Also, the Seersucker Social at the Old Statehouse, DJ Muggs at Discovery, Grupo Fantasma at Juanita's, Gwar at Revolution, SL Jones at Vino's and Leymah Gbowee at the Clinton School for Public Service.
by Robert Bell and Lindsey MillarTHURSDAY 4/18
SEERSUCKER SOCIAL
6-9 p.m. Old State House Museum. $50.
Four questions: Do you or your significant other take "Garden & Gun" magazine? Do the folks at the front desk of the dry cleaners greet you by name? Are you able to swirl a tumbler-full of Pappy Van Winkle's 73-Year-Old Extra Expensive Bourbon and hold forth convincingly and at some length on its intricate subtleties — oily nutmeg and burnt coriander and wet burlap and so forth — even though we all know deep down that Four Roses is the better whiskey? Are you ever-so-slightly perturbed by this plainly silly line of questioning? If you answered "yes" to any or all or none of those questions, then if I may be so bold, I would request that you kindly consider attending the 2nd Annual Seersucker Social, to be held this very Thursday eve on the palatial grounds of the Old Statehouse Museum. It promises to be a fine occasion of recreation and revelry, live music and libation, festivities and merriment (it also benefits the museum). Do come decked out in your very finest vestments and finery (seersucker, naturally), as there will be awards granted for Most Dashing in the Ladies and Gentlemen categories. The winners will each receive a $50 gift card to The Container Store. There will be swing jazz music as well as delectable nourishment from Trio's. There will be lawn croquet for you competitive types. It is a 21-and-older event. RB
FRIDAY 4/19
WILDWOOD JAZZ SERIES: ELLIS MARSALIS
8 p.m. Wildwood Park for the Arts. $15-$100.
Here are some exciting developments for jazz lovers in Central Arkansas: Wildwood Park for the Arts is bringing in acclaimed pianist Ellis Marsalis for a performance this Friday, and at the show, they'll be announcing a new series of jazz concerts. Marsalis, of course, is the father of six sons, four of whom are big players on the national and international jazz scenes: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason, all incredibly gifted musicians. They come by it honestly. Ellis Marsalis has been a respected fixture in New Orleans circles since the 1950s. In 2011, he and his family were named Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts, joining the ranks of such greats as Miles Davis, Count Basie and Max Roach. They were in fact the first family ever to win the award. The proceeds from this concert will support the new Wildwood Jazz Series. Reserved seats are $60 or for $100, you can attend the post-show reception. There are a limited number of student tickets available for $15. RB
SATURDAY 4/20
DJ MUGGS
2 a.m. Discovery Nightclub. $15.
Is there a more appropriate way to mark the occasion of April 20 than listening to the man who crafted the highly influential sonic template behind the ultra-stoned, platinum-selling hip-hop pioneers Cypress Hill? Together, B Real, Sen Dog and DJ Muggs created a sound unlike anything else. If you haven't put on "Black Sunday" since 1993 or so (or if you were, uh, born in 1993 or so), go back and give that album a spin and appreciate Muggs' brilliant production — the hazy, eerie atmospherics, the blunted beats, the choice samples, the overall vibe that veers between scary and delirious. It holds up as well or better than any of the other great hip-hop records from that storied year. Of course, Muggs also made other classic albums, e.g. "Soul Assassins," his critically acclaimed album "Dust" and "Grandmasters," his collaboration with GZA, among many others. Seriously folks, one of the all-time greats of hip-hop is in town on 4/20. Plus, there'll be all the usual late-night Disco good times as well. RB
[page]SATURDAY 4/20
GRUPO FANTASMA
10 p.m. Juanita's. $10 adv., $12 day of.
Grupo Fantasma has spent the last decade-plus cementing its reputation as one of the finest musical exports from Austin, Texas — no small feat considering that city's whole "Live Music Capital of the World" thing. But the 10-piece Latin-funk outfit is, by all accounts, a ridiculously tight groove machine that will absolutely flatten you with its smoking live show. They're not too shabby on record, either. The band's most recent album, 2010's "El Existential," offers a baker's dozen of multilayered, retro-sounding (but adventurously forward-thinking) jams that eschew genre. Sure, the influences aren't hard to discern — cumbia, reggae, salsa, '70s Afrobeat, rock. But it's the way they're all melded into a seamless, funky whole that's remarkable. This will be a good time. RB
SUNDAY 4/21
GWAR
8 p.m. Revolution. $17 adv., $20 day of.
If getting covered in all manner of fake blood, vomit and, uh, God only knows what other types of disgusting bodily fluids by some dudes wearing outrageous horror costumes and playing thrash metal sounds like a good time to you, odds are you're already a fan of intergalactic scumdogs GWAR. If you're not familiar with Oderus Urungus, Balsac the Jaws of Death and the rest of the crew, let's just say you should probably wear some clothes you don't really care about to this show. So yeah, it's GWAR, which means that squares, prudes, scolds, nags, killjoys, wet blankets, stick-in-the-muds, prigs and other uptight sorts who get offended by things like coarse language, loud guitars and getting covered in gore probably want to steer well clear of this one. Opening up are throwback thrashers Warbeast and party-metal practitioners Wilson. RB
SUNDAY 4/21
SL JONES
7:30 p.m. Vino's. $5.
Last we heard, SL Jones was still in Atlanta, where he moved from Little Rock more than a decade ago to attend art school. There he fell in with Killer Mike's Grind Time crew, and he's been grinding in the upper reaches of rap's underground ever since. Even though he hasn't lived in Little Rock in years, few rep the city harder. Along the way, he's been careful to give frequent props and guest spots to some of Little Rock's best, like 607 and EDubb. On Sunday, Little Rock's king of rap 607, the always excellent Pepperboy, Lo Thraxx, Kari Faux, Fresco the Caveman, Vile Pack and xP join Jones on the bill. LM.
TUESDAY 4/23
LEYMAH GBOWEE
6 p.m. Clinton School of Public Service. Free.
Liberian social worker and activist Leymah Gbowee has dedicated her life to pursuing peace and advancing women's rights in a nation that was torn apart by a civil war for the better part of 15 years. Gbowee helped organize the Women in Peacebuilding Network and worked with Christian and Muslim women to protest the war, even taking a page from Lysistrata and threatening a sex strike. She's the central character in the acclaimed 2008 film "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," which documented the peace movement Gbowee and others had waged in the face of years of brutal conflict, much of it at the hands of convicted war criminal and former president Charles Taylor. But the women's movement in Liberia led directly to the election of the first female president of an African nation, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who, along with Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawkkol Karman, won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Gbowee, who has also won many other awards for her peacemaking work, will speak as part of the Clinton School's Kumpuris Lecture Series and will be honored Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Philander Smith College. RB