making ballads immortalized by the likes of Marvin Gaye. Pop music at the time balanced between socially conscious protest anthems and the romantic melodies that the carnal hormones commanded.

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No schnitzel and hefeweizen for you!

Ticket holders for what would have been Odd Future's first OC gig got a shitty surprise recently when the information about their June 15 date at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim was suddenly nowhere to be found on the venue's website. It was as if the show (and our dreams of  finally seeing a hip-hop show at a beer-swilling Oktoberfest venue) had vanished like a fart in the wind. Today, the Weekly confirmed that Phoenix backed out of their contract with the event promoter, OC Productions, and decided to cancel the show at their venue.



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Deke Dickerson, the lightning-throwing roots-rock guitarist and champion of those old honky-tonking tunes your grandfather boogied to, plays tomorrow night at Big's Grill in Fullerton.
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Courtesy of Parallel

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It has been a busy few weeks for Anaheim's Parallel. They were voted Best Hip-Hop Act of 2011 by the Weekly's readers in our Best Of issue in October. Now, they're on the heels of their record release, Dont Sleep [sic], set to drop Friday. The crew will celebrate the release at the Rhythm Lounge in Long Beach.

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​On Thursday, we're printing our full interview with Weird Al Yankovic to preview his Friday show at the City National Grove of Anaheim.

But we couldn't wait to show you how the interview went, so we're posting a few tidbits from our conversation with the biggest-selling comedy-recording artist of all time. In the print interview, the newly minted author of children's book When I Grow Up talks about his daughter and previous run-ins with Coolio.

But on this blog, you'll get to read stuff that's not in print; prepare to whet your appetite . . .

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​Calle 13, the alternative rap duo from Puerto Rico, dominated Latin Grammy nominations announced last month. With a number of Grammy and Latin Grammy awards already held between them, René "Residente" Pérez and Eduardo "Visitante" Cabra racked up a record in 2011 for nominations in ten categories, including album of the year for Entren Los Que Quieran and record of the year for "Latinoamérica." (Calle 13 also goes up against local LA favorites La Santa Cecilia and their song "La Negra' for Best Tropical Song!)

The group brings critically acclaimed music to the House of Blues Anaheim tomorrow night ahead of next month's awards ceremony in Las Vegas on November 10th.More »