Roni Size, Kid Hops, the Dowlz
(Neumos) Roni Size had his moment in the middle of the '90s with Reprazent, a Bristol-based drum 'n' bass collective. One of the 20 albums at the center of that decade, which was dominated by the cities of Seattle and Bristol (grunge and triphop), is Reprazent's New Forms. And at the center of that album is "Brown Paper Bag"—a brilliant burst of jazz bass, fast drums, electronic noises, storm effects, and dense but rational Jamaican rapping. At the turn of the millennium, Size tried to conquer the U.S. with In the Mode, an album that featured stars like Method Man and Zack de la Rocha. But the U.S. did not surrender to Size in the way that it would surrender to M.I.A. Size recently revived Reprazent and last year rereleased the album that made his name, New Forms. CHARLES MUDEDE

Franklin Bruno, Sarah Dougher, David Grubbs, David Thomas, Matmos, Sean Nelson
(Sunset) This weekend, the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (catchy title, that) hosts the annual EMP Pop Conference, a free-to-the-public symposium that gathers music nerds—professional, professorial, amateur, and otherwise—for three days of presentations and panel discussions (this year's theme is "Dance Music Sex Romance: Pop and the Body Politic"). Tonight at least there's also some actual fucking music, as the pasty, bespectacled masses will descend upon the Sunset for solo sets from some of our own: Franklin Bruno, who records solo, tours with the Mountain Goats, and currently teaches at Bard College; Sarah Dougher, who performs solo, recorded with Cadallaca, and teaches at Portland State University; David Grubbs, who teaches at Brooklyn College and was in Squirrel Bait and GastrDel Sol; David Thomas of Rocket from the Tombs and Pere Ubu; Matmos's MC Schmidt and Drew Daniel, who teaches at John Hopkins University; and The Stranger's own Sean Nelson. ERIC GRANDY

Vetiver, Richard Swift
(Crocodile) Remember when Vetiver were sort of weird and living up (or down, depending on your viewpoint) to the "freak-folk" tag that came into vogue when they started making waves? Now signed to Sub Pop, the SF group (led by Andy Cabic) have dialed down the strangeness and settled into a cozy strain of Americana that's more about reverence to the Byrds, Gram Parsons, and JJ Cale than messing with folk rock's formalities. Vetiver's latest album, Tight Knit, features homespun songs that sound totally unconcerned with the 21st century's sonic protocol, and their sweet-natured, folk-rock amble and Beachwood Sparks—y cosmic-country ooze make you feel like a type-A asshole for looking at your watch. DAVE SEGAL

Also: It's Record Store Day! Tonight Wolves in the Throne Room play the Easy Street in West Seattle (21+, $5), but there are a bunch of free in-stores at Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom, and Silver Platters. See everything in our listings.