Thursday Happenings

Soul

-- O.G. soul singer Bettye LaVette had a career restart in 2005 when she cut the album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise . Since then, she's cut a couple of new albums, seen her 35-year-old recordings released from the vaults at last, and been nominated for a Grammy. She's got the right kind of pipes to get you in the mood for whatever you like to be in the mood to do. Sculler's Jazz Club, Double Tree Hotel, 400 Soldiers Rd., 10 p.m. $14.

Fusion

-- Austin Texas's Afro-Latin underground finally arrives in Boston. Grupo Fantasma takes the Latin Boogaloo sound of the early seventies, runs it through an Afrobeat filter, and mixes it together with a hip-hop sensibility to make music that is simultaneously fresh and timeless. And the Grupo's live show kills it dead. With the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International. Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 8 p.m. $12.

Dancing Hipsters

-- Todo Mundo is the showcase for DJ Lone Wolf, who spins everything from hip-hop to dancehall in an inspired, global mix. Tonight features he features fellow JP mixmaster DJ D'Hana. Milky Way, 403 Center St., Jamaica Plain, 9:00pm. Free.

Image of Grupo Fantasma from Myspace.