Weekend Picks


thursday, april 22
Shelby Lynne
8 p.m. > The Roxy > $20

Grammy-winning artist Shelby Lynne is adored by rock critics, British audiences and the alt-country/Americana crowd alike. Her sound mixes southern undertones with contemporary American pop and her sixth album, I Am Shelby Lynne, established her skill and earned her greater popularity.

Acting in the Digital Age
8 p.m. > Samuel Goldwyn Theater > $3

Cast and crew from Avatar and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button talk about how acting has been affected by improved technology and digital effects in film. The Oscar-winning films provide two of the strongest examples of image manipulation and digital make-up in recent cinematic memory.

“Would California be better off as its own country?”
7:30 p.m. > Autry National Center > FREE

For those with California love, come hear a panel discussion presented by Zocalo Public Square about what the nation of California would be like. Joe Mathews, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, moderates panelists Bob Hertzberg of California Forward, PoliPoint Press editor Peter Richardson, author Abraham Lowenthal and historian Robert Cruickshank.

friday, april 23
Amanda Montei
7 p.m. > Book Soup > FREE

Montei, an MFA candidate at California Institute of the Arts, is the co-founder of OnwardAwkward.com, an online publication for experimental writing done by women. The evening at Book Soup will include readings from the publication, much of the which covers issues of femininity and gender roles in language and art.

Titans of the Graphic Novel
8 p.m. > Royce Hall > FREE

UCLA Live features authors Harvey Pekar and Alison Bechdel who will talk about the power of graphic novels as a confessional medium. Pekar’s American Splendor and Bechdel’s Fun Home are two forceful representations of the genre.

Norah Jones
8 p.m. > Orpheum Theatre > $90+

Reports from the road indicate that Norah Jones has been covering Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” as well as performing originals from The Fall, her album released in November 2009.

Anna Karina
1:30 p.m. > Directors Guild of America Theatre > $10

Anna Karina makes a rare local appearance at a panel discussion following a digital screening of the restored Pierrot le fou, as part of the ongoing “City of Lights, City of Angels Film Festival.”

saturday, april 24
Festival of Books: Day 1
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. > UCLA campus > FREE

USC professor and acclaimed author T.C. Boyle and others will speak at the annual festival that celebrates Los Angeles literary culture. The event serves as a rebuttal to the idea that Los Angeles is a largely illiterate metropolis.

USC Thornton Classical Guitar
Department Recital
2 p.m. > Alfred Newman Recital Hall > FREE

The all-star classical guitar faculty at the Thornton School of Music will perform a variety of works on the University Park Campus.

Stagecoach
4 p.m. > Empire Polo Field > $93 one day pass

Just one week after the Empire Polo Field was packed with rave enthusiasts and indie rockers for Coachella, the same spot is hosting another music festival: Stagecoach. Time to wear jeans, boots and your best hat and come on down for some boot scootin boogie. Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith are headlining this year’s annual hoedown.

USC Thornton University Chorus
7:30 p.m. >St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral > FREE

Conductor John Russell will lead the University Chorus for an evening concert at St. John’s Episcopal Church on West Adams Boulevard.

sunday, april 25
Festival of Books: Day 2
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. > UCLA campus > FREE

Writer Bret Easton Ellis, author of iconic books such as Less Than Zero and American Psycho, will speak about his upcoming sequel to Less Than Zero, called Imperial Bedrooms. He will join hundreds of other authors on the festival’s second day.

Conan O’Brien
8:15 p.m. > Gibson Amphitheatre > $80

Conan’s 30-city tour of his live variety show, The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour, makes a two-night stop this weekend in L.A., the town in which Conan ever so briefly hosted The Tonight Show on NBC.

THC Expose
3 p.m. > Los Angeles Convention Center > $10

This weekend’s Second Annual THC Expose has booths featuring hemp foods, hydroponic growing equipment, reggae historian Roger Steffens’ presentation on Marley and Tosh, comedian Tommy Chong and D.J. Jim Ladd.

The Lost Origins of the Essay
7 p.m. > REDCAT > $10

A reading with Tisa Bryant, Bernard Cooper, Ben Ehrenreich and Amy Gerstler will explore the medium of the essay as presented in John D’Agata’s new anthology The Lost Origins of the Essay. Each of the readers are regarded writers from the Los Angeles area.
—Michael Juliani and Becca Lett