Saturday will bring Sting's much- heralded arrival to the Reno Events Center, but on Thanksgiving Day, a major concert event will slip into that venue under the radar of most mainstream music fans.

On that day and Christmas Day, an array of popular Hong Kong artists will perform for their U.S. fans.

This year's Thanksgiving concert is headlined by Frances Yip, who has more than 80 albums to her credit. Yip, who had her first big hit in Asia with "The Bund," the theme song from the television series of the same title, sings in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Malay, Mexican Spanish, Japanese and Tagalog. She is best-known for her recordings of a string of theme songs from Hong Kong television.

Joining Yip is Maria Cordero, a singer and actress born in Macau. She is best-known for her first hit "Sai Hei" and has starred in 39 Chinese movies from 1987's "City on Fire" to last year's "Look for a Star." She also hosts "Maria's Private Kitchen" on TV.

On the same bill is Elisa Chan, the singer best known for her hit duets with Leslie Cheung in the 1980s.

This is a big concert aimed at a specific audience and it carries hefty ticket prices. Tickets are $68, $98, $128 and $158 (1350 N. Wells Ave., Reno, 8 p.m., 888-288-1833).

By contrast, Sting tickets are $57, $71, $91 and $126.50. Still, this isn't chump change and presents a challenge in today's economy.

The concert is described as Sting "backed by a five-piece band in an intimate theater setting."

The cavernous Reno Events Center is hardly intimate, but a Sting appearance is rare. This one celebrates the late September release of his box set, "Sting: 25 Years."

The tour is called "Back to Bass" and promises to feature all of his hits, stripped down, from his 1985 debut of "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" to his latest release "Live in Berlin," stopping for a few Police hits along the way (8 p.m.; 888-288-1833).

Tanya Tucker plays Atlantis

Tanya Tucker returns to Reno this week, playing at the Atlantis on Saturday.

Tucker arrived on the scene in 1981 as the latest of hot country artists to play the casino showrooms, which up until then were reluctant to embrace the genre.

She had the credentials for John Ascuaga's Nugget to take a chance on her at the time. "Delta Dawn" had been her first single, an instant hit, followed by "Love's the Answer," "What's Your Mama's Name," "Blood Red and Goin' Down" and "Would You Lay With Me." Soon to come were more hits such as "Girls Like Me" and "Strong Enough To Bend." All in all, she's had more than 40 songs hit the Top 40.

Tucker has been appearing mostly at the Atlantis of late, but this marks her first time in even that venue in five years (7 p.m.; 3800 S. Virginia St., in Reno; $35 advance, $39 Saturday; 21 or over; 800-551-7007).

Around the Silver Circle

• The unpredictability of Sierra snowfall makes the celebration of the beginning of the ski season a risky business. Undaunted, however, MontBleu will launch "The Sound of Winter" to do exactly that this Saturday with an appearance by the multiplatinum rock band Bush, also celebrating the release of "The Sea of Memories," its first new album in a decade. "The Sound of Winter" is the lead single.

Bush has compiled multiple Top 40 hits, including four No. 1 charters: "Comedown," "Glycerine," "Swallowed," and "The Chemicals Between Us." (9 p.m.; 55 Highway 50 in Stateline; $55; Ticketmaster or montbleuresort.com).

• The heavy metal band Testament describes its album "The Formation of Domination" as "a crushingly heavy album without the weight of oppression, all crisp and lively … intent on bashing your brains to a pulp." If that's your thing, Testament appears with Death Angel on Friday at Reno's Knitting Factory (8:30 p.m.; 211 N. Virginia St. in Reno; $20 standing, $40 reserved seating; KnittingFactory.com).

• The Crystal Bay Casino has four offerings this week, commencing with Shwayze and Cisco Adler, joined by Mod Sun and G Easy, in the Crown Room on Monday. Shwayze is the former Aaron Smith, who jumped on stage with Adler three years ago during a Whitestar performance, leading to their collaboration (10 p.m.; 14 State Highway 28 in Crystal Bay; $18 advance, $20 Monday).

Planet of the Abts, featuring Matt Abts and Jorgen Carlsson from Gov't Mule, offer an enticing free show Wednesday, co-starring T-Bone Andersson in the Red Room at 10 p.m.

And the Los Angeles Band Orgone arrives in the Crown Room on Friday, offering funk, soul and hip-hop, along with the Whitney Meyer Band (9 p.m.; $15 advance, $18 Friday). And, in what has become a tradition at the club, local bands play Saturday beginning at 9 p.m. for the Locals Last Waltz celebrating the final performance of The Band (free).

• Finally, one of the better Beatles tribute acts, the Fab Four return to Harrah's Tahoe on Saturday (7:30 p.m.; 15 Highway 50 in Stateline; $30; 800-427-7247 or SouthShoreRoom.com).

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