Are you a fan of Ludacris, Annie, Coldplay, Ciara, and Lady Sovereign? If not, that’s okay—you don’t have to be. You can hear their music in an entirely new way if you get tickets to see music masher Girl Talk mix its hit songs at Sonar on Saturday, October 11. Openers include Hearts of Darkness and Grand Buffet, and tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 AM for only $15. If you want to hold out for a DC show, we also hear that Girl Talk will be at the 9:30 Club on October 10, but ticket information is currently not available.

Ra Ra Riot, an up-and-coming indie quintet from Syracuse, New York, will perform at the Black Cat on Sunday, October 12, in support of its new album, The Rhumb Line. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 4, at 5 PM for $12 and can be purchased here.

Freer Gallery of Art

The film My Name Is Fame tells of a washed-up actor who grudgingly takes an ingenue under his wing only to see her career take off while his goes nowhere. It’s part of this year’s Made in Hong Kong Film Festival, July 11 through August 17. Two other movies—including Exodus, a satire of the thriller genre—will also be shown this month. Films are screened in the Meyer Auditorium, 1050 Independence Ave., SW; 202-633-4880; asia.si.edu/events/films.asp.

Goethe-Institut

“Best of Film Neu: Summer Sizzlers” revisits some of the most popular selections from Goethe-Institut’s annual series of German-language films. July’s movies include The Edukators, about a trio of youths reacting against capitalism, and Summer in Berlin, a dramedy chronicling the ups and downs of two friends during a summer in the German capital. Tickets are $4 to $6. 812 Seventh St., NW; 202-289-1200; goethe.de/washington.

Still bitter about your beach-weekend plans falling through? (We are.) Well, if the events we gathered for you in our exhaustive roundup for the Fourth haven’t, um, exhausted you by the time the fireworks start, here are a few parties at local music and dance venues you might want to check out. Know of fun Fourth of July parties happening in town? Let us know in the comments. Oh, and God bless America!

Earlier: Where to Watch Fireworks on the Fourth
Fun Ideas for a Bang-Up Fourth of July

(Note: All these dance parties take place on July 4th except for Apex, which starts Thursday, the 3rd, and goes through Saturday the 5th.)

DC9
Liberation Dance Party does its patriotic duty by going green—hemp green, that is. The long-running indie-pop dance party hosts a special midnight fashion show by local clothing store Capitol Hemp. The bar’s relatively new open-bar policy runs form 10 to 11. There’s a $6 cover charge. Doors open at 10.

Black Cat
Celebrating our independence by dancing to British tunes may seem a bit odd, but those Brits do make great music. From 9 PM to 2 AM, DJ Stereo Faith will host Sorted, a dance party playing soul, indie pop, and Britpop songs, at the Black Cat’s main stage. Alongside Faith, there’ll be an entourage of guest DJs, including locals DJ Cassidy and DJ Cale. Tickets are $10.

Thursday, July 3: If you’ve got the Fourth off, you may want to indulge your patriotism (a.k.a. beer-drinking habits) a bit and celebrate by heading to the Independence Eve Bash at Clarendon Ballroom starting at 6 tonight. There’s all the important ingredients for a good summer-evening bash: a roof deck (but get there early, as that will fill up quickly), live music (cover band Dr. Fu and a few DJs), and drink specials. The cover charge is $5 from 6 to 7 but will go up to $10 afterward and will increase throughout the night.

Another option for those with Friday off: It’s the Midtown Liberty Bar Tour. Twelve downtown-DC bars participate in this crawl that will (a) get you loads of beer at a discount (beer and rail specials for $2 and $3) and (b) let you donate to a local charity (the Manna Food Center). The tour starts at 5; register at Mackey’s for $10 with two cans of food, $13 without. Specials go until midnight.

Tonight, U Street showroom Dekka helps kick off “Independent’s Month” with a fashion show of local designers and a shopping bazaar at the Columbia Heights bistro Rumberos. There’ll be a prix fixe menu, a runway show, art installations, and a big old sale on wares from some Dekka vendors. 8 to 11 PM.

Music Center at Strathmore

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has some light and enjoyable programs coming up. It plays Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and Astor Piazzolla’s tango version, “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires,” on July 10. A program called “The Tchaikovsky Spectacular,” which includes the “Romeo and Juliet” violin concerto and selections from Swan Lake, is July 17. Maestro/pianist Leon Fleisher’s 80th birthday will be celebrated with an all-Mozart program July 24. “A Tribute to Gershwin & Bernstein”—including “Rhapsody in Blue” and “An American in Paris” by Gershwin and selections from West Side Story by Bernstein—takes place July 31. For tickets ($25 to $60), call 877-276-1444 or visit bsomusic.org. 5301 Tuckerman La., North Bethesda; 301-581-5100; strathmore.org.

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Pop/rock singer/songwriter John Mayer appears with guitarist/singer Brett Dennen July 13; tickets are $36 to $59.50. The Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker come through town July 17; tickets are $35 to $75. The rock band O.A.R., whose founding members are from Rockville, is joined by the Beautiful Girls, a trio of Australian blokes playing roots rock, July 26; tickets are $30 to $38. 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia; 410-715-5550; merriweathermusic.com.

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

On a hot day, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is one of the city’s nicer spots. On Fridays at 5 (except July 4), Jazz in the Garden takes place on the west side of the fountain. The Joshua Bayer Quartet plays classic jazz July 11; Nasar Abadey and Supernova do modern jazz July 18; Deanna Bogart and her boogie-woogie rhythm-and-blues jazz band stir it up July 25. Admission is free, with no tickets required. Drinks and snacks are sold at the sculpture garden’s cafe. The main entrance is at Seventh St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-737-4215; nga.gov/programs/jazz.