this is brighton offers a critical view of what's hot for the coming week: Donovan, on May 13 at Hove Town Hall, Plus Orchestre Nationale de Lille, Abyssinia Infinite, Ibrahim Ferrer, Teenage Fanclub and Marta Topferova.

Donovan
Hove Centre, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, May 13 "The journey leads you to where you've always been," says Donovan, Sixties folkie and poet who will forever be tagged as 'the UK's answer to Bob Dylan'.

But while Bob becomes ever more reclusive, in Donovan's world, the times they aren't a changing - it's like the last three and a half decades never happened. Expect bleary-eyed classics such as Hurdy Gurdy Man, Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman.

Starts 7.30pm, tickets cost £20. Call 0870 900 9100.

Orchestre Nationale de Lille
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Church Street, Brighton, May 13 When he was 43, Claude Debussy finished what some fans of French classical music view at his masterpiece: La Mer. An impressionistic piece inspired by contemporary painters, it was a favourite of 20th Century avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez, whose work is celebrated tonight alongside Debussy's and Beethoven's.

Starts 8pm, tickets cost £10/£13/£18/£23/£28.50.

Call 01273 709709.

Abyssinia Infinite
Gardner Arts Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, May 14 When Ejigayehu 'Gigi' Shibabaw was a teenager she left Ethiopia for Kenya to avoid the brutal Derg regime. She returned in 1996, but soon relocated to New York where she collaborated with various ex-pats and legendary producer Bill Laswell to form Abyssinia Infinite.

Gigi's vocals compliment the mix of traditional instruments - such as harp and bamboo flute - and horns, guitars and keyboards.

Starts 8pm, tickets cost £12/14. Call 01730 685861.

Ibrahim Ferrer
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, New Road, Brighton, May 15 Following Castro's takeover of Cuba, a whole generation of musicians were virtually forgotten until Ry Cooder brought them out of retirement to record a CD in Havana. Their stories were told in the 1999 documentary Beuna Vista Social Club. One of those musicians, 78-year-old Ibrahim Ferrer, is one of the world's greatest singers of Cuba's romantic song genre, the bolero.

Starts 8pm, tickets cost £25/£28.50. Call 01273 709709.

Teenage Fanclub
Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, May 16 Like Primal Scream, Ride and the Boo Radleys, Scottish indie darlings Teenage Fanclub released a string of scruffy pop singles on Creation in the early Nineties.

When Oasis signed to the label, jangly indie was doomed, leaving most of their contemporaries in the 'where are they now?' folder. Nowadays the Fannies may not be bothering the pages of NME but their love of Big Star and The Beatles makes their live sound as tuneful as ever.

Starts 7.30pm, tickets cost £12. Call 01273 673311.

Marta Topferova
Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, Church Street, Brighton, May 19 Seattle was the centre of the grunge phenomenon in the early Nineties, but while Nirvana were busy conquering the world, Seattle resident Marta Topferova was listening to Latin music and learning Spanish.

Marta's voice now draws comparisons with Bebel Gilberto, proving that an ex-pat Czech living in the US can sing Latin ballads good enough to travel the world several times over.

Starts 1pm, tickets cost £6. Call 01273 709709.