[HIP-HOP] + SAT, MAY 25

Saturday, Olympia is going to be off the hook. Hip-hop scenes from Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle will merge for an all-day event of Western Washington's version of the XXL Freshman List. Hundreds of votes poured in, highlighting the regions favorite performers who rap, battle and blow minds. Leezy Soprano, XP, AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods, Motamouth Jones, NW Choppas and The Th3rds are just a few of the artists on the bill, which will also include the popular We Out Here Battle League. "I put this event together to pay homage to the hardest working hip-hop artist/groups here in Western Washington based on the people voting," says Rob Spruill, aka SP, the show's curator. {NIKKI MCCOY}

S.P. PRESENTS, 1 p.m., all ages, bar w/ID, Olympia Ballroom, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia, $10 advance, $15 door, 360.943.9242

[ART ROCK] + SAT, MAY 25

As a musical presence in the Tacoma scene, Peter Tietjen's projects have always stood out as fiercely, almost stubbornly individualistic. Throughout his various incarnations as Umber Sleeping and I Like Science, not to mention the lineup changes that those bands underwent, the vision of Tietjen's projects was always unmistakably his. This sort of puzzling sci-fi art-rock with overtones of trash TV culture became Tietjen's vision and mission statement. As drummer and frontman, he would compose spaced-out, repetitive jams in a similar mode as bands like Stereolab and Can. With the release of his solo debut, Tietjen's performance will be accompanied by a cavalcade of local fixtures - presumably acting as the titular Balloon Power Challenge - including Rowhouse's Alex Tapia and Gary Kawamura, People Under the Sun's James Jenkins and Taxi Driver's Nate Dybevik. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

PETER TIETJEN & THE BALLOON POWER CHALLENGE, w/ Milk, Patrick Doherty, guests, 9 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, $5, 253.572.4020

[JAM] + SAT, MAY 25

Bucky Virginia and Your Daily Bread can loosely be described as alternative rock and blues, but in reality the band creates a totally original synthesis of blues, funk, rock, rockabilly and jazz. The band is primarily known for its long improvisational sets that shift from long and exhilarating jam pieces to loosely composed songs that offer a wide range of opportunity to experiment midset. Known for its surreal performances, Bucky Virginia has a taste for the absurd. Actions undertaken by the band while performing include: keeping at a complete standstill to allow someone to speak into the microphone in honor of his birthday, eating out of a tub of mayo for Cinco de Mayo and even parodying fellow local star Oberhoffer.  Comprised of Levi Gosteli, Cody Kissner (of SHEBEAR fame), Josh Celli and Clay Snell, it's a jam band for people who don't like jam bands. When I asked fellow musician and friend of the band Eli Moore to describe the band's constantly improving sound, he simply looked at me with a raised eyebrow and snarky grin and said, "They're getting kind of Phishy." {SEAN CONTRIS}

BUCKY VIRGINIA AND YOUR DAILY BREAD, w/Evan Maine, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 25, Metronome Coffee, 3518 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.301.2375

[GARAGE ROCK] + THURS, MAY 30

When I learned the Sweeteners are residents of Aberdeen via Anchorage, it made total sense. Their grunge-tinged garage rock is so distinctly reminiscent of these grey, blue-collar towns - the same towns that birthed guitar-worshiping notables such as Nirvana and Modest Mouse (not to get into tricky comparisons, here). While the Sweeteners aren't as idiosyncratic as those bands, they have a certain odd swagger that accompanies their whining guitars and stuttering drums. This is rock music in its purest form, albeit filtered through the vast stretches of highways and evergreens that have a tendency to shape musical minds. Every time you get lulled into the bar-band vibes that emanate from the Sweeteners, they surprise you with a nifty Velvet Underground-esque riff or a tricky bit of snarky vocals. This is a band that's swallowed its influences, not one that wears them on its sleeve. {REV. AM}

THE SWEETENERS, Le Voyeur, 10 p.m., No Cover, 404 E. 4th Ave, Olympia, 360.943.5710]