I've had the good fortune to interview playwright Idris Goodwin twice. Therefore, I know enough to know that I want to be in the audience for Hands Up, a series of seven monologues—one of which is Goodwin's—that create a “personal and political response to the deaths of unarmed black people.” Originally commissioned by The New Black Fest, a NYC-based theater organization, this piece is set to be an unmissable piece in this year's Revolutions Festival. Grab a ticket for Hands Up for $18-$24, and find yourself in the audience on Thursday, March 30, at 8pm or Saturday, April 1, at 4pm. (Maggie Grimason)

Is there any better way to spend time with people other than eating? No. No, there isn't. Locals who identify as queer people of color or trans people of color and who are over 18, can enjoy meeting new friends over food (It's a potluck, so be sure to bring a dish!) at Self Serve this Friday, March 31, beginning at 8:30pm. Learn about local LBGTQ-friendly organizations and events at the QTPOC Meet and Greet. (Megan Reneau)

D.H. Lawrence said, “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.” Which is where humans come in: We're the emotional creatures who start blubbering as soon as we hear the opening strains of “Arms of an Angel” all because of that damn ASPCA commercial full of sad puppies. Ugh, I'm tearing up already. Ahem, anyway, instead of sobbing over manipulative ads, indulge your sympathetic tendencies by going to Wildlife Rescue Training for volunteers at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park on Saturdays, April 1 and 8. For $25, you can learn how to help and care for the more than 2,000 wild things that are taken in by the Wildlife Rescue Center. Volunteers must be 13+ or 11-12-year-old helpers must have a parent present. Now stop crying and go do something useful. (Renée Chavez)

It's time to celebrate A.R.T.! You know, that great construction project that everyone loves and has already helped the city so much … April fools! It's no secret that A.R.T. has made a humongous dent in the income of businesses along Central. This Saturday, April 1, Winning Coffee, along with other businesses on Harvard, are hosting the April Fools A.R.T. Fest block party to celebrate local patrons as well as the unique area across from UNM. Beginning at 11am, there will be live music, yoga, face painting, aerialists, art, not to mention food and drinks provided by many of the Brick Light District businesses. (Megan Reneau)

I think it's safe to say that most people's goals in life include living a rich life full of travels. And that is exactly how photographer Martha Heard has spent hers. In her first one-person exhibit entitled Looking Around: Photographs and Narratives, Heard shares photographs of her travels around the world and the places she has lived like Baghdad, Iraq and Càlig, Spain. Along with her extensive collection of photos, Heard has also written short narratives to give context and further engross the audience in her art. The opening reception on Saturday, April 1, from 5-8pm will have cake because Martha Heard is also celebrating her 80th birthday. The exhibit runs through April 28 at Art Gallery 606. (Taylor Grabowsky)

Dig Dastgãh, a modal system of scales or instructions for melodic structures used in Persian music: The melodies described by the forms (there are 12 Dastgãhs) are used to elaborate on, balance, modulate and ornament the temporal and tonal direction in musical compositions. In realization this sort of musical complexity is quite as much beautiful as it is sublimely different from the sounds and scales we are used to hearing in Western music. Local players the Alborz Trio—Sourena Sefati (composer/santour), Deborah Leah Ungar (clarinet) and Gregory Gutin (percussion)—have become adepts at this ancient and arcane aural practice. They'll be presenting a recital of Persian music compositions, arrangements and improvisations based on the ideas enumerated in Dastgãh-based music theory on Saturday, April 1, at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. The concert is called The Sound of Peace. Sefati is an expert on the tradition, having performed for a multitude of recordings and concerts in his homeland of Iran before emigrating to the US in 2014, while Ungar and Gutin are longtime members of the local music community, serving as academics and working musicians involved in projects as diverse as the Rumelia Klezmer Band and Trio Andaluz. Tickets range in price from $15-$20; children under 12 may attend for free. (August March)

You damn kids with your hippity-hops, your electro-funk-whatever-whatevers and your complicated shoes. These days, all it takes to make music is a finger that can press a play button and a smoke machine. Ever heard of a pipe organ? It was this ancient machine that would blow air through a series of pipes to make sound. For real. UNM actually has a Holtkamp, one of the largest pipe organs in the state. And people still play it! You can see for yourself this Sunday, April 2, at Keller Hall, when organist Maxine Thévenot will perform to celebrate the Holtkamp's 50th birthday. The concert starts at 3:30pm. Tickets for the all-ages show are $15. (Joshua Lee)

Gospel music maestro and contemporary Christian music icon Bill Gaither brings his spiritually sound act to the Santa Ana Star Center on Wednesday, April 5. The Gaither Homecoming Tour features The Gaither Vocal Band and the man's influence on the genre is considerable and diffuse. Gaither and his work have won six Grammys and been awarded an honorary doctorate for composing and performing a singular type of American music that is uplifting and celebrates the life of the soul through rich harmonies, magnificent melodies and insightful, soulful lyrical exchanges. The tour also features some of contemporary Christian music's finest performers, including Gospel Music Hall of Fame ensemble The Nelons, along with singer/songwriter, Buddy Greene, vocalists Charlotte Ritchie and Gene McDonald, as well as guitarist and comedian, Kevin Williams. All in all, and regardless of religious affiliation, this concert will be an awesome opportunity to hear engaging examples of one of our nation's beloved, albeit often overlooked, musical genres, brought to life by one of its true masters and his associates, not-to-mention it's just $21-$70. (August March)