Celebrate spring training in the Valley with the Mesa beer fest. There will be more than 25 breweries, live music, games and food. Proceeds benefit Every Kid Counts charity.

Mesa Arts Center is inviting music lovers — or workers needing a change of scenery on their lunch breaks — to enjoy free concerts 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursdays through April 11 in its outdoor Wells Fargo Garden.

Danny Zelisko presents Brian Setzer’s Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza, with special guest Totsy, at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Celebrity Theatre. 

A beloved English teacher in South Jersey, Matthew Quick may have been financially stable, but he was far from happy. With the support of his wife, Quick left his job at age 30, sold his house, and began writing full-time in his in-laws’ unfinished basement for three years. As he battled mood swings and severe depression, Quick became inspired to write “The Silver Linings Playbook,” which became an instant success and earned him a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention.

Performing Arts 2012-13 season preview

At the age of 95, her hair full of silver and her mind sharp with political strategy, Jeanne Tirpak of Wickenburg said she came to Joe’s Farm Grill in Gilbert on Monday to see one person and one person only.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, often called America’s favorite little big band, plays a mix of jazz, swing and Dixieland at Talking Stick Resort this weekend. The multi-platinum selling group has recorded nine albums, including the upcoming Sept. 25 album “Rattle Them Bones.”

EAST LONDON – Echoes of traditional Mexican folk music filled the air of Island Gardens Park here Saturday when the performers from Tucson’s Ballet Folklorico La Paloma and Viva Arizona dance groups took the stage at the park’s American Dance Festival.

Sharon Vanis knows what happened in Columbus, Ohio, just might come back to haunt her someday.

A recent stop at SoZo Coffee, on the southwest corner of Alma School Road and Warner roads in Chandler, revealed something unexpected: The coffeehouse that’s drawing crowds for live music by night is popular with mommies during the day.

Hot Club of Cowtown: This young, country swing band performs their toe-tapping music at the MIM. According to the Globe and Mail, “Even (their) heartbreak songs are served sunny-side up.”

The laid-back pace of a holiday weekend means you can finally slow down, reconnect, and maybe even fit in a visit to someplace you rarely make time for in a usual week.

In 1912 “Tarzan of the Apes,” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, was first published in “All Story Magazine” — spawning two-dozen sequels, along with multiple film and comic book adaptations. Now 100 years later, the jungle man himself swings to the stage in “Tarzan,” a musical adaptation of the popular Disney film. After ending a nearly 500-performance run on Broadway in 2007, a revamped and innovative new production hits the Arizona Broadway Theatre beginning today.

In 1912 “Tarzan of the Apes,” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, was first published in “All Story Magazine” — spawning two-dozen sequels, along with multiple film and comic book adaptations. Now 100 years later, the jungle man himself swings to the stage in “Tarzan,” a musical adaptation of the popular Disney film. After ending a nearly 500-performance run on Broadway in 2007, a revamped and innovative new production hits the Arizona Broadway Theatre beginning today.

Rhys Gilyeat takes on the physically demanding role of the title character in the Arizona premiere of Disney’s “Tarzan.” For several weeks, Gilyeat has been training to become the vine-swinging hero for Arizona Broadway Theatre’s production, which opens Friday. The former Chandler resident, who now lives in New York, returned home to the Valley for “Tarzan.”

Rhys Gilyeat takes on the physically demanding role of the title character in the Arizona premiere of Disney’s “Tarzan.” For several weeks, Gilyeat has been training to become the vine-swinging hero for Arizona Broadway Theatre’s production, which opens Friday. The former Chandler resident, who now lives in New York, returned home to the Valley for “Tarzan.”

The Tempe Chamber of Commerce and its Ambassadors Committee invite area residents and guests to attend its inaugural “Swing into Spring” celebration, featuring dinner, drinks, desserts, silent auction, and the 14-piece Upper East Side Big Band.

Washington – Lori Nelson didn’t choose to leave Phoenix’s construction industry – she was forced out.

How to succeed in show business? First and foremost, a performer better be prepared for the gypsy life. It comes with the territory, even for the most successful entertainers.

How to succeed in show business? First and foremost, a performer better be prepared for the gypsy life. It comes with the territory, even for the most successful entertainers.

Music in the Garden: Wander the Desert Botanical Garden while listening to the band Swingtips perform live.

"Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me."

The number one killer of women isn't breast cancer. It's heart disease.

Put on your dancing shoes and kick up your heart rate!