Highlights

The Black Crowes

will play The Amp at the Northwest Arkansas Mall on Aug. 14. Tickets are $30-$60 plus service charges at ticketsage.net.

Straight Line Stitch
Straight Line Stitch could be dismissed as just another heavy metal band, except the four musicians save a place for vocalist Alexis Brown and allow the raucous beat to occasionally swing a bit melodic before it falls back into the real reason for the music. The Knoxville, Tenn. band will play George’s on Aug. 11 on the BrewTality Tour with Bleed the Sky, Within Chaos, Ekotren and Chemical Discipline.

Shooting from the heart
Poet with a camera
It’s no surprise when a poet branches into visual arts. They already know about zoning in on the particulars. Find out about this, by catching Fayetteville Poet Laureate Clayton Scott’s photo exhibit, “Portals,” at Arsaga’s on Gregg this month.
“My poetry has always been about using language to frame an image, a story, a feeling, or an observation,” Scott said. “Photography expresses the same purpose in a different medium, and I love their similarities and their differences.
At 7:30 p.m. today, there will be a reception for Scott at Arsaga’s on Gregg with music by Pearl Brick and readings by Scott and other area poets.
The evening will also be a benefit for Scott who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Scott works in schools throughout Arkansas where he teaches students how to write and perform poetry.

Yukon at ROTC
Things will spark at Restaurant on the Corner, affectionately know as ROTC, in Fayetteville on Monday night. Those who are used to the singer/songwriter and blues that is the usual fare at the restaurant should be ready for a night of prog rock. Dropping in will be the Baltimore trio, Yukon, who will share the stage with local bands, Man the Helm, The Kicker Knot and Sister/Brother.
Sister/Brother, a loud synth and drums girl duo, features members of Tippy Canoe. And just so you know, they are the creative force behind the underground house concerts, New Deli. Man the Helm plays it loud and is building a following around town. They have been compared to Angelhair and The VSS. For our taste The Kicker Knot is the one to watch. Brian Wolfe’s (Wooly Mammoth) new lo-fi project features a revolving set of players who back the artful Wolfe who describes his music on myspace as folk/tropical/psychedelic. This show will be a release party of The Kicker Knot’s new album “Ghost Mouth of the Clouds.” The show starts at 7 p.m. and there’s no cover, but a $5 donation is suggested.

Tontitown Grape Festival
One of the oldest festivals in the U.S. opened this week and runs through Saturday. The Tontitown Grape Festival, which began as a harvest celebration organized by Italian immigrants who settled in Tontitown, will celebrate it’s 110th anniversary. Featuring the usual festival fare, carnival rides, arts and crafts booths, a used book sale and entertainment, the big draw is the homemade spaghetti dinners with fresh homemade pasta, served from 4:30 to 8:30 daily.
Today the festival is open from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, with music by Whit Landers and the Hillbilly Connection and Bryan White. Friday and Saturday the festival runs from 9 a.m. to midnight with music by Tori Miller and County Thunder, and Mel McDaniel on Friday night and music by Kyla Horton and Union Street, and Ty Herndon on Saturday night. The new Queen Concordia will be crowned on Friday night.

HiroshimaNagasaki Commemoration
The Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology does a lot to honor those who work for peace, justice and ecology as their name implies and they also honor and remember those who have been victims. Each year OMNI holds the Hiroshima Nagasaki Commemoration to remember and honor the victims of war and celebrate those who work for peace.
To take part in the event, gather at 4:45 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Arkansas Avenue and Lafayette Street in Fayetteville for cold drinks, family activities and music by Dickson Street Ramblers. From there, there will be a procession at 5:45 p.m. to the Fulbright Peace Fountain on the University of Arkansas campus. A program will begin at 6 p.m. with a keynote speech by author and University of Pennsylvania professor Adolph Reed Jr. Reed has a reputation as being one of the most intelligent and controversial essayists writing about politics today. The event will close with a screening of the film “A New Island” by University of Arkansas professor Dale Carpenter that tells the story of the people of the Marshall Islands who have settled in Springdale. Carpenter will host a discussion following the film. For information call 442-8600.