Tonight Portland-by-way-of-San Diego Psych-infused folk outfit Castanets will be headlining the Bootleg Theater. Local rockers War Tapes are poised to take on the Dakota Live Music Lounge in Santa Monica with none other than Long Beach's own post-punk outfit Repeater and psych rock act Deep Sleep Ops. And, lastly, long-disbanded, acclaimed Glasgow-bred indie rock quartet the Yummy Furs will be gracing the Echo. But we strongly suggest heading over to Space 15 Twenty to partake in "Miracle: An Afternoon Acoustic Celebration." LAist favorites, local indie rock singer-songwriter Devon Williams, Lavender Diamond front woman Becky Stark and LA-based folk singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins—among many, many others of course—are all slated to perform as a part of the Mountains and Flowers, an exhibition by artist Susan Cianciolo. more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008. more ›