Recently, I had a meaningful and slightly curious experience.

With her first studio album in 11 years, Eve returns with an unimpressive, unfulfilling new offering, “Lip Lock.”

Indie-folk artist Jay Nash will be performing in the Valley’s very own The Rhythm Room this Wednesday May 22, with fellow performer David Ramirez.

A family fundraising event will be from 1 to 7 p.m. on May 19 at the parking lot at Foothills Park Plaza, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard. This is a chance for the community to come out and support all levels of Blue and Gold football.

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.

Trace Adkins works with five different producers on his 11th album, suggesting the country music veteran and reality TV star is searching for an infusion of fresh energy.

It’s no secret that Arizona offers some of the best and most luxurious AAA Four and Five Diamond resorts in the country. However, many travelers don’t realize that many of these properties also feature kid camps that aim to please even the pickiest pint-sized traveler. This provides mom and dad with a guilt-free way to indulge in some much-needed couple time, while allowing kids to make friends and create memories of their own.

George Strait is amid a two-year tour before retiring from the road, but new album “Love Is Everything” proves he still has plenty of great new country music in him.

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. Director Baz Luhrmann’s film is certainly the most visually arresting interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” ever produced. Catherine Martin, who previous worked with Luhrmann on “Moulin Rouge,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Australia,” deserves multiple Oscar nominations for her hyper sets and eye-popping costumes. As wonderful as Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” is to look at, the enchanting visuals are also ironically the movie’s downfall. In the midst of the art direction, costumes, and music, the story and characters that made Fitzgerald’s book a classic become a mere afterthought.

Phoenix film makers Marcus A. Stricklin and Sandy Kim, of Future Legends Production, have been invited to the Cannes Short Film Corner for the production of their film, “The Last Dance,” working with children actors from Ahwatukee.

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.

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.

Around 8 p.m., a party bus with a large Jack Daniels logo pulled up to the home.

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

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

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).

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.

The Chandler Children’s Choir is presenting its spring concert, “Dancing Around the World,” a collection of songs representing different nationalities and cultures in different languages.