The Weekender, Feb. 23-25: Why, it’s practically shorts weather!

A boy chases a soccer ball on Old Orchard Beach on Wednesday during record-breaking warmth. The winter reprieve will not last. Forecasters expect snow later in the week. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

After the near-tropical weather of the past week, I think we’re all in a mood to leave the house and have some fun — even if it’s not going to be particularly tropical this weekend. In the Queen City on Friday night, there’s the first of three nights of “The Grand Tour,” a tribute to the legendary outlaw country trio the Highwaymen, at the Bangor Opera House on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available here. Elsewhere, The Full Drive Band plays at Paddy Murphy’s, Midnight Rose is at the Sea Dog, it’s vinyl night with Queen City Sound System at Nocturnem Drafthaus, and up in Orono, songwriter Justin Walton is at Black Bear Brewing Company. On Saturday, Improv Acadia performs with special guest, local naturalist Tony Sohns, at 8 p.m. at 51 Main. There’s also the Wyatt Jenkins Band at Paddy’s, Plus Four Jazz at Nocturnem, Here & Now at the Sea Dog, and folk music tribute show “Lonesome Traveler” at the Gracie Theatre at Husson University. On Sunday, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra performs at 3 p.m. at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono.

Tal National

In Portland, on Friday night take your pick from either Lakeshore and Mill Fire at Portland House of Music, Xylouris White and Asa Irons at the Space Gallery, Marc Cohn and Pete Kilpatrick at Aura, the Tarantula Brothers, Euphemia and Hazelkrust at Geno’s, or the Gawler Family Band at One Longfellow Square. On Saturday, local band KGFREEZE premieres its new album, “Initiator,” in a show with guests Mouth Washington, Burr and $300 at Portland House of Music. Also that evening, the wildly entertaining West African band Tal National is at Space Gallery, Twiddle and Midnight North are at the State Theatre, Kat Wright and Katie Matzell are at Port City Music Hall, D. Gross and Los Federales and Clara Junken perform at Empire, Great North Band, the Nightblinders and Thee Icepicks are at Geno’s, and Cherish the Ladies is at One Longfellow Square. On Sunday, Strfckr and Reptaliens are set for Port City Music Hall.

Along the coast, on Friday night, mentalist Wayne Hoffman does his thing at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts, while in Rockland, Vicky Andres and Life Itself perform at Rock City Coffee. On Saturday, Maine alt-folk trio GoldenOak takes the stage at the Crosby Center in Belfast, the Tune Squad performs at Thresher’s Brewing in Searsmont, roots ensemble Sassafras Stomp and the Oshima Brothers play a show at Sammy’s Deluxe in Rockland, and Hilton Park is set for Rock City Coffee, also in Rockland.

In this image released by AMC, Lennie James portrays Morgan Jones, left, and Andrew Lincoln portrays Rick Grimes in a scene from “The Walking Dead.” (Gene Page/AMC via AP)

On screens this weekend, “Black Panther” continues its dominance at the box office, alongside two other movies opening wide this weekend: the sci-fi epic “Annihilation” and the comedy flick “Game Night.” Lots of Oscar nominee movies play all over the state at indie cinemas like Railroad Square in Waterville and the Nickelodeon in Portland, while Reel Pizza Cinerama in Bar Harbor hosts the Tournees Festival of French Film all weekend. On TV, the second half of the first season of “The Tick” premieres on Friday on Amazon, and the second half of season eight of “The Walking Dead” premieres on AMC on Sunday. It’s also the last weekend of the Winter Olympics, so get your curling and bobsled and figure skating fix in now before it’s over!

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.