Contra dance, copious concerts and CCFF

Between the Capital City Film Festival, the Michigan State University Science Festival, an abundance of live music, a karaoke party, a roller derby faceoff, a ukulele gathering, live poetry, kids’ activities and much more, this weekend brings an eventful start to April, with even more to come as the month continues and the weather (hopefully) begins to welcome us outside.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have pop/rock cover group Lynx Band at UrbanBeat at 7; the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s “Sketches of Spain” concert at the Wharton Center and classic-rock/country cover group The Shellouts at Holt’s Summerlands Brewing Co., both at 7:30; MSU’s African Diaspora Percussion Ensemble at the school’s Fairchild Theatre and cover musician Chris Milbourne at the Peanut Barrel, both at 8; alt-rock band The Loutherthans at the Green Door at 8:30; metal bands Plague, Fit for Treason, Black Blood and Mortal Dark at Mac’s Bar at 9; and cover group Full House Band at Mash Bar at 9:30. Saturday evening, we have jazz guitarist Adam Bronstein’s ABTrio at UrbanBeat at 7; funk-rock band Here Come the Mummies at Grewal Hall and blues band Blue Avenue Delegates at the Irish Pub, both at 8; electronic musicians Mother Cell, moistbreezy and DJMIXDKID at the Avenue at 8:30; and the Black Rock Sextet’s “Black Rock 201” show at the Green Door at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is MSU’s annual Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition Showcase, featuring performances by six student ensembles, at the Music Building’s Cook Recital Hall at 1 p.m.; blues/funk/rock band Generator at UrbanBeat at 6 p.m.; and Dead Honey Collective, a more psychedelic offshoot of folk-rock band Wild Honey Collective, at the Avenue at 7 p.m.

If you’d like to make some music of your own, Elderly Instruments will host an old-time jam session 5 p.m. Friday. Even if you’re not interested in playing, all are invited to listen along to old-time tunes.

Art displays on view this weekend include the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s spring member show at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, which is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; mixed-media artist Steph Joy Hogan’s “Scrapscapes” exhibit at the Nelson Gallery in downtown Lansing, which is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday; “Farmland: Food, Justice and Sovereignty,” “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,” “Echoes of War” and the 2025 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition at the MSU Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Saturday; and a collective exhibit focusing on patterns found in nature at the Okemos Library, which is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Drama reigns supreme on local stages this weekend, with performances of “How I Learned to Drive,” in which a woman looks back on an inappropriate relationship she had with her aunt’s husband as a teen, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Riverwalk Theatre and “Decision Height,” about a group of women serving in the Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at MSU’s Studio 60 Theatre.

Events for the kids include an action-hero-themed day camp 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at Impression 5 Science Center; a Fiddle Scouts concert with the Jump Bunny String Band 11 a.m. Saturday at MSU Community Music School in East Lansing; a salamander survey 6 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Brick Park in Grand Ledge, in which participants will embark on a guided walk to search for salamanders and other amphibians while learning more about them from local naturalists; and a frog-themed campfire program 7 p.m. Saturday at Harris Nature Center in Okemos, which will include a fireside chat about frogs and toads, s’mores and a guided walk along the trails to listen for frog sounds.

The Capital City Film Festival has a jam-packed lineup of film screenings Friday through Sunday at venues around Lansing, including a special Symphonic Cinema event in which composer Timothy Blackmon Jr. and hip-hop artist James Gardin will debut a live, original soundtrack to the 1984 sci-fi/comedy film “the Brother from Another Planet.” To learn more about all the CCFF happenings this weekend, visit the website.

Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing’s monthly euchre tournament begins 7 p.m. Friday, with an optional potluck at 6:30 p.m.

Karaoke event series Karaoke Kickback invites all to take the mic at its third anniversary celebration, beginning 8 p.m. Friday at Grewal Hall. There will be a $100 prize for the most “lit” karaoke performance, which will be decided by the audience, as well as special guest performances.

Throw on your dancing shoes and head to UrbanBeat 10 p.m. Friday for an evening of Afrobeat, amapiano, Afrocongo, bongo, reggae and dancehall music, courtesy of DJ Dalavey.

Visit Keller’s Plaza in Williamston 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday for an arts and crafts show, featuring a mix of artisans offering everything from watercolor paintings to chocolate and beard products.

The Michigan History Museum will hold an opening reception for a new temporary exhibit, “Black Bottom Street View,” noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. The series of panoramic murals offers a chance to “walk through the neighborhood as it was” before it was demolished by the city of Detroit for redevelopment projects. The event will include a 1 p.m. panel discussion about the history and legacy of the neighborhood. Museum admission will be free all day.

Lansing Roller Derby will take on Ann Arbor Roller Derby in a doubleheader beginning 4:30 p.m. Saturday at East Lansing’s Court One Training Center. The matches will be followed by an afterparty at Haslett’s Mayfair Bar.

The Ten Pound Fiddle’s biweekly contra and square dance runs 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at East Lansing’s University Lutheran Church, with an optional contra dance lesson at 6:30 p.m. The caller will be Rick Szumski, and Tana and the Tall Boys will provide the music.

The MSU Science Festival’s STEAM Expo Weekend, running 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the school’s STEM Teaching and Learning Facility, will offer more than 100 free activities, talks and demonstrations for all ages and scientific interests. For a schedule of everything going on, visit the website.

​​Artfire Michigan in Leslie will host its monthly First Start Sunday beginners’ blacksmithing workshop 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Each event features a shop tour, lessons on safety and technique, and a take-home project.

Find everything you need to plan the perfect quinceañera celebration, from dresses to DJs, 360 photobooths and cakes, at Pierre’s Bridal, Prom & Tuxedo’s Quinceañera Spectacular Expo, running 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Bath’s Eagle Eye Banquet Center. There will be a quinceañera dress fashion show with live entertainment at 2:30 p.m.

The Mighty Uke Day festival will hold a fundraiser for its 15th annual event noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at UrbanBeat. The event will include a silent auction, live performances, group strums, the recording of the theme song for this year’s festival and more.

Finally, poets Kim Griffin, Tari Muniz and Lansing Poet Laureate Ruelaine Stokes will join jazz musicians Hank Horton, Steve Talaga and Larry Ochletree for an afternoon of performances 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Blue Owl Coffee in REO Town. 

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of weekends.

(Have an event? Be sure to list it free at lansingcitypulse.com/calendar. Think it’s worth at least a short story? Send a news release to nicole@lansingcitypulse.com for consideration.)