December 4, 2012 | 9:34 AM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: El Vez at World Cafe Live, Marina & the Diamonds at Union Transfer, Ari Hest at The Tin Angel, Forest Fools at North Star bar

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, News, Scene, Ari Hest, El Vez, Forest Fools, Marina & the Diamonds, North Star Bar, The Tin Angel, Union Transfer, World Cafe Live

El Vez (The Mexican Elvis) is celebrating the yuletide season with a show at World Cafe Live tonight.  Billed as El Vez Mexmas!, the Latin singer will perform holiday favorites with a Mexican twist alongside his stage companions The Elvettes, sprinkling in some cabaret-style entertainment and exciting costume changes.  Tickets and more information for the all-ages show can be found here.  Watch a back-stage promo video for Mexmas here, and watch a video from El Vez’s Christmas revue below.

Pop powerhouse Marina & The Diamonds will light up the stage at Union Transfer tonight.  The Welsh-Greek singer Marina Diamandis released her second full-length Electra Heart earlier this year, a record that debuted at #1 on the UK Albums chart and features production work from Philly-based producer Diplo on “Lies.”  Tickets and more information for her show with Icona Pop can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Primadonna” from Electra Heart.

New York singer-songwriter Ari Hest brings his record release show to The Tin Angel tonight.  We featured his song “The Fire Plays” as yesterday’s My Morning Download, an intimate track from the Gerry Leonard-produced new album of the same name.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, watch the video for Ari Hest’s song “If I Knew You’d Say Yes” from last year’s Sunset Over Hope Street.

This week’s New Music Series at The North Star Bar brings in Philly shoegazers Forest Fools.  Just over one-and-a-half years old, Forest Fools released their debut Daydreamer EP this past June, an album that inspired Xross Media to say “So these guys are from Philadelphia, USA? They sound like they would be more at home in the rainy suburbs of Manchester, England in the 1990′s”.  You can download the EP for free from the band’s Bandcamp.  Also playing are Folly Fields and Brianna Judge.  Tickets and more information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, listen to the title track.