Pedal pushers

Remember the Bike to Work Day event a few weeks ago? Well, the women of the Ditty Bops are taking that idea a bike pedal farther. They’ve embarked on a cross-country concert tour using only their bicycles as transportation. The eco-minded duo, comprised of Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, have charmed audiences and music critics across the country with their mix of Western swing, ragtime, gypsy-jazz and other old-timey musical elements. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriters play a variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, dulcimer and washboard and their past performances have included vaudeville-style entertainment such as juggling, burlesque dancing and shadow puppetry. They have performed on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion and on TV shows such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and they have opened for musical artists such as Nancy Sinatra, Nickel Creek and the Dresden Dolls. The girls are touring on bikes (with gear being transported in a biodiesel-powered vehicle) in support of their new album, Moon Over the Freeway, which, Newsweek writes, is “what Betty Boop might have had on her iPod.” Hear the Ditty Bops on Monday, June 12, when they perform at Magic Underground at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia St. Tickets are $15 and $18. The show starts at 8 p.m. Call 324-6007.