Guster Ogden Theatre : 9:00 p.m. January 17 Yes, it's a tired cliché, but the guys of Guster really do march to the beat of a different drummer . . . and that drummer plays the bongos. In a markedly successful "college try," the band released its first two albums independently, the first while all three members were juniors at Boston's Tufts University. (The second, 1996's Goldfly, was re-released by Sire two years later). Sticking with ultra-spare instrumentation -- Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner sharing acoustic guitar and vocal duties, Brian Rosenworcel behind the bongos -- for more than a decade Guster built a small but faithful following before Joe Pispaspia joined the band in 2003 and stayed until 2010, when multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds took his place. Guster's Evermotion, its seventh album and first in four years, was just released jointly on the band's Ocho Mule imprint and Nettwerk Records.

Goldroom Club Vinyl : January 17 Pretend that you have a floor­to­ceiling gold room in your home. What will you do with that space? If your response is "Create a kick­ass, dance­friendly lounging environment," then the perfect music to pipe into your gold room would be by Goldroom, the producer behind such dance­floor hits as "Fifteen" and "Sweetness Alive." Vocalists feature heavily in the down­tempo, chilled­out house music, and Goldroom weaves simple, powerful melodies in with their gorgeous voices, creating a sound that's much cleaner and smoother than that of most electronic music -- but also as captivating and transportive as a jacked­up techno track. It's music that makes you feel like you're standing outside in a beam of sunlight, basking in warmth and euphoria...or sprawled out on the carpet in your gold room, absorbing all that bright, bright light. Feel the vibes for yourself when Goldroom visits Vinyl on Saturday, January 17.

Pete Tong Beta : January 17 As the longtime host of the BBC Radio 1 shows Essential Selection and Essential Mix, Pete Tong is arguably one of the most influential DJs in the world. Beamed across the U.K. and the world, those shows have introduced millions of listeners to the latest and greatest sounds in dance music for years. Aside from that, Tong is also a globetrotting DJ/producer who knows a thing or two about keeping a dance floor moving.

Tony Furtado Swallow Hill Music Hall : 8:00 p.m. January 17 A musician who has continually reinvented himself and yet has remained below the commercial radar, Tony Furtado has proved to be a tremendously versatile and vital artist. While a music student at Cal State Hayward, Furtado entered the Grand National Banjo Championship in Kansas on a whim, and won. He soon emerged as an accomplished bluegrass musician playing with the likes of Bla Fleck, Earl Scruggs and Alison Krauss. Furtado, who lived in Boulder for six years before moving to Portland, an eclectic player who's always integrated elements of jazz and swing in his folk and country playing.

Manic Focus Fox Theatre : 9:00 p.m. January 18 John "JmaC" McCarten, the man behind the bass-heavy Manic Focus, was a classically trained on piano at an early age and later delved heavily into electronic music and hip-hop beats. On his second Manic Focus disc, Expanding Mind, McCarten also tapped into house and drum and bass.

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