Peter Marren 'Bugs Britannica' lecture, QEH Theatre 28 May 10

I've yet to get my hands on this, the latest lavish compendium of natural history facts and folklore to follow in the footsteps of Flora and Birds Britannica, so I was particularly eager to hear its principle author speak last night.

Marren is a humorous and knowledgeable enough writer but I felt little of his facility with the written word displayed in this lecture. Despite this lack of charisma, however, Marren was able to give us a vivid commentary on a series of images that appear in Bugs Britannica. He took us through some of the extraordinary beliefs and superstitions surrounding spiders, flies, dragonflies, beetles and snails. Attributing cultural significance to such lowly and familiar creatures gives a fresh insight into how the natural world is inextricably bound up with human lives. The portrayal of insects and other invertebrates in art, political discourse, poetry and folklore is remarkable - Large White and Painted Lady butterflies are endowed with Biblical significance in Durer's painting of the Adoration of the Magi of 1504, while Honey Bee society has historically justified the political status quo with its clearly defined hierarchy and the Queen very much at the top.

I came away from Marren's lecture with the idea that modern studies of invertebrate ecology exclude some of the most interesting aspects of bugs - their ancient and intimate relationship with human experience. This colourful world of myth and folklore surely needs to be cherished as much as the invertebrates themselves.

Omar Souleyman/Konono No.1, Bristol Metropolis 11 May 10

I made my way to the Metropolis just in time to see Konono No 1 take the stage. They played their usual heady and dissonant stuff, and I was hooked from the first number. I remember their appearance at Womad a few years ago when I 'danced' solidly for an hour, and this set was even longer, so my knees will suffer, but what the heck - they are a great band. My only reservation was that the hand drums were mixed low and only rarely heard, which is a shame, as they contributed a much needed bass sound to the music. Never mind, it was a great set.

I've never seen Omar Souleyman live before and I confess I don't even have his CD, but he was great. Lots of dance beats and a soaring synthesiser accompanied Omar's vocals and the largely young crowd were loving it. Omar is a real crowd-pleaser, getting everyone to clap at just the right moments - a real clubby atmosphere and thoroughly fun.

Rokia Traore, Colston Hall 30 April

Saw Rokia Traore and her band this evening and enjoyed the show. The only downer was the sparse audience rattling around in a large concert hall. Shimmering, cerebral art-rock and punchy up-tempo funk satisfied both head and heart and I loved this contrast. The referencing of Fela and Miriam in the extended work-out towards the end went down really well I thought, and Rokia's voice was perfectly suited to all the moods and tempos the music went through. I well remember Andy Kershaw interviewing her on the radio and remarking on how she was so vocally different from other Malian divas with, as Andy put it, 'foghorn' voices - true, on record her voice has a touching vulnerability but tonight it soared and dived above the solid instrumental accompaniment.

Rokia represents the intellectual and experimental heart of contemporary African music I think. She's so aware of her illustrious predecessors and fabulous contemporaries, yet she fearlessly takes the music forward in new directions. Careful with that axe, Rokia.