1.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Tune-Yards/James Tillman
Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Rd, 584-8088
headlinerslouisville.com
$20; 9 p.m.
I’ll be damned if Tune-Yards aren’t one of the most invigoratingly refreshing bands I’ve been exposed to in a while. Comparable to mid-80’s Paul Simon, replete with plenty of heavy, almost tribal drumming, and a sensibility for world music that sounds well earned, Tune-Yards make music that is easily catchy and thick with melody and a sense of fun. Fronted by vocalist Merrill Garbus and bassist Nate Brenner, the duo have made a name for themselves in recent years as engaging performers and for making eminently listenable albums. They’re touring in support of their newest album “Nikki Nack.” Joining them is singer songwriter James Tillman, who has a sound like Seu Jorge, very relaxing and soft around the edges, the perfect primer to the evening. —Syd Bishop
2.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8
And The Giraffe
The Rudyard Kipling
422 W. Oak St., 636-1311
$4; 8 p.m.
With deeply dreamy folk that carries psychedelic, ambient undertones, Nashville’s And The Giraffe has a little bit of bite to their slowly rolling, breezy Americana. Kept alive by the Internet, since primary members and best friends Nick Roberts and Josh Morris went to school in different states and shared songs through Dropbox, And The Giraffe kept rolling, and now, after two excellent EPs, the full-time project will release their first full-length at the end of this year. Carefully arranged, yet experimental, they find a nice balance between keeping it edgy and implementing the right amount of focus to avoid drifting too far into space. The thing is, these days, indie-folk bands are a dime a dozen, but And The Giraffe is more than a standard indie-folk band. —Scott Recker
3.
Saturday, Oct. 11
‘Raising Ms. President’
Nationwide Day of the Girl Screening
Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
raisingmspresident.com/dayofthegirl
Free; 3 p.m.
Sick of politics as usual? A lot of people, like local documentary filmmaker Kiley Lane Parker, think our best chance at changing the status quo is by getting a more diverse group of leaders into politics. Parker’s documentary “Raising Ms. President” explores the reason why more women aren’t interested in running for office. To commemorate the United Nations-declared International Day of the Girl this Saturday, groups across the country are screening Parker’s documentary and will then join in a live Google+ Hangout with Parker immediately following, at 4 p.m. One such screening will take place at The Kentucky Center at 3 p.m. If you know a girl who was #BornToLead, you should bring her along. —Laura Snyder
4.
Saturday, Oct. 11
Portland Art & Heritage Fair
Portland
portlandartfair.wordpress.com
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
If you have never been to Portland, now is the time to go. The inaugural Portland Art & Heritage Fair, presented by Portland Now, is a free event organized to showcase the history of the Portland area. A part of the Fair is the Art & Photography Pop-Up Exhibition organized by the Louisville Visual Art Association. The juried art show features 24 paintings, drawings and photographs by 13 artists who were inspired by the Ohio River. The exhibition is housed at the Historic Marie Hospital, with its own great view of the river. Additional art is at Nelligan Hall with river-themed events at the Portland Museum. Craft booths are nearby at the Tim Faulkner Gallery. There will also be trolley tours with stops at historic points, food trucks and music. —Jo Anne Triplett
5.
Saturday, Oct. 11
‘Pretty Ugly’
Revelry Boutique Gallery
742 E. Market St., 414-1278
revelrygallery.com
Revelry Gallery invites you to explore the wild mind of Dustin Dirt! His love of drawing and making things as a child would lead him to study industrial design which taught him the value of craftsmanship. Now hailing from Nashville, Tenn., Dustin has become a respected artist known for his cartoonish and colorful monsters. His work has been featured in galleries, tattoo parlors and all places in-between. Dustin wants his art to help us to drop some of our adult notions and remember what it’s like to be a kid obsessed with cartoons. “Pretty Ugly” plays between the borders of creepy and cute. Vivid combinations of colors, weirdo cartoons and wild expressions will please a viewer’s peepers. Many of the pieces in the show feature a unique three-dimensional effect. Attendees of the show will also find watercolor cartoons and a large scale graffiti inspired piece. So swing by, say hi, and get weird with Dustin Dirt! —J. Cobb
6.
SATURDAY, OCT. 11
Sinkane
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St., 635-9227
zanzabarlouisville.com
$12-$15; 9 p.m.
Able to veer into almost any musical direction imaginable, Columbus, Ohio-based multi-instrumentalist and solo recording artist Sinkane brings to mind a contemporary, artsy one-man Parliament Funkadelic. Born Ahmed Gallab in Sudan, he and his family fled to the United States when he was six years old. Armed with groovy drums and bass that lead the way, while mischievous, piercing guitars and keys sneak in and bring layers of some of the most truly unique — I know, I know, unique, seems like a cop-out adjective, but, trust me, here it actually fits — music that I’ve heard in a long time. Sonically, the dude’s all over the place, but none of it feels forced. Funk, country, R&B, shoegaze, world music and pop hooks, it’s all there, and Sinkane can pull it off. — Scott Recker
7.
Oct. 11 - 12
Psychic Fair
The Intuitive Connection
1626 Story Ave., 727-0445
meetup.com/The-Intuitive-Connection/
$20; 12 – 7 p.m.
I’m game for a psychic reading most any day of the year, but, like my Celtic ancestors, I believe October, the liminal month of Samhain, is the best time to connect with the spirit world. You can make that connection this weekend in Butchertown. Suzanne Smith—a clairvoyant medium, psychic and healer—is hosting a psychic fair at the Intuitive Connection, a beautiful three-story brick home in Butchertown once owned by potter M.A. Hadley. Seven professional psychics will offer energy healing, a variety of readings (psychic, medium, tarot and oracle) and much more. For $20 per session, you can get some life guidance, connect with loved ones in spirit and have some fun. Suzanne has recently honed her skills at the Omega Institute with world-renowned psychic mediums Janet Nohavec and John Holland, so timing is doubly right. —Laura Snyder
8.
Sunday, Oct. 12
Farmington Vintage Antique and Unique Outdoor Market
Farmington Historic Home
3033 Bardstown Rd., 452-9920
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
In this age of rehabbing and reuse, where the “old is the new new,” then the Farmington Vintage Antique and Unique Outdoor Market is the place to be. There will be over 75 “vintage, antique, primitive, repurposed, recycled and collectable” vendors selling all those things you didn’t buy the first time they came around (maybe because you weren’t born yet). There’s even a Vintage Village with clothing, music and books. After perusing the vendors, head over to refresh at the food trucks, beer booths and Comfy Cow ice cream while listening to live music. There are also free tours of the Farmington Historic Home built in 1815. The 18-acre site was once owned by John and Lucy Speed. —Jo Anne Triplett
9.
Tuesday, Oct. 14
Old 97’s
Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Rd., 584-8088
headlinerslouisville.com
$17 advance, $20 day of; 8 p.m.
The Old 97’s are passing through this Tuesday, bringing their refreshing brand of alt-country to town, touring still in support of their tenth studio album “Most Messed Up.” In fact, this alt-country distinction comes about honestly, given the uncharacteristic qualities of their music. Although to be fair, theirs is less about updating the genre and more about paying homage to classic country and western that features a more stripped down vibe suitable for a jukebox or dancehall in your favorite watering hole. The band has skirted the fringes of pop culture for years, with their music appearing on television, commercial ads and even video games, and for good reason: the band is an easy listen and always makes for a fun time. Opening up is folk/roots duo David Wax Museum. —Syd Bishop
10.
Through Oct. 25
‘PROJECT 4 … sweet Home’
Zephyr Gallery
610 E. Market St., 585-5646
zephyrgallery.org
It’s time to revisit your thoughts about the space where you live. That’s what Zephyr Gallery did. It was a house before it was a gallery, so curator Dima Strakovsky decided it was time to take another look at the past. As a result, furniture and art installations by the seven artists in “PROJECT 4 … sweet Home” (Brian Harper, Colleen Merrill, Aurora Parrish, Lee Ann Paynter, Zoe Strecker, Willard Tucker and James Wade) moved into the rooms of the gallery. A number of the works focus on time and labor practices in Kentucky. “We are used to thinking of these two concepts together,” says Strakovsky. “In the industrial society setting, amount of labor divided by amount of time equals efficiency. Post-industrial societies complicate this relationship.” —Jo Anne Triplett
11.
through Oct. 31
‘Have You Any Wool?’
CRAFT(s) Gallery
572 S. 4th St., 584-7636
craftslouisville.com
6 – 10 p.m.
When two artist friends dream about sheep, the result is an unusual collaboration: a two-person show called “Have You Any Wool?” Catherine Bryant is a landscape painter with a special affection for grazing sheep. Vallorie Henderson is a fiber artist who creates two and three-dimensional works by hand felting and dying raw wool and silk together. The two Louisville artists, who are friends, have been discussing a collaborative art show celebrating sheep for years. The show features oil-on-birch-panel paintings by Bryant and felted wool-and-silk vessels and two-dimensional pieces by Henderson. — J. Cobb
12.
Oct. 9 - Nov. 2
Iroquois Park
Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular
jackolanternlouisville.com
$15 and under; 7 - 11 p.m.
Want to mess with your kids? Tell them that a pumpkin is not a vegetable, it is a fruit. Now I’m going to mess with you … it is actually a berry. True story. Read it on the Internet. When an art show meets childhood imagination, you get Louisville’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular. Every night through Nov. 2, starting at dusk, the annual installation of the oversized, glowing-orange carved berries will illuminate Iroquois Park. Five thousand carved pumpkins line a quarter mile walking trail. Set to thematic scenes with music, the Spectacular provides a fun-filled, fall walk for everyone. Proceeds will benefit the Louisville Metro Parks Foundation. —Aaron Yarmuth
