TAKING their inspiration from the weather of their native Finland, The Rasmus are a fairly dark and brooding bunch.

The band formed at school in Helsinki in December 1984 and haven't looked back since. They released their first single a year later and have since become a sensation in their home country.

They have taken a while to break into the British music scene but having arrived they are definitely planning on sticking around for a while.

Currently in the charts with their single Guilty, they first came the attention of the mainstream British audience with the success of their debut single in this country, In the Shadows.

The Rasmus come to Portsmouth Guildhall on Sunday.

Box office: 023 9282 4355.

GENERALLY if you want to see a religious ceremony you have to go to a place of worship.

But this week a religious ceremony is on tour and coming to a venue near you.

Shichiseikai are a group of Buddhist monks from the Jodo sect in Kyto who perform a ceremony called Shomyo.

The monks use chanting to create a dense musical environment which is unlike any other form of musical expression you will have ever heard.

Sometimes singing in unison and sometimes performing duets that are just half a tone apart, the group's voices resonate in beautiful harmony.

They are at the Tower Arts Centre, Winchester, tonight - box office 01962 867986 - and the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, on Monday - box office 01243 781312.

AWARD-WINNING acoustic duo Show of Hands will be showcasing a controversial new song at the Theatre Royal Winchester this week.

The song, Crooked Man, moves from an innocent nursery rhyme to chilling global politics.

Singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer are no strangers to controversy. Their rock rant about rural politics, Country Life, was considered too controversial for some radio stations last year.

Widely-acclaimed as the country's most-popular acoustic roots pairing, Show of Hands will be demonstrating why they were named 2004 Best Live Act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards when they come to Winchester.

Show of Hands are at the Theatre Royal Winchester on Thursday and November 5. They are also at the Medina Theatre on the Isle of Wight on November 6.

Theatre Royal Winchester box office: 01962 840880; Medina Theatre box office: 01983 527020.

SOUTHAMPTON-BASED singer-songwriter Ben Dlugokecki plays a gig on home turf this weekend.

On Thursday Ben will be playing at Talking Heads in Portswood, Southampton.

Ben has received rave reviews in the music press thanks to his beautifully crafted songs and superb voice.

PORTUGUESE artist Ana Sofia Varela is only 25 but is already one of the hottest stars of fado.

In case you don't know what that means, fado is to Portugal what flamenco is to Spain - the musical expression of a nation's soul - and is sometimes dubbed 'the blues of Portugal'.

Her ability to bring together innovation and tradition has earned her critical and popular acclaim.

She comes to the Minerva Theatre in Chichester on Tuesday for the first date on the UK leg of her world tour before heading to The Anvil in Basingstoke on Thursday and the Turner Sims Concert Hall on November 7, when she will be sharing the bill with Chango Spasiuk.

Minerva Theatre box office: 01243 781213; The Anvil box office: 01256 844244; Turner Sims box office: 023 8059 5151.

THE sounds of Latin America come to Salisbury this weekend.

Merengada are bringing the sounds of salsa, merengue and bachata to the Blackledge Theatre, Godolphin School tomorrow, courtesy of Salisbury Arts Centre.

The band boasts an international line-up, featuring musicians from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Columbia, Italy and Britain.

Box office: 01722 321744.