Boz Scaggs knows he has a reputation for being something of a perfectionist. The casually stylish singer-songwriter recalls the endless tinkering and expansive budgets that went into making his multiplatinum 1970s albums “Silk Degrees” and “Down Two Then Left.”

Tombstone; Clarkdale; Taylor

The message behind most romantic comedies is the simple-minded sentiment that love is all you need. So when Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier takes that title for a departure from somber drama to romance, you might expect her to deliver it with some serious irony.

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

Imagine a night out with friends, where you can serve yourself beer and liquor from taps at the table while top-notch country stars do some serious strumming on a 400-square-foot stage hanging from the ceiling above the bar.

Urban AZ’s first Spoken Word Showcase brings together a range of poetic performers, along with R&B artists Dwele and Bilal with a band, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.

Kick-off river season in style with Salt River Tubing’s annual launch event. This western-themed shindig offers free cowboy boot koozies and bandanas to the first 500 tubers, live music from 98KUPD, line dancing and lots of giveaways, not to mention a leisurely float down the scenic Lower Salt River.

A free all-day workshop for women in Phoenix this Saturday, May 18, aims to offer a way to “unlock one’s true potential as a catalyst for lasting love, stronger relationships and a greater sense of fulfillment,” says event promoter, Jan Hemming.

Life is peachy-keen at Schnepf Farms where this annual festival fills the orchards with smiling children and families in search of $2 a pound fresh, ripe peaches, family friendly entertainment and hot-off-the-griddle peach pancakes, served from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The festival begins May 18 and runs through Memorial Day and includes hay rides, peach pit spitting contests, live music May 18 and 19, roller coaster and other fair-type rides, as well as a “Peachy Sampling Tent,” where you can purchase a panorama of peach-related products. Other food options, including burgers and hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwhices, salads and kettle corn are also available.

The 2013 Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year performs along with Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, Joanna Smith and the Pistol Annies.

School districts in the East Valley are working the numbers to figure how much they will have to pay utilities, pay teachers next year or spend on textbooks.

Pop open a cold one at this annual beer festival celebrating American-made craft brews. More than 60 national and local breweries serve up their best drafts at the Scottsdale Civic Center, where festival-goers can enjoy live music, food, beer games and a beer garden. This is a 21-and-older event.

Jerome; Willcox; Mormon Lake

If you love that mother in your home, get rid of those babes spread out on the coffee table. I’ve had it with them. They’re not good for either soul — male or female! Why do we contemplate airbrushed, digitally altered, Botox laden, breast-enhanced illusions?

With the onslaught of Oscar contenders that debuted last November, there’s a good chance that a little-seen indie gem, “Starlet,” managed to fall off your radar during its short, theatrical run. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 SXSW film festival, “Starlet” explores the unlikely friendship between a cheerful, aspiring actress (played by the winsome Dree Hemingway) and a cantankerous, elderly widow (the late Besedka Johnson).

Time marches on.

It’s not often art lovers get to see a work in progress let alone contribute to it, but Arizona Opera gives fans the opportunity to do just that this weekend when they present the first reading of “Riders of the Purple Sage” — an original opera based on Zane Grey’s western novel, set on the Arizona-Utah border.

Even though “The Great Gatsby” has gotten the movie treatment several times in the past, no film adaptation has ever really stood out as the definitive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated novel.

LAS VEGAS — To step into club XS at the Wynn Las Vegas is to enter the dreamscape of a modern artist with fetishes for gold and bronze and bodies in motion.

Boots may be for walking, but the sneakers at Mesa’s Mountain View High School — at least four pairs of them — are made for painting.