The fine people of the Honda company are bringing Latin DJ trio 3BallMTY to the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, November 25 and we have a pair of tickets to give away. Send me an email ([email protected]) and I'll pick a winner on Thursday night. The tickets will get sent to you via the mail and you'll be ready to have the time of your life.

For more info on the show, head to the Rialto's page.

It's been 617-ish days since the last Seashell Radio show, since multi-instrumentalist Fen Ikner left for New York City and cellist Esmé Schwall headed off for the Pacific Northwest, but hey, on Sunday, Nov. 23, the chamber pop band will be back at Flycatcher for a night with New Zealander-turned-New-Yorker LIPS. Should be a great time, and one that might not be replicated for another 600+ days (if ever), so get your $5 in hand and we'll see you at Flycatcher at 8:30.

Enjoy a song from their first album, "What Do You Have Against Happiness?":

If you enjoy music - in whatever manner you wish to define that word - you'll probably want to head to Bisbee tonight, Saturday and/or Sunday for the Sidepony Express Music Festival. It is free, starts tonight at 4 p.m. and includes approximately 8,000 bands (well, maybe not, but geez, look at the list). There's a lot of Phoenix acts involved, from the "Unstable Cowboy Psychedelic Garage Folk" of Field Tripp to the "Acoustic Indie-Goth Grunge" of Revizor, but there's some of your Tucson faves in the mix as well, including Head Over Heart. And, to repeat, it's all free.

More info at sideponyexpressmusicfestival.com.

Vox Urbana is one of my favorite Tucson bands, but that's not the only reason I'm telling you to see their show tomorrow night, Friday, Nov. 14 at Tanline Printing Studios, 14 W. 35th St., 8 p.m., $5 cover. You should see this show for two reasons: because you understand the value of dancing your cumbia-loving ass off or if you don't know the value, this is the best way for you to learn. Go!

This cumbia group is part of ourTucson soundtrack and tomorrow night's show celebrates the release of their new record La Pitaya.

From the Vox folks:

Throughout the southwest and Mexico, Vox Urbana have “established a cult following thanks in large part to the group's highly entertaining shows, a bevy of skillful instrumentation and shake-your-hips rhythms." (Flagstaff Live!) Recently Vox Urbana has been garnering attention not just for their high-energy shows but also original songs whose lyrics tell stories of the political and personal realities of the borderlands they call home. Songs such as “La Piedra y La Bala,” which relates the recent tragedy of Jose Antonio Elena, a Mexican teenager shot dead through the US-Mexico border fence by Border Patrol agents. Or “Pepe Arpia,” a scathing and comic indictment of Maricopa County’s infamously racist and media-pandering Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. These new songs appear on La Pitaya, as well as other songs whose lyrics and rhythm find the middle ground between dance parties and grass roots political protest.

Brought together by Tucson’s diverse and bustling live music scene, Vox Urbana formed in 2010 and has undergone multiple instrumental and stylistic shifts, with several personnel changes resulting in the current six-man lineup that features a driving rhythm section, muscular horn arrangements, and harmonized group vocals. The band’s ability to write and play cumbia, salsa, funk, huapango, cha-cha, trova, and Latin soul are indicative of its member’s wide-ranging U.S. and Latin American musical backgrounds.

This year Vox Urbana was awarded grants from the Tucson Pima Arts Council and Puffin Foundation for its “Cumbia Corridos” project, which seeks to create storytelling songs inspired by interviews the band has conducted with Tucsonans whose voices may not always be heard in public discourse. The Cumbia Corridos project is set to debut in early 2015.

Enjoy this video from an equally loved Tucson creator, our friend Heather Gray:

Viva la cumbia

I'm not sure why this seems so weird, but DJ Jazzy Jeff - who, yes, you probably remember from backing The Fresh Prince, but should be know for being a straight-up great DJ - is performing at Hi Fi at either 11 p.m. tonight, as part of a Throwback Thursdays event there. Even better, there's no cover.

Here's a set from earlier this year that he did for hipster music site Boiler Room:

Due to the changes with our distribution, sometimes not everyone has a copy of the Weekly on Thursday, so in an attempt to make sure you know about the best things happening around town tonight, here's a knowledge jewel for you: Go see Billy Sedlmayr tonight at Tap & Bottle.

Here's what Mari Herreras wrote in City Week:

If you haven't heard Tucson musician Billy Sedlmayr perform songs from his first solo debut, "Charmed Life," this is your chance. And, if his songs weren't enough, the intimacy of a little venue like Tap and Bottle is absolutely perfect for his style of storytelling. The little pub's music nights have been brilliantly booked lately, and for the record, the beer selection's equally stellar. Go take a listen and a sip, Thursday, Nov. 13, 8:30 p.m. at 403 N. 6th Ave. There's probably going to be a great food truck parked out front. If you need more details, check out the bar's Facebook page. For more on Billy, go to www.billysedlmayrmusic.com.

The Courtneys are in the middle of a stint opening for Tegan and Sara, but they'll be stopping by Topaz on Sunday for a mega-show with Prom Body, Get a Grip and Numb Bats, plus art from Andrew Shuta and Carne y Queso. Plus, it's a release party for the third Dune Drift compilation. It's a big deal.

The Stranger interviewed Courtney Loove, not her real name, but the Courtney of the Courtneys:

Using Clean-influenced jangle-pop guitar riffs, catchy post-punk bass lines, and giddy gang vocals, the Courtneys manage to sneak sophistication into their magical teen-bedroom world. At times, they delight in the fun of crushed-out pop culture (singing odes to Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys, for example); other times, they get bittersweet and poetic about minimum-wage jobs and social anxiety—all with an effortless, grungey cool that causes their songs to linger in my head for days. I interviewed guitarist Courtney Loove, the only member of the band who is actually named Courtney (Jen Twynn Payne sings and plays drums; Sydney Koke plays bass). She was drawing ducks at her animation-studio day job when I called.

What are some of your favorite cartoons?

I really like more adult shows like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls. I watch a lot of classic cartoons. I watch a lot of Daria. It's totally the best.

Which character do you relate to most on Daria?

Oh, definitely Jane. I actually went as Jane for Halloween a couple of years ago, and Sydney went as Daria. We were joking about how we kind of identify with those characters, respectively, and then Jen would totally be the little sister—she doesn't watch the show, so she wasn't insulted [laughs]. The personalities totally line up.

Usher joins Honey Nut Cheerios in new campaign from MultiVu Video on Vimeo.

You thought it was bad when U2 had to resort to giving an album away no one really actually wanted to everyone with an iPhone, but now the record business has collapsed upon itself to the point that multi-platinum recording artist Usher is giving away a song in boxes of cereal...at Walmart:

A new song by Usher will be the prize at the bottom of select cereal boxes. Starting Tuesday, a exclusive single will be available for download with specially-marked Honey Nut Cheerios packages purchased at Walmart stores across the country.

The track is called "Clueless" and comes amidst a prolonged wait for the singer's new album, UR.

Would it hurt you to buy a CD every once and awhile? This is what it's come to, people.

The race to provide appealing entertainment on New Year's Eve is on, with the Rialto announcing that Chicha Dust will be headlining Tropidelica, "a tropical glow in the dark New Year's Eve" there on Dec. 31, with DJ Dirtyverbs. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, which includes a champagne toast and favors.

VIP balcony tickets are also available for $30, but if you want to really get crazy $50 gets you on the stage, plus mega-VIP treatment. Maybe Brian Lopez will kiss you at midnight. I don't know how these things work, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

More info at rialtotheatre.com.

We'll keep you updated on your NYE options as they're announced.

I can't seem to wrangle Google to find a story on it now, but at some point, there was a state legislature somewhere considering a law to prohibit bands with more unoriginal members than original ones from advertising themselves as being the original band. Think Lynyrd Skynyrd, who just have one original band member, Gary Rossington, around these days, although they do have a tragedy to blame for part of that.

Metalcore act Norma Jean, who are coming to town this week, are sort of in the same boat, since only guitarist Chris John Day is still around from the band that recorded "Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child" back in 2002. The group, fully committed to crunchy riffs and aggression, regardless of who joined when, are touring the southwest performing songs from their six albums, while promising some new stuff as well, stopping at 191 Toole on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. with Night Verses, Scar Eater and Lariats opening.

Tickets are $18, but you can get the advance price of $15 at the door if you bring two cans of food. Why not bring the food anyway, even if you got your tickets in advance? This time of year, someone could certainly use it. More info at facebook.com/events/1487617151523905.