10 Things Going on in Cleveland this Weekend (June 27 - 29)

To celebrate Black Music Month, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will host the 17th annual Rock and Soul Festival from noon until 4 p.m. today. Musical performers include rapper/beatboxer extraordinaire Biz Markie, who’s best known for his infectious ’80s hit “Just a Friend,” as well as West Side Community House’s Summer of Sisterhood, Humble G Tha Fiddla and Crybaby Gangsta. Weather permitting, the event will take place outside in front of the Rock Hall. The concert is free and no RVSP is required. (Niesel)

Spaced out across two weekends, the Boston Mills Artfest is a nationally recognized showcase of Northeast Ohio's art. Check out the local craft scene, whether it be clay, watercolors or "wearable fibers," which we would assume means clothes. Enjoy picturesque Cuyahoga Valley National Park while you do it, as well as various food and drink options. All art is available to be purchased on site, if you see something that tickles your fancy. The show takes place at Boston Mills Brandywine. Tonight, a preview takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $44 in advance. The festival continues through Sunday and hours vary. Tickets are $8 for non-preview days. (Cortni Dietz)

The Cuyahoga Community College JazzFest has been going strong for 35 years, but there are a few changes for this year’s festival. While the event used to be held across a full week, this year the same number of concerts will take place across the course of three days at Playhouse Square (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). Many local groups will now be featured on an outdoor stage at U.S. Bank Plaza, where food and drink will be available for purchase. The rest of the shows take place inside the Palace, Ohio and Hanna Theatres. Ticket prices vary, but you can get a festival pass for $270 from the Tri-C website, where you will find the full concert listings. (Eric Gonzalez)

Tonight marks the opening of two new shows for summer at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent and Hans Op de Beeck: Staging Silence (2) both launch tonight, and there will be talks related to the two shows as well as a family art studio geared towards kids 10 and under. Local hip-hop outfit Replife will provide the tunes. Someday is Now takes you through a fascinating display of Kent’s iconic retro images and questions political and sometimes religious ideologies of the ’60s and ’70s. Meanwhile, Staging Silence features a unique look at Op de Beeck’s latest black and white film, Staging Silence (2), with a set of dioramas that challenge your sense of perspective and the function of everyday objects. The shows are markedly different, yet the vivid colors and imagery of Kent’s work play nicely off the black-and-white dreaminess of Op de Beeck’s opus. Everything starts at 7 p.m. tonight and admission is free. (Trenholme)

Former city council president George Forbes will be the 26th annual Cleveland Pride Festival parade grand marshal. You can bet he’ll be just one of many local celebs attending the big event taking place from noon to 8 p.m. today at Voinovich Park. The event will offer two stages featuring a slew of performers, including pop star Debbie Gibson. There will also be an expanded food court and a beer garden. This is a free event but donations are accepted. (Freeman) 800 East Ninth St.

Today marks the 12th year for the annual Waterloo Arts Festival, and this Collinwood street festival has become bigger than ever. With more than 100 vendors and artists and eight stages hosting various bands, this is a great way to spend the afternoon. Food will be available from various food trucks and guests are invited to participate in art workshops, run by Arts Alive, to create their own masterpieces. It all starts at noon and runs until about 7 p.m. For a full listing of the bands and activities, go to the website. (Trenholme) artscollinwood.org.

Just minutes after Bruno Mars’ heavily hyped Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show, Atlantic Records issued a press release announcing the singer-songwriter’s Moonshine Jungle World Tour. The youngest artist to be the sole NFL Super Bowl halftime headliner, Mars collaborated with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the funky bunch played its hit “Give It Away” for the halftime show. Expect similar energy for his live show, which blatantly borrows from the likes of James Brown and Prince and has an old-school R&B/soul/pop-rock vibe. (Niesel) $49.50-$99.50

GroundWorks DanceTheater premieres new choreography at the Cleveland Institute of Music tonight as part of ChamberFest Cleveland. The dance will be set to Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera, which calls on spirits of the past. At 7:15 p.m., GroundWorks director David Shimotakahara will hold a pre-concert discussion about the work he created, and the performers will hold a Q&A after the show. Also on the program is Dmitri Shostakovich’s Trio for Piano and Strings in E minor No. 2, Op. 67. Price of admission is $40 and the concert starts at 8 p.m. (Gonzalez)

Ringo Starr says 2014 has been a pretty great year so far, beginning with a tribute concert put on by the David Lynch Foundation. The concert, which took place on Jan. 20 at the El Rey in Los Angeles, featured acts such as Joe Walsh, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, Brendan Benson, Bettye LaVette, the Head & the Heart and Jesse Elliot and Lindsey McWilliams of Ark Life. Backed by a house band that featured Don Was, Benmont Tench, Peter Frampton, Steve Lukather and Kenny Arnoff, the musicians paid tribute to Starr and helped launch the Ringo Starr Peace & Love Fund that, as it's put in a press release, will provide "transcendental meditation instruction to tens of thousands of at-risk students, women who are survivors of domestic violence and veterans with post-traumatic stress." See him in action tonight at 8 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. Tickets are $45-$135.

We don't profess to know what it takes to become a bona fide Kentucky colonel but we'll take Dirt Daubers' singer J.D. Wilkes at his word when he says you must have done "something that in some way reflects positively on the state of Kentucky." A few years back, Wilkes was nominated and subsequently crowned colonel. See the colonel and his band perform live tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Beachland Tavern. Tickets are $10.