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Weekend Agenda

Events to catch this long weekend, January 15 to 18.


1. It’s Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. If you’d like to spend Monday in tribute, the Brooklyn Academy of Music has its annual lineup, including events like a keynote address by Michael Eric Dyson and a screening of the documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, both free.

2. Over at Williamsburg’s National Sawdust, there’s also free programming on your day off. At 2 p.m., enjoy some jazz for kids, with clarinetist Oran Etkin performing Timbalooloo. At 4 p.m., soprano Alison Buchanan joins David Berry & the Ritz Chamber Players, a group of African-American musicians dedicated to the exploration of black heritage in classical music, for an eclectic program including songs based on texts of Dr. King and Langston Hughes and freedom spirituals.

3. It’s a stellar month for theater and performance-arts festivals. Here’s a list of eight to choose from this week, including the international party that is GlobalFest at Webster Hall this Saturday.

4. At Carolines in midtown, comedian Charlie Murphy (of Chappelle's Show fame) takes the stage for four shows on Saturday and Sunday.

5. Meanwhile, at Industry City in Sunset Park, the Bell House and Union Hall present a new music and comedy series called SPARK. This Saturday, Chris Gethard, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Purcell, Starlee Kine, and more perform.

6. At the Café Carlyle, the legendary Tommy Tune shows off what got him those ten Tony Awards. Countess LuAnn DeLesseps has already dropped by.

7. While downstairs at experimental-theater haven La Mama, you can catch MDLSX by Motus, a semi-autobiographical story exploring gender borders though monologue, music, and dance, performed by the extraordinary Silvia Calderoni.

8. To pay tribute to the artist and musician David Bowie, DJ series Feeling Gloomy hosts three nights of every danceable Bowie song plus songs from his peers like Iggy Pop and the Velvet Underground. Friday night is at Littlefield in Gowanus, and Saturday and Sunday are at Grand Victory in Williamsburg.

9. Or, if you feel lucky, try getting tickets to the sold-out Bowie–and–Enda Walsh musical Lazarus, at the New York City Theatre.

10. Hey, this is different: On Saturday, the New York Obscura Society and Carte Blanche Performance convert Brooklyn prop house ACME Studio into a Mexican-inspired Victorian salon, with tequila cocktails and live music by Jarana Beat. Also on the roster: a lecture on the history of hypnosis and an immersive performance of said hypnosis. Are you ready to reveal?

11. Madison Square Garden goes to the bulls all weekend at the annual PBR (Professional Bull Riders) competition. Get acquainted with some of the competitors in our slideshow.

12. The weekend was made for dancing. On Saturday, swing by the House of Vans for an immersive event in a “large-scale floating tunnel” combining light and music and dance. Okay: We’re not exactly sure what it is, but it sounds like it could be awesome. RSVP is required.

13. Also on Saturday, JD Samson and Victor Druzzi (of the Rapture) D.J. at the Bell House.

14. On Monday, swing by Terminal 5, where A$AP Rocky, the A$AP Mob, Flatbush Zombies, A$ton Matthews, Lil Uzi, and Joey Bada$$ celebrate the life of the late producer A$AP Yams, on the anniversary of his death.

15. And if you still have the rhythm in you, squeeze in a showing of the delightful On Your Feet! musical, following the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to fame. Happy weekend!