A comedy legend headlines Festival of the Arts Boca, “E.T.” comes home to Mizner, and dozens of rock bands converge in the Okeechobee wilderness. Plus, Kaki King, Sleuthfest, Miami City Ballet and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: Broken Arrow
Where: Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $47-$57
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
The opportunity to see the grumpy visionary Neil Young live in South Florida is exceedingly rare, but this tribute act is the next best thing. Joe Mass, Broken Arrow’s vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, has perfected Young’s nasal Canadian warble, and the band is expertly versed in Young’s many iterations, from country-folk balladeer to protest singer to electric rocker. Mass and company hopscotch across many of Young’s 37 records, performing hits from “Heart of Gold” and “Cinnamon Girl” to “Ohio” and “Southern Man.”
THURSDAY
What: Kaki King
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $32
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
Any gig by this “new guitar God” (per Rolling Stone) is something to celebrate. A guitarist and composer with prodigious talent and a chameleonic approach to genre, Kaki King has collaborated with artists ranging Eddie Vedder to Timbaland to my favorite band, the Mountain Goats. This concert experience, “The Neck is a Bridge to the Body,” may be her most ambitious yet: It’s a multimedia extravaganza in which her guitar melds into the psychedelic imagery projecting behind her. See it to believe it.
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Sleuthfest 2018
Where: Embassy Suites by Hilton, 661 N.W. 53rd St., Boca Raton
When: Varies per event
Cost: $50-$60 for individual evenings; conference passes vary
Contact: sleuthfest.com
If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers—or, better yet, if you ever wanted to write one yourself—this venerable conference is a must-attend. Four days of workshops address subjects include “An Author’s Metaphysical Journey,” “Writing Dialogue That Crackles” and “You’re Giving Me the Creeps.” Informative lectures include “Our Nation’s Preparedness for Domestic Terrorist Attacks,” while “Guess Your Poison: The Game” adds a drop of levity to the proceedings. Among this year’s special guests: keynote speaker Andrew Gross (pictured), who has penned 14 New York Times best-sellers; forensic expert Katherine Ramsland; and visiting mystery authors P.J. Parrish, Hallie Ephron, Hank Phillippi Ryan and James R. Benn.
What: Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival
Where: Sunshine Grove, 12517 N.E. 91st Ave., Okeechobee
When: Set times vary
Cost: $299
Contact: okeechobeefest.com
Offering “music, magic and mystery from dusk till dawn,” the Okeechobee Music Festival will welcome thousands of concertgoers into the Florida wilderness for four days of primarily alternative, hip-hop and electronic acts spanning from 4 p.m. Thursday until the wee hours of Monday morning. Some of the don’t-miss acts: electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso (4:15 p.m. Friday), psychedelic pop troubadours the Flaming Lips (7:15 p.m. Saturday), Brazilian-flavored dance act Sofi Tukker (4:15 p.m. Sunday) and trailblazing art-rock headliners Arcade Fire (11 p.m. Sunday). A recently announced “Okeechobee Powow” (9 p.m. Saturday) featuring Snoop Dogg, the Roots, Chaka Khan, Joey Badass, Trombone Shorty and others promises a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration that speaks to this festival’s genre-hopping fluidity. Attendees can also enjoy yoga, workshops, speakers, vendors, camping and more.
FRIDAY
What: Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and Friends: New Worlds
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $25-$250
Contact: 561/368-8445, festivaloftheartsboca.org
You never know what kind of creative partnerships can emerge from the soul-sucking tedium of TSA security lines. For Bill Murray, who met cellist Jan Vogler in an airport security line—the comic actor questioned how the classical soloist could fit his instrument in the overhead compartment—this inauspicious introduction has led to one of music’s most unlikely projects. The movie star and the musician kept in touch and soon collaborated on New Worlds, a genre-hopping album of songs, poetry and prose in which Murray croons standards and Vogler provides the stirring string solos. Chinese violinist Mira Wang and Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez complete the live ensemble for New Worlds; in addition to the songs, Murray will perform literary selections from Hemingway, Twain, Whitman and others, in what is this year’s biggest draw at Festival of the Arts Boca.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Miami City Ballet Program III
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $25-$105
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The sprightly, glamorous third program in Miami City Ballet’s season exemplifies its dual mission to honor the classics while fostering the ballets of the next generation. The latter will be represented by a world-premiere commission by superstar Chicago choreographer Brian Brooks, sandwiched between bona fide masterpieces: Balanchine’s sumptuous and thrilling “Theme and Variations” and Jerome Robbins’ exuberant, hilarious “The Concert.”
SUNDAY
What: “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” screening with orchestra
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
When: 6 p.m.
Cost: $15-$125
Contact: 561/368-8445, festivaloftheartsboca.org
Audiences have been over the moon about John Williams’ score for “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” since the movie’s 1982 debut. The composer’s soaring melodies are as iconic as the imaginative film’s special effects and as moving as its welcoming moral compass. It won an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe and BAFTA, and it has been reissued three times—most recently in a two-disc, 157-minute 2017 edition complete with previously unreleased tracks. But this event promises to be even more complete and immersive than that: The Symphonia Boca Raton will provide live orchestral accompaniment to a special screening of the movie. You might even finish by the time the Oscars kick in.
What: Oscar gala fundraiser
Where: Villa de Palma, 600 Isle of Palms, Fort Lauderdale
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $100 FLIFF members, $150 nonmembers
Contact: 954/525-3456, fliff.com
Speaking of those Oscars, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival board member Steve Savor is once again opening up his lavish home for an Academy Awards viewing party, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit Savor Cinema. Attendees must dress like they’re attending the real McCoy—black tie is mandatory—and in addition to the big-screen telecast, they’ll enjoy three live bands, food, an open bar and “special surprises.” Limited valet parking will be available, but Uber is recommended. In the meantime, check out Boca magazine’s podcast analysis of the Oscars, in which I discuss the nominations with fellow movie critic Al McGhee.
