1. The Sonnet Song Cycle

Hate weddings but like love? Try this literary and musical meld at Twocities Gallery. Washington DC-based pianist and composer Burnett Thompson comes back to Shanghai with an evening of Shakespeare’s sonnets set to music. It is part of the Silent Shakespeare project that’s hosted events at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Goethe Institute, the Shakespeare Theatre, and the National Arts Club in New York. Shanghai jazz singer Coco Zhao will also be appearing. Free entry. Doors close at 7:30 pm.

2. TECHNOW - 2011 Launch

Forget the Wedding March. Austro-German techno-heads MUSHIDO are playing at MAO Livehouse this Friday, and it’s going to be big. Tickets 100 RMB on the door, including two drinks. Presale 80 RMB including a limited edition Technow gift bag and two drinks 2x free drinks.

3. Shanghai Vice @ Bar Rouge

Nothing says summer quite like the annual re-opening of Bar Rouge’s terrace. As ever, they are holding a party to celebrate. Typically, the theme is “Vice”. Dress code for guys is “fresh dandy”, and for girls “sleek demoiselle”. Okay… Tickets 100 RMB on the door. Starts 10pm.

4. Never Mind The Royal Wedding, Here's Some Bollocks

Doyen of the city’s bars (and rival publications), Ned Kelly is throwing an anti-monarchy party down at Cotton’s on Xinhua Lu from 6pm. Free entry. 

5. Ming’s Pretty Heroes

There’s usually something good on at Yuyintang on Fridays, and this week is no different. Come hear some music from the Netherlands from 9pm. Tickets 40 RMB on the door.