SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK Since 2005 the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls (named after an early female pioneer of Rock 'n' Roll, Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton) has been running after school programs and summer programs where girls learn about playing, recording and writing music. Of course the by-products of that include self-confidence, leadership and creative growth, things that are valuable to any young lady but pointedly so for the over 250 girls who participate in the program through full or partial scholarships.

Tonight there's a fundraiser for the camp at The Knit. Murray Hill adds the dry humor; Kaki King adds the complex finger-picking; camper band Saffire shows the fruits of the camp; and a private beer-drinking party at Brooklyn Brewery, a gift certificate to the roller derby and a Getty Images print of Patti Smith are on the auction block.

Knitting Factory // 361 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn // 8p // $25 // more info // directions

HOLD IT The last time Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd got together was for Still Life with Commentator, a sort of multimedia performance that would have broadly fit the bill of music theater. Pianist Iyer, who recently covered the music of MIA and Leonard Bernstein on the same album, contributed off-kilter but inviting musical movements; and Mike Ladd, one of few spoken word artists whose poetry we think transcends stereotypes by actually engaging intellectually and sonically, made his message of media overload poignant and sticking.

The two are back together again, this time developing a piece based on the dreams of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, combat-related and not. Tonight's performance of the piece (tentatively entitled 'Hold It Down') at the old convent building in Harlem is a work in progress, but if there are inner workings of an artist collaboration we'd like to see, it's definitely this one.

Harlem Stage Gatehouse // 150 Convent Ave, Manhattan // 7.30p // $15 // more info // directions

BOUNCE TO THIS New Orleans Bounce is a regional form of hip-hop that came out of Louisiana in the early 90s, drawing on Mardi Gras Indian chants as much as it did hardcore rap. The obvious comparisons are to Miami booty-bass and Bmore club, but unique to Bounce is its acceptance and even promotion of transgender and gay artists, who perform a version of the music called Sissy Bounce (also called Sissy Rap sometimes).

Tonight at The Abrons Art Center, a couple of southern journalists are opening a multimedia exhibition about Bounce that focuses specifically on women and gay and transgender men in the genre. Photos and videos tell the stories, and Vockah Redu, one of the best-known Sissy Rappers in New Orleans, gives a very rare New York performance.

Abrons Arts Center // 466 Grand St, Manhattan // 6p - 9p // free // more info // directions

note. While she's in town, Vockah Redu is also dropping in to Rubulad. We don't post the whereabouts of Rubulad without their permission, but you should do what you can to find out about that one. 

CRAZY BONHAM Back in December we ended up at a pretty bottom of the barrel revue of the biggest hits of the first decade of the 2000s (it happens), and in the midst of the trainwreck performances, out to the stage waltzed Tracy Bonham, violin in hand, with an introduction ticking off a resume that included a Grammy nomination (not necessarily a vote of confidence these days). Well, she showed up big, doing a version of Crazy In Love that was easily as good as the original, live-looping her violin to build the main theme of the song and adding an unobtrusive twangy touch of her own to Beyonce's omnipresent floor-filler. Tonight she's performing an entire show of her own at BAMcafe, featuring her own material... and some covers, too, we hope.

BAMcafe // 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn // 10p // free // more info // directions

PRESIDENT MISTER SATURDAY LOVER Mister Saturday Night Loves You. And he loves George Washington. So to celebrate this double holiday weekend, he’s throwing a special Valentine’s and Presidents Day bash at his loft in Brooklyn, complete with an open bar fit for a founding father. Presidente and champagne is on the house from 10 to 11.

And the music? Eamon and Justin will play, of course, and we're beside ourselves about our special guest. This'll be the US debut of Floating Points. He is astounding, a twenty-three-year-old neuroscientist by day, and by night a producer of some of the most brilliant, musical, evocative tracks we’ve heard in years. If you have come to a Mister Saturday Night party, or heard Eamon and Justin play anywhere in the past year, chances are that you’ve heard his music (and probably loved it). He’s a bridge between dubstep, house and jazz; and everyone from our moms to the most hardened, devout house or techno or disco purists agree. He’s magic. This one is going to be a very special night.  

1142 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn // 10p - late // $8 in advance, $10 before midnight with RSVP to mister@mistersaturdaynight.com and $15 otherwise // more info // directions

718 ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY Today is the fortieth anniversary of The Loft, the groundbreaking, balloon-filled party started by David Mancuso on Valentine's Day in 1970. Mancuso's throwing a celebration in honor of the birthday, but it's still a private, invite-only affair after all these years. 718 Sessions, however, is open to the public, and it's a great-spirited, old-school jam manned by Danny Krivit, a DJ who was most certainly at The Loft and taking mental notes for years.

Santos Party House // 96 Lafayette St, Manhattan // 6p - 2a // $12 with a flyer and $20 without // more info // directions

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU In honor of the bank holiday, here's a little blogger history of the infamous singing of Happy Birthday to JFK by Miss Marilyn Monroe.