MOTORDUDE ZYDECO You have to love this: MotorDude Zydeco takes its moniker from Motor Dude, a horse owned by accordion player and zydeco pioneer Boozoo Chavis (hot tip: Boozoo would also make a good band name). MDZ is playing Ashkenaz on Saturday, and the band is described as “one of the Bay’s hottest dance bands.” Led by multi-instrumentalist Billy Wilson, the group includes singer/rubboard player Lloyd Meadows, guitarist Ian Lamson, drummer and signer Willy Jordan, and bassist Dennis Calloway. If you need some help learning zydeco steps, dance lessons are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, 9 p.m., Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave.
DAVID GRISMAN The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience is playing two gigs at the Freight & Salvage this weekend, but the Saturday show is already sold out. What are people flocking to? “Bluegrass as Bill Monroe intended it: standard instrumentation and song structures, high harmonies, and breakneck breakdowns,” according to All Music Guide. The line-up includes Keith Little on banjo, Jim Nunally on guitar, Chad Manning on fiddle, and Sam Grisman on bass. The group plays both the classics – Carter Family, Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Charlie Poole – as well as their original work. Support acts are Danny Barnes and Crying Uncle. Saturday, Jan. 6, 8 p.m. (sold out), Sunday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m., Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St.
BEARS VS UCLA It’s likely to be a rough Pac-12 season for the young Cal men’s basketball team. The Bears opened their league season with an away win against Stanford on Dec. 30, but could not find a basket in a woeful 20-point first half against USC at home on Thursday that ended in a 80-62 loss. The team is back in action on Saturday at Haas Pavilion against a strong UCLA squad, currently lurking just outside the national top 25 (and without LiAngelo Ball, who is now playing for Prienu Vytautas in Lithuania). Saturday, Jan. 6, 3 p.m., Haas Pavilion.
PETTY THEFT Tom Petty died last October, but you can sing along to “Free Fallin'” and “I Won’t Back Down” when tribute band Petty Theft takes the stage at Cornerstone on Friday night. Petty Theft is comprised of six professional Bay Area musicians that came together in 2005 to pay tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Friday, Jan. 5, 9:30 p.m., Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave.
MARTA SANCHEZ Marta Sanchez’s work combines elements of rock, pop, jazz, classical and experimental music. With her two-saxophone quintet (Sanchez on piano), the music is rhythmically complex, but strongly melodic. The group will be playing music from the 2017 recording “Danza Imposibile” at the California Jazz Conservatory on Saturday. The quintet’s 2016 disc, “Partenika,” was selected by The New York Times as one of its ten best jazz CDs of 2015. Saturday, Jan. 6, 8 p.m., California Jazz Conservatory, 2087 Addison St. [Don’t miss our feature story by Andy Gilbert on Marta Sanchez.]
