SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Below is a list of events to keep your weekend busy with fun — in art, music, theater, comedy, pop-up markets and more.
All events featured were scheduled as of Thursday; however, it’s wise to check in ahead of attending any one. Inclement weather, changes in schedules and unforseen circumstances may shift for organizers at the last minute.
Thursday, July 14
Nimesh Patel
Dead Crow Comedy Room, 511 N 3rd St. • Tickets start at $25
Standup comedian Nimesh Patel, an Emmy-nominated performer from New York City who currently writes for “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” is making an appearance at downtown Wilmington’s Dead Crow Comedy Room.
Patel has been doing standup for a decade but began writing for other comedians in 2016 when Chris Rock hired him to pen his 2016 Academy Awards hosting gig. Since, Patel has worked with Aziz Ansari and has written for “Saturday Night Live,” The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and “Awkwafina,” as well as produced “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”
His shows cover family, religion, a love for hip-hop, America’s relationship with alcohol and general observations on life and death.
The comedian garnered attention in 2018 when the Columbia Asian American Alliance, who hosted a show at Columbia University, cut his mic over jokes regarding racism and sexual orientation. Specifically, he noted that being gay can’t be a choice because “no one looks in the mirror and thinks, ‘This black thing is too easy, let me just add another thing to it.’”
Online sales to Patel’s show have sold out, but Dead Crow will have a limited number of tickets at the door pending any cancellations. If any are available, they will be doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis, cash only.
OTHER THURSDAY HAPPENINGS
“Dogfight: A Musical” — Thalian Association Community Theater is hosting the local musical premiere of “Dogfight” through Sunday. The team Pasek and Paul — behind “Dear Evan Hanson” and “James and the Giant Peach” — penned the production, which takes place in the fall of 1963. Three young marines take to the town on the eve of their deployment to Vietnam. They make a bet to pick the least attractive girl to take out for an evening — one soldier chooses a waitress and ends up connecting with his date. The show — directed by Cathy Street, with music direction by Randy Craft — will be hosted in the Hannah Block Community Arts Center and USO building, which the Thalian Association manages for the City of Wilmington. It stars Wilmington veterans Logan Mack and Sydney Smith Martin. Shows run Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $25. The show contains adult language and material.
Birdwell Beat — Thursday night, The Little Dipper hosts live music on the back patio with Birdwell Beat. The three-piece, made up of Ben Moore (bass), Jason Delamar (guitar), and Steviemack (drums), performs instrumental surf music. The show takes place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is free.
Friday, July 15
Josh Groban
Live Oak Bank Pavilion, 10 Cowan St. • Tickets start at $35
Award-winning singer and songwriter, Josh Groban, is headed to Wilmington in support of his “Harmony” summer tour. Accompanying the platinum-charting musician will be New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, violinist and singer Lucia Micarelli, and singer-songwriter Eleri Ward.
Groban got his start as a rehearsal singer for world-renowned composer David Foster, and has gone on to release nine albums and headline six tours. He also has toured with symphonies and taken up residencies during his two-decade career.
The singer has won a Billboard’s Music Award for the number one classical crossover artist of the year in 2003, and has been nominated for a Grammy and American Music Award, among others. He has appeared in TV, film and Broadway roles, and was nominated for a Tony in 2017 as Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.”
Read the full PCD interview with the musician here; Groban talks about the making of “Harmony” and how the pandemic shifted the album for the better.
OTHER FRIDAY HAPPENINGS
The Comically Impaired — The Comically Impaired has been making audiences laugh in Wilmington for three decades. A few of its members will be stepping back onto the stage Friday night to entertain at the Leland Cultural Arts Center, 1212 Magnolia Village Way, as part of its performing arts series. The group will showcase a night of “Whose Line Is it Anyway?”-style improv games. . Tickets are $15.
“Grease” — It’s automatic, it’s systematic, it’s hydromatic — it’s “Greased Lightning!” Opera House Theater Company is putting on the 1971 Broadway musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey over the next two weekends at Thalian Hall. The popular musical follows 10 teenagers — five greasers of the T-Birds gang and five Pink Ladies — as they face peer pressure, rebellion and all the growing pains of high school. Read PCD’s full coverage here. Tickets have been moving fast, so secure them for $32 here.
Saturday, July 16
“Birdies” Screening
Bottega, 723 N. 4th St. • Free
During the pandemic, a group of creatives hit the former Belvedere golf course in Hampstead — now Ironclad Golf — during the pandemic to finally get cameras rolling on an independent golf comedy that has been 10 years or more in the making. “Birdies” had its official debut in January and launched on Amazon Prime in February.
Locally written, produced and cast, the film follows a group of rag-tag golfers, some more interested in having a nip and a sip than turning around the flailing Twin Pines, a golf club that has fallen into disarray. To bring life back into the course, the owner, Charlie Conroy, hires a new golf pro, Jake Baxter, to help rival the fancy Magnolia Pointe resort nearby, which threatens Twin Pines’ survival.
The film, directed and written by Troy Carlton, stars standup comedian Ryan O’Flanagan, as well as plenty of local faces, including Zack Hanner, Nate Panning, Lily Nicole, Michele Seidman and others.
The screening at Bottega on Saturday will be hosted by Nate Panning, who helped write the script.
Read PCD’s previous coverage of “Birdies” here.
OTHER SATURDAY HAPPENINGS
Machine Gun Band — The four piece cover band — Tommy Brothers (guitar, vocals), Tina Langevin (guitar, vocals), John White (bass) and Sean Foust (drums) — will perform at Riverlights in its Live Oak Commons area from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The band performs classic rock, country, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and ‘80s. The show is free; lawn chairs and blankets welcome. A&M Food Truck, Coastal Creamery and Popcorn Love also will be parked on site, plus the restaurants and other businesses in the area will be open.
Pop-up Market — 910 Plant Show and Market is hosting a pop-up at the Moose Lodge at 4610 Carolina Beach Rd. There will be vendors selling plants, arts and crafts, and food and beverages. The event takes place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is open to the public for free. Vendors’ items are priced individually.
Sunday, July 17
Mary Porter and Friends
Wilson Center, 703 N. 3rd St. • Tickets: $25
International performer and recording artist Mary Porter will hit the Wilson Center stage Sunday in a charity performance to raise money for three local nonprofits, including two that help homeless populations in the area, The Good Shepherd Center and The Feast Gathering, and Broadway for a Better World, which grants free tickets to marginalized communities that may not have access to arts programming at Wilson Center.
Porter will be joined by talented musicians, like Daryll Murrill and Mark Harman, and performers, including dancers from Evolution Dance Complex, as well as Brooklyne Nicole Williamson, Adrian Jones and Olivia Jacqueline Walton.
Renee Armand and Enrique de Allende will join Porter to sing songs, such as “My Way,” “How Great Thou Art,” “The Impossible Dream,” “Sweet By and By,” “The Prayer,” “I Got Rhythm,” and more. A children’s choir will be taking on “Hallelujah.”
The show, which starts at 3 p.m., is directed by Ray Kennedy, with tickets available for $25. A reception after the show will be held at Ruth’s Chris, which also will donate proceeds to the benefit.
OTHER SUNDAY HAPPENINGS
Down South Thunder — Kure Beach will feature Down South Thunder as part of Boogie in the Park at Ocean Front Park. The free concert series takes place 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. the first and third Sundays of the month through October. Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets, as well as picnics.
Plant for Progress Fundraiser — Cape Fear Wine and Beer’s monthly plant fundraising sale also corresponds with Beer Church. The plant sale will include houseplants, succulents, cacti, herbs, annuals, perennials, orchids, and other items, donated and grown by the community at large. All proceeds will go toward the National Abortion Federation, which supports abortion providers nationwide. As part of Beer Church, Cape Fear Wine and Beer is celebrating shark week with the featured flavor from Lost Coast Brewery. Two “shark-tastic” beers will be on tap: Great White wheat beer and Sharkinator white IPA with Great White pint glasses.
Blackberry Smoke — The Southern rockers will be landing at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater this Sunday, touring in support of their 2021 release “You Hear Georgia.” The five-piece, including Charlie Starr (guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar), Richard Turner (bass), Brit Turner (drums) and Brandon Still (keyboards), have been performing for two decades and are known for bringing energy night after night. Tickets are here and PCD’s interview with Starr can be read here.
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