Highlights: Center Stage

Rock/Pop

Santa Monica Festival: I See Hawks in L.A., Strolling Brasilidade, Culture Shock, O-Maya, Korean Classical Music & ance, DJ Jedi, Joe Hernandez, Kolski, Peggy Sue Fisher, Downbeat 720 Poetry with Santa Monica High, Crossroads, Venice High, Paul Livingstone & The Arohi Ensemble, Maria Elena Fernandez, and much more at Clover Park, Santa Monica, 5/14, 11am – 7pm. With music, art, dance, poetry, eco cars, walking tours, poetry contests, food, and plenty of stuff for the kids, this festival brings something for everyone. 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott with Bob Forrest and Tom Brosseau at Tangiers 5/13. The legendary cowboy poet makes and appearance. Get there early.

The Gathering of Exiles: Concert Celebrating Israel’s Independence Day with Yossi Harel, William Avnon, Judge Reinhold at Stephen S. Wise Temple, Bel Air, 5/16, 7:30pm. (310)838-0755, www.icnexus.org. Southern Californian Christians and Jews will gather together with Israeli heroes and dignitaries to celebrate Exodus 1947 — the ship that carried Holocaust survivors, whose blockade and attack by the British Navy off the coast of Israel focused worldwide attention on the plight of the Jews.

D What (Beat Junkies), Stephen Marley, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley and the Empire, DJ Rashida at Temple Bar, 5/12. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, and his brother Stephen, carry the torch of their father, Bob Marley, on his “Welcome to Jamrock Tour.” With a special performance by his brother, Stephen.

Night With the Friends of El Faro: The Dan Band, Jim Bianco, Wide Awake, Sophie B. Hawkins, more at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theater, 5/13, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, nwww.friendsofelfaro.com

The Eels at the Roxy, 5/12

Ken Pearlman & William Coulter at McCabe’s, 5/13

John Lee Hooker Jr. at Harvelle’s, 5/14, 9:30pm.

Rasputina, Hazard County Girls at The Troubadour, 5/12

Ann McCue with special guest Janet Robin at McCabe’s, 5/14

Lee Rocker at The Malibu Inn, 5/14

The Frequinox (featuring members of Galactic, 20th Congress, Greyboy Allstars, Motherbug & the Headhunters), the John Butler Trio, Zilla (fea. Michael Travis of String Cheese Incident), Benevento-Russo Duo, African Showboyz, Papa Mali, Signal Path, Hamsa Lila, Alfred Howard, Delta Nove, Ganga Giri, Victoria Williams, Thamusemeant, Aphrodesia, Tim Easton, Vegitation, the Bingo Band, Shamans Dream, Spoonfed Tribe, Ken WIll Morton, Ted Quinn, Taarkastra, Spoonshine, Audio Angel & DJ Truth, Jamie Janover & Friends, and Mojow & the Vibration Army, more at The Joshua Tree Music Festival, 5/13 – 5/15, Joshua Tree National Park. www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

Club London Calling with guest DJ Jim Freek at Bigfoot Lodge, 5/18

Jim Salinger & The Beer Cozies at Room 5, 5/13. 143 North La Brea, 2nd Floor, LA.

Emeline Michel at Amoeba Music, 5/14, 2pm. Also at The Getty Center, 5/14, 7pm, and 5/15, 3pm. FREE. (310)440.7300. Beloved by Haitians around the world, she is “part of a contemporary music scene that combines conscious lyrics with a broad palette of musical styles, including Haitian compas, twoubadou, and rara as well as jazz, rock, and samba.”

alaska! at Amoeba Music, 5/17, 7pm. FREE.

JP Nightingale Matinee Kids Show at McCabe’s, 5/15

Jazz/Classical

LA Debut of the Chamber Music Ensemble, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin at UCLA’s Royce Hall, 5/18, 8pm. “Risking official censure by the former East German Republic, Berlin’s Akademie für Alte Musik formed in 1982 as an alternative to the government’s oppressive state controlled arts programs.” Features solo violinists Midori Seller and Georg Kallweit as they perform works by Handel, Vivaldi, Bach, and Geminiani. Tix and info: www.UCLALive.org, or (310) 825-2101.

Dave Frishberg at The Jazz Bakery, 5/12 – 5/15

Alexander String Quartet at the Universty Synagogue, Brentwood, 5/15, 3pm. 11960 Sunset Blvd., Brentwood, www.themusicguild.org.

Anthony Wilson Nonet with Donald Vega, Mark Ferber, Darek Oles, Matt Otto, Matt Zebley, Adam Schroeder, Alan Ferber, and Gilbert Castellanos at The Vic, 5/19.

Moncef Genoud Trio at The Jazz Bakery, 5/16 – 5/18

Late Night Jazz: Sandro Albert Latin Jazz at The Vic, 5/19, (Midnight – 2am)

The Dan Marschak Sextet at Catalina Bar & Grill, 5/16, 8:30pm. 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 466-2210

Readings / Performance

Poets Beyond the Half Shell: Ilya Kaminsky, Carolyn Forch, Cathie Sandstrom, Paul Koenig, Michelle Ben-Hur, hosted by Carlye Archibeque at Beyond Baroque, 5/15, 7pm.

Eric Bogosian at Skylight Books, 5/14, 7:30pm. Award winning writer, performance artist, and actor Eric Bogosian (“Talk Radio”) has written “another intense and tweaked novel of destructive relationships and failing lives.”

Emily Burg, K. Leila Johnson, Sarah Slome, Sarah Vermette at Projectile Poetry, 5/15, 4 – 6pm. Eric Garcetti’s Office, 3525 Sunset Blvd. FREE.

Poem.X: William Fox, Florence Weinberger, curated by Jeanette Clough and Jim Natal at Barnes & Noble, Santa Monica, 5/13, 8pm. 1201 Third St. Promenade (310) 260-9110. FREE.

Write Girl – Reading by Students and their Mentors at Skylight Books, 5/15, 4pm. WriteGirl is a “Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization for inner city high school girls centered on the craft of creative writing.”

The Cutting Edge of Fashion: Gallery talk with Victoria Steele at The Hammer, 5/15 3pm.

DJ Waldie, Dana Johnson at Skylight Books, 5/14, 5pm.

Senior Improv Workshop at Comedy Underground, 5/16, 12noon. 320 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica.

Hammer Readings: New American Writing with Eric Bogosian at The Hammer, 5/15, 5pm. FREE.

David Francis at Skylight Books, 5/13, 7:30pm.

The Week Ahead

Thursday, May 12

DeSol at The House of Blues, 8pm.

Hodges Taylor at Harvelle’s

Hee Haw Hell at Bigfoot Lodge

Six String Strumer & Picker Showcase, hosted by Doug Newman at The Talking Stick

Friday, May 13