SUMMERMUSIC 2011

• Saturday, July 16 — Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys, performing music from the backwaters of southwest Louisiana. The band’s history spans more than 20 years and includes three Grammy nominations: Trace of Time, (1993), Bon Reve (2003) and Live at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (2008). Featuring Riley on accordion, Sam Broussard on guitar and Kevin Wimmer on fiddle. Free. 7:30 p.m., Quad. Click here for a sample of the music.

• Saturday, Aug. 13 — Non Stop Bhangra, featuring DJ Jimmy Love and the Dholrhythms Dance Company. The program starts with a dance lesson for the audience. Then come dance performances, with Love spinning a mix of bhangra, hip-hop, reggae and electronica. Free. 7:30 p.m., Quad.

Picnicking and food trucks — For each program, the Quad opens at 6 for picnicking. Bring your own food, or, new this year, buy something to eat from a food truck. For the July 16 concert, Shah's Halal Middle Eastern food truck will be serving sandwiches and rice platters with grilled lamb or chicken, and soft drinks. The same truck will return Aug. 13 — and others may come, too.

Note: Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the UC Davis campus.

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More Summertime Diversions

Dateline staff

SummerMusic on the Quad comes with something new this year: food trucks — one for this weekend's debut concert, Saturday (July 16), and maybe more for the second and final program Aug. 13.

The Quad opens for picnicking at 6 p.m., and, while you can still bring your own food, you will also have the option of buying something to eat from Shah's Halal Middle Eastern food truck — serving sandwiches and rice platters with grilled lamb or chicken, and soft drinks. The same truck will return in August — and others may come, too, said Amanda Caraway, spokeswoman for the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, which presents SummerMusic.

The programs — Cajun music this weekend and an Indian dance show on Aug. 13 — are free and open to the public, with all ages welcome. See box for details.

This year's SummerMusic offers a twist: a preview of special themes in the Mondavi Center’s 2011-12 season.

Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys “will give us a taste of Louisiana, tying in to our Spirit of New Orleans week in November,” said Don Roth, the Mondavi Center’s executive director, while Non Stop Bhangra will evoke the center’s seasonlong Focus on India. See below for more information on Spirit of New Oreleans and Focus on India.

Non Stop Bhangra, or NSB, celebrating Punjabi folk music and dance, comes from San Francisco, where NSB parties are held the third Saturday of every month.

“Imagine a scene from a Bollywood movie, smack in the middle of a thumping nightclub — swirling colors, the rhythm of pounding feet and the relentless energy of brilliant beats,” states the NSB website.

Still not sure what it’s all about? Then come to the Quad, where a dance lesson will be part of the show!

Spirit of New Orleans

• If God is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise — Free film screening. In two parts, 7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 7-8, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

• Hot 8 Brass Band — Epitomizing New Orleans street music for more than a decade. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 9-11, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

• Trey McIntyre and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band — The Trey McIntyre dance project and the band, on stage together, presenting two works drenched in the lore of New Orleans: 2008’s Ma Maison and a new piece, The Sweeter End. 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.

Focus on India

• Growing Up in India — A film and photographic exhibition. Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 14-15. The films (Vanderhoef Studio Theatre): Salaam Bombay! (7 p.m. Nov. 14), Pink Saris (4 p.m. Nov. 15) and Udaan (7 p.m. Nov. 15).

• Zakir Hussain and Masters Of Percussion — The tabla master returns to his classical roots for this performance, showcasing Indian ragas, rhythms and traditional dance. 8 p.m. Thursday, March 22, Jackson Hall.

• Anoushka Shankar: Flamenco Gypsy Journey — Tracing the musical commonalities of the gypsies' journey from their homeland in Rajasthan, passing through Iran, Iraq and Armenia and finally settling in Spain, Shankar reforges the link, separated by a thousand years, between Spanish and Indian music. 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, Jackson Hall.

• Rachana Yadav — The Kathak dancer portrays the moods and moments of a typical Indian day. A solo performance commissioned by the Mondavi Center. Spring 2012; details not yet announced.

THE MONDAVI CENTER: 2011-12

• The complete season

• Spirit of New Orleans

• Focus on India

• The Mondavi Center SFJZZ High School All-Stars

Tickets are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Box office hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and one hour before ticketed events.