Delray’s Summer GreenMarket is open for business, a theatre company debuts in Fort Lauderdale, and Sleigh Bells ring in their newest album. Plus, the Rev. Horton Heat and more in your week ahead.
FRIDAY
What: Sleigh Bells
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $32.50
Contact: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net
Producing one of the most strikingly original and enduring debut albums of the 21st century, Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells emerged fully formed on 2010’s Treats, a blast-furnace hybrid of electro-pop, garage punk and vintage AM-radio harmonies that sounded like it was recorded through blown speakers. Later efforts have refined, though seldom matched, the songs on that auspicious introduction, smoothing out some of the lower-fidelity elements on sleeker LPs like 2016’s Jessica Rabbit and 2021’s Texis. Now, though, the duo is looking ahead by looking back, if its latest single “Wanna Start a Band?” is any indication. A song that’s been percolating since 2014, it lands with the same urgent energy as the early material, conjuring the vocal howl of Sleater-Kinney and the arena-rock riffs of Joan Jett in equal measure. Sleigh Bells’ current tour marks its first South Florida appearance in 12 years.
What: Opening night of “Mud”
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $39.19
Contact: 954/678-1496, empirestage.com
A shattering psychological drama with healthy doses of experimentation and social commentary, “Mud” is one of 40 plays penned by the uncompromising Cuban-American playwright María Irene Fornés. First presented in 1983, it follows attempts by Mae, a woman living in poverty in the rural south, who attempts to better herself through literacy and arithmetic, to the dismay of her indignant farmer husband. A relationship struck with a local physician offers a glimmer of hope for Mae, only to instigate a crippling and toxic love triangle. This production of “Mud” marks the debut of Latiné Theater Lab, a nomadic professional company, founded by Miamian Alex Gonzalez, that aims to lift the voices of Latiné artists. This rare opportunity to experience a Fornés play in the flesh stars Eric Gospodinoff, Juan Gamero and Caila Katz, and it runs through June 14.
SATURDAY
What: Opening day of Summer GreenMarket
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Old School Square Park, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: Free
Contact: delraycra.org/green-market
With Memorial Day in the rearview, South Florida is entering the merciful season of few: fewer cars on the road, fewer people in restaurants and, not for nothing, a lighter attendance at our favorite GreenMarket, a buzzing hive of produce and commerce during Season. Many of your favorites from the winter-spring tradition will still be setting up tents on most Saturday mornings through the end of July, with more than 50 vendors returning for this scaled-back iteration. So expect all the fruits and vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, raw milk, grass-fed meats, baked goods, flowers and gourmet bottled and canned products your hearts and bellies desire—but with a blessedly smaller carbon footprint. Slap on some sunscreen and enjoy the reprieve while it lasts!
What: Opening day of “The Riddle of the Sphinx and Other Mysteries”
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: NSU Art Museum, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $16 adults, $10 seniors
Contact: 954/525-5500, nsuartmuseum.org
What exactly is the Sphinx, and what is its meaning? The answers to these questions have varied across the ripples of conquests and centuries, from a representation of Egypt’s King Khafre, to an evocation of the sun god Hor-em-akhet, to the Greek hybrid creature we commonly refer to as a Sphinx. The point is, meanings are often proscribed by those in power, and their beliefs become settled truth. This exhibition, drawn largely from NSU Art Museum’s permanent collection, aims to unsettle these legends and to restore their rightful mystery in the cultural imagination. The Sphinx is but one example in a multi-pronged exhibition divided into sections of Myth and Ritual, Hybrid Creatures, Abstraction, Figuration and the Americas, all of which encourage spectators to bring their own interpretations to the artistic puzzles presented before them.
What: The Reverend Horton Heat
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $39.20
Contact: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net
Dallas-born barnburners The Reverend Horton Heat—the name given to gravelly vocalist-guitarist Jim Heath as well as his two-man band—is one of the country’s preeminent psychobilly acts, the niche genre that fuses vintage rockabilly melodies with punk and garage-rock thrash. Cheeky, nostalgic and whimsically attired, these road warriors are recognized for their offbeat sense of humor and infectious live shows, which pull generously from their 13 albums. The latest release, recorded as a duo, is Roots of the Rev, an album of covers that inspired Heath—from artists such as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins—recorded in a lo-fi, ramshackle style that evokes that original platters. Arrive early for openers Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, featuring the accordion-led Cajun music of Nathan Williams.
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