The dilemmas of Footloose could have been solved instantaneously if Kevin Bacon had access to a Beats Antique album. Bomont City Council be damned, there is no way to stand still when you hear their unique hybrid of face-melting dubstep combined with world electronica. Add live percussion, a violin player and a resident belly dancer and you have a Beats Antique show. We challenge you not to dance.

You have been hearing plenty about the surging and expanding world of Americana music in this paper and most every other music publication this side of Tiger Beat and how bands like Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers and, hell, even our own Larry and His Flask are changing our conception of traditional music.

A strong argument could be made that Danny Barnes – a Texas-bred, Seattle-based banjo and guitar player initially known as the front man of the Bad Livers – was one of the original musicians to pretzel Americana sounds into new ground. With the Bad Livers and as a solo artist, Barnes blended rootsy, acoustic sounds with alt-country, rock and even some funk to create a style unique to his name.

Over the years, the river of reggae music that has flowed through Bend has at times been a rushing torrent, but then sometimes slowed to a mere trickle as it has over the past year. That’s the way live music works in a town like this. But when good reggae comes through the city, people definitely pay attention and they should be paying attention to Anthony B’s appearance at the Domino Room next Thursday.

Straight out of Jamaica, Anthony B has garnered a reputation as one of the most dynamic live reggae performers currently touring, thanks to his powerfully energetic dancehall vocals that pair nicely with his philosophical lyrics. His latest album, Rastalove, far exceeds what some might expect from its slightly trite title, providing thick layers of political and social messages. The guy knows what he’s doing. The 35-year-old has released more than 20 albums during his relatively short career.

Over the past three years, there have only been a few out-of-town artists who have made the sort of impact on Bend’s music scene as Brandi Carlile. Whether opening shows at the Les Schwab Amphitheater, like she did this summer for Ray LaMontagne and three years ago for Sheryl Crow, or headlining with her band at the Tower Theatre, Carlile has used her deftly crafted songs and booming voice to draw a crowd. In fact, she’s sold out every show she’s played at the Tower, including Monday night’s gig.

Actually, to say that these shows have sold out is an understatement. Even when the Seattle folk-meets-rock singer had a two-date run booked in March of 2010, both shows were sold out in a matter of days. Bend loved Brandi Carlile, providing her ample radio play and standing ovations and by all appearances, it seems that she likes us back, given the litany of compliments she sends from the stage to the crowd during her performances.

For more than 40 years, Tower of Power has been blazing its own trail with a rich collection of lush brass and orchestral ballads, ceiling-busting funk numbers and socially conscious vibes-soul music. But, that all might have turned out differently had TOP founding father and tenor sax player, Emilio Castillo, failed to listen to his father—not once, but twice. After moving from Detroit to the East Bay at the age of 11, Castillo was busted, along with his brother and best friend, stealing a T-shirt at a major department store. His father gave him a choice, and a notebook.

"He said fill it with why you're never going to steal again," Castillo recalls. "And when you're in that room filling out that notebook, I want you to think of something that's gonna keep you off the streets and out of trouble or you're never coming out of that room again.