GroverFest turns five this weekend and to celebrate, the tiny little jam festival is bringing its biggest lineup yet. Theyre also moving from one town to another that is essentially a surname that could be bad first names.

Whether some are appreciative of it or not is beside the point, but more than 150 different languages are spoken in Greensboro.

At some point, everyone passes on an opportunity that they later regret. For Mitch Ryder, youd have to think that it was turning down an offer to be the vocalist for Electric Flag.

Produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys; frequents sets with the Avett Brothers; nominated for a Grammy after recording Barry Scott & Second Wind. David Mayfield is practically becoming a force of nature in the alternative bluegrass and inidie-folk scene.

If youre wondering what kind of music they have at MerleFest, well, they have both kinds: country and western. And bluesgrass, gospel, folk, jam, rock, Celtic, Cajun and old time, but no ones nitpicking over all that.

Pre-camping festival checklist: Hose down tent and hang to dry, refill butane in camp stove, steep fruit in mason jar likker, pack extra Halloween costume. Yep, that oughta do it. The drills are over, and this weekend marks the beginning of live fire as the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival kicks off this Thursday afternoon.

It was only a few months ago that rapper Big KRIT was the warm-up act for Wiz Khalifa in the Pittsburgh hip-hop stars first show after a massively publicized weed pinching. Since then, it doesnt take a GPS to know that the two rappers careers have gone off in wildly different directions.

If it was Sara Bareilles ambition to write more inspired pop music after the lease on her 2007 hit Love Song ran out a few years ago, penning the theme song to a VH1 reality series centered on a second-stringer from The Hills may not be the best start.

Its Tuesday night, so that means theres some club-level, nationally touring act with strong niche appeal playing in Greensboro. That very show is happening when Break Science comes Greene Street Club on April 5.

It takes a seriously bad, bad man to announce six arena performances in the Carolinas a mere two weeks in advance and then still be on target to sell more than 75,000 tickets, but it shouldnt surprise anyone when the man in question is Prince.

Everyone wants to be a DJ these days, but not everyone needs to be. Red Bull, of all companies, has figured out a way to separate the wheat from the chaff, and its through the annual Red Bull Music Academy.

This Friday, more than a dozen producers and DJs will compete for a cash prize but more importantly, bragging rights at the seventh installment of the Dirty South BeatDown, hosted by Ed E. Ruger, Skibo and DJ Phillie Phresh.

Johnny Cash wouldve been 79 years old this Saturday, and to put that in perspective, Loretta Lynn will play the War Memorial on Sunday, and shell be the same age in a couple of months. George Jones is 79 and still touring (barely), and Charlie Louvin was playing right up until he died last month at 83.

After scoring big at the recent SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards, its safe to say that the Grascals are now among bluegrass music royalty.

The Red Light Crew is at it once again, and this time its in the form of the Get Your Heart On! Valentines Day Blast, happening this Saturday at the Calvin Graves Plantation in Locust Hill, near Reidsville.

On his last album, 2009s Carolina, Eric Church was taking shots at Jason Aldean through the song Lotta Boot Left to Fill for Aldeans gratuitous name-dropping of Johnny Cash. Now hes backstage taking shots with him as the special guest at Aldeans headlining show at the Greensboro Coliseum this Friday.

I have a confession to make. My favorite album of 2010 didnt belong to the Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Beach House, Rick Ross or anyone else who toils over pen and paper and in a studio recording booth.

From the ashes of Starlyn Garvy and S. Burns comethe Animal Mothers, an eclectic rock outfit from Greensboro steeped in the psychedelic side of the Beatles, the bluesier side of the Doors and with the country twang and rustic charm of the Band.

For anyone who ever stood around a video arcade on a Saturday afternoon watching serious gamers rip through an upright coinop cabinet of Contra or Ninja Gaiden on less than a dollar, its time to relive your middle school social experience.

LAUREN HILL EMBARKS ON A SMALL VENUE TOUR.