Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland‘s guide to help you sort out your weekend entertainment with curated selections and recommendations across our three pillars of Music, Comedy, and Film/TV. It’s what you should know about, where you need to be, and where you’ll be going, with us riding shotgun along the way.
Music: Moon Over Salem music and arts festival
A few decades ago Dead Kennedys famously sang about a “Moon Over Marin,” and now on the other side of the country, we’re singing the praises of Moon Over Salem. The inaugural music and arts festival sparks up Witch City on Saturday (September 14), just before all the tourists roll in, with an inspired lineup across seven downtown venues, with Prince Daddy & The Hyena headlining a bill spanning from noon to midnight that also features Actor Observer, oldsoul, Winkler, Molly O’Leary, Astral Bitch, One Fall, Radio Compass, The Rupert Selection, Kal Marks, Sailor Down, and more. Hot damn! This new event is the creation of Moon, a non-profit organization “dedicated to increasing access to underground music” in the Salem area, and the festival stages include Koto Asian Fusion, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, Bit Bar, and Old Town Hall. The festival will also pair a flea, art, and vintage market, and a portion of sales go towards Moon’s rising artist scholarship, which offers financial support to local students pursuing music or the arts in college. Because we can’t let the croweded future sting the eyes of the kids.
MOON OVER SALEM :: Saturday, September 14 across multiple venues and stages in Salem, MA :: Noon to midnight, $20 to $70 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
Comedy: Eugene Mirman & His Pretty Good Friends at Crystal Ballroom
We all have friends, but a rare few of us have pretty good friends. But Eugene Mirman is one of those cats who seems to be beloved by everyone, so he can pick and choose and weed out the bad ones. That makes for a pretty sweet circle of friends — just imagine those group texts! — and now the Lexington native rounds up a few for Eugene Mirman & His Pretty Good Friends, taking over Crystal Ballroom this Saturday (September 14). Here’s Mic’d Up with the good word: “Good friends are hard to come by, and pretty good ones are entirely too rare — but Eugene Mirman has quite a few of them, and he’s bringing some back home for a hell of a night of comedy in Davis Square. Join the Bob’s Burgers star as he takes the stage for two shows alongside Ophira Eisenberg and Zach Zimmerman during what is, on paper, one of the best comedy shows you’ll see in town all year.”
EUGENE MIRMAN & HIS PRETTY GOOD FRIENDS :: Saturday, September 14 at Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, MA : 6:45 p.m., all ages, $25 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: Friday the 13th in the Rocky Woods
For those who believe autumn starts right after Labor Day, Halloween season is already in full-swing. But we can’t just keep eyeballing the spooky shelves at Michaels and Home Goods; we need some scary slasher fun in our lives. A glance at the calendar suggests the frights begin tonight (September 13), as the Coolidge Corner Theatre and Medfield’s Rocky Woods once again team up for Friday the 13th in the Rocky Woods. This year’s slate features 1984 classic Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, celebrating its 40th anniversary, and Jason X, the 2001 flick that takes place not only in space, but in the year 2455. There’s even a pre-screening presentation by the team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. And we’ll probably wish we were up in the stars, because watching any Jason flick while out in the woods always seems like a wonderfully frightful time. Hit the link for parking and overnight camping information — if you’re sure you can make it through the night.
FRIDAY THE 13th IN THE ROCKY WOODS :: Friday, September 13 at Rocky Woods, 38 Hartford St. in Medfield, MA :: 8 p.m., $35 :: Rocky Woods info :: Event info and tickets