It’s time to find out what entertainment awaits you in the Charlotte area this weekend. The Charlotte Roller Derby is back and there are a lot of gigs and comedians on the scene. In this edition of Weekend in Entertainment, Gwendoline Glenn, host of All Things Considered, will be Ryan Pitkin, Editor-in-Chief of Queen City Nerve.

Gwendolyn Glenn: Ryan, there’s a couple of famous comedians in town this weekend. Let’s start with Adam Sandler.

Ryan Pitkin: Sandler is returning to his stand-up roots after two decades of roles in blockbuster comedies like The Water Boy, The Wedding Singer, and most recently in dramatic roles like Rain on Me and Uncut Gems.

I grew up loving Adam Sandler and had a love/hate relationship with some of his films. On Saturday night he will be performing songs and regular stand-up and I think he really shines in this arena, pun intended. It definitely kills him on stage back in his SNL days.

Glenn: FINE. Time and place?

Pitkin: Saturday, 7:30 pm at the Spectrum Center.

Glenn: Also on stage is veteran comedian Katt Williams.

Pitkin: If you’re not familiar with Catt’s stand-up, you might recognize him from Norbit, Friday After Next, and the like. In fact, just recently, he released a new stand-up special called 2023 and Me. It really wasn’t easy for him to grow up. Left his home in Ohio at age 13 and just hitchhiked to Miami trying to make it on his own. It was a crazy time. But he is definitely one of the best stand-up comedians doing it today. And it will be at the Bojangles Coliseum on Friday at 8 pm.

Glenn: FINE. Ryan, what about the return of the Charlotte Roller Derby? Tell us about them and briefly explain the rules.

Pitkin: So that’s what worries me the most. They haven’t been in town for home games since before COVID. This is a sport in which about 14 women race along the track on roller skates. Jammers are people who score and their job is to overtake the other team around the track. And the task of the blockers, in fact, is to stop the jammer of the other team. So it’s like a full contact sport. It will be at the Grady Cole Center at 4:00 pm on Saturday.

Glenn: FINE. And it’s their season opener against the Rogue Roller Girls of Fayetteville. And Ryan on the musical front?

Pitkin: This is a reggaeton performer from Venezuela. It’s kind of like a Latin American Caribbean mix of dancehall and hip-hop. Danny Ocean is very popular in Latin America and he will be playing at the Fillmore at 20:00.

Glenn: FINE. And Adam Melchor will come to town on Saturday.

Pitkin: Adam figured out how to sing lullabies, and he’s since kind of adapted the sound to be more laid back, expressive indie pop with the singer-songwriter’s acoustic style. His first album, Melchor Lullaby Hotline Volume I, was released in March 2021 and has only grown in popularity ever since. I think the Underground would be a great place for this show. Saturday at 20:00 on the subway, next to Fillmore.

Glenn: And Ryan, my favorite, is also in town. We said that there will be many concerts this weekend. Prince of Soul Sophistication Will Downing with special guest saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield.

Pitkin: Will Downing has been doing it for 32 years and has a career spanning over 22 albums. He is one of the most versatile beloved voices of our time. His repertoire consists of classic R&B songs such as “I Go Crazy”, “Wishin’ on a Star”, “I try”. And he also plays with Adrian Crutchfield. You know, he was one of Prince’s right hands, played saxophone with him, and he played with a hundred other power hitters – Lionel Richie, Bette Midler. These are two super experienced musicians in their respective fields. They are actually at the Night Theater on Sunday night at 7:00 pm.

Glenn: And in celebration of Black History Month, the Charlotte Ballet also has a performance called “How We Travel.” Tell us about it, Ryan.

Pitkin: So, this is part of a series of events that the Gantt Center has been running for the entire month around its “People of Change, Strength, Triumph, Truth” exhibition. Charlotte Ballet also participates in this. Choreographer Ashley Lindsay focuses on the revolutionaries of color who came before us, just like in the exhibition. Tickets for this show at 2:00 pm on Saturday are still on sale.

Glenn: And Ryan also for Black History Month, the Gaston County Museum partnered with Phi Delta Kappa chapter Epsilon Sigma to host an event with keynote speaker and national treasure Dorothy Graf Scoggins.

Pitkin: So, Dorothy Scoggins is famous for merging Harding High School in 1957, when she was only 15 years old. You’ve probably seen the picture of her going to school with a group of very angry and aggressive white people trying to scare her into not doing what she came for. Since then, she has been active in the schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg for many, many years, and on Saturday at noon she speaks in Kings Mountain at the First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Glenn: What a legend. And Ryan and other events this weekend, the “Classical Mystery Tour” is a tribute to The Beatles on stage at theater night Friday night at 7:30. And on Friday, the Elder Gallery opens In Transition, an art exhibition showcasing the work of J. Stacy Utley. Comedian Drew Lynch is also in town at the Ovens Auditorium on Sunday at 7:00 pm.

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