FILM

MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

MOTORCO MUSIC HALL, DURHAM

THURSDAY, OCT. 2 If you’ve read a critic’s take on films and sneered “I could do better than that,” the Manhattan Short Film Festival will let you prove it. Audiences in more than 250 cities judge 10 finalists winnowed from 589 entries representing 47 countries. That’s a long way from its beginnings, when 16 films screened on the side of a truck in New York in 1998. This year’s group includes shorts from the U.S., Netherlands, England, Australia, Mexico, France, Germany and Norway, with genres ranging from sci-fi and drama to animation. Attend, get a ballot and vote for best film and best actor. Votes from across the world will be tabulated at the festival’s HQ, with winners announced Oct. 6 on its website. 9 p.m., $10, 723 Rigsbee Ave., 919-901-0875, www.motorcomusic.com, www.manhattanshort.com. Curt Fields

DANCE

EMERGENCE | PSI THEATRE, DURHAM

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 It hasn’t been that long since new NCCU dance professor Kristi Vincent Johnson faced the dilemmas most choreographers confront when moving to the region. Where does someone just getting started present their work, particularly if they don’t have enough materialor moneyfor an evening-length performance? The brains behind Triangle Dance Project pay it forward in this first annual adjudicated showcase for new or emerging dance makers in the area. Some of the nine actssuch as Kristin Taylor, Natalie Marrone, Justin Tornow and Avis Hatcher-Puzzohave already made a splash locally. Others, such as Sayward Grindley and Nicole Lawson, haven’t. Catch these and rising stars Alexandra Warren, Jasmine Knight and Kate Davis in this one-night stand at the Durham Arts Council. 8 p.m., $5–$15, 120 Morris St., 919-560-2787, triangledanceproject.org. Byron Woods

MUSIC

XYLOURIS WHITE, TASHI DORJI

THE CARRACK, DURHAM

TUESDAY, OCT. 7 If you’re only scanning their respective résumés, you might not notice many similarities between Jim White and Giorgos Xylouris, especially enough to suggest a recording-and-touring collaboration. White is an Australian drummer, an anchor of the veteran instrumental trio Dirty Three and a remarkable session man with credits from Bill Callahan to PJ Harvey. Xylouris, meanwhile, is a Greek lute player born into a venerable Cretan lineage of the same. But both Xylouris and White have long looked beyond the assumed, conservative roles of their instruments. White seems to speak with his drums more than keep time, circling the kit as if tickling his brain. And with his eight acoustic strings, Xylouris moves between frantic strums that suggest an aggressive electric shredder and radiant harmonics that recall a new-age guru. Goats, the pair’s debut collaboration as Xylouris White, feels like an inspired conversation about new possibilities. Tashi Dorji, a brilliant and equally exploratory Bhutanese guitarist now living in Asheville, opens. 8 p.m., $14, 111 W. Parrish St., www.thecarrack.org. Grayson Haver Currin

LONNIE HOLLEY

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1 Before stepping into the pages of The New York Times or The New Yorker, Atlanta’s Lonnie Holley spent several decades twisting together bits of humanity’s trashbroken televisions, discarded tires, wasted fabricinto idiosyncratic sculptures meant to tell a story. Though his star slowly rose as an esteemed “outsider” in the visual art world (“I’m outside of everything,” he’s wont to protest), Holley squirreled away recordings of himself doing much the same thingsinging strange observations and ruminations over old keyboard loops and drum machineson half-filled cassettes. Two records of those surreal, stunning songs arrived in 2012 and 2013, capturing Holley’s ability to turn the absurd into the poignant, the irksome into the magnanimous and deservedly catapulting him to international audiences and festival stages. This free performance is part of his weeklong residency at UNC-Chapel Hill, which includes visits to area middle schools and Tar Heel lecture halls. 5:30 p.m., free, south.unc.edu, 410 E Franklin St., 919-962-5665. Grayson Haver Currin

GIRLS ROCK NC RALLY

THE ARTSCENTER, CAT’S CRADLE, THE STATION; CARRBORO

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 Girls Rock NC has labeled its 10th birthday celebration a rallyfitting, as Girls Rock is as focused on activism and social justice as on rock music. During the day and at The ArtsCenter, there’s a Girls Rock crash course with zine-making and media literacy workshops, plus a showcase of Girls Rock alums.

Then the party starts, with eight bands playing both rooms of the Cat’s Cradle: Headliners The Julie Ruin make a rare public appearance, considering the struggles of legendary frontwoman Kathleen Hanna with Lyme disease. Mary Timony’s new Merge trio Ex Hex also plays. Appropriately, though, the real strength here is local. There’s Mount Moriah’s refined country, Midnight Plus One’s broiling psychedelic pop, and Pink Flag’s riot grrrl. DJs Fifi Hifi and Play Play start spinning The Station’s after-party at 11 p.m. See indyweek.com for a full story. 11 a.m.–2 a.m., $27–$29, girlsrocknc.org. Corbie Hill

BOOKS

FIONA RITCHIE AND DOUG ORR: WAYFARING STRANGERS

MULTIPLE VENUES, TRIANGLE-WIDE

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1–SATURDAY, OCT. 4 You probably know Fiona Ritchie as the host of the NPR-syndicated Celtic music program “The Thistle & Shamrock.” But did you know that the show began in North Carolina? In 1981, Ritchie moved to Charlotte, where she had previously spent six months as a teaching assistant at UNC-Charlotte, and debuted “Thistle” on NPR member station WFAE. By 1986, the show was nationally distributed and Ritchie was its full-time host and producer, finally moving it to Scotland in 1990. That Celtic-to-Southern U.S. musical connection is the topic of Ritchie’s new UNC Press book and CD with Doug Orr, founder of the Swannanoa Gathering music workshop at Warren Wilson College. Through words and songs, Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia tells the story of how Scottish immigration to Appalachia in the 18th and 19th centuries blended two rich musical traditions. Ritchie and Orr discuss and sign the book in Durham (Motorco, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.), Pittsboro (McIntyre’s, Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m.), Chapel Hill (Flyleaf, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.) and Raleigh (Quail Ridge, Oct. 4, 3 p.m.), with various musical guests including Little Windows, James Olin Oden and Julee Glaub. See calendar listing on page 47 for full event details. Brian Howe