SUNDAY, DEC. 7 2014 >>>

1. Tacoma Concert Band will present its annual Holiday Traditions, but it's not the same old music you'll hear on the radio and in every store and elevator, but sprinkled among the usual chestnuts will be fascinating new variations on familiar holiday themes. KIRO's Dave Ross will read The Night Before Christmas as reimagined by composer Randol Bass. Also featured will be vocalist Melanie Vail, composers Leroy Anderson, Serge Prokofiev, Victor Herbert, and Percy Grainger, among others, plus several arrangements in the style of Mannheim Steamroller. The lion's share of this bounty isn't simply good holiday fare; it's good music, period. Talk about a Christmas miracle. Check it out at 2:30 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

2. Like many oratorios, George Handel's 1741 masterpiece Messiah uses a technique called text painting, in which the score reinforces individual lyrics. That's why the line "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted," for example, sounds so ... exalted. Christ Lutheran Church's 2 p.m. production will be conducted by Anne Lyman and highlights professional soloists and instrumentalists. Oh, and it's a sing-a-long. Rejoice greatly!

3. We've given Rich Wetzel a lot of love over the years, not only because he's a groovy guy, but because he's always playing a gig worth mentioning. This weekend is no exception as Wetzel and his Groovin' Higher Jazz Orchestra brought their annual jazzy holiday to Tacoma Community College last night. Trumpeter Wetzel set up chairs for what seemed like 59 musicians for a night of swinging renditions of Christmas classics. From 5-8 p.m. at the Stonegate Pizza & Rum Bar, Wetzel sets up fewer chairs, BUT special holiday drinks loaded with rum make up for the missing flugelhorn.

4. From Mexico, by way of Venezuela, the psych-hardcore outfit Cardiel make an ungodly racket that belies their status as a two-piece. Even if it's never quite said explicitly, there's a feeling of revolution that permeates their music. Every song seems to be violently pushing back against anything that threatens to hold Cardiel in one place or to one designation. Catch the band with Blanco Bronco and DJ Quan Fi at 5 p.m. in The Valley.

5. Hailing from Columbia, South Carolina, the reggae-rock group The Movement was formed in 2004 by a trio of Sublime and Pixies fans. Joshua Swain, Jordan Miller, and John Ruff, aka DJ Riggles, launched The Movement with their alternative reggae debut album, On Your Feet. Since then, the band has worked with Philadelphia-based producer Chris DiBeneditto, gone through the standard line-up changes, included adding scratch master DJ Alific to the mix. The Movement brings its watery-dub guitar, bouncy-swaying beats, airy keys and verses delivered in sing-song rhymes to Jazzbones at 8 p.m. Publish The Quest and Positive Rising open.

LINK: Sunday, Dec. 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area