Artists, art patrons, students, educators and the public are encouraged to nominate exceptional contributors to the arts by submitting a nomination form by June 9 to The Arts Council of Southern Indiana, 820 E. Market St., New Albany, Indiana, 47150. Nomination forms may be completed online or downloaded from www.artscouncilsi.org. Any questions, contact Julie Schweitzer at 812-949-4238.

Wednesday, May 16

Carmichael’s Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Ave. • 896-6950
Free; 7 p.m.

The plague of meth addiction has, unfortunately, become fertile ground for many a work of popular art. Louisvillian Andrew V. McNeill has had the chance to see the layers of criminality and the withering hopes in many parts of society — especially in his former role as policy adviser to the governor of Kentucky. McNeill has applied his insights to a debut novel entitled “Breckenridge County,” and he’ll be reading at Carmichael’s Wednesday. His story focuses on a small town that a drug cartel wants to use as ground zero for its plans to spread far and fast. Standing in their way? Not much — but one deputy sheriff is about to take a stand. The author has shown that he’s walking the walk by promising a portion of the proceeds to local addiction treatment facility The Healing Place. —T.E. Lyons

Wednesday, May 16

Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St. • 635-9227
zanzabarlouisville.com
$10; 9 p.m.

Sub Pop shoegazing poppers Memoryhouse are touring behind their new album, The Slideshow Effect, which showcases the Ontario-based band evolving from a bedroom project into a real, full-time band. The founders, Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion, began working together as a multimedia experiment, pairing Abeele’s compositions with Nouvion’s visual art. They must have realized they were onto something, or at least figured out that, even today, there’s more money to be made in pop music than in Canadian art. The first paragraph of their bio mentions they’re from an area that hosts a festival that helped introduce Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene … That’s sort of like me mentioning they sound kind of like Louisville band The Fervor, so you should go see them because The Fervor has played Z-bar before. —Peter Berkowitz

Through May 26

Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center
1860 Mellwood Ave. · 895-3650
mellwoodartcenter.com

Just as Mellwood itself blossomed in the frame of the old Fischer Meat Packing Co., their newest exhibition illustrates just how well art and infrastructure cohabit. Austin, Texas, artist Chris Chappell understands this concept well, as his murals, which depict the reality of human life and the duality of joy and tragedy, can be seen throughout Louisville, notably in the lobby of the already-artsy Water Tower. This is the first-ever iteration of the hopefully annual metropolis-themed exhibit, which features artists from Louisville who are “with it” enough to showcase our scene, as well as some other hip cats from around the country. Mellwood’s own Crissa Candler hosted the opening on April 19 and is still the go-to for any exhibit-related inquiries. —Simon Isham

Elizabeth’s Timeless Attire, 2050 Frankfort Ave., is celebrating its 25^th anniversary by hosting “A Silver Swank Affair,” a dress-up party benefitting Gilda’s Club of Louisville, 633 Baxter Ave., 583-0075, on Sunday, May 20 from 4-7 p.m. Appetizers, wine and desserts with French cafe’ music by Non Chalanté. Artistic attire (vintage or new) is encouraged. $25 in advance, $35 at the door.

Tuesday, May 15

Kentucky Center for the Arts
501 W. Main St. • 584-7777
$20+; 5 p.m.

While we just marked the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, as intelligent LEO readers, you know we don’t live in a movie. One villain’s extinction doesn’t lead to happily ever after. For the real story, come to this Kentucky Author Forum event. Journalists Ahmed Rashid and Clarissa Ward will discuss Pakistan post-bin Laden. Rashid wrote “Pakistan on the Brink” and will address ramifications of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, as well as the Taliban. Ward, a CBS foreign correspondent, spent time embedded with Marines in Afghanistan. The Kentucky Center is hosting the event with the conversation starting at 6 p.m. The evening allots time for an audience Q&A, wine and cheese, a book sale, and a dinner. Ticket prices range depending on what you’d like to attend. —Anne Marshall

Tuesday, May 15

Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Road • 584-8088
headlinerslouisville.com
$20; 10 p.m.

If you’re looking for a trippy fix but only have music, Shpongle is your gateway. The duo behind this madness consists of Raja Ram on flute and Simon Posford, better known as British electronic artist Hallucinogenic, who handles all synthesizers and programming. Together they create mind-bending kaleidoscopic tunes based in psychedelic trance, moving freely across natural, ambient soundscapes before detouring into Indian music, complete with throat singing over a melodious, wailing flute. This heady blend is a layered beast without the repetition of most techno. This is more like Aphex Twin if he reached for the drugged-out stars where Shpongle reside. With a reputation for being an immersive live experience, this should be a rave to rave about. Psychedelic artist Random Rab opens and is a good reason to come early and not miss the opening act. —Austin Weber

The Mellwood Art and Entertainment Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave., is holding its Second Saturday Demo Day on May 12 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (the Mellwood shops are open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and the restaurant from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.). Contact Joy Lait at 777-9792 for more information.

The Frazier History Museum is opening “Samurai” on Saturday, May 12. It runs through Sept. 30.Second

The Mellwood Art and Entertainment Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave., is holding its Saturday Demo Dayon May 12 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (the Mellwood shops are open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and the restaurant from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.). Contact Joy Lait at 777-9792 for more information.

Preservation Fest 2012 is on Saturday, May 12 from 1-4 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church (corner of 4^th and Kentucky Sts.). Sponsored by Preservation Louisville Inc.

Preservation Fest is a free interactive event designed to help participants learn to maintain and restore their older home or commercial building.  Activities will include educational sessions and workshops with knowledgeable guest speakers, and a Vendor’s Fair to introduce participants to appropriate products and services.

The Speed Art Museum, 2035 S. 4th St., 634-2700,  is presenting “Artist Dialgoues” with sculptor Deborah Butterfield on Saturday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m.

Flame Run at Glassworks, 815 W. Market St., 584-5353, is having a celebration glassblowing event on Saturday, May 12. Artists will work on individual pieces from 4-7 p.m., then a dozenglassblowers will collaborate on one glass sculpture from 7-8 p.m.

Galerie Hertz, 1253 S. Preston St., 581-8277. is exhibiting “Motley Crew: Ceramics and Paintings” by Tom Bartel and Rachel Clark from May 13-June 3. The opening reception is Sunday, May 13 from 1-4 p.m.

•Barking at the Brewpub

Saturday, May 12

BBC St. Matthews
3929 Shelbyville Road
Free; 1-8 p.m.

If your two biggest loves in life are dogs and beer, the BBC in St. Matthews is the place to be on Saturday. Not only does this event celebrate the reopening of their dog-friendly patio for the spring (The Wort Dog Café), but all money collected from the silent auction and a portion of the beer and food sales will go toward the well-being of your puppy’s brethren at Saving Sunny and the Kentucky Humane Society. There will also be a wide variety of culinary treats from local vendors for your four-legged friend, and you can pick up a dog for adoption if one happens to melt your heart. There will also be live music from Rude Lucy and The Potluck Ramblers. Woof? Woof. —Joe Sonka

•Deborah Butterfield

Saturday, May 12

Speed Art Museum

2035 S. Third St. • 634-2700

speedmuseum.org

$10 (museum admission); 2:30 p.m.

Internationally renowned sculptor Deborah Butterfield is the main speaker at the Speed Art Museum’s next “Artist Dialogues.” She will discuss her work as well as her love of horses and dressage. Other members of the panel are local artists Chris Radtke and Gaela Erwin, with curator of contemporary art Suzanne Weaver directing the conversation. They will talk about the artistic process and how one’s passions are reflected in art (Radtke and Erwin are also accomplished horsewomen). The museum has recently acquired Butterfield’s horse sculptures “Danuta” and “Burnt Pine,” which are on view in the show “Inside|Out.” The panel discussion and exhibition are included in museum admission. —Jo Anne Triplett

•Bonnie Raitt

Sunday, May 13

Kentucky Center for the Arts

501 W. Main St. • 584-7777

kentuckycenter.org

$54.50-$67.50; 7 p.m.

Her first new album in seven years, first for her own label, sees Bonnie Raitt taking greater control of what has already been an incredible career. Slipstream is the result of locking her longtime touring band in the studio and seeing what happened; some songs get to breathe in ways that her earlier material never did. What makes the new record even more special is her time in Joe Henry’s home studio in California, working with his core musicians, playing covers and Henry originals. Here’s hoping we’ll see a “Deluxe Edition” of Slipstream soon that unveils the rest of their work together. In the meantime, I implore you to sit in a dark room and listen to her take on Henry and Loudon Wainwright III’s “You Can’t Fail Me Now” with someone you more than like. —Damien McPherson