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Beat-boxers, crooners, gospel and the outdoors: A weekend of music in St. Louis

In Out & About

6:49 am on Tue, 05.29.12

In the world of music, "fusion" and "world" are overused, occasionally no more than a way to excuse a lack of description. The music group Balkan Beat Box, who will appear at the Old Rock House Sunday night, intentionally breathes an honest life into those words.

An Israeli-American band, they make music that is best described as world-funk-punk-dance rooted in Balkan musical traditions. In the fusion, new sounds emerge. The woodwinds and strings in the background of their single "Balkumbia" ring of the Meditarranean, but would be at home in American hip-hop. Dissecting the group's influences is nearly impossible, which is all for the better; in their "fusion," the members create something brand new and distinct.

Even the comments on their YouTube videos point to the genuinely international quality of their work. Hebrew, Spanish, Serbo-Croat and English exclamations pepper the page, speaking different words of the same thing. It is show to marvel in, an tangled web of inextricable influences that are all about one thing: Get dancing.

Also coming up, the Beacon Moveable Fest hosts its annual Sunday morning of gospel, the Shaw Neighborhood and Webster Groves each hold arts and music fairs, and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur croons, loops and distorts at Off-Broadway. 

Balkan Beat Box

Where: Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis

When: 8 p.m. Sunday, June 3

How much: $18 in advance, $20 at door

Link: oldrockhouse.com/balkan-beat-box/

Gospel's Glorious Sounds

Where: New Sunnymount Missionary Baptist Church, 4700 West Florissant, St. Louis

When: 10 a.m. Sunday, June 3

How much: $25 suggested donation

Link: www.stlbeacon.org/#!/event/24693/beaconfest2012_gospelsounds_06032012

Thurman Loop Fest

Where: Thurman Grill, 4069 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis

When: 5 - 9 p.m. Friday, June 1 and 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday, June 2

How much: Free

Link: www.facebook.com/pages/Thurman-Loop-Fest/274152752674495

Art & Air

Where: Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves

When: 6-10 p.m. Friday, June 1; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, June 2; Noon-5 p.m. Sunday, June 3

How much: Free (donations accepted)

Link: www.artandair.com/fair/index.html

Joseph Arthur

Where: Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis

When: 8:30 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show Friday, June 1

How much: $12 in advance, $15 at door

Link: offbroadwaystl.com/

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