For those looking to relax by the water with some jazz piano, Thursday at the Waterfront Bar & Grill in the Lansing City Market may be just the spot. The evening features a performance from the Arlene McDaniel Trio, a local group known for original compositions and lesser known jazz standards. McDaniel is a veteran pianist in the field of jazz, working in the mid-Michigan area and beyond for 30 years.

If you drive south on Washington Square out of downtown Lansing, just beyond I-496 you'll hit REO Town. At least, you used to. Now you hit a Road Closed sign, a Sidewalk Closed sign, and, to top it all off, an orange Detour sign with giant arrow pointing toward the highway.

The blues has always been sodden in gloom. Even the late gospel vocalist Mahalia Jackson once said, "Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help." But that’s not true for Twyla Birdsong.

Over 1,000 students are expected to fill the field outside of the MSU Auditorium for the annual Spartan Remix. The free, all-ages event features music from DJ Rod P — the official DJ for the Detroit Pistons — Karen Rodriguez, Enrique Rosas Duet and Zain Shamoon and the Blat Pack. Dances will be performed by the ASU African Student Union, FreQuency Dance Crew and the MSU Breakdance Club.

If moving into your new digs at Michigan State University included lugging heavy boxes of vinyl LPs and guitars up seemingly endless flights of stairs, getting hip to Lansing's music venues should be at the top of your list of things to do instead of homework. While mid-Michigan doesn't have a St. Andrew's Hall or Majestic Theatre, there are some great spots to check out left-of-the-dial tunes and some national touring groups.

Dylan Rogers unlocks the back door of the dilapidated, vacant bar on the outskirts of Old Town, and slowly pushes it open. "Hello! Anybody here?" he shouts, carefully entering, crowbar in one hand, flashlight in the other. Then the stench hits— the kind of unpleasant odor only found in a building after years of neglect and vandalism. Thanks to Rogers and his wife, however, that odor is now ever so faintly covered up with the aroma of household cleansers.

The notorious "Bill Hicks Hates Hecklers" video on YouTube is as good a crash course in standup comedy etiquette as you can get. In the grainy reel from the '80s, a drunken female heckler shouts, "You suck!" at Hicks, unleashing a string of primal screams from the comedian in which he calls her everything from a "drunk bitch" to an "idiot piece of shit." Lesson: do not call Bill Hicks names.

City Pulse hosts: Teenage Slumber Party at Mac's The first in a series of upcoming City Pulse-hosted events happens Wednesday at Mac's Bar when Teenage Slumber Party and Catalina Wine Mixer play an early, all-ages show. Headlining is Teenage Slumber Party, a Grand Ledge-based punk-rock duo made up of Dylan Sowle (guitar/vocals) and Ariel Rogers (drums).

Living in a small town can be a tad drab, a little too hushed and bit too Mayberry-ish. Perhaps that’s why the city of Mason decides to ditch the quiet life, pitch a beer tent and pump up the volume this time every year.

Think of classic Michigan rock 'n roll, and you'll probably conjure up images of a shirtless Iggy Pop rolling around uninhibited on stage, shrieking into a microphone. Or perhaps you'll imagine MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer ripping into the restless opening chords of "Kick Out the Jams." But guitarist Larry Neuhardt and vocalist DeShaun Snead, who headline the Lansing-area band Mighty Medicine, prefer to honor the music and the history of Michigan in a more carefree and unruffled fashion.