THURSDAY 5/12
Dunbar Community Garden’s afternoon “Music in the Garden” series returns with Bonnie Montgomery and actor/soul crooner Rychy St. Vincent, 5:30 p.m., free. Rockers Almost Famous play Markham Street Grill and Pub, 9 p.m. At Cajun’s Wharf, Crash Meadows handles the happy hour deck, 5 p.m., before local songwriter Shannon McClung takes the stage at 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Literate NOLA singer Kate Campbell brings her celebrated Americana to Laman Library for a free show, 7 p.m. Sway’s weekly “V.I.P. Thursday” party has DJs SilkySlim and Derrty Deja Blu in the booth starting at 8 p.m. And at Dickey-Stephens Park, the Travs kick off their three-game series against the Tulsa Drillers, 7:10 p.m., $6-$12.
FRIDAY 5/12
Flying Saucer celebrates its 13th anniversary with beer specials, special beers and music from Embrace the Crash, 9 p.m. Matt Joyce brings his Elvis tribute act to Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. In Mountain View, the Ozark Folk Center State Park hosts its annual Thumbpicking Weekend. For the night owls, Musicians Showcase winners and the best music duo in the state (at the very least), Tyrannosaurus Chicken brings its “psychedelta” sounds to Midtown Billiards, midnight, $8 non-members. “Good Boys and True” continues its run at the Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m. And, in Hot Springs, Maxine’s hosts a night of rawk from Vail, The Valentine Failures and Playing with Karma, 8 p.m., $7.
SATURDAY 5/14
The annual Buzz-B-Q offers up over 90 local barbecue teams competing for $5,000 in cash and prizes, as well as a day’s worth of music from Josh Green, Moses Tucker Band, Jeff Coleman and the Feeders, Taylor Made and more at the North Little Rock RV Park, $10. Triniti Nightclub hosts “Naturally Naughty Burlesque,” starring the local Diamond Dames troupe, 9 p.m., $10. Oklahoma pop-rocker Ben Rector comes to the Central Arkansas Christian School for an evening gig, 7 p.m., $10 adv., $15 d.o.s. Acoustic duo Ben and Doug land in the Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. One of the best named bands around, Stark Naked and the Car Thieves, plays Fox and Hound and, it’s hoped, will be selling T-shirts, 10 p.m., $5. Khalil’s on Shackleford hosts a karaoke night starting at 7 p.m. Down the street, West End Smokehouse and Grill brings Max Taylor to the stage, 10 p.m., $5. Stickyz offers up an eight-piece NOLA funk and brass from the “Treme”-featured Soul Rebels Brass Band, 9 p.m., $10.
