Wayne Music Fest, Americana Music Fest among weekend highlights [Events roundup]

The seventh annual Wayne Music Festival, featuring continuous music in an array of genres on four stages, will be held Saturday from 1 to 10:30 p.m., rain or shine, along North Wayne Avenue. The festival is free and highlights local and regional acts, as well as over 75 local restaurants and vendors. The West Stage starts at 2 p.m. and features the Jamie McLean Band, the West Philadelphia Orchestra, Cosmic Guilt and Wheatus. The Lancaster Avenue Stage also starts at 2 p.m. and features Flightschool, Sug Daniels, Jessica Lee Mayfield and Steve Gunn. The Chop Stage starts at 3 p.m. with Mellow Fever followed by Jon "Papa" Gros, The Tonics, Arthur Thomas and the Funkitorium and Bonerama. And the 118 North Stage opens at 4 p.m. with Brian Seymour followed by Moustaffa Noumbissi, Wisher and Bonerama plays Zeppelin. For more information, see waynemusicfestival.com.

The Americana Music Fest, presented by the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department, will be held Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Gring's Mill Recreation Area, Spring Township. Join emcee Dave Kline as he lines up three Americana music acts to showcase the best of the musical genre. Performing at 4 p.m. will be Dave Kline and the Mountain Folk Band, followed by The Trudy Lyn Band featuring Steve Krase at 5:15 and The Sam Schmidthuber Band at 6:30. Food trucks will be on site. Bring your own chairs and blanket. Admission is free. A jam session will precede the event from 3 to 4 p.m. The workshop aims to give some background to the Americana music movement and where it stands today. Bring your own instrument and join in on the jam. For more information, see countyofberks.com.

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, West Chester, presents the improv comedy troupe Better Than Bacon on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and SHARP Dance Company on Saturday at 2 p.m. Better Than Bacon performs in completely unscripted improvisational games, which are all driven by audience suggestions and interactions. Every word and every action is completely made up on the spot. Since 2005, Sharp Dance Company has been touring nationally and internationally. They were selected as one of 11 artists to attend the BAU Institute in Italy as artists-in-residence; were invited to Paros, Greece, for a two- week artist residency; and have performed in Bedford, England, as part of the BedFringe Festival. SHARP blends classic dance technique with intriguing stories that speak to the human experience, creating an artistic experience that is relatable to all audiences. For tickets and more information, see uptownwestchester.org.

SoulJoel's Comedy Club presents Dr. Dirty John Valby on Friday at 8 p.m. indoors at the Sunnybrook Ballroom, Pottstown, and Sam Tallent at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Comedy Dome at Sunnybrook. As Doctor Dirty, Valby has been entertaining audiences up and down the East Coast for 40 years. His material stretches the limits of free speech and accepted good taste, satirizing current events and making lewd references to body parts and human functions. For the last decade, Tallent has performed more than 45 weekends per year in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe. His acclaimed debut novel, "Running the Light," has been heralded as the definitive book on stand-up comedy and is soon to be a major motion picture. "Waiting For Death To Claim Us," his comedy special, is available on Amazon Prime. For tickets and more information, visit souljoels.com.

The Pottstown Area Artists Guild in conjunction with The Hill School will hold the 2023 "Art on The Hill" annual Open Juried Art Show starting Friday and running through June 18 in the Boyer Gallery of the Center for the Arts at the Hill School, Pottstown. Over 70 works by more than 30 artists from the tri-county area will be on display. A reception is set for Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public. To register, visit https://www.picktime.com/PAAGmeeting. An awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. to recognize the outstanding entries with awards. The show will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. on weekends. For more information, see paag.info.

The Brandywine Folk Fest is set for Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. at Brothers on the Brandywine Beer Garden, Coatesville. Scheduled to perform are Wood Flower from noon to 3 p.m., The Youngers from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Frog Holler from 7 to 10 p.m. Food will be provided by Chef & Company and On the Roll. Tickets are $20 in advance at brotherskershner.mobilebytes.com or $25 at the door.

Spring Fiesta 2023 will be held at Jim Dietrich Park, Muhlenberg Township, on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. A food and music festival with a Latin flair, it features live entertainment including Brenda Rodriguez, The TRiBE, Papo Buda & The Latin Jazz Giants and Empresarios from Washington, D.C. Other entertainment will be bull riding, face painting, temporary Henna Tattoos, a balloon artist, piñatas, crafters and direct sales businesses. The festival will end with fireworks at 9 p.m. Food vendors will offer Latin-inspired food (Tlacuani, Marisol's Bakery, Mi Casa Su Casa, Castenada's, Taco Revolution and more), plus ice cream by Mad Waffles and shaved ice by Kona. There will be frozen margaritas, Pina Coladas, beer and lemonades. For more information, see www.muhlenbergtwp.com.

The LGBTQ+ Art Showcase, presented by Reading Pride Celebration, will be on view in the Schmidt Gallery on the second floor at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, through July 16. An opening reception is set for Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition is free and open during GoggleWorks hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The showcase aims to promote and celebrate the artistic talents of the local LGBTQ+ community of Berks and surrounding counties and to create a platform for their voices to be heard. The exhibition is open to all forms of art, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography and mixed media. For more information, see goggleworks.org.

Limited tickets remain for a concert by Bruce Cockburn with special guest Dar Williams on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville. One of Canada's finest artists, Cockburn has enjoyed an illustrious, 50-year career shaped by politics, spirituality and musical diversity. He has captured in song the essence of human experience, while striving to make it better. He has embraced folk, jazz, rock and worldbeat styles while travelling to such far-flung places as Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique and Nepal, and writing memorable songs about his ever-expanding world of wonders. Dar Williams rose out of the vibrant mid-’90s Boston scene, inspired by the eclectic influences of alt-rockers, Berklee jazz musicians, slam poets and folk artists, including Patty Griffith, Melissa Ferrick, the Throwing Muses, Vance Gilbert and Jonatha Brooke. For tickets and more information, see thecolonialtheatre.com.

The 37th annual Antique Engine, Tractor and Toy Club Show will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Delong Park, 233 Bowers Road, Bowers. It will feature all types of running antique machinery, plus food, vendors, a flea market and kids’ activities. Entertainment will be provided by The Majestics on Saturday and The Rehrig Bros. on Sunday. Parking and admission are free.

Grandpa's Jam, a fundraiser for the Christopher M. Fuga Memorial Foundation featuring acts from the greater Philadelphia area, will be held Saturday at the Sassamansville Fire Hall in Frederick, Montgomery County. The lineup includes Brick Nova as the headliner, plus performances by Dylan Zangwill, Space Donkey and the Moonbouncers, Steel Hemlock, The Moonwatered and Gone Swimming. Grandpa's Jam is a cash only event with a $20 cover. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase. Outside food is welcome.

Latin recording artist Ricardo Arjona brings his Blanco Y Negro: Volver tour to Santander Arena, Reading, on Saturday at 8 p.m. After reaching an audience of more than 3 million people with "Hecho A La Antigua," the most viewed streaming concert in the history of music in Latin America and Spain, Arjona set a precedent with BLANCO Y NEGRO, as it has been considered the artist's most daring bet. It is a breath of fresh air from an established singer-songwriter who is constantly reinventing himself. For tickets and more information, see santander-arena.com.

The Kennett Flash Rooftop Concert Series presents Sugar Lime Blue with special guest Nicholas Lurwich on Friday at 7 p.m. on the top floor of the Kennett Square Parking Garage, 100-198 E. Linden St. Sugar Lime Blue is a premier Americana soul/jam band rising up from Nashville. The band pulls from several genres including blues, country, rock and jazz to create an eclectic sound. Performing nearly a thousand shows over the past decade in the Southeast, the band has seen international exposure and a growing grass roots fanbase from their weekly online performance. Gypsy songstress Ashley Beth fronts the group with her soulful, captivating voice that draws the listener deep into the songs’ lyrical content, while her husband, Dave, leads the band into deep musical dives and explores Grateful Dead-like jams. Bring your own chair. Concessions will be available for purchase. There is a $5 BYOB charge per person if you are bringing alcohol. Tickets cost $25 at kennettflash.org.

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