Next Week Today is a selection of our picks from the upcoming week’s events, published every Sunday at 11 a.m. We’ll give you juuuuuust enough detail to whet your whistle, and then let you do the digging. In other words, these are the events we recommend giving a second, perhaps even third glance as you wend your way along the path to entertainment.

Bring that sweater weather, please! We’re all ready for the heat to break, so here’s some events to keep your attention otherwise focused while the temperature finally drops.

MONDAYSeptember 26

The War On Drugs (Avondale Brewing Company, 7 p.m.) — It took three years and seven different studios before The War on Drugs’ latest album I Don’t Live Here Anymore was ready to be born into the world, but it’s lengthy genesis only made it richer, wider and yet somehow more personal. This is driving music, both in its forward momentum, but also in that it would feel good on the box with the breeze in your hair as you got the heck out of town.

The Moth: StorySLAM (Outlaws) (Red Mountain Theatre, 7:30 p.m.) — We all have those stories, the ones we’ve cultivated, told again and again, refining, honing. The moments of our lives we choose to polish and remember or are compelled to keep alive in the retelling. The Moth celebrates those gems we keep ready to pull from our pockets at any conversational opening by putting them in the spotlight of center stage. Think you’ve got one that will keep the ears and eyes on you (and that happens to involve this month’s theme, “Outlaws”)? Bring it down and let it loose.

TUESDAYSeptember 27

Beach House (Avondale Brewing Company, 7 p.m.) — Baltimore-based dream-pop band Beach House already had what you might call an “expansive” sound and, combined with the epic length of their 18-track album Once Twice Melody, it will envelop you completely if you give it the time. Why not head down to Avondale and take a dip in the sonic pool?

WEDNESDAYSeptember 28

Mary J. Blige: Good Morning Gorgeous Tour w/ Ella Mai and Queen Naija (BJCC, 8 p.m.) — The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul hits the stage at Legacy Arena in support of her 14th studio album Good Morning Gorgeous, which features plenty of her soaring and bold R&B vocal style. Her stage show is known for it’s drama and glamour (maybe you caught her at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show), so get downtown.

THURSDAYSeptember 29

SEASON OPENING: The [Fall] ReFRAME Party (Birmingham Museum of Art, 5 p.m.) — Join the Birmingham Museum of Art as they celebrate the seasonal changing of their gallery collections with this free event that provides entry to the museum, live music, a nail artist ready to transform your fingertips, roving LED artists in honor of the current “Light Play” exhibit, talks from staff at the museum and more.

The Princess Bride (Avondale Park, 6 p.m.) — Another ’80s film classic hits the amphitheater at Avondale Park, and it’s the last one of the 2022 season, so if you’ve missed the rest then make sure you get down to hang with Wesley, Buttercup, Inigo Montoya, Fezzik and the rest of these adorable misfits as they undertake their epic romantic adventure.

Fortune Feimster (Alabama Theatre, 7:30 p.m.) — North-Carolina-based comedian and actress Fortune Feimster made her debut on Last Comic Standing and can be seen in the recent reboot The L Word: Generation Q. Her anecdotal style of comedy is laid-back, kind and charmingly self-aware.

FRIDAYSeptember 30

Southern Exposure Films Premiere (Altamont School, 6 p.m.) — This free world premiere of four films created during six weeks in the summer of 2022 is presented by the Alabama Rivers Alliance and will showcase work celebrating “special people and places in Alabama while exploring complex issues and solutions.” Topics include how climate change-driven flooding is impacting neighborhoods already struggling with the impact of racism and economic hardship and the state of renewable energy in Alabama.

Barns Courtney (Saturn, 8:30 p.m.) — Capable of both slick dance-pop and sparse acoustic introspection and many ranges in between, English artist Barns Courtney came to the brink of success before the label he was signed to refused to release any of the music he had made for them. Courtney ended up sleeping on couches and working at PC World before engagement with his solo material finally lifted him up into national recognition. He’s a got lovely roughness to his voice when he’s keeping it simple, and when he’s pumping the beats up, it’s fun to move to.

SUNDAYOctober 2

Picnic at Railroad Park (Railroad Park, Noon) — The Railroad Park Foundation is hosting this party/fundraiser for our cornerstone greenspace, and there will be plenty of music, food, kid stuff and more designed to entice you down and perhaps convince you to give a few bucks towards keeping one of our greatest public treasures alive and well.

Cahaba River Fry-Down 2022 (Cahaba Brewing Company, Noon) — Part cooking competition, part festival and part benefit, the Cahaba River Fry-Down brings some of the region’s catfish cookers together with lovers of the Cahaba River to celebrate Alabama’s longest remaining free-flowing river, it’s watershed and the creatures (delicious or otherwise) that live there. There will be live music, educational games, a climbing wall and more.

Hop City 10th Anniversary Party (Hop City, Noon) — Hop City is celebrating 10 years as a go-to destination for brew-lovers in Birmingham with a big ‘ol bash featuring an artist market, food trucks and performances from some seriously good local bands, including The Blips, a Birmingham supergroup featuring Will Stewart, Taylor Hollingsworth, Wes McDonald, Eric Wallace and Chris McCauley. Even if you don’t know those names — you should, if you’ve been paying attention to the local music scene at all over the last decade — you’ve probably loved on some of their tunes.