It’s Labor Day weekend, and what better way to celebrate than with a “Cold Beverage” and some “Hot Cookin?'”
G. Love and Special Sauce returns to the Port City Sunday with its repertoire of smoothly satisfying, blues-laden, lyrical sound. The concert is presented by 98.3 FM The Penguin and Huka Entertainment.
The band, which came through town last year, will once again take the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater stage, this time in support of its upcoming LP, “Love Saves The Day.”
Set to be released in late October on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label, the album marks a return of sorts to G. Love’s classic early ’90s sound. “Love Saves The Day” includes some musical cameos from Lucinda Williams, Citizen Cope and Zach Gill of ALO, among others.
Two decades after the release of their first album and eight years since their last live performance, the original lineup of lead man G. Love (Garrett Dutton), upright bassist James “Jimi Jazz” Prescott and drummer Jeffrey “The Houseman” Clemens got back on the road in 2014.
Fellow Philly musician, singer/songwriter Chris Kasper, will open G. Love’s show on Sunday. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show.
If you want to get in the groove before the show, there is plenty more to do this weekend–from some free local folks to live stand-up and lots in between.
You’ll find it all below in our weekly arts and entertainment roundup. Be sure the check out our free online calendar, The Scene, for all the area happenings.
Music
Flytrap Brewing presents a free live show from Mike Blair and the Stonewalls Duo at 8 p.m. tonight (Thursday). Funky Fresh Food Truck will serve up gourmet local street food from 7 to 10. On Friday, singer/songwriter Jesse Stockton goes on at 8 p.m. and Pepe’s Taco Truck will be onsite from 7 to 10. The Keith Butler Trio performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, with A&M’s Food Truck serving up tacos and sliders from 7 to 11.
The Juggling Gypsy hosts “Fire and Drums” at 8 p.m. each Thursday. The event is a meet-up of fire dancers and area drummers, with deejays spinning tunes beginning at 10 p.m. Participants are welcome to bring their percussion instruments and fire and juggling toys. A Tarot card reader will be on hand between 6 and 10 p.m. Admission is free.
Airlie Gardens continues its summer concert series with a performance by retro groove rockers The Other Guys. Bring a blanket, lawn chair and picnic basket and enjoy the live music. Tickets are $9 for non-members ($2 for children 4-12 years). Airlie members get in free.
Spoken Jokin Smokin, a night of spoken word, stand-up comedy and music, is set for 8 p.m. Saturday at The Juggling Gypsy. The event features spoken word performers Eric Thompson, Kelly Rae and Tim Joyner. Members of Chuki Jumatatu Improv–Wills Maxwell Jr., Lydia Manning and Reid Clark–will bring the laughter and perform a few songs from an upcoming comedy rap project, “Psychos Path.” Admission is $5.
The geek rock act D&D Sluggers takes the stage at Bombers Bev Co. Saturday with Nintendo beats, a guitar and a mic. The show gets underway at 9 p.m. Admission is free.
Theater
Big Dawg Productions presents the satirical comedy, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” at 8 p.m. tonight through Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday at Cape Fear Playhouse. Written by MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl, the play examines how we memorialize the dead and how that remembering changes us. Tickets are $16 for tonight’s performance and $22 Friday-Sunday ($20 for students, seniors and military).
Opera House Theatre Company’s production of the witty Sondheim musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” premieres at 8 p.m. tonight at Thalian Hall. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $31.
TheatreNOW dinner theater presents “Joni & JT in Jail,” at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The play tells the story of people thrown into the same jail cell in the 1960s for during a protest for peace. Tickets are $32 for dinner and a show ($18 show only).
Film
Cinematique screens the documentary, “Cartel Land,” at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Thalian Hall. The film focuses on the work of two vigilante groups and their shared enemy–the Mexican drug cartels. Tickets are $8.
Art
Spectrum Gallery hosts an opening reception for “Two Views of Summer” from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight. The exhibit features the latest paintings by North Carolina artists Chip Hemingway and Jaquelin Perry. The reception is free, and the show will run until the end of September.
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at hilary.s@portcitydaily.com.
