FRIDAY, AUGUST 30
Live Music, Buvons Wine Bar, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Buvons Wine Bar hosts a seemingly endless string of musicians all weekend long. Starting at 6:00 p.m., you can hear Chris Beyt; then, at 9:00 p.m., hear the Ask Ovurski Quartet. Check their facebook event page for more bands, dates, and times. (MG)
Sounds of Sunset, Clark Park, 6 p.m., free
The Champaign Park District is kicking off Labor Day weekend in style with an outdoor concert in Clark Park. Songbox, featuring David Howie, will play covers and take requests. You, meanwhile, can let the sounds of familiar tunes wash over you and sweat adorn your brow as you enjoy one of the last hot weeks of 2013. (RP)
Only God Forgives, The Art Theater Co-op, Midnight
Head over to the Art and check out the latest collaboration from director Nicolas Winding Refn and actor Ryan Gosling. The dark, violent, controversial Only God Forgives is a stylized crime thriller that has been dividing critics since its first screening. (MG)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 31
Arthur Amish Country Cheese Festival, Arthur, IL, Saturday-Monday, free
If you feel like road-tripping over Labor Day weekend, consider making your way to south to Arthur (about a 45 minute drive from Chambana). It’s the 40th anniversary of Arthur’s Cheese Festival, and you can celebrate with the locals by watching a tractor pull, visiting an Amish farm shop, and sampling lots and lots of Free Cheese (n.b. the “Free Cheese” capitalization is taken directly from their website… this is serious business). Also: there will be corn dogs. (RP)
Illini Football Season Opener vs. Southern Illinois, Memorial Stadium, or watch on Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
Alright, so it’s finally college football season. Finally. We know you’ve had this in your head for quite a while now, and the time has finally come. Although Illinois had an abismal 2-10 season last year, and don’t really have great expectations this season, the beginning of each year brings a sense of renewal, no matter what team you’re rooting for. Whether you’re going out to the game on Saturday, watching it from your living room, or hitting the tailgates for beers and food, there’s something great about college football that continues to bring excitement each year. We’re lucky we live in C-U and have a college football program at our disposal — no matter what their record shows. (PS)
The Long, Long Trailer, The Virginia Theatre, 1 p.m. & 7 p.m., $6
If the 90+ degree temperatures this weekend have you misty-eyed for days of yore — back when global warming was a twinkle in your daddy’s eye and people knew who Lucille and Desi were — get your old-timey feels on at the Virginia Theatre this Saturday. There will be comedy, a pipe organist playing tunes prior to the film showing, and the opportunity to soak up the AC in the recently refurbished theatre. (RP)
The White Sale, Boltini Lounge, Downtown Champaign, 4 p.m.-2 a.m.
Boltini is hosting a week of food and drink specials inspired by the color white (August 26 through September 2). If you wear all white on Saturday, you’ll be eligible for their ‘special specials’, whatever that means. I’m not quite sure how I feel about celebrating all of this whiteness, but I suppose I’ll check it out before I make any snap judgements. In the meantime, I’m going to pack my Tide pen. (JH)
Pygmalion Lit Fest Pre-Party, Mike ‘N Molly’s, 5 p.m., free
If you’re not quite up on things in the literature scene, here’s your chance to get involved. Pygmalion Music Festival has added a couple of portions to the music festival this year, including The Made Fest and Pygmalion Lit Fest. Pretty awesome additions, as the Made Fest is a craft fair happening on Market Street on Saturday of Pygmalion, and the Lit Fest happening on Friday and Saturday of Pygmalion weekend. Here’s your chance to get a preview of what is to come during the inaugural LIt Fest. You can check out three readers, Jac Jemc, Laura Bandy and Lindsey Gates-Markel right before Withershins & co. take the stage that night. You’re going to be at Mike ‘N Molly’s anyway for music, why not come earlier for this? (PS)
Withershins, The Rutabega, Jet W. Lee, Motes, Mike ‘N Molly’s, 8 p.m., $7 p.m.
A pretty much no-doubter pick for Editor’s Pick this week in the Overture, but there’s a lot going on with this bill on Saturday night at Mike ‘N Molly’s. The beergarden will be primed for this show, as the night runs into September. Summer is almost up, so you should be spending it watching music over there while you still can this year. Locals Withershins are a solid live show, no doubt about it. The Rutabega are coming down from Chicago with Jet W. Lee, and they’re playing in support of their new album, Brother, The Lights Don’t Work. They also recently did a Daytrotter session, and they’ll be bringing new tunes to Champaign. A bunch of great things happening here on Saturday night. (PS)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Tacos & Margaritas, Wedge Bar, Downtown Champaign, all day
Every Sunday Wedge offers up $4 traditional (lime) margaritas and $2 tacos. That’s a pretty sweet deal, so why not check it out? You can grab a drink and a taco snack before you head to a Labor Day cook-out, or stop by Wedge after for some tacos and a post-party drink. Sounds like a win-win to me! (JH)
Ryan Groff, William Gillespie, Chandra Watkins, indi-go Co-op, 6 p.m., free
Ryan Groff is hot on the heels of Elsinore’s release of their new album PUSH/PULL, which is coming out on October 15. He’s performing over at indi-go as a part of this “Callings” event, which features readings from William Gillespie, and some violin from Chandra Watkins. Pretty good opportunity to go see some of the new tracks from that upcoming record, as well as just experience a show in an awesome space in Downtown Champaign. (PS)
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All event information is accurate to the best of our abilities, but sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes event information, times, prices, etc., change after we look them up. Whenever possible, we’ve provided a link to the original event page; you should always double-check the source before you make any firm plans. Thanks for your understanding.