upcoming shows you should check out

GET CRUNK AT LIL’ JOHN’S MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL

It’s tempting to turn a space talking about something called Lil’ John’s Mountain Music Festival into a printed call-and-response of WHATs and OKAYs, but the only grills at this one have pigs spinning on top and the only purple drank to be found is made in a bathtub. Starting Thursday in secluded Snow Camp, the annual Memorial Day weekend shin dig takes to the hills for another weekend of hard liquor and easy picking. The mini-MerleFest-without-the-overbearing- classism will be headlined by bluegrass greats old and not so old, JD Crowe & the New South, Dailey & Vincent and the Grascals, but the real fun happens ‘round midnight when the Lil’ John All- Stars take the stage. See the full lineup and schedule at littlejohnsmountainmusic. com. Tickets are $75 for the weekend, though individual day tickets are available as well.

OLD SCHOOL PARTY COURTESY OF THE FIVE FOOTA AND FRIENDS

This Memorial Day, take a moment to remember some other fallen heroes who have help to shape our country in so many ways: Tupac, Biggie, X1, Left Eye, Big L, Eazy E and every other pioneer of the new school of hip hop and R&B who was taken too soon. Kyle Santillian and ToshaMakia from 102 JAMZ, along with host Skibo and DJ SK, are taking over the Blind Tiger this Saturday for Red Cup Classics, an evening to call upon a Memorial Day tradition that you won’t find in any official holiday standards and practices: the rocking out of classic hip hop and R&B. How rocking to a Tribe Called Quest, Nine, Paperboy, etc. became synonymous with this specific three-day weekend in May isn’t completely codified, but thinking about Memorial Day weekend as the gateway to summer and its evocation of all jams nostalgic is a good starting point. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and the party starts at 10 p.m.

BEST BEFORE AUG. 25, 1998

There’s not a hint of irony in stocking an R&B ensemble tour with performers who haven’t had hits since The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill put ’em on blast and calling it the Fresh Music Tour. No sir. Let’s pretend it’s 1996 all over again and Busta Brown has Keith Sweat, Guy and K-Ci & JoJo on medium to heavy rotation. Also ignore that SWV currently look like they might have had MoKenStef for dinner; these wafts from the past have been cobbled together for said festival, which sounds even less exciting upon remembering that Keith Sweat didn’t sing “Pony.” That was Ginuwine, and he’s not even on this tour. The Fresh Music Festival comes to the Greensboro Coliseum this Sunday with host Doug E. Fresh on the mic, but not Jody Watley who only joined the tour for a handful of dates. Tickets range from $29.50 to $75, and the music starts at 7 p.m.