As DCist works to build up coverage of the region’s live music scene, we’re launching this monthly roundup of concerts and shows around the region in what we hope is a helpful format. Have a show you want featured or a musician we should know about? Email arts and food editor Rebecca Cooper.

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December is here, and with it arrives a slew of holiday markets, tree lighting ceremonies and Christmas concerts. It might seem like everywhere you look there’s a rendition of Handel’s Messiah, but there are plenty of non-holiday-related concerts taking place, too. Here are 11 we think are worth catching.

NONEWFRIENDS.: When these Syracuse University alumni call themselves NONEWFRIENDS., they kind of mean it. Five of the band’s six members have been making music together since their freshman year of college, and the recent grads don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Among those six members are the soulful belter Elizabeth Stuart and saxophonist Jackson August, who bring a jazzy ring to the band’s indie pop numbers about the highs and lows of young adulthood. (Pie Shop; Friday, Dec. 2; $15)

CHEICK HAMALA DIABATÉ: The ngoni, a West African string instrument introduced to North America by enslaved Mandé people, is believed to be the ancestor of the banjo. Cheick Hamala Diabaté is a master of both. The ngoni and banjo player is originally from Kita, in western Mali, where he was born into a family of griots, traditional storytellers. Today, he resides just outside of D.C. in Adelphi, Maryland, and brings his traditional storytelling and lively Malian music to venues across the D.C. region and around the world. (Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital; Sunday, Dec. 4; $10)

GIANT ROOKS: Are you still having trouble believing that the voices you heard in that viral TikTok cover of “Tom’s Diner” belonged to two skinny German boys? If that sentence means nothing to you, I’ll explain. Folk-pop artist Suzanne Vega released a gentle a capella song called “Tom’s Diner” in 1987. In 1990, electronic duo DNA remixed it into a dance track that broke into the mainstream and topped international charts. Decades later, German bands Giant Rooks and AnnenMayKantereit posted a cover of that ‘90s dance track to TikTok, and the raspy, soulful voices coming from the bands’ young singers elicited applause — and utter disbelief. This month, you can hear one of those viral voices for yourself when Giant Rooks comes to town. (9:30 Club; Monday, Dec. 5; $25)

KELSEY WALDON: Take a trip to Barlow, Kentucky — population 653 — with singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, who brings her small town charm to Vienna’s Jammin Java this month. Full of heartbreak and stirring stories, her songs bring to mind the likes of country queens Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker. Those comparisons aren’t earned by just anyone, but Waldon isn’t just anyone. As she reminds her audience on her latest album, No Regular Dog, she “ain’t no regular dog” — she’s “more like a wolf on the kill.” (Jammin Java; Monday, Dec. 5; $15+)

ANA EGGE: Very few musicians can say they built their instrument of choice themselves — but Ana Egge can. When the Canadian-American folk artist was a teenager, she spent seven months hand-crafting a guitar under the mentorship of an accomplished luthier. Over the last 26 years, she has wielded that guitar to create a gentle, emotive folk discography. On her latest effort, Between Us, Egge blends her signature folk sound with rock and jazz. (AMP by Strathmore; Thursday, Dec. 8; $18+)

QUIQUE ESCAMILLA: The first time Quique Escamilla took the stage, he covered José Alfredo Jiménez’s “El Rey,” a Mexican classic, for a crowd at a restaurant, he tells Radio Canada. Oh, and he was just 6 years old. Now 41, the Chiapas-born, Mayan-Zapotec musician is writing songs grounded in the ranchera tradition where he began. Escamilla moved from Chiapas to Canada to pursue his career in both Spanish and English songwriting. On Encomienda, his latest album, Escamilla elevates the voices of his Indigenous community with songs that tackle colonialism and xenophobia. (City Winery DC; Friday, Dec. 9; $20)

BACKYARD BAND: You’ve heard them on local radio stations, you’ve heard them outside of the MetroPCS store on the corner of 7th Street and Florida Avenue NW — now watch them as they take the Fillmore stage. This month, go-go group Backyard Band brings their quintessentially D.C. sound to Silver Spring. The beloved 10-piece outfit has dubbed their concert a “Winter Wonderland,” so get ready to ring in the season and the new year with the local favorites. (The Fillmore; Saturday, Dec. 10; $29.50)

BAILEN: Do you ever have Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on and wish more than anything that you could travel back in time to watch Stevie Nicks and the band sing their sweet harmonies live? Join the club. Though Nicks isn’t coming to town anytime soon, you can immerse yourself in folk rock reminiscent of the ‘70s with BAILEN, a New York-based sibling trio. Their 2019 album Thrilled To Be Here is full of goosebump-inducing harmonies, and the standout track“Your Love is All I Know” sounds like what could happen if Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff produced “The Chain.” (Comet Ping Pong; Friday, Dec. 16; $18.54)

ODDISEE: Over the last two years, many artists’ pandemic-era creations have felt slower and wiser than previous works, the results of isolation, personal hardships, and unexpected time to create. An upcoming entry into that genre is D.C.-born, Maryland-raised rapper Oddisee’s next album, Hard to Tell. “This is the first album where I’ve had to rely on an internal monologue to create this record,” he tells Eugene Weekly. If the album’s first two singles are any indication, Oddisee’s fans will soon have a prolific, reflective and pioneering body of work in their hands. (9:30 Club; Sunday, Dec. 18; $30)

NEVER ENDING FALL: On a fateful day in Fallston, Maryland, five fourth graders formed the band Never Ending Fall. Years later, the jam band is still rocking, serving up soulful indie tunes in sunny Los Angeles. On their 2020 album Space City, the fivesome introduced their unique blend of funk, jazz and surf rock. Two years later, they’ve unleashed the infectiously catchy love tune “Like She Does,” and a tour that brings them back east to D.C.’s Pearl Street Warehouse. (Pearl Street Warehouse; Tuesday, Dec. 20; $18)

LB199X: The LB stands for Lil’ Black, a nickname Terry Goodwin earned growing up in Prince George’s County. The 199X nods to Goodwin’s birth year: 1992. The young Glenarden rapper hasn’t wasted any time making a name for himself. LB199X’s so-called “conscious” rap has earned him comparisons to Kendrick Lamar and Joey BadA$$ — though he prefers the term “honest rap,” he tells Rolling Stone. This month, LB199X comes home for a show at Union Stage. (Union Stage; Tuesday, Dec. 27; $20+)

LOCALS ONLY: Beau Young Prince (Songbyrd Music House; Dec. 2; $15+), YungManny (Songbyrd Music House; Dec. 10; $15+), Everyday Everybody and DuPont Brass (City Winery DC; Dec. 14; $25+), Oh He Dead (9:30 Club; Dec. 17; $25), Joony (Songbyrd Music House; Dec. 18; $22+), The Pietasters (9:30 Club; Dec. 29; $22), Nayan (Songbyrd Music House; Dec. 29; $15+)

SOLD OUT, CHECK STUBHUB: Thievery Corporation (9:30 Club; Dec. 21 and 22; sold out), Måneskin (The Anthem; Dec. 5), Men I Trust (9:30 Club; Dec. 11), Modest Mouse (9:30 Club; Dec. 13 and 14), They Might Be Giants (9:30 Club; Dec. 15)

Correction: An earlier version of this article mis-identified the bands that covered “Tom’s Diner” in 2021. The cover was a collaboration between Giant Rooks and another band, AnnenMayKantereit, featuring singers from both bands.