Talking Tunes: Ono, What a Blunt

No, that laboured title to this week's Talking Tunes doesn't really make much sense, until you know what I'm on about, then it just becomes a bad title. Anyhow, James Blunt and Lisa Ono are incoming. The return of Blunt was confirmed earlier today – he'll be spreading his soporific soppiness all about MasterCard Center on January 4 (tickets available here), and Japanese-Brazilian bossa nova diva Ono will be here for a new year show on January 1 at Workers' Gymnasium (tickets available here).

Here five shows coming up in the next week that you might want to catch:

• Zhen Ren Band performing with Steve “Silvertone” Levine has garnered a fair bit of interest since it was brought to our attention a couple of weeks back. Local musician Peter Murchison and his band Zhen Ren welcome the American blues musician to perform with them at Jianghu Bar tomorrow night (Nov 15).
• Spanish symphonic rhapsodians Dark Moor bring their signature neo-classical speedy guitar to Yugong Yishan tomorrow night (Nov 15).
• Learn every aspect there is of old time Americana at The Bookworm from midday on Sunday (Nov 17). From the fiddle, to the mandolin and the ukulele, workshops all day will have you a bluegrass lover in no time. To top it all, they finish the day off with a good old fashioned hoedown.
• Shanghai rockers Death to Ponies release their new EP at Temple on Saturday night (Nov 16).
• Aussie "psychedelic party ska doom punk rock" outift The Bennies play School Bar on their first Beijing stop next Wednesday (Nov 20). Sounds like there could be a little bit for everyone there.

That's but a drop in the ocean. There are plenty more music events to be found here.