by Alex Melnick
Arts & Life Editor

School’s out for the summer, everyone. Enjoy these last few events in Jackson before we all jet off to graduation, study abroad or Netflix oblivion.

Friday, April 24

Wait for the Ricochet: A Tribute to the Music of Deep Purple
Where: Duling Hall
When: 9 p.m.
How Much: $10 in advance/$15 at the door, plus a $3 surcharge to all patrons under 21
Why: Because if you don’t like the song “Smoke on the Water,” you are not to be trusted. It’s statistically proven.

Presented by Jackson’s classic rock station Z106.7, this tribute concert promises a lot of weird ‘70s vibes and velvet. The band Wait for the Ricochet uses vintage equipment to accurately replicate the sounds of the jam band Deep Purple, which should be enough to draw any music nerd out of the woodwork and to the show.

DJ Young Venom & DJ Brik a Brak
Where: Martin’s
When: 10 p.m.
How Much: $15
Why: Because DJ Young Venom is cooler than you’ll ever be

Head on down to Martin’s to enjoy the combination of Jackson fixture DJ Young Venom’s funk and R&B mixes and the good time party mixes of Brik a Brak! Martin’s also has an amazing selection of craft beers, like Ghost River! It’s a win-win.

Saturday, April 25

Run Now, Wine Later 5K
Where: Renaissance at Colony Park, Ridgeland
When: 8 a.m.
How Much: $30 race only, $45 race and tasting ticket
Why: Is there actually anyone who is not about the running-then-drinking-wine life? Treat yo self after that race!

Benefitting the Alzheimer’s Association of Mississippi, this 5K has an amazing perk at the end: a wine tasting to help you cool down! This is the most amazing idea I’ve ever heard of, and I assure you that P&W readers will spot me tasting all the wine after. Plus, the proceeds go to a very worthy cause, so there’s no reason to not run! Or walk. Or saunter. Whatever you do, there’s wine at the end.

Mississippi Cajun Fest
Where: Old Trace Park
When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
How Much: $20
Why: There’s a thousand pounds of crawfish to eat. Can you even comprehend how much crawfish that is?

The Mississippi Cajun Festival is a really fun country music festival that features a horrifying amount of free crawfish with entry, along with the musical stylings of Andrew Pates, the Jason Miller Band, Spank the Monkey, and the band U.S. There will also be a crawdad cook-off competition, a boat show and, of all things: a Crossfit competition. Not sure where that fits in, maybe you do it after you eat all the crawfish?

Aftermath Lounge signing
Where: Lemuria Books
When: 1 p.m.
How Much: 16.99 per book
Why: You get to meet award winning novelist Margaret McMullan!

Margaret McMullan, author of Aftermath Lounge, will be hosting a book signing at Lemuria Books. This haunting and beautiful collection of short stories is about the journeys families took after Katrina (the 10th anniversary for the storm is this year) and is definitely going on my summer reading list.