Wednesday, May 15
Matthew Perryman Jones
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway
$8-$10; 8:30 p.m.
Matthew Perryman Jones looked to the poets for his fourth album, last year’s luminous Land of the Living, summoning Federico García Lorca and Rumi as his muses. Artist Vincent van Gogh is there, too, his words to his brother found in the musing “O Theo,” a song that showcases Jones’ soaring vocals. That rugged tenor is his calling card, having drawn comparisons to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Leonard Cohen and Rufus Wainwright. Chances are you might recognize it even if you’re not familiar with Jones’ name — his music has been featured extensively on television in shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “One Tree Hill” and “The Vampire Diaries.” Elenowen, Jones’ opening act, also has a TV connection — the duo appeared on the first season of “The Voice.” —Jason Howard
May 15-19
Festival of Faiths
Actors Theatre & Galt House
583-3100 • festivaloffaiths.org
Free-$100; various times
This year marks the 18th annual Festival of Faiths, hosted by the Center for Interfaith Relations. Because this particular festival is being constructed to honor the Dalai Lama’s visit to the city (May 19-20), it has been aptly named “Sacred Silence: Pathway to Compassion” and will focus on meditation, historical values and compassion. The fest is a conglomerate of faiths — Judaism, Islam, Christianity and, of course, Buddhism, among others — and will include lectures and hosts from different denominations, presenting films and lessons on spirituality, along with daily meditations. Louisville’s Center for Interfaith Relations has found the perfect way to welcome the Dalai Lama to the city in encouraging religious tolerance, understanding and peace. —Natalie French
Thursday, May 16
El Ten Eleven
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St.
zanzabarlouisville.ticketfly.com
$10-$12; 9 p.m.
With Transitions, the newest from Los Angeles’ El Ten Eleven, the band manages to create music both indebted to the complexity often found in instrumental indie music and unafraid to explore the lighter, breezier side of music. A duo comprised of Kristian Dunn (on various bass instruments) and Tim Fogarty (on both acoustic and electric drums), El Ten Eleven tread the same ground as contemporaries like Tortoise or Trans Am, albeit with an emphasis on colorful pop structures and satisfying melodies. Accompanying El Ten Eleven on their trip is Michna, a NYC DJ whose beats are undeniably danceable while stylistically comparable to acts like Boards of Canada or Clams Casino. Opening the bill is the ambrosial psychedelia of Spokane’s Nude Pop, whose female-fronted vocals and swirling melodies make for an incredibly dreamy affair. —Syd Bishop
Friday, May 17
Louisville Loves Mountains
Carmichael’s Bookstore
1295 Bardstown Road
Free; 4 p.m.
The fifth annual Louisville Loves Mountains Festival, hosted by the now 30-year-old Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, takes place again on a closed-to-cars Longest Avenue, in front of Carmichael’s and Heine Bros., providing Highlanders with many of their favorite things all in one place: beer, food, coffee, live music and talking about saving mountains. (Throw in a Cards game and you’re all set.) The booze comes from New Albanian, BBC and Against the Grain, food is from Grind and Morels, and the family-friendly fun tunes come via the Americana of Hog Operation, Potluck Ramblers and the Slow Charleston, plus the percussively focused River City Drum Corps, and more. Funds raised benefit KFTC’s work to help end mountaintop removal mining, so tell your boss you need to leave work early for a good cause. —Peter Berkowitz
Saturday, May 18
GARDENZART
Hidden Hill Nursery & Sculpture Garden
1011 Utica-Charlestown Road, Utica, Ind.
812-282-0524 • hiddenhillnursery.com
Free; 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
I’m stating the obvious when I say gardens consist of plants, flowers and shrubs. But any respectable garden should have a bit of stone, metal or glass for decoration … in addition to gnomes, of course. Hidden Hill has an 8-acre abundance of the former as well as a good amount of work by area artists. In celebration of local art, they are holding GARDENZART. The highlight of the day will be an onsite chainsaw sculpture by Joe Autry. He’s transforming a lightning-killed oak tree into a flower that will be unveiled at 2 p.m. during the festival. There will also be glass by Chad Balster, ceramics by Jennifer Martin and Caren Cunningham’s garden-worthy stone sculpture, just to name a few of the other works to be on display. —Jo Anne Triplett
Saturday, May 18
KY Women’s Book Fest
U of L Ekstrom Library
2301 S. Third St. • 852-6083
louisville.edu/womenscenter/kwbf
Free; 9:30 a.m.
The seventh annual Kentucky Women’s Book Festival at U of L will have more than a half-dozen authors, representing a diversity of successful voices. All workshops and readings, as well as the luncheon (only non-free item on the agenda), take place at the Ekstrom Library. The opening session has Judith C. Owens-Lalude describing how she drew upon sources to compile the stories that inspired her Underground Railroad novel, “The Long Walk: Slavery to Freedom.” Other presenters include journalist Sarah Garland and poet Bianca Spriggs. Through the day to the concluding poetry slam, the presenters will be looking to inspire fellow writers as well as readers — so that women’s voices might find themselves on the published page instead of being, as Spriggs’ verse describes, “What slumbers in an attic or basement/beneath several layers of dust, dreaming/of what it means to remember the light.” —T.E. Lyons
Saturday, May 18
Bardstown Bound
Highlands
Free; noon
To celebrate its 10th anniversary of encouraging people to frolic up and down Bardstown Road in the Highlands, the folks behind this month’s Bardstown Bound are going all out with an official Bambi Walk, a sanctioned chicken dance, and a beer and music fest on Saturday. As always, the stores and restaurants along Bardstown Road will offer sales and samples, and there will be a trolley running from 2-10 p.m. The Bambi Walk starts at 1 and is celebrating anyone who graduated high school in 1983, but all are welcome. The chicken dance begins at 5 p.m. at Bardstown and Eastern Parkway. And the beer fest is hosted by Valumarket from 5-9 p.m. Ladies and gentlemen, start your livers. —Sara Havens
Saturday, May 18
Gilda’s Night of a Thousand Laughs
Actors Theatre
316 W. Main St.
$75-$125; 6 p.m.
It’s always refreshing when the rich and famous can take a joke at their own expense. Ratchet that respect up a few notches when said VIPs intentionally put themselves in the line of comedic fire for a good cause, which is exactly what Gilda’s Night of a Thousand Laughs is all about. Comedian Tom Mabe will lead a crew of local celebrities in an array of onstage antics to raise money for Gilda’s Club of Louisville, a nonprofit that provides support and services for those battling cancer. In addition to a live comedy show, the event includes an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and after-party. It’s a fitting fundraiser for a charity whose namesake is the great Gilda Radner, the “Saturday Night Live” comedian who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. —Sarah Kelley
Through May 18?
‘More from the Street’ ?
Galerie Hertz?
1253 S. Preston St. • 581-8277
Post-Derby, as our city fades out of the sports spotlight, there is something left behind: garbage. Thankfully, after seeing the show at Galerie Hertz, you may see the refuse from a new and charming angle. Tom Pfannerstill creates detailed paintings on carved wood, replicas of rubbish found by the artist. Simultaneously, you’ll admire Pfannerstill’s painting expertise and the power of packaging design. An entertaining way to question value, Pfannerstill’s striking results will have you yearning to take one of these treasures home. —Mali Anderson
May 18-19
WonderFest 2013
Crowne Plaza Hotel
830 Phillips Lane
$25; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Perhaps it’s the “Big Bang Theory” effect, or perhaps it’s just natural selection, but whatever the case, nerd culture seems to be at its zenith. Suddenly, it’s cool to be uncool. (Shame this couldn’t have happened when I was in seventh grade.) WonderFest, which happens this weekend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, is a shining example of nerd culture at its best. From artists to writers to designers to actors, you can rub elbows with folks such as visual effects artist Lee Stringer, who has worked recently on “Iron Sky” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” Also scheduled to appear are Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in 1966’s “Batman: The Movie,” and Sara Karloff, granddaughter of Boris Karloff, will show rare home movies and behind-the-scenes footage of the man who brought Frankenstein’s monster to the big screen. There will also be vendors, workshops and much more. —Kevin Gibson
Sunday, May 19
‘Vera Causa — From Nick With Love’
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Ave. • afsp.org
$8; 3 p.m.
The fourth annual “Vera Causa” (“true cause”) fundraiser to benefit suicide prevention, education and awareness features some great music, food and drinks, in addition to a silent auction and raffle. The music starts at 4, with performances from Oscar Parsons, Scott Carney, Catherine Irwin, Silver Tongues and the Junk Yard Dogs (and sound by Zanzabar’s Joe Seidt). Money raised will go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which places educational materials and programs in Kentucky schools, in tribute to the life of Irish Rover server Nick Weisen. So head down to your local tavern to enjoy some of the finer things while also making an impact on this otherwise uneventful Sunday afternoon. —Peter Berkowitz
Sunday, May 19
Mary Gauthier
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway
$15; 8:30 p.m.
Singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier counts the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits as fans of her work, and with one listen you know why — her music carries incredible emotional weight, often speaking to us collectively as much as individually. And then there are her characters: “nuns in blue jeans” (“Drag Queens in Limousines”), murderers (“Karla Faye”), orphans (“Blood is Blood”) and bums (“The Last of the Hobo Kings”), all of whom are featured on her latest release, Live at Blue Rock. She’ll have the whole lineup with her, along with her own searing voice, topped off with some “Mercy Now.” Just be sure to bring your hanky (and an extra for the poor wretch next to you who forgot his) — and better make that G&T a double while you’re at it. —Jason Howard
Through May 31
‘In Regard to Falling’
Day’s Espresso & Coffee
1420 Bardstown Road
Day’s Espresso & Coffee welcomes another artist into their display with the pride of a fawning mother. Josh Johnson’s “In Regard to Falling” illustrates a wonderland of vignettes, complete with fairies and rabbits and balloons. It is his first solo art show since moving to Louisville, and he has chosen wood and watercolor to tell his stories. All of Johnson’s works revolve around the concept of falling and yet are told in subdued colors, favoring earthy greens and blues. They border on the absurd — his paintings are the hosts of rabbits in balloons, angular figures with curious expressions who do not seem to realize they have been held suspended in flight. “In Regard to Falling” tips a hat to Alice’s surreal Wonderland, and marks Johnson down as an incredible storyteller. —Natalie French
Through May 31
National Preservation Month
louisville.edu/library
May is National Preservation Month. In celebration, our local historic preservation agency Preservation Louisville is offering a number of events. They’re shining a bright light on NuLu because of its preservation-minded sensibility. Many of the neighborhood’s galleries, stores and restaurants are participating with discounts as well as the Progressive Preservation Art Show. The exhibition, located in various galleries including Swanson Contemporary and PYRO Gallery, is showing work by local artists, plus big guns like Henri Matisse and Larry Rivers. The May 18 Top 10 Trolley Tour will highlight Preservation Louisville’s annual Top 10 Lists. There are two Preservation Pub Nights — Taco Punk on May 21 and Garage Bar on May 28. U of L is also offering “Preservation Conversation: Grady Clay on Louisville” in the Ekstrom Library. —Jo Anne Triplett
