Friday, March 16

The Irie Lions / Courtesy

This weekend’s gonna rule. Spring-like weather? Check. Live music? Yep. Theatre? Uh huh. Sports? Oh yeah. Harry Potter-themed event, holidays mostly centered around drinking, and gumbo cooking competitions? We’ve got all that.

Let’s start with sports. The basketball Hogs are in the big dance today taking on Butler at 2:10 p.m. The game will be televised by TrueTV.

At Baum Stadium, the Diamond Hogs open SEC play with a series versus the No. 4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. The Friday game is at 6:30 p.m. It’s gonna be a gorgeous weekend for baseball, too.

TheatreSquared opened a new show this weekend that looks awesome. It’s called Vietgone, written by El Dorado native Qui Nguyen about his parents experiences as refugees. We talked to Nguyen earlier this week. Check it out.

Music wise, there’s a big show at George’s with The Irie Lions celebrating the release of their new album.

Also, local songwriter Randall Shreve is at Stage 18, and Colorado folk outfit Ponder the Albatross is at Smoke & Barrel.

Full list

Saturday, March 17

Shannon Wurst / Photo: Kat Wilson

There’s tons of fun stuff happening on Saturday, too.

Remember that Harry Potter fan convention we told y’all about a while back? It’s happening at the Fayetteville Town Center this weekend, and it’s totally sold out.

The third annual Fayetteville Gumbo Cook-Off is this weekend as well. It’s at the Washington County Fairgrounds, and proceeds from the event benefit the Humane Society of the Ozarks. Here’s more info.

Local songwriter Shannon Wurst will celebrate the release of a new album on Saturday night at Stage 18. We caught up with Shannon earlier this week, and here’s what she had to say about the record.

Also in tunes, George’s has a four-band bill Saturday night with Who Knows?, Richie Nagan, Woody & Sunshine, and Adam & Eli.

There’s a ton more below. Enjoy yourself.

Full list:

Sunday, March 11

Full list: