Selections: Our picks of the week's best events, Sept. 7-13

Accidental Music Festival: The Living Earth Show

MUSIC

As the city's biggest champion of new art music, the Accidental Music Festival ups Orlando's cultural average like almost none other, and it's kicking off an exciting new season. Though AMF represents more the classical rather than the punk side of the avant-garde scene, it can still deliver some seriously cool weirdo stuff. Take season opener the Living Earth Show, for example. Even though the San Francisco guitar-and-percussion duo operates with high craft, their execution is just as apt to include toothbrushes and megaphones as traditional concert instrumentation. Like the festival, this group is committed to new music, this time performing an international selection of compositions by Sahba Aminikia, Jurha Koges, Nicole Lizée and Luis Escareño. Because their engaging multimedia performances often defy the compartmentalization of usual stage-and-audience shows, expect it to be a transformative live experience. Also featured on the bill is the locally loaded five-member group Ensemble AMF, the performance extension of the festival, performing contemporary works by Frederic Rzewski, Julius Eastman and Bill Ryan with some spoken-word help by actor and Creative City Project founder Cole NeSmith. – Bao Le-Huu

with Ensemble AMF, Absolute Fantasy, the Wendigo | 8 p.m. | Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. | accidentalmusicfestival.com | $10-$12

For the Bible Tells Me So

FILM

Can it ever be a sin to love? Does the Bible offer an excuse to hate? These are just some of the questions posed by the multi-award-winning film For the Bible Tells Me So. Originally premiering in 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival, this documentary addresses the issues surrounding homosexuality and Christianity through interviews with religious parents and their experiences with raising homosexual children. The free Valencia College screening of this film comes in the aftermath of the Pulse tragedy, and a panel discussion is set to follow the film to begin a dialogue in the hope of creating more inclusive LGBT and Christian communities. – Aileen Perilla

6 p.m. | Valencia College Performing Arts Center, East Campus, 701 N. Econlockhatchee Trail | valencia.edu | free

Maroon 5

MUSIC

Maroon 5's trajectory – moving from silky-smooth singles to electropop bangers – hasn't been too hard to follow. It makes sense. The Cali-bred sextet has achieved something quite unique, a happy collective led by a Beyoncé-like powerhouse and otherwise composed of individually anonymous hit-makers. Granted, People's Sexiest Man Alive winner Adam Levine does get most of the attention, but they've remained a band for a reason. Their longevity can probably be attributed to one thing that pop groups can't often claim: They write most of their own songs. Maybe that's why their latest album, V, could still be found at pretentious Starbucks racks up to a year ago between Taylor Swift and Ingrid Michaelson. From 2002's "She Will Be Loved" to 2014's "Maps," they're still harping about lost love as romantically nuanced as ever, even if the new coating is a little glossier. – Adam Manno

with Tove Lo, R. City | 7:30 p.m. | Amway Center, 400 W. Church St. | 800-745-3000 | amwaycenter.com | $28.50-$123.50

20 Penny Circus

THEATER

Unlike the creepy clowns luring kids into the South Carolina woods, this clown show is not one you'll want to avoid. Carmine Boutique hosts the 20 Penny Circus as they perform their twisted take on circus arts. The act consists of diabolical duo Tyler Sutter and Carl Skenes, who have performed in large-scale events such as Halloween Horror Nights and are featured in the 2017 Ripley's Believe It or Not! book. Featuring crazy illusions and stunts with odd and inappropriate clowns who swallow swords, supposedly teleport, and say they can hold bowling balls with their own, this circus is definitely going to freak people out. – Marimar Toledo

8 p.m. | Carmine Boutique, 2708 N. Orange Blossom Trail | 407-496-4473 | carmineboutique.com | $10

Brian Posehn

COMEDY

The last time Brian Posehn graced the City Beautiful, it was December 2014 and he was touring on his live release, The Fartist, which included bits like "The Scariest Pot Story Ever Told," "Do Not Punch My Baby" and "Um ... My Farts." This is an accurate, if partial, survey of Posehn's comedic territory; add in superhero jokes, body hatred (his own, mostly) and depression, and you've got pretty much the whole picture. This visit is in anticipation of his forthcoming Criminally Posehn, which will be available Sept. 23 (though it's online now for Audible subscribers). We've only heard one bit from that one, "Depressed Treats," which begins thusly: "I love New York, but I hate Times Square. Fuck that place in its dirty hobo butthole. It makes Orlando seem awesome," so uh, yeah – we missed you too, Brian. – Jessica Bryce Young

9 p.m. | Backbooth, 37 W. Pine St. | 407-999-2570 | backbooth.com | $18

Body//Talk x III Points

MUSIC

For those who can't afford to make the trip down to Miami next month for III Points, our local community organizers-cum-party planners, Body//Talk, import three Miami artists who are playing on the III Points bill: Niko Javan, Telescope Thieves and Pazmal. The latter two artists are associated with the Love Below, a weekly party at the Electric Pickle in Miami's Wynwood district that gels nicely with Body//Talk's forward-thinking approach to dance music. The Miami boys take over Spacebar while Body//Talk's Phil Santos and Expedition create the vibe over at Sandwich Bar. Meanwhile, the back parking lot becomes schmooze central as usual. Keep an eye on Body//Talk's Facebook page for a chance to win tickets to III Points. – Thaddeus McCollum

with Niko Javan, Telescope Thieves, Pazmal, Phil Santos, Expedition | 10 p.m. | The Milk District Pavilion, 2432 E. Robinson St. | bodytalkparty.org | $7

An Evening With Garrison Keillor

LITERARY

Ah, the Midwest. The hot dogs of yore, the farmers of yesteryear, the vast plains of ... plain. It's hard to make America's breadbasket sound like it isn't full of stale crackers, but NPR veteran and Peabody award-winning humorist Garrison Keillor did it for 40 years with his radio show A Prairie Home Companion. A veritable mascot for the region, Keillor's known for his loping verbal style and appreciation for a simpler time, and he's bringing the glory of North America's cornfields to Rollins College with his one-man show. A self-described "flatlander," Keillor finds beauty in the little moments in a Midwestern life: the tree branches covered in icicle exoskeletons after a cold snap, the gentle "achoo, achoo" echoing through the air as pollen floats in the spring breeze, the shuddering "pop" of an ACL as you slip on a patch of black ice and crash to the sidewalk – OK, maybe that last one was a little specific to us. Maybe we're a little bitter about incurring a major athletic injury on a minor walk to our car. But Keillor's narratives are convincing arguments for appreciating the charm of a simpler time in a quieter place. Ah, the Midwest. – Abby Stassen

6:30 p.m. | Warden Arena, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park | 407-646-2145 | rollins.edu | $15-$30

Thinking in Public

LITERARY

Do you have something you need to get off of your chest? A rant about a presidential candidate, a boss or an ex-girlfriend? Maybe you just need to ramble on about the latest season of Game of Thrones? Regardless of your reasons for wanting to yell things to the world, Deadly Sins Brewing gives you that opportunity with their new monthly event, Thinking in Public. The event will grant an open mic to anyone for five minutes to say whatever he or she wants to. The event page on Facebook describes it as "the stage where people unload what they need to. Unscripted. Unfiltered. Uninterrupted." – Martina Smith

8:30 p.m. | Deadly Sins Brewing, 750 Jackson Ave., Winter Park | 407-900-8726 | deadlysinsbrewing.com | free