LIFELINE: A DOSE OF REALITY

ONGOING

MICHELANGELO’S SISTINE CHAPEL

The immersive Van Gogh exhibit has drawn focus from this mesmerizing Michelangelo show, but they’re both worth checking out. Instead of going to Rome to see the ceiling’s frescoes 44 feet away from the Sistine Chapel floor below, patrons can see them up close. The paintings cemented Michelangelo’s reputation, but the sculptor never wanted the job in the first place, and insisted he was wrong for the task. In the 1560s, Pope Pius IV had the genitals of the artist’s nude figures painted over, but modern restorers stripped away the fig leaves. More: $13-$19.40; through July 31; Savona Mill, 401 S. Gardner Ave.; chapelsistinecharlotte.com/

MICHELANGELO’S SISTINE CHAPEL

ONLINE

WED06_16 FRI06_18 WED06_23 THU06_24

WILD WEDNESDAYS AT MINT MUSEUM-RANDOLPH

How do you make “free” even better? Add animals. The Mint Museum, which is open and free every Wednesday night, has partnered with Stevens Creek Nature Center to make its mid-week pick me up a little wilder. Drop by the lawn at Mint Museum Randolph to get up close with the animals who have inspired artists throughout history, pick up an animal-themed art kit, and go on a self-guided “Seek and Sketch Hunt” through the museum. More: Free; June 16, 6 p.m.; Mint MuseumRandolph, 2730 Randolph Road; mintmuseum.org

ATLIENS

The Fillmore gets us back in the concert-going swing with a set by electronic dance act ATLiens. The DJ duo of Tommy Ross and Michael Ami Ronca appears to have taken a stylistic page from Daft Punk, appearing onstage and in public as robotic automatons, but instead of Daft Punk’s Phantom of the Paradise garb, ATLiens opt for a Dr. Doom-in-ahoodie look. With buzzing slabs of noise, interview samples of UFO sightings and erratic random beats, ATliens evoke ’90s nostalgia for both The X Files and Waxtrax Records. More: $20-$30; June 18, 7 p.m.; The Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

MOVIES ON THE LAWN: ‘THE GOONIES’

Basically, a tweens’ treasure-hunt movie played at high volume, The Goonies belongs to a curious ’80s subgenre — adventure movies that also try to gross out their target audience. Paced like an Indiana Jones movie the flick takes in hyperactive Home Alone style-slapstick, gruesome Gremlins-style action and underground booby traps straight out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s a slapped-together movie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining More: Free; June 23, 5:30 p.m.; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, 6500 S. New Hope Road, Belmont; dsbg.org

MIPSO

No one has encapsulated the appeal of Mipso better than the Chapel Hill band itself when they entitled their fifth album Dark Holler Pop. Mipso draws on the vocabulary of bluegrass — Appalachian dance rhythms and white-lightning instrumental runs that dovetail into a round robin off intertwined solos — and applies it to buoyant pop song structures and dark instrumental hues that suggest gothic country. The band’s mix of authenticity and experimentation has also paid off commercially. They’ve topped bluegrass and folk charts and even opened for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York More: $80-$110; June 24, 7 p.m.; Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville; maxxmusic.com

FRI 06_25 SAT06_26 SAT06_26 SUN06_27

AKITA

Taking cues from legendary funk performers George Clinton, Sly Stone, Maceo Parker and The Meters, this Charlotte six-piece incorporates the standard setup of bass, drums, keyboards and guitar with an unstoppable horn section that conjures the heroic attack of Tower of Power. The band, which has curated their own party Culture Shift in Charlotte and beyond, infuse their swaggering funk with a twist of reggae and a bushel-full of brazen hard rock. More: Free; June 25, 7 p.m.; U.S. National Whitewater Center; 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy.; whitewater.org

HEAL CHARLOTTE’S STOP THE VIOLENCE DAY

Heal Charlotte partners with law enforcement, city officials and civic services to advance the city’s communities. The STV event kicks off with a oneday summit that combines elements of arts, culture, entertainment, and education to bring awareness to the issues and provide solutions. After the summit, the conversation moves to Knight Theater, where League of Intelligence’s Maarifa Ukweli, leads an STV educational workshop. More: Free; June 26, 10 a.m.; McGlohon Theater; 1:40 p.m.; Knight Gallery at Spirit Square, 345 N. College St.; blumenthalarts.org

ARTPOP POP-UP

Since its founding, ArtPop Street Gallery’s Charlotte program has promoted 147 artists on millions of dollars of advertising space, and last December announced a new class of 20 artists to be showcased on billboards and other space around the city after a period in which founder Wendy Hickey was nearly forced to shut the Charlotte program down entirely as funding dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pop-up will feature the works of five current members and alumni: Adam Jochim, Katherine Heilig, Molly Partyka, Liz Labunski, and Mary Zio. More: Free; June 26, 6-9 p.m.; Le Meridian, 555 S. McDowell St.; tinyurl.com/ArtPopUpCLT

TUATHA DEA

The Táin Bó Cúailnge, or The Cattle raid of Cooley is an ancient Irish saga relating a war between two clans, each after a prized bull. It’s basically a dark age story of cattle rustling and gang violence. Now, imagine taking mist-shrouded mythology like this, filtering it through a steampunk sensibility, and setting it all to a blend of rock, mountain drum circles and Appalachian blues. Tuatha Dea, which takes its name from a mythic race of (frequently scary) faerie-folk, has forged a brand of progressive Americana that goes beyond cosplay with chops. More: $10-$12; June 27, 7 p.m.; Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St.; eveningmuse.com

ART BY KATHERINE HEILIG, @_KLHDESIGNS (ARTPOP POP-UP)

6/26

ONGOING

IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH EXPERIENCE

This 76,154-square-foot exhibit, made up of 500,000 cubic feet of moving projections, throws viewers into the work of Vincent Van Gogh, covering a wide range of his post-impressionist work and giving a glimpse into his mind that perhaps can’t be experienced by a simple viewing of his paintings. Charlotte is just the fifth American city to host the Immersive Van Gogh Experience, and Blumenthal’s Bree Stallings has worked effortlessly in recent months to amplify the impact of this world-renowned exhibit on the local art scene, bringing on two local artists in residence to work onsite while also showcasing 19 local artists in a gallery surrounding the exhibit space. More: $25-$40; Opens June 17, runs through Sept. 12; Ford Building, Camp North End, 330 Camp Road; vangoghclt.com