Favorite new album releases:
• Bob Dylan, “Tempest”: The 35th studio album by the legendary singer/songwriter. Rolling Stone says “Lyrically, Dylan is at the top of his game, joking around, dropping wordplay and allegories that evade pat readings and quoting other folks’ words like a freestyle rapper on fire.”
• The Avett Brothers, “The Carpenter”: American Songwriter says, “There’s nothing particularly forward thinking or novel [about the album] — though, for the band’s devoted following who judges worth on concerts rather than studio albums, it may not really matter.”
• Patterson Hood, “Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance”: The New York Daily News says, “Eschewing the [Drive-By] Truckers’ fat-bottomed and stalwart roots rock, Hood’s new songs brood and amble. His singing has the broken quality of a shamed confession.”
Thursday
• Go to the Anniston Public Library at 2 p.m. to learn about the little-known and obscure cemeteries in Calhoun County and who is buried there in a lecture by Ken Records, who has done genealogical research for more than 40 years. Records is a contributor to Find-A-Grave and has assisted many families in their search for family gravesites.
Friday
• Get a sneak peek at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s new exhibit, “Norman Rockwell’s America,” before it opens to the public. A lecture on the exhibit will be given at 6 p.m., and following the lecture, guests are invited to attend a celebratory bash in the Museum’s Café with great American food, drinks and music followed by a private viewing of the exhibit. Free for museum members, $25 for non-members. The exhibit opens to the public Sept. 16 and features more than 370 works by one of America’s greatest illustrators.
• “Finding Nemo 3-D” (G): The 2003 hit Disney movie about a clownfish who sets on a journey to rescue his son is released is back, and in 3-D. With voices of Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres.
• “Resident Evil: Retribution” (R): Alice continues fights alongside a resistance movement in the battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead. With Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez.
Saturday
• Head to Harpersville for the Morgan Creek Winery grape stomp from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wine tastings and winery tours will run throughout the day and evening and there will also be a “Lucy Look-A-Like” contest at 2 p.m. honoring the best Lucille Ball costumes with cash prizes.
• Live music by Bonus Round. Admission is $10. Call 205-672-2053 or visit www.morgancreekwinery.com for more information.
• Celebrate what would have been the 89th birthday of Hank Williams with a birthday party and collectors fair at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery. The festivities start at Oakwood Cemetery Annex with the traditional wreath laying and continues at the museum with live music, food and vendors with Hank Williams collectibles and memoriabilia. Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children 3-12 and includes a meal ticket, tour of the museum (Williams’ home from 1937-1953) and the collectors fair.
Deirdre Long is deputy features editor for The Anniston Star. If you have an event you’d like to submit to “Best Bets” contact Long at dlong@annistonstar.com or call 256-405-0071
