Bass ace
Just about anyone with an ear for jazz — from Barack Obama to guitar great Pat Metheny — seems to be high on Esperanza Spalding. The bassist/vocalist who raised herself up from modest means to an international recording career will perform tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the amphitheater in Long's Park. For more information about the free concert, visit longspark.org.

Worth a drive
Since disbanding her signature band, Hole, nearly a decade ago, rock-'n'- roll bad girl Courtney Love has put out a solo album and spent more time in rehab. Now she's reassembled Hole with a new lineup and a new album, "Nobody's Daughter." The band will play an 8:30 p.m. show Tuesday, June 22, at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.

'King and I'
Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre this week opens its production of the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I," about a Western schoolteacher in 19th-century Siam who tutors the children of the country's self-righteous king and in the process softens his heart. The show opens Thursday, June 24. For ticket information, call 898-1900.

Cake Boss
Buddy Valastro, the talented, no-nonsense owner of Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., and star of TLC's hit series "The Cake Boss," will demonstrate his skills and his humor at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at York's Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. For tickets, call 846-1111 or visit www.strandcapitol.org.