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THURSDAY 3/27

Ass-Kicking
F*CK CANCER BENEFIT When life you gives you lemons, sometimes you gotta give it the finger. And since attitude is key to recovery from any illness, it’s not surprising that cancer survivors—as well as the family and friends of those who didn’t beat it—take comfort in sending this dreaded disease a message: Fuck off. The Features, Ricky Young & The Slow Films, Cassino, Tommy & The Whale and Pico vs Island Trees will take the stage to raise money for the medical bills of 23-year-old Carolyn Benedict, who was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. The show also features a silent auction; $10 minimum donation. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —TRACY MOORE

Performance Art
MINTON SPARKS It’s fitting for Minton Sparks to appear at Vanderbilt’s Visiting Writers Series Spring Symposium, because, despite being a longtime Nashvillian, the entire American South might as well be her hometown. Sparks is the kind of genre-bending writer—and expectation-defying performance artist—who seems to have sprung, fully formed, from the forehead of some rural god. Her characters are country people caught in the intergenerational angst of families and the despair of limited options, but exist in a land that’s still inexplicably gorgeous. Onstage, she wears her grandmother’s dresses, regularly busts out in a whoop of clogging and seems to be on a first-name basis with the devil. There are quiet moments too—moments when it’s clear that what she examines isn’t rural or working class at all: “Suddenly I’m certain who I am and what I want are two very different things.” This is not your mother’s Minnie Pearl. 6 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s All Faith Center —MARGARET RENKL

Nostalgia
GEORGE “GOOBER” LINDSEY AT GEORGE JONES UNIVERSITY Remember when Goober took Gilly Walker’s car apart and reassembled it inside the sheriff’s office? How about the time—check that, times—when Barney made Goober an honorary deputy? Or when, tired of his fifth-wheel status, Andy and Barney taught Goober the fine art of wooing, only to end up with two people tagging along on their double dates? Relive such classic Andy Griffith Show moments—as well as a whole mess of Hee Haw hilarity—when Minnie Pearl Lifetime Achievement Award winner, UNA Film Festival founder and namesake of Birmingham, Ala.’s George Lindsey Highway appears at the kickoff hot-dog cookout of the two-and-a-half day music-biz clinic known as George Jones University. March 27-30; visit georgejonesuniversity.net to register. —JULIE SEABAUGH

Poetry
R.T. SMITH In his new collection, Outlaw Style, poet R.T. Smith manages to illustrate both Ezra Pound’s famous statement that poetry is “news that stays news” and William Faulkner’s belief that “the past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” Smith’s sly, subtle poems are often monologues in the voice of historical figures, some of them reviled—John Wilkes Booth figures prominently in the new book—but all of them intensely human, the kind of people we know and the kind of people we are, whether we admit it out loud or not. Underneath the empathy and imaginative extension is recognition of both troubling beauty and inescapable violence. As the narrator of one of his older poems says, “Don’t people know the world is an emergency?” Smith will read and sign books. 7:30 p.m. at the Doris Swang Chapel in the Ezell Center of David Lipscomb University —MARGARET RENKL

CD Release
UPSIDE OF ENVY This local quartet is fronted by 22-year-old former Star Search contestant Melissa Montgomery, a girl with pipes and a rocker’s heart. If Paramore’s Hayley Williams is Joan Jett, then Montgomery could be Lita Ford, working the hard rock side of the street with an outsized vocal strut. Thedrama of tracks such as “Life Is Beautiful” and “Dirty Laundry” suggests Matchbox Twenty trashing their room at Styx’s Paradise Theatre. The playing is remarkably crisp and assured on their debut release, Full Bloom, which is being celebrated at this show. The slinky rocker “Torn Between” and the acoustic ballad “My Downfall” hint at the band’s radio-ready potential. 8:30 p.m. at The Rutledge —CHRIS PARKER


FRIDAY 3/28

Music
THE CAB Seems Vegas has more creative outlets than stripping, costume design and explaining to the spouse exactly how you lost four grand in one night. In recent years, Sin City has spawned The Killers, Panic at the Disco, Escape the Fate, The Higher and Jenny Lewis. Following suit comes The Cab, a youthful fivesome who, having recently survived a nasty van accident and nerve-rattling SXSW gig, offer up an intriguing blend of pop, punk, soul and emo on their debut Whisper War. Don’t hold the Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance signing against them—even after completing their largest tour to date with labelmates Cobra Starship, their vibe remains more Justin Timberlake than Fall Out Boy. We the Kings, Valencia, Charlotte Sometimes and Sing It Loud round out the bill. 7 p.m. at Rcktwn —JULIE SEABAUGH

Seasons of Love
RENT Its 12-year run on the Great White Way may be coming to a close in the next two months, and the 2005 film version may have failed to garner the critical acclaim heaped upon, say, Chicago, but the seventh-longest-running Broadway show in history still packs the same energy, emotion and enthrallment. Based on Puccini’s La Bohème, this is the musical for artistically blessed but monetarily deficient hipsters—the lovelorn songwriters, the overly cautious sellouts, the sexually deviantjunkies and everyone inbetween. Thecurrent national tourstars American Idol finalist Anwar Robinsonand South African Idol winner Heinz Winckler. As the line goes, there’s no day like today.... March 28-30 at TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall —JULIE SEABAUGH

Camp-free Twangabilly
CARY ANN HEARST Bluesy soul-country mamas with impeccable twangabilly tendencies can be a retrofitted drag, or they can be Cary Ann Hearst. Dust and Bones from 2006 recasts Americana as outsider folk and rock ’n’ roll, right down to the impressionistic precision of the backing band and Hearst’s untutored but lively guitar. The title track stomps its feet in an abandoned church and Hearst sings “Dresden Snow” like Wanda Jackson covering something winsome from John Cale’s Paris 1919. Only it’s not winsome—it’s twisted, brilliant and very alive, like most of Dust and Bones. As a pure vocalist, the Mississippi native bears comparison to Jackson or Nashville’s Kristi Rose, but there’s nothing particularly campy about Hearst’s songs or the way she delivers them. She’s a canny singer and songwriter with a knack for the telling details that color her concise narratives. 9 p.m. at The End —EDD HURT

Nashville Strip
MUSIC CITY BURLESQUE Wanna pick a peck of primo pulchritude? Procure a peek at this pulverizing peep show! Get a gander at gorgeous gals and their ga-ga gams, featuring some of the loveliest lasses ever to twirl a tassel! SEE Belle Bombshell shake her weapons of mass destruction! SEE how many licks it takes to get to the center of Miss Lolly Pop! TASTE the juicy fruit of Frankie Apple! Cop a visual feel as Sideshow Bennie, the Music City Burlesque Jazz Quartet and your congenital host Miss Bianca Paige welcome—deep breath—Kicky La Rue! Monique Honeybush! Larry the Panty Boy! Vera Va Voom! Sadie Twist! DC Bootnail! Kitty Lee! Tequila Rose! Lux-O-Matic! Bella DeBall! Lucy De Lovely & Diletta Delight! Tickets are $17—but the eye-gasms are free! 8 p.m. at the Belcourt Theatre —JIM RIDLEY

Dead Ahead
SHAUN OF THE DEAD Last Thanksgiving weekend, on his cross-country tour of America, director Edgar Wright breezed through Nashville and ducked unannounced into the Belcourt to take in The Last Waltz. Belcourt house manager Derek Hoke returns the favor by screening Wright’s 2004 zombie farce as part of the theater’s Staff Picks series. The timing couldn’t be better: Not only is the Belcourt opening George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead (see p. 44) this weekend, but Shaun star Simon Pegg’s new comedy Run Fatboy Run (see p. 44) is opening elsewhere the same day. And remember: If the undead attack and all you can do is throw Prince LPs, hold on to Purple Rain as tight as you can—but feel free to toss Batman. Midnight March 28-29 at the Belcourt Theatre —JIM RIDLEY

Music
MIKE DOUGHTY The former Soul Coughing frontman pulled the plug on the jazzy, idiosyncratic cult act in 2000, weary of touring and addicted to heroin. A couple years later, Doughty beat the junk and put his guitar in the trunk, embarking on a solo career. He’s always favored scuffling acoustic folk-blues with a bit of rhythmic swing—which makes him a natural for the jam-band crowd—but he’s stronger melodically. His introspective lyrics and soft-focus sketches feature a rapper’s meter and a filmmaker’s sense of scope. He paints the emotional desolation of success with a few brushstrokes (“White Lexus”), and is drawn to short evocative phrases, whether it be walking in “Circles,” understanding the “Ways & Means” or noting how “the only way to beat it is to bat it down” on the hit, “Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well.” 9 p.m. at Exit/In —CHRIS PARKER

Love and Marriage
THE 70% CLUB Sista Style Productions founder Mary McCallum joins the ranks of playwrights with this original work, which through humor and brutal honesty attempts to reflect on the contemporary—and fragile—state of marriage and relationships in the African American community. The story revolves around a group of friends preparing for a couple’s wedding. Director John Wiggins’ cast includes experienced players, among them, David Chattam, Alicia Ridley, Tamiko Robinson, Shawn Whitsell and McCallum. March 28-April 6 at Darkhorse Theater —MARTIN BRADY

Not Your Father’s Chamber Orchestra
ORCHESTRA NASHVILLE WITH DARRELL SCOTT, DIRK POWELL, BALFA TOUJOURS AND ODESSA SETTLES In January, Nashville Chamber Orchestra changed its name to better reflect its musical mission—in particular the group’s emphasis on presenting “new music that celebrates Nashville’s eclectic music community”—and this lineup is a perfect example. Orchestra Nashville artist-in-residence Darrell Scott is one of the most respected singer-songwriters in a town overflowing with them, and a superb, soulful guitarist to boot. Besides being a sought-after multi-instrumentalist—he’s recorded or performed with Loretta Lynn, Levon Helm, Jack White, Sting, Ralph Stanley and Linda Ronstadt, to name a few—Dirk Powell also plays fiddle and accordion with his wife Christine Balfa in traditional Cajun band Balfa Toujours. The performance, which features the artists performing both individually and with the orchestra, is the final event of the season in Orchestra Nashville’s Acoustic Café series. 8 p.m. at Grace Chapel, Leipers Fork —JACK SILVERMAN

Music
DURALUXE Their sound has wandered as much as the band, which has called Athens, Long Beach and Evansville home before returning, like theprodigal son, to Nashville. It began with the spacey, droning lope of their 1999 debut Dolorosa. By 2002’s The Suitcase, they had morphed into a psych-pop act, retaining some of the same trippiness but focusing it toward ringing orchestral swells. Since returning a few years ago, they’ve been working ona new album whose posted tracks suggest a wide range from bouncy power pop (“Turn the Dial”) to ambling country-blues (“Rum Drunk”) to prettyMojave 3-style country-folk (“Take You to California”). 9 p.m. at The 5 Spot —CHRIS PARKER


SATURDAY 3/29

Music
THE WEAKERTHANS They’re just a bunch of pale, ordinary-looking dudes, but damned if they didn’t produce the most heart-wrenching, literate tales concerning small people, big thoughts and the occasional lost cat on last year’s Reunion Tour. Their secret weapon? Ex-Propaghandi bassist John K. Sampson’s voice: reed-thin, cautiously optimistic and endlessly searching for meaning in both his interior and exterior worlds. It imbues the quartet’s somber folk-punk with a meager warmth—like a single slant of sunlight in an otherwise cloudy sky. Forget Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene—this is indie Canadian musicianship at its most piercing. 8 p.m. at Exit/In —JULIE SEABAUGH

Music
SCREAM CLUB Both Team Gina and Nicky Click are labelmates (on Crunks Not Dead) and former protégés of the Olympia, Wash., lesbian hip-hop duo Scream Club, whose combination of beats, rhymes, electro pop, smarts and sleeze is, to quote DJ Qualls’ character from Hustle & Flow, “all about pain and... and pussy.” They also drop lines like this: “I can make you feel like other people cannot do / ’cause you got the kind of legs that make me wanna ZZ Top you.” Local all-female punk outfit Trampskirts open the proceedings. 9 p.m. at The Clamshack —STEVE HARUCH

Soul for Sale
AA BONDY It’s too bad Scott Bondy’s old band Verbena got swallowed by the grunge associations that their blistering Southern rock drew. Nirvana comparisons abounded; Dave Grohl took the band to Capitol. But records such as Souls for Sale and the Grohl-produced Into the Pink—both featuring phenomenal harmonizing help from Ann Marie Griffin—sounded like an Alabama Bonnie and Clyde, if they’d made a rock record together on the lam after holdin’ up banks. It was primal stuff—all raw energy, angsty howls full of blood-red images and vocal cords stretched to the breaking point. Bondy’s new folk blues from his Fat Possum debut American Hearts (out April 15) sounds cleaned up and calmed down, but there are still traces of the anguished old days in his wounded Southern wail. 9 p.m. at Exit/In —TRACY MOORE

Free Range Pickin’
FARMER JASON/JASON RINGENBERG By day, he’s kindly Farmer Jason, your kids’ gateway to the fertile fields of rock ’n’ roll. By night, he’s the hell-raising heir to the honky-tonk tradition and the founding father of cowpunk. And whether he’s getting your 6-year-old to do the Doggie Dance or being strangled by a love that wouldn’t breathe, this mic-swinging Dr. Jekyll is the most electrifying frontman this city ever produced. Take the young’uns to his live DVD taping at the Belcourt—arrive early, his last appearance turned away about 100 people—then, as soon as their heads hit the pillow, duck out to The Basement, where he’ll regale Mom and Dad with selections off his career-spanning odds-and-sods compilation Best Tracks & Side Tracks 1979-2007. Stick around for Stacie Collins, a snake-hipped blues belter and harp monster who packs a killer guitarist—one Warner Hodges. Farmer Jason, 10 a.m. at the Belcourt; Jason Ringenberg, 9 p.m. at The Basement —JIM RIDLEY

Music
STEVE MACKAY You might not recognize his name, but chances are you’ve heard his saxophone, whether it be through his moonlighting gig with The Violent Femmes or his prominent role on The Stooges’ landmark record Funhouse. MacKay has maintained a decidedly low profile since Funhouse’s 1970 release, but the formation of his Radon Ensemble has landed him back on tour. Wedding elements of free jazz with experimental electronics and the psychedelic rock he helped foster, the group has welcomed a rotating cast of contributors, including members of Mercury Rev, Bastard Noise and Nashville’s own Mr. Natural. 9 p.m. at Springwater —MATT SULLIVAN

Sounds Like Teen Spirit
ZOMBIE PROM When Enrico Fermi High School’s resident rebel Jonny commits suicide (jumping into the Francis Gary Powers Nuclear Power Plant) and returns to half-life as a zombie, the big debate ensues: Should girlfriend Toffee take him back, especially when senior prom is right around the corner? University School of Nashville mounts Dana P. Rowe and John Dempsey’s 1996 off-Broadway cult hit, which was remade as a short 2006 film starring RuPaul as principal Ms. Strict. “The show is in the vein of Little Shop of Horrors,” says co-musical director and ensemble member Henry Gottfried, adding, “It’s an over-the-top ’50s musical with a zombie twist.” Besides the cast of 11, USN students also make up the artistic team, with Casey Hartley directing and Ben Easton handling the keyboards. March 27, 29 & 30 at USN Auditorium (2000 Edgehill Ave.) —MARTIN BRADY

Passover Plot
BEAU JEST Jim Sherman’s comedy is a textbook example of lighthearted dinner-theater fare. His zany story involves a nice Jewish girl named Sarah, who is too afraid to introduce her parents to her WASP boyfriend. Instead, she tells them she’s dating a Jewish doctor, plans a dinner party and employs a hired actor to play the role of the mythical “Dr. Steinberg.” Confusion morphs into romance—or could you guess that already? Martha Wilkinson directs this production, which features veteran actors (Adam Burnett, Layne Sasser and Ken Dale Thompson) and some newer faces (Elijah Dies, Rachel Carrozziere). With a nod toward tradition, the play incorporates all the traditional foods and beverages of a Passover Seder, along with the reading of the Haggadah. March 27-April 26 at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre —MARTIN BRADY

Books
JEFF WEDDING Wedding’s book, Manor of Disposition, features a protagonist whose career mimics that of actor Michael C. Hall, star of pay TV’s Six Feet Under and Dexter. Lucas Benson is a troubled undertaker who transitions easily into criminal forensics. Overworked and lonely, he is sucked into a world of crime and government intrigue when he makes a chilling discovery during a routine embalming. Faced with his darkest fears, the mortician-cum-medical examiner tangles with an underworld conspiracy that’s more macabre than anything he’s seen at the morgue. A first time author, Wedding is a Nashville photographer and filmmaker whose work includes Blind and Perry’s Wait. 4-7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Opry Mills —PAUL V. GRIFFITH

Girls Gone Wild
NASHVILLE ROLLERGIRLS VS. TRAGIC CITY ROLLERS If you’re not going to participate in any of the zombie-related events happening this weekend, you better get your blood elsewhere. This roller derby doubt has been dubbed “The Goon, The Bad, and The Derby,” and our local lady ass-kickers have partnered with Eric Powell, creator of Dark Horse Comics’ The Goon for an evening of heroes and villains. Halftime entertainment will be provided by Rhinestone Ruckus and DJ Fat Andy. This is your last chance to catch the Rollergirls before mid-May, so strap on those skates, secure your knee pads and start your Saturday night with a little violence. 7 p.m. at Tennessee State Fairgrounds —LEE STABERT

School of Rock
BATTLE OF THE BANDS Who knows? You just might catch the next big thing. Rcktwn is hosting this search for the best high school band in the Nashville area—extra points for angst. The winners will get a bunch of prizes to help forward their musical careers, including 16 hours of recording studio time. It might not be a sit-down with Pete Wentz, but for a couple of teens trying to start something big, it’s hard to think of a more valuable prize. 8 p.m.-midnight at Rcktwn —LEE STABERT


SUNDAY 3/30
Music
MINSK Metal bands often possess a penchant for all things epic, and Minsk are no exception. Of the six tracks on the Illinois outfit’s latest, The Ritual Fires of Abandonment, three hover around the 15-minute mark. After the first five delicate and atmospheric minutes of lead track “Embers,” a driving deluge of guitars interrupts the calm, recalling classic Neurosis and convincingly aping the group’s penchant for big crescendos that sound less triumphant and more like an avalanche. 9 p.m. at The End —MATT SULLIVAN

Czech This Out
VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS Cool story: For years, it was assumed that Jaromil Jires’ psychedelic 1970 softcore fantasy—a key work of the Czech New Wave that produced Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and Ivan Passer (Cutter’s Way)—existed almost exclusively in 16mm prints of wildly varying quality. (One screening in New York had to ship in a print all the way from the Czech Republic.) Nevertheless, Belcourt staffer James Cathcart started trying to track one down for the theater’s Staff Picks series. On a whim, the theater’s former landlord, Thomas Wills, decided to take a quick look through his extensive 16mm film collection. Lo and behold, what may be one of the world’s best prints of this almost-lost classic has been sitting unnoticed in Wills’ Nashville archives. Cathcart’s homemade trailer has been turning heads for weeks, and he says the whole staff has made the film a pet cause. The print will make its debut this weekend, two shows only—only in Nashville. Noon March 29 & 30 at the Belcourt Theatre —JIM RIDLEY

Billie’s Blues
LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL Lanie Robertson’s combo bio and musical revue both celebrates the joy and laments the sadness in the life of the great Billie Holiday. Robertson’s play, which has been performed widely in regional theaters, is set in a Philadelphia saloon in 1959, where jazz icon Holiday delivers one of her final performances. Prostitution, drug-addiction, jail time, rocky marriages: Holiday paid serious dues, yet her artistic legacy only seems to deepen with the passage of time. The show also describes an America where black musicians and singers practiced their craft and lived their lives under discriminatory conditions. The lineup of Holiday classics includes “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child,” among many others. This new production at Tennessee State University features Ashley Bishop as Holiday, with Jimmie Powers as her piano accompanist. Lawrence James directs. March 28-April 6 at TSU’s Performing Arts Center —MARTIN BRADY

Music
SHAWN MULLINS On his new full-length Honeydew, Shawn Mullins notes that some people choose to live on bennies and apple pie, work part-time at Dairy Queen and fall in love with waitresses from Cave Creek, Ariz. The Atlanta native possesses an easy way with a song and a knapsack full of sturdy folk-rock verities. Honeydew shows off Mullins’ sympathetic ear and warm, knocked-around voice. “All in My Head” finds him “working for the man” and wishing for a rocket ship to take him away. He gets in a blues—“Homeless Joe”—while “The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston” reports from “the sorry side of town.” Honeydew stands alongside James McMurtry’s recent work as a portrait of disillusioned Americans crying out to be seen as they really are, not as the media often portray them. 9 p.m. at 3^rd & Lindsley —EDD HURT

Community Theater
OUR TOWN Encore Theatre Company in Old Hickory brings this timeless, moving Thornton Wilder play to their little corner of the world, where Davidson and Wilson counties intersect. A good-sized cast of locals inhabits Wilder’s fictional New England community of Grover’s Corners, including Bobby Daniels, Sarah Morgan and Andrew Kanies, who was recently seen in Tennessee Rep’s production of Edward Albee’s The Goat. Co-directed by Kenn and Lori Stilger. Through April 6 at Encore Theatre Company (14905-A Lebanon Road) —MARTIN BRADY



MONDAY 3/31

Music
RUDDER W/SNARKY PUPPY Ironically, while the jam-band world has spawned countless wanky rock bands who wouldn’t know a song if they crushed it up and snorted it, the scene has proven fertile ground for some of today’s most vital “nu jazz” acts. New York City’s Rudder are a keys/sax/ bass/drums four-piece who combine samples, effects and instrumental wizardry to create trippy music that puts as much emphasis on composition as on improvisation. Hailing from Denton, Texas—home to the University of North Texas, the South’s answer to Berklee College of Music—Snarky Puppy share a similar aesthetic, though they lean more toward straight jazz, and, with eight members, have a denser sound. 9 p.m. at 3^rd & Lindsley —JACK SILVERMAN

Stankonia Nashville-Style
CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE “Nashville’s 1^st Hip-Hop Cover Show” features local rappers doing classic hits by Nas, Jay-Z, OutKast, A Tribe Called Quest, Lupe Fiasco, Fugees, Tupac, Biggie, Common, Kanye and more, all performed with a live band. The event is part of a series of monthly hip-hop showcases at Café Coco hosted by Future, whose 2007 work Foreplay: The Mixtape shows off not only his self-deprecating wit (“I’m only 5-5 / I ain’t no 6-foot baller baby / 5-5 / I ain’t gettin’ any taller baby”), but a great singing voice to boot. Also stepping up to the mic: Future’s Clean Cut labelmate Openmic, Crisis and special guests. 8-10 p.m. at Café Coco —JACK SILVERMAN

Liberal Helping
WILLIAMSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S MAKE IT BLUE MONDAY We know what you’re thinking: “Williamson County Democratic Party? Is that like the Afghani Bikini Squad, or the Haitian Snowboarding Team?” Sure Davidson County’s southern neighbor is 92 percent white (hey, whites are people too!) and the median household income is 80 grand, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some donkeys roaming among the elephants. So if you’re one of those terrorist-loving, America-hating schlubs who can’t see the brilliance of our current administration’s attempt to fulfill our God-given right to rule the world, come meet your fellow hope-mongers and enjoy performances by Doyle & Debbie, Jimmy Hall, Jack Pearson, Barry Scott, Todd Sharp and Minton Sparks. Make It Blue Monday will be a monthly event. $20. 7-10 p.m. at Saffire Restaurant in The Factory at Franklin —JACK SILVERMAN


TUESDAY 4/1

Music
TIN PAN SOUTH During Tin Pan South, songwriter showcases spread to more band-oriented venues like The Basement, Mercy Lounge, 3^rd & Lindsley and others, and attention turns from an act’s overall entertainment factor to song quality, with all but basic musical implements stripped away.The nonprofit Nashville Songwriters Association International has put on the festival for 15 years. Show proceeds go toward advocating for songwriters’ rights. It’s only logical that writers with gobs of cuts would be well represented in the festival lineup, and they are. But—like the genre-spanning NSAI—shows feature a variety of musical styles, from mainstream country to contemporary Christian, rock, pop, Americana and R&B. There’ll be formidable veterans like Bobby Braddock (George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today”), Jim Weatherly (Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia”) and Mentor Williams (Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”) and successful current writers like Marcus Hummon, Phil Madeira and Allen Shamblin. April 1-5 at area venues —JEWLY HIGHT


WEDNESDAY 4/2

Classic Soul Songs
DAN PENN Penn’s songwriting stands the test of time so well because he always goes straight to the heart of the matter. Aretha’s “Sweet Inspiration” and “Do Right Woman,” James Carr’s “Dark End of the Street” and the Box Tops’ “Cry Like a Baby” represent only a percentage of his landmark work, but each illustrates the directness of his imagery and sentiments and the bare-boned, engaging nature of his arrangements. Now a Nashville resident, he spends his time refurbishing classic cars and continuing to craft classic tunes. His fine new album, Junkyard Junky, is available at danpenn.com and shows he’s as wise as ever and that his voice remains a warm, laid-back gem. He joins his Muscle Shoals pal, Donnie Fritts, country bluesman Lee Roy Parnell and Nashville veteran Gary Nicholson in this Tin Pan South event. 6:30 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —MICHAEL McCALL