1.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Real Estate with Regal Degas
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St., 635-9227
zanzabarlouisville.com
$16 – $18; 8 p.m.
Real Estate makes some particularly mellow music; that seems like a slam dunk for the Pitchfork crowd, which I’ll subscribe to in this instance. Like a less-stoner-rock Tame Impala or Kurt Vile, Real Estate makes the perfect sunny day music, a dream pop band à la Polaris — aka Miracle Legion — or the band from Pete and Pete. That “Atlas,” the band’s most recent offering, was recorded while on the road is a testament to both their name and style — that their environment is equally a character in the songs that they create, whether it’s an ambiance that they’ve induced or a picturesque landscape painted by words. Joining them are post-punkers Regal Degal, who mine a similar vein as Interpol or The Men, but with an emphasis on ‘80s new wave/punk theatrics. —Syd Bishop
2.
Wednesday, Sep. 24
Las Cafeteras
Clifton Center
2117 Payne St., 896-8480
cliftoncenter.org
$10; 6:30 doors, 7:30 concert
Hailing from East Los Angeles, Las Cafeteras combines musical elements ranging from their Latin roots to modern hip-hop, to present a message of cultural pride. Clifton Center Executive Director John Harris said, “Las Cafeteras is well known for a blend of traditional and modern forms of Mexican and American music, and they have a very intense focus on the community-building aspect of their programs, which fits very well with the goals of our Louisville Heritage Project. The LHP is designed to help residents of Louisville learn more about their own cultural traditions, as well as cultural traditions with which they may not be familiar.” Popular Louisville band Appalatin opens, with its blend of new songs and their own arrangements of pieces from both Central America and the Appalachians. —Martin Z. Kasdan, Jr.
3.
Thursday, Sept. 25
The Head and The Heart
Iroquois Amphitheater
1080 Amphitheater Rd., 368-5865
IroquoisAmphitheater.com
$30; 8 p.m.
The Head and The Heart put on a great show. Self-described as “shamelessly happy,” the six-piece Seattle indie folk band has a lush, upbeat sound filled with beautiful harmonizing as on their breakout release, “Lost in My Mind.” Following their successful debut in 2011, they spent a couple of years opening for bands like My Morning Jacket, Iron and Wine, and Death Cab for Cutie. On their “Let’s Be Still” tour, The Head and The Heart is headlining with Los Angeles-based pop-rock duo The Belle Brigade. Also known for their harmonies and their essential SoCal sound, The Belle Brigade gets a lot of comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel. It’s a perfect pairing, and you can catch the show Thursday at Iroquois Amphitheather. —Laura Snyder
4.
Friday, Sept. 26
‘Public Art and the City’
University Club, U of L Belknap Campus
852-2361
louisville.edu/arts-culture
$25; 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
U of L’s Center for Arts and Culture Partnerships is sponsoring a symposium focusing on the future of public and campus art. The morning session features keynote speaker Mel Chin. He’ll be interviewed by Miranda Lash, Speed Art Museum’s curator of contemporary art. Campus art will be discussed by Kathy Barrie of Case Western Reserve University, Syracuse University’s Marion Wilson and Mary Carothers from U of L. Sarah Lindgren, Louisville Commission on Public Art administrator, will lead the afternoon session. She’ll moderate a panel that features U of L’s Yasmeen Siddiqui, former 21c Museum director William Morrow, and Theo Edmonds, I.D.E.A.S. 40203 co-founder. Breakfast and lunch are included in the registration cost. —Jo Anne Triplett
5.
Saturday, Sept. 27
Liturgy
Haymarket Whiskey
331 E. Market St., 442-0523
haymarketwhiskeybar.com
$10; 9 p.m.
Liturgy makes some of the most challenging indie music that you’ll ever hear. Describable as pop black metal — a seeming contradiction in terms — the band offers just that: melodic, polyrhythmic metal, punctuated by the occasional blast beats and screamed vocals. What’s so strange about the ensemble is how they can make black metal, a notoriously difficult genre, into something that seems so eminently appealing, all part of their ineffable indie charm. Liturgy are self-described “Transcendental Black Metal,” like a young indie chic Thoreau exploring his most metal moments instead of hanging out at a pond; maybe he would’ve just joined the band if he lived in the here and now. That their debut album is named “Renihilation,” a refutation of negativity with negativity, is a statement on their music, which is somehow positive and brutal. —Syd Bishop
6.
Saturday, Sept. 27
NuLu Festival
700 – 900 blocks of E. Market St.
nulufest.com
Free; 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
What better reason to shut down Louisville’s thoroughfares than for food, booze, art, shopping, and thousands of friends? The 6th annual NuLu Festival is once again an open-to-the-public day of free family fun. With more than 100 vendors, there will be no shortage of local food, drink and shopping. The Green Building parking lot will be the site of a local craft beer garden. The Creation Gardens parking lot will be the site of the Family Fun Kids Corner. For the second year, a Maker Faire will feature wares by some 60 crafters, inventors, evil geniuses, scientists and artists. Music, music, music will be provided by Shake Anderson, The Debauchees, Billy Goat Strut Review, Small Time Napoleon and Nick Dittmeier. NuLu Festival is the unofficial kickoff of IdeaFestival and a great excuse to spend the day exploring all the galleries, shops and restaurants NuLu has to offer. —Aaron Yarmuth
7.
Saturday, Sept. 27
RYE Back Porch Sessions
RYE on Market
900 E. Market St., 749-6200
12 – 10 p.m.
The last of the season’s Back Porch Sessions at RYE includes an incredible, diverse lineup. Co-headlining is Cincinnati psych-twang band Wussy, along with Brooklyn band Landlady, whose experimental, intellectual music is nonetheless accessible and always high energy — the music is somehow existential and danceable. South Carolina (now Nashville-based) singer Adia Victoria plays guitar while singing angsty lyrics like, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout Southern belles, but I can tell you something about Southern hell.” Louisville’s own Jalin Roze and Discount Guns are also among the musicians playing at RYE’s Back Porch session this Saturday. WFPK’s Sean Cannon will be MC-ing and spinning between sets. Sad to see the last BPS of the season, but what a way to close the season … a perfect complement to NuLu Fest. —Laura Snyder
8.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Louisville Music Awards
Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Rd., 584-8088
headlinerslouisville.com
$10; doors open 7 p.m.
There are all sorts of entertainment industry awards on a national scale, be they the Emmys, the Tonys, the Golden Globes or the Oscars. On a local level, we have the Louisville Annual Music Awards, celebrating its second anniversary this year at Headliners. With categories that include Americana, Singer/Songwriter, Metal/Hardcore/Punk, Jazz and Hip-Hop, the Louisville Music Awards seeks to be as all encompassing as it can be, given the scope of diversity that Louisville music offers. That they went so far as to include an award for Engineer/Producer and even Best Cover Band indicates their dedication to include every facet. Now. if only they’d include promoters — or (ahem) music writers — they’d have it all covered. See what all the fuss is about this Sunday. —Syd Bishop
9.
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Marian Call
The Monkey Wrench
1025 Barret Ave., 582-2433
monkeywrenchlouisville.com
7 p.m.
As part of her national tour, Marian Call will be singing her jazzy folk sounds. Some astute fan coined the apt phrase “acoustic joy jazz” to describe Call’s unique sound, which is influenced by gospel, classical and pop culture traditions. She claims Joni Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and Dr. Seuss as inspirations. With lyrics touching on subjects like “Firefly,” Shark Week, the Mars rover and “Star Trek,” it’s no surprise that Call’s tour will take her to the unlikely venue of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (“Fermilab”), the famed national particle physics lab in Batavia, Ill. Following her 7 – 8:30 set at the Wrench, Call will stick around for the Wrench’s jazz jam, and word is local musician Jaime Duvall may join in. It’ll be a night of whimsical, eclectic and intimate music like you won’t find anyplace else in the city. —Laura Snyder
10.
Tuesday, Sept. 30
IF Thrivals 7.0
Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater
501 W. Main St.
ideafestival.com
$99; 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thrivals 7.0, The Quest: Changing the Future of 2035, carries on the tradition of opening IdeaFestival with a high- energy symposium of diverse speakers from around the world, this year including Darrell Hammond, Regina Holliday, Karter Louis and Nat Irvin. Co-host, with Angie Fenton, Janelle Monae defines a “Thrival” as “somebody not allowing their past to get in the way of achieving their goals in the present and in the future. A thrival is multicultural: it’s not a white thing; it’s not just a black thing. It’s about a language, speaking on the same frequency. Understanding that they have purpose, not allowing yourself to play victim. It’s cultivating new ideas, to get together with each other and help to change the world.” How’s that for a worthwhile way to spend next Tuesday? —Aaron Yarmuth
11.
Through Oct. 4
‘Female as Thunder’
Swanson Contemporary
638 E. Market St., 589-5466
swansoncontemporary.com
“To Leslie, Female as Thunder, Love, Jim Carroll.” The title of photographer Leslie Lyons’ latest exhibition comes from this personal inscription in a book of poetry by Carroll. In turn, she has dedicated the show to him, a poet she describes as “a literary hero.” “Jim always liked my pictures of women,” she says. “He said that they were sexy but that the women in my pictures could kick his ass and that he’d be the better for it. This was a grand compliment and I treasure it.” Lyons, a former Kentuckian who now lives in New York, is planning to give artist talks on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 4, at noon. Included in the exhibition is “SUSAN,” the cover image on the book “NERVE, The New Nude.” —Jo Anne Triplett
12.
Through Oct. 10
‘I have my moments’
The Green Building Gallery
732 E. Market St., 561-1162
thegreenbulding.com
There are many versions of the story of the blind men and the elephant, but it goes something like this: Blind men were trying to describe an elephant by feeling different parts of its body. The man holding the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch. Another man touching the tusk says it is like a pipe. The person feeling the ear says the elephant is like a large fan. We experience the world with our senses. Visual artists, logically, rely on sight more to interpret their world. Emily Sheehan’s insightful drawings remind us that we are more than the sum of our sensual parts. “We perceive through our bodily senses,” she states, “absorb and evaluate each encounter. … This human space, between encounter and communication, is where we make our moments personal. These are my moments — shared.” —Jo Anne Triplett
