An experimental filmmaker, ethnomusicologist, artist and avid collector of Ukrainian Easter eggs, Harry Smith was a 20th century American Renaissance man. Tonight, Patti Smith and friends will celebrate this eccentric bohemian's life, as well as the release of the book "Harry Smith: The Avant-Garde in the American Vernacular" with the "Smith on Smith" event at the UCLA Hammer Museum. Read more...

Photo: The UCLA Hammer Museum will present “Smith on Smith” tonight at 7. The event celebrates American folk music specialist and ethnomusicologist Harry Smith.

Patrick Burns lived with four foster families between the ages of 14 and 17. Read more...

Photo: Performances of the Ahimsa Collective’s “From Foster Care to Fabulous,” about a man who lived with four different families as a teenager, begin Jan. 30. at The Improv Space on Gayley Avenue.

If modern-day country music has fallen short of tantalizing your American grassroots taste buds, then you need not stray far from campus for an alternative "“ UCLA's Bluegrass & Old-Time Ensemble will perform tonight as part of the Fowler Out Loud! music series. Read more...

Photo: The UCLA Bluegrass & Old-Time Ensemble, directed by ethnomusicology Professor Anthony Seeger, will perform during a tribute to Mike Seeger.

At the first sign of light after a night lost in a Romanian forest, director and UCLA alumnus Sacha Gervasi discovered his crew's van had stopped 10 feet short of a sheer drop. Read more...

Photo: Anvil lead guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow is in the documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” directed by alumnus Sacha Gervasi, who is nominated for an award from the Directors Guild of America.

Rumspringa shows stand out from other Los Angeles indie rock bands because they try to make them feel more like parties than performances. Read more...

Photo: Rumspringa, an indie band from Los Angeles, will be performing at the Unknown Theater on Jan. 29. The band performed at UCLA two weeks ago.

By all rights, campus should be quiet on a Monday night as midterm season approaches, but instead, Kerckhoff Coffee House is loud and lively as the three-piece band Love Potion finishes up a set of jazz and funk, drawing on sources as diverse as 50 Cent and Bach. Read more...