Top 10 things to do in St. Louis this week: Let Them Eat Art, a movie on Art Hill and more (2024)

FRIDAY

Art Hill Film Series: ‘Back to the Future’

The area’s biggest outdoor movie experience, the Art Hill Film Series, has shrunk to just two screenings this year. The first one is the 1985 classic “Back to the Future,” a rollicking time-travel comedy. Michael J. Fox stars as Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back to 1955 in a DeLorean. Once there, he has to make sure his parents fall in love, or else he will never be born. Also, he invents rock ‘n’ roll. By Daniel Neman

Let Them Eat Art

In a tribute to Bastille Day, the streets of Maplewood turn into an art bazaar complete with live art demonstrations, concerts and activities for kids. Maplewood restaurants are also on hand so you can eat (the art won’t actually be edible) and drink delicious goodies as you meander the streets. By Rosalind Early

Niall Horan ‘The Show Live on Tour’

Niall Horan’s 2020 tour was scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the former One Direction heartthrob has been making up for lost time for more than a year now touring behind his album “The Show.” We’re happy his fans finally get to see him again, but you’d better bring earplugs to this one; not to block out the music, but rather the high-decibel scream-singing of the Niallers. It’s all in good fun, but tinnitus is real, people. By Daniel Durchholz

Demetri Martin

Comedian Demetri Martin is known for incorporating musical instruments and visual aids into his routines, in part to bring the laughs, but also to show that he’s a comedian with talent. He can play the guitar, draw comics backwards and meditate. All these skills are brought to bear in his new show “Joke Machine.” Yes, even the meditation. Rosalind Early

Summer New Musical Festival

Tesseract Theatre company will present two new musicals during its festival this summer, “My Heart Says Go” from July 11 to 21, and “Cascade’s Fire,” a modern Antigone story, from July 19 to 28. By Rosalind Early

10th Annual LaBute New Theater Festival

This festival from St. Louis Actors’ Studio features a slate of one-act plays written by professional playwrights and high schoolers. Controversial playwright Neil LaBute also contributes a show. This year, he’s written “Who’s on First.” You can also see “Greif & Woe” by Paul Bowman, “Cage” by Barbara Blatner, “Walrus” by Brandt Adams and “Love in the Time of Nothing,” by Jayne Hannah. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival, a collection of previous plays will be on sale in book form. By Rosalind Early

SATURDAY

Whiskey Myers

This East Texas six-piece is a blend of country and southern rock, leaning more heavily in the rock direction in recent years. They have been making a mark on both genres, hailed as a savior of country music alongside the likes of Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers, they’ve also toured with the Rolling Stones. For this concert, the group is joined by Whitey Morgan & the 78’s and Reid Haughton. By Rosalind Early

TUESDAY

Train and REO Speedwagon ‘Summer Road Trip’

The famed pop rock bands Train and REO Speedwagon are joining forces to do a tour across the nation with Yacht Rock Revue. Expect countless classics and plenty of high-energy ‘80s and ‘90s throwbacks. You can’t fight the feeling to go. By Nina Giraldo

Lake Street Dive ‘Good Together Tour’

Lake Street Dive’s latest album, “Good Together” was only recently released, but early listens reveal it’s what we’ve come to expect from the group: impeccable musicianship, great lead vocals from Rachael Price, and well-constructed, tuneful material. For the first time, all of the band members got together to write the songs from scratch. By Daniel Durchholz

WEDNESDAY

Chuck Mead

Country singer Chuck Mead is a Kansas native, but you can’t really hold that against him. He has too many bona fides. For starters, he founded the alt-country group BR5-49, which won a Country Music Association award and earned three Grammy nods. He also has made more than 130 appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. But his best-known work might be what he does behind-the-scenes: He’s a co-producer on tribute albums to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, a musical director, supervisor and producer for the Broadway musical “Million Dollar Quartet” and worked on the CMT show “Sun Records.” By Rosalind Early