Summer concerts on the Quad are set to begin tomorrow (Saturday, July 10), with the Infamous Stringdusters bluegrass band.

This concert and one by the Nortec Collective on Aug. 27 comprise SummerMusic 2010, presented by the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with Summer Sessions.

Each concert is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., with the Quad opening at 6 p.m. for picnicking. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Stringdusters "push bluegrass into new territory," according to the band's hometown paper, The (Nashville) Tennessean. Critics praise the six-member band for its inspired blend of instrumental virtuosity, creative original material, firm grounding in traditional bluegrass, and jam band sensibilities.

The band won two big awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2007: album of the year, for Fork in the Road, and emerging artist of the year.

The Stringdusters followed Fork in the Road with a self-titled album in 2008 and Things That Fly in April 2010, in addition to solo efforts by band members Andy Hall (resophonic guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Falco (guitar) and Chris Pandolfi (banjo).

The Nortec Collective is a Tijuana, Mexico-based ensemble that fuses electronica and techno with the norteño and tambora music of northern Mexico.

Pepe Mogt (aka Fussible) formed Nortec in 1999 as a four-person collective; today, each concert is by a two-man team. Fussible and Bostich (aka Ramon Amezcua) are due to perform at UC Davis.

Nortec has released four albums: The Tijuana Sessions Vol. 1 (2001), The Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3 (2005), Tijuana Sound Machine (2008) and Corridos Urbanos (2010), earning three Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations in the best Latin rock-alternative album and best alternative music album categories.

The genre-spanning Nortec has drawn international praise from such publications as Rolling Stone, which raved about Nortec’s “updated lounge sounds for both dancing and chilling.”

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: SummerMusic 2010, presented by the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with Summer Sessions

WHEN:

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 10 — Infamous Stringdusters

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27 — Nortec Collective featuring Bostich and Fussible

WHERE: Quad (opens at 6 p.m. for picnicking). No alcoholic beverages allowed.

ADMISSION: Free and open to the public, all ages