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I don't want to be accused of encouraging violence, but anyone saying, "There's nothing to do around here," might deserve a smack upside the head, especially this weekend.
This may be the biggest arts and entertainment weekend of the year locally. There are lots of events -- and lots of competing events -- to pick from in the Mahoning Valley.
Take the choice jazz fans have Saturday. The long-running and popular Youngstown Wine and Jazz concert is scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre with flutist Alexander Zonjic, sax player Jessy J, and keyboard player James Lloyd, who grew up in Philadelphia but has called Youngstown / Canfield home for more than 20 years, at least when he's not traveling the world as part of Pieces of the Dream.
That same evening in Warren, the Robins Theatre will host Kenny G, a Grammy Award winner and the top-selling jazz artist of all time (according to the Guinness Book of World Records).
If the forecast cooperates, Youngstown Wine and Jazz will have a nice crowd, and Kenny G appears to be less than 200 seats from a sell out.
It's also the rare night when Sunrise Entertainment, which runs the Robins and does the River Rock at the Amp concert series, will be competing with itself.
Playing at the Warren Community Amphitheatre Saturday will be the Journey tribute act E5C4P3 and the Styx tribute The Best of Times. E5C4P3 has been one of River Rock's biggest annual draws, and the two shows should appeal to different demographics.
However, River Rock won't be the only big outdoor tribute show in Trumbull County on Saturday. Summer Hits at the Ballpark at Eastwood Field is bringing in Signs of Life: A Pink Floyd Experience. Signs of Life hasn't played here before, but Wish You Were Here get big crowds when it plays the Robins and River Rock, and the Australian Pink Floyd Show and Brit Floyd also have played the Valley. Many clearly love the music, even if it's not Roger Waters and David Gilmour playing it.
Kenny G is one of three concerts at the Robins this weekend. Blues guitarist Tab Benoit returns on Friday and the Led Zeppelin tribute Get the Led Out will be there Sunday.
Benoit was masterful in his 2021 performance, one of the first concerts the Robins hosted after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions loosened statewide. That show was limited to 350 attendees. It appears more than twice as many tickets have sold for Friday.
Art lovers can stroll the juried vendor market during the day on Saturday and Sunday for the annual Summer Festival of the Arts at downtown Youngstown's Wean Foundation Park and catch performances from area theaters, Opera Western Reserve and music ensembles.
In the evening, they can head to Warren for the 57th TAG Annual, the juried exhibition that is Trumbull Art Gallery's longest-running and biggest show of the year, and Memes on Park at Art on Park. Memes on Park will offer a unique component an art show - a standup comedy performance by Paul Franken II.
Best of all, those arts events are free.
For those whose art preferences are on the pages of comic books, Youngstown Comic Con is back after a three-year absence at a new location - the Canfield Fairgrounds Events Center. There guests can find the issues to fill in the gaps in their collections and meet professional wrestlers and the actor who played Young Boba Fett in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones."
The musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" opens Friday at Trumbull New Theatre in Niles, and young performers will participate in a Miscast Melodies cabaret show on Sunday afternoon at DeYor Performing Arts Center's Ford Family Recital Hall.
Just about all of the outdoor summer concert series are ramped up in July, so there are 15 opportunities in the next seven days to hear free music. And the Trumbull County Fair starts Tuesday.
Pick something, pick multiple somethings and have fun.
Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com