The Pulaski County Fair, billed as the first for the county in more than 100 years, will be held in Riverfront Park on the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River. It kicked off Wednesday and runs through Sunday with lots of rides, games, food, a petting zoo and plenty of music. (For more about the fair see Entertainment Notes.)
The music begins at 7 p.m. today with Willy D's Dueling Pianos playing an all-request show on the NLR City Parks Stage. Singing along is encouraged. Friday, rock and blues day, will feature: Shaw Revolver at 6 p.m.; Fonky Donkey at 7:15 p.m.; Smokin' Joe & The Wildfire at 8:30 p.m.; and The ShotGunBillys at 9:45 p.m.
On Saturday, country and bluegrass day, see: Huckleberry Jam at 6 p.m., Jon Bailey and the Heathen Revival at 7:15 p.m., The Gravel Yard at 8:30 p.m. and Tyler Kinch at 9:45 p.m.
Sunday is Hispanic Heritage Tribute Day featuring a performance by Ballet Qeutzalli at 3 p.m., Jacob Flores at 3:15 p.m.; Oscar Gomez at 4:30 p.m.; Ballet Qeutzalli at 5:30 p.m.; and Guayuver'z Musical at 6 p.m. Entry each day is $5, free for those age 12 and under. For more information: thepulaskicountyfair.com.
◼️ Buddy Case, a local singer-songwriter-guitarist, has survived covid and a stroke, and musician friends Paul Tull, Mark Gunter, Ten Penny Gypsy, Harrisong, Gene Reid and the Steve Crump Band are hosting a benefit to assist him, from 1-6 p.m. Sunday at Crump Farm, 19401 Karen Drive, Little Rock. (501) 920-6395. Donations of $20 per person are suggested.
◼️ Them Dirty Roses, along with opening act deFrance, will perform at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Stickyz Rock 'n' Roll Chicken Shack, 107 Rivet Market Ave., Little Rock, (501) 372-7707; stickyz.com. Reserved seating is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Butterfly, featuring Irie Soul, will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday; reserved seating is $12 in advance, $15 at the door; $10 in advance, $12 at the door for standing room.
◼️ Bricks in the Wall (a Pink Floyd tribute act) will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Rev Room, 300 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Admission is $25 for reserved seating, $20 for standing room. (501) 823-0090; revroom.com.
◼️ Zilla, Lap and Mothership will perform at 8 p.m. today (free); Possessed by Paul James and Zac Wilkerson will perform at 9 p.m. Friday (free); The Going Jessies and Trey Johnson will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday ($7); Blues House Party, with the White Water Allstars, will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday (free); and a punk rock show, featuring Riley! Lap, Albuny and Turquoise Tiger, will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday ($5) at White Water Tavern, West Seventh and Thayer streets, Little Rock. (501) 375-8400; whitewatertavern.com.
◼️ Jason Lee Hale will perform from noon-1 p.m. Friday on a new Downtown Partnership Stage at Capitol Avenue and Main Street in Little Rock. Plans are for weekly performances. (501) 375-0121.
◼️ The Arkansas River Blues Society will present music Saturday for the Little Rock Main Street Food Truck Festival: Bug Tussle Slim at 11 a.m., Bluesboy Jag and Learning to Crawl at noon, Chad Marshall Band at 1 p.m., Harrisong at 2 p.m., Lightning Malcolm at 3 p.m., Charlotte Taylor & Gypsy Rain at 4 p.m. and Fonky Donkey at 5 p.m. at 400 Main St., Little Rock. Admission is free.
◼️ Slick Norman will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Library Kitchen + Lounge, 313 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. (501) 916-9826; thelibrarylr.com.
◼️ Boots Bailey & The Boys will perform from 6-10 p.m. Friday at VFW Post 10442, 6101 U.S. 70, North Little Rock; (501) 945-4116.
◼️ A Community Drum Circle will be held, with all ages welcome, at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bernice Garden, Main St., Little Rock, (501) 410-3938; thebernicegarden.org.
◼️ TobyMac will bring his "Hits Deep Tour" at 7 p.m. Wednesday to Simmons Bank Arena, 1 Simmons Bank Arena Drive, North Little Rock, (501) 975-9000. Tickets range from $11 to $40.
◼️ Secondhand Cannons will perform from 6-10 p.m. Friday at Dugan's Pub, 401 E. Third St., Little Rock, (501) 244-0542; duganspublr.com.
◼️ Crissy P will perform at 8:30 p.m. today at Shooters Bar & Grill, 9500 Interstate 30, Little Rock, (501) 565-4003.
◼️ The Mellow Mountain Band will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and The Spa City Legacy Band will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at JJ's Grill, 12111 W Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 414-0848; jjsgrill.com/jjslittlerock.
◼️ Zach Pietrini & McKenna Bray will perform at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Nexus Coffee & Creative, 301 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, (501) 295-7515; nexuscoffeear.com.
◼️ The Karla Case Band will perform at 9 p.m. Friday at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock, (501) 244-9660; southonmain.com.
◼️ Cliff Aaron with The Afterthought will perform from 7-10:30 p.m. today and DJ Kramer will perform from 8-11 p.m. Friday and DJ Whiskey will perform from 8-11:30 p.m. Saturday at Cannibal & Craft, 307 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock, (501) 414-8870; cannabilandcraftlr.com.
◼️ Tragikly White will perform at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Jimmy Doyle's Country Club, 11800 Maybelline Road, North Little Rock. ($18) (501) 945-9042. Admission is $10.
◼️ Brian Ramsey will perform from 6:30-9:30 p.m. today at The Oyster Bar, 3003 W. Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 666-7100; lroysterbar.com.
ALEXANDER
Chase Matthews and Gabrielle Mooney will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Carter Off-Road Park, 7498 Anderson Road, Alexander, (501) 400-3860; carteroffroadpark.com.
CADDO VALLEY
Brass Tacks will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Betty's Big Country Dance Hall, 102 Crystal Palace Drive, Caddo Valley. (702) 379-6632.
CAMDEN
Blackstrap will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at Native Dog Brewing, 125 Madison Ave. SE, Camden. (870) 231-3451; nativedogbrewing.com.
CONWAY
The Akeem Kemp Band will perform from 4-6 p.m. Friday at the Windgate Museum of Art at Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway, (501) 328-2383. Admission is free.
◼️ Smokey Emerson will perform at 7 pm. Friday at Skinny J's, 2235 Dave Ward Drive, Conway, (501) 358-6586; skinnyjs.com.
◼️ Ed Bowman & The Rock City Players will perform from 6-9 p.m. Friday at Hatchet House BBQue, 1004 Oak St., Conway, (501) 504-6894; hatchethousebbque.com.
◼️ Presley Drake will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Charlotte Taylor and Gypsy Rain will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at Kings Live Music, 1020 Front St., Conway. Admission is $5. (501) 205-8512; kingslivemusic.com.
◼️ Big Boy Changes will perform at 9 p.m. today at Bear's Den Pizza, 235 Farris Road, Conway, (501) 328-5556, bearsdenpizza.net.
◼️ Bad Hipz will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and The Mellow Mountain Band will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at JJ's Grill, 1010 Main St., Conway. Admission is free. (501) 336-0100; jjsgrill.com/conway.
EL DORADO
Frank Foster, along with opening act Pryor and Lee, will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at First Financial Music Hall, 101 E. Locust St., El Dorado. Tickets range from $25 to $110. Ice Cube, along with opening act Warren G, will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets range from $55 to $160. (870) 444-3007; eldomad.com.
HOT SPRINGS
The 17th Valley of the Vapors festival returns with performances this weekend. On Friday: Psychic Graveyard from Providence, R.I.; Deeper, Chicago; Ohmme, Chicago; We Are the Asteroid, Austin, Texas; and Crush Diamond, Houma, La. On Saturday, Holy Wave, Austin; Various Blonde, Kansas City, Mo.; Silver Synthetic, New Orleans; Estereomance, Juarez, Mexico; Dendrons, Chicago; and Esme Patterson, Denver. Performances will be at Cedar Glades Park, 461 Wildcat Road, Hot Springs, (501) 321-2277. Tickets are $20 per day or $35 for a weekend pass, with camping options available; valleyofthevapors.com.
◼️ Tripswitch will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Frontier Club, 2700 Central Ave., Hot Springs, (501) 620-4000.
◼️ Midway will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Fat Jack's, 101 Central Ave., Hot Springs, (501) 623-5225; fatjacksinhotsprings.com. Admission is $5.
◼️ Rick McKean will perform at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Hotel Hot Springs, 305 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs. (501) 623-6600; hotelhotsprings.com.
◼️ DJs will present electronic dance music at 6 p.m. Friday at Adair Park, 351 Central Ave., Hot Springs.
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE
Trey Johnson and Jason Willmon will perform from 3-5 p.m. Sunday as part of "Southern Soul Delta Blues" at The Beehive, 220 Minorca Road, Hot Springs Village. (501) 777-8176; beehivehsv.com.
JACKSONVILLE
The Chad Marshall Band will perform at 6:15 p.m. Friday and Shaw Revolver will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday for FestiVille, 1700 N. Redmond Road, Jacksonville. (501) 982-4171.
MORRILTON
The Tone Kats will perform at 8:30 p.m. Friday and The Jack Fancy Band will perform at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cedar Lounge Bar and Grill, 1222 E. Broadway, Morrilton; (501) 354-8937; cedar-lounge-morrilton.edan.io. Admission is $5.
LIVE, BUT VIRTUAL
"Souvenirs," a tribute to John Prine, featuring Irish artists including Mary Black, Paul Brady, Declan O'Rourke, Ruth McGill, Tanya McCole, Chris Meehan, Paul Mulligan, Little John Nee, Tommy Prine, Sharon Shannon, Mary Staunton, Mary Stokes, Ciaran Tourish and Daniel Whelan will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday at The Mick Lally Theatre in Galway, Ireland. Tickets for the streaming event range from $37.12; see johnprine.com.