It’s time to dust off that kilt and get ready for the 143rd edition of the Scottish Highland Gathering and Games.

The event, presented by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, will draw thousands of revelers looking to immerse themselves in Scottish culture. Locals will turn out to watch the kind of athletic events that aren’t covered on ESPN’s “Sports Center,” such as the caber toss and the kilted mile-long foot race. They will come to witness the colorful Scottish dance presentations and shop from more than 100 vendors. They will show up to drink plenty of dark, heavy beer and eat traditional Scottish cuisine (haggis, anyone?).

Fans will also turn out in full force to listen to the music. Now, granted, music isn’t the first thing that comes to many a mind when the Scottish games are mentioned. If it does register, the accompanying image is usually of a group of guys with naked knees blowing bagpipes. The truth to the matter, however, is that this Highland Gathering features a pretty diverse musical lineup.
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Slow Foods Rock (Aug. 30-31):

Are you hungry for some good music? Then consider attending the two-day Slow Foods Rock festival, which features a mighty tasty musical lineup.

On Saturday, fans can enjoy the “Crazy” sounds of headliner Gnarls Barkley as well as tunes from the New Pornographers, Ozomatli and Medeski Martin and Wood (pictured).

The next day, Deadheads can groove to Phil Lesh and Friends, while everyone else can check out G. Love and Special Sauce and the John Butler Trio.
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Comcast Art and Soul Festival:

The eighth annual affair features dozens of great acts performing on multiple stages during its three-day run (Saturday-Monday).

The event will host several big-name national headliners, including the Indigo Girls, Rick Braun and Rose Royce, as well as topnotch performers hailing from many different musical genres.

Best bets include jazz vibraphone legend Bobby Hutcherson on Saturday, Everyday People - A Tribute to the music of Sly & the Family Stone on Sunday and a day-long gospel celebration on Monday. Also, the Bay Area Blues Society will be serving up red-hot blues throughout the weekend.
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New on sales from Ticketmaster:

Now on sale:

David Byrne
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Davies Hall
San Francisco , CA

Alice’s Now and Zen 2008 with Duffy, Sugar Ray, Gavin DeGraw, and Sara Bareilles
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sharon Meadow - Golden Gate Park
San Francisco , CA

Oakland Ballet-Repertoire
Saturday, October 25, 2008 to Saturday, October 25, 2008
Paramount Theatre-Oakland
Oakland , CA
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Metal Masters Tour:

There was no Ozzfest tour this year, and Motley Crue’s Crue Fest was a dud, but this trek could save the summer for hard-rock heads.

The Metal Masters bill looks too good to be true, featuring an all-star lineup of Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell (the Ronnie James Dio-led version of Black Sabbath), Testament and Motorhead. That, dear readers, is one sick, twisted and totally awesome bill!
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Sausalito Arts Festival:

Sausalito’s annual Labor Day Weekend shindig is always known for having a great music lineup. This year is no exceptional.

Best bets include country troubadour Junior Brown and jazz vocalist Pamela Rose on Saturday; singer-songwriter Al Stewart (best known for the ’70s singles “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages”) and New Orleans music treasures the Neville Brothers on Sunday; and Dan Hicks providing the Hot Licks on Monday.

The absolute highlight of this festival is sure to be Monday’s performance by British folk-rocker Richard Thompson, who ranks as one of the best guitarists to ever pick up the instrument.
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BOZ SCAGGS BRINGS SUBTLE, ELEGANT NEW ALBUM ‘SPEAK LOW’ (DECCA) ON NATIONAL TOUR OF INITIMATE JAZZ CLUBS THIS FALL

Five years after his first volume of standards, But Beautiful, debuted at # 1 on the Billboard Jazz chart, GRAMMY award winning musician Boz Scaggs offers his second volume of standards and ballads, aptly titled Speak Low (out September 30 on vinyl and wide release on October 28th via Decca).
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(Official press release as follows:)

ON THE HEELS OF A CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED REUNION TOUR WITH YAZ AND THE
RELEASE OF HER SEVENTH SOLO ALBUM THE TURN, BRITISH ICONIC SONGSTRESS ALISON MOYET ANNOUNCES HER FIRST NORTH AMERICAN SOLO TOUR IN 14 YEARS.

**NEW ALBUM IN STORES NOW ON W14/DECCA**

After completing a massively successful reunion tour with Yaz of which
the LA Weekly called “triumphant” and releasing The Turn, her first solo
album in four years, Alison Moyet will be back in October with a
complete string of North American solo dates. This marks Moyet’s first
trip back to this side of the pond as a solo artist in 14 years kicking
off at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on October 5th and wrapping up
at the Moore Theatre in Seattle on the 29th. (See complete list below.)
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I haven’t seen any official word on this, but it’s all over the Web, from trusty sources (like Stubhub), that the great band TV On the Radio will play the Warfield on Nov. 9. That’s great news.

If that date won’t work for you, or if you just want a double dose of the group (understandable), TV On the Radio will also perform the Treasure Island music festival on Sept. 20.

I was bummed that I was going to have to miss TV at Treasure, since I’ll be down at Monterey Jazz that same weekend. I’m less bummed now.
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(Official press release:)

ALICE’S NOW AND ZEN FEST 2008
CELEBRATES 11 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC AND GOOD VIBES
*Duffy, Sugar Ray, Gavin DeGraw & Sara Bareilles*
OCTOBER 12, 2008
Noon to 5 p.m.
Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park

TICKETS ON SALE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 AT 10:00 AM
Through www.ticketweb.com and Ticketmaster

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 26, 2008) — Alice @ 97.3 is thrilled to announce that Duffy, one of the UK’s hottest new exports, Sugar Ray, one of the most beloved bands of the 90s; platinum recording artist, Gavin DeGraw and Northern California native, Sara Bareilles round out a day of exceptional music at the 11th annual Alice @ 97.3 Now and Zen Fest on Sunday, October 12th, at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This stellar line-up is the kind of great vibe Alice @ 97.3 fans have come to expect. Sharon Meadow is located near the junction of Stanyan and Fulton Streets.
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