We enter into Labor Day weekend here at PopCult with a whole bunch of suggestions for things you can get into this weekend in and around West Virginia and a few points more distant.

There are loads and loads of cool things happening all over the damn place this weekend, so this is probably a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  I do the best I can by jumping over to Facebook and grabbing existing graphics for cool events, but past experience has taught me that putting more time and effort than this into compiling a huge list of things that folks can do is an exercise in futility. These posts are the least-read things in this blog. It’s the same reason that “entertainment calendars” at news sites tend to wither and die. People would rather read about one single event, or they’d rather read about new radio shows or comic book and toy reviews.

But, I like to support the local scene, so here’s what you can get into if you’re local, starting with my boilerplate paragraphs.

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday RFC faves, Blue Twisted Steel take the stage. Saturday it’s more RFC faves, as Bad Keys of the Mountain with Aaron Fisher entertain the crowd at Charleston’s beloved Bookstore/Coffee Shop/Art Gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this weekend to tell you about. Thursday at 5:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin return with Swing for a good cause. Later Thursday evening you can hear the country stylings of Oklahoma’s Seth Reid at 10 PM.  Other shows at the Empty Glass include: Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  Later on Friday The Charleston Rouges mark the half-way mark to St. Patrick’s Day at 10 PM. Saturday at 10 PM, there is a poetry jam that you can read about below. Sunday, The Redbloods bring their jam-band sound to The Glass at 9 PM. Next Monday it’s Open Mic Night at 9 PM.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, Peruvian Murder Fleas, anti-science maniacs screaming about vaccines, the reanimated corpse of Alice Moore revived by the Koch Foundation to ban more books and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order…

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY