LIFELINE: 10 COOL THINGS TO DO IN TWO WEEKS

DAVITA GALLOWAY (HAUTE ASIKO FASHION SHOW) Photo by Surf Mitchell

After helping millions of fans get through the pandemic, internet sensations Ti any Jenkins, Meredith Masony and Dena Blizzard present a journey through motherhood, including their takes on the sleepless nights of the toddler years, middle school craziness and trying not to physically attack a high schooler. Stand-up, stories and videos from the trio’s online community and audience interaction promise to create an up close and personal experience that’s funnier than a pap smear. More: $30-$55; Sept. 2–5, times vary; The Comedy Zone, 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd.; cltcomedyzone.com

‘THIS IS MY BRAIN ON ANXIETY’ Press Photo

Curated by Dupp&Swatt co-founder Davita Galloway, The Haute Asiko Fashion Show features a diversity of local designers with a range of aesthetics. This art-and-fashion event fuses sustainable materials and contemporary urban culture with various sewing and appliqué techniques. Asiko is a Yourba term that means “fashionable.” While highlighting the art of fashion and design, Haute Asiko will also include a blend of music, culinary arts and signature cocktails. After the show, guests will have an opportunity to shop directly with a variety of local artists and artisans. More: $10-$20; Aug. 27, 7 p.m.; Gantt Center; 551 S. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org Subtitled “The Detailed Experience of an Anxious, Black Woman,” This is My Brain on Anxiety seems to be taking a thematic page from Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman. But the ve-part original production promises to go deeper, unraveling and revealing the personal and cultural journey of a black woman dealing with anxiety. Through the art of storytelling, immersive graphics and audience participation, Mia Love chronicles her experiences. More: $20-$25; Aug. 28, 5 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Duke Energy Theater; 130 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

Charlotte New Music mastermind Elizabeth Kowalski curates a mix of string quartet and electronic music, promising “a chill evening sipping fresh craft beer, soaked in exquisite sound … worlds created by a rockin’ string quartet and electronics.” All the music is created and played by women. Transforming the traditional classical string quartet experience, each work challenges and surprises the audience with percussive elements, improvisation, electronic soundscapes, even children’s toys, alternating between the serene, electric and absurd. More: $15-$25; Aug. 29, 7 p.m.; Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts; 1030 Woodward Ave.; heistbrewery.com We don’t say this often, but Jake Blount’s 2020 album Spider Tales is a masterpiece. For his debut full-length, queer African-American banjoist and ddler Blount unearthed a trove of primarily African-American blues, shu es and ddle tunes that provide an alternate history of folk music. In Spider Tales, which draws its title from Anansi, the trickster spider who outwits oppressors in West African folklore, shockwaves of brutality and subjugation echo like a eld holler across the centuries, ranging from enslaved people working 19th-century plantations to the protests against police violence today. More: $15; Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.; Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St.; eveningmuse.com

Metalcore and technical hardcore outfit Wizard Rifle claim they can’t sit sonically still for more than two seconds as they draw from the sounds of Lightning Bolt, Karp, Black Sabbath and Sonic Youth. The real treat here is seeing the local trio of heavy-metal musicians Den of Wolves coming back out to play. Here at Queen City Nerve we’ve praised brothers Tristan and Khalil England as metal iconoclasts who shake up their mix of harsh vocals, technical riffs and whiplash time signature changes with swinging jazzy drums. More: $8; Aug. 31, 9:30 pm; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com

In the course of her prolific and poetic career, Ndegeocello has scooped up a living cauldron of disparate music that would slip through the cracks like quicksilver in lesser hands. She’s merged and morphed hip-hop, soul and rock into a brainy and cosmic cousin of R&B that the world has still not caught up with. In 2018, she tackled cover versions of other’s songs with her album Ventriloquism, granting tunes like Sade’s “Smooth Operator” their inherent dignity while also stretching their DNA into cubist configurations. Rarely have radio hits possessed such alien beauty. More: $27.50 and up; Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m.; McGlohon Theater; 130 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

Participants have gathered their crews, casts and imaginations to create a host of short films in the span of two days. In its eighth year of hosting an international filmmaking competition, the 48 Hour Film Project will screen the best of Charlotte’s 2021 submissions. At the end of the night, film aficionados will meet the filmmakers and learn who will go on to represent Charlotte among 100-plus other cities around the world for a chance to screen their work at Festival de Cannes 2022. More: $12; Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.; McGlohon Theater; 130 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

It will be interesting to see what Solomon Tetteh, better known as rapper Black Linen, will spring on the public under the banner of “friends.” In the past, Black Linen has been more than generous when it comes to sharing the love with up-andcoming artists. His 2017 release Black Linen II featured a wide-ranging cast of Charlotte-based artists including the experimental neosoul singers Bri Blvck and Jessika Shaunnelle and fellow rappers Nige Hood and Tetteh’s younger brother Goldie. More: $7-$10; Sept. 4, 8 pm; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com/

DEN OF WOLVES Photo by Connor Schlosser/Obcvre Photography

LIFEHOUSE (HOPS & HOGS FESTIVAL) Press Photo

Early 2000s pop rock juggernaut Lifehouse tops the bill in the first show of this two-day festival devoted to tunes, brew and BBQ. By fusing the signifiers of grunge — in this case singer-songwriter Jason Wade’s gruff throaty vocals — to slick, commercial and rocking pop songs, Lifehouse lends gravitas to their soaring ear candy. Day two of the fest steps back a decade with headliner 311. This quintet mixes reggae, hip-hop, funk and metal in a rhythmic hybrid that made the band top dog throughout the early ’90s rap-rock boom. More: $35-$60; Sept. 4-5; Park Expo Center, 2500 E. Independence Blvd.; hopsandhogsfest.com