Uwishunu.com

It's an easy drive from Center City to Glenside, well worth it to see Bobby Keys, the man behind the music of The Stones and other legendary groups. (Photo courtesy Keys)

Rolling Stones sax player Bobby Keys and his group The Suffering Bastards, a super-group of musical legends rarely seen outside of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will perform at the Keswick Theatre on Saturday, March 10 at 8 p.m.

Many of the greatest rock hits of the past five decades bear the unmistakable thumbprint of Keys, one of America’s most accomplished rock & roll icons.

His discography includes album-defining contributions with the Stones (Exile On Main Street, Sticky Fingers), work with each of the four Beatles and Elvis.

His group The Suffering Bastards is comprised of an all-star cast of renowned Nashville musicians. Together, they recreate spot-on renditions of hits from Keys’ storied career, as well as new compositions for an upcoming album.

In other Keys news, his long-awaited autobiography “Every Night Is A Saturday Night: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Legendary Sax Man Bobby Keys” is set to be released, in addition to a new documentary about his life, as well as a number of high-profile tour dates throughout the US.

Tickets for Bobby Keys & The Suffering Bastards start at $20 and are available online.

Bobby Keys & The Suffering Bastards
When: Saturday, March 10, 8 p.m.
Where: 291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside
Cost: Tickets start at $20
More info: www.keswicktheatre.com

Pay tribute to one of the greatest singers of our time at Warmdaddy's tonight. (Photo courtesy Whitney Houston)

The loss of Whitney Houston, one of music’s most powerful voices, is felt especially in Philadelphia, home to a number of powerhouse divas.

Warmdaddy’s blues club is celebrating the legacy of Whitney tonight with a tribute featuring some of those local songstresses: Philly 360 Creative Ambassador Carol Riddick, Helen Bruner & Terry Jones, Jaguar Wright, Leah Smith, Jean Baylor and more.

Tickets, $10, will only be sold on a first-come-first-served basis the night of the show. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

There will be a complimentary buffet, half-off apps, $2 off drinks and half-off glasses or bottles of wine until 10 p.m.

Philadelphia Whitney Houston Tribute
Where: Warmdaddy’s, 1400 S. Columbus Blvd.
When: Tonight, Wednesday, February 22, Doors open at 5 p.m., shows at 7:30 and 9 p.m.
Cost: $10 donation
More info: www.philly360.com

Tiny Dynamite Productions has announced that the second season of “A Play, A Pie, And A Pint,” following a hugely successful sell-out run last fall, will launch March 6, once again at The Red Room of The Society Hill Playhouse.

The season will run for four weeks on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m. A new show will be produced each week (all comedies) and, as always, will be served up alongside a pie (slice of pizza) and a pint (or another beverage of choice).

The concept of “A Play, A Pie, And A Pint” launched at The Oran Mor Theatre space in Glasgow seven years ago; they’ve since produced more than 250 plays.

The premise is simple: plays are performed at a non-traditionally early time on days when most other theaters are often dark, with food and drink built right into the ticket price.

Reserve your seats online.

A Play, A Pie, and a Pint
When: Every Tuesday & Wednesday at 6 p.m., March 6-28
Where: The Red Room, Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th Street
Cost: $15
More info: www.brownpapertickets.com

You only have one day to see Brat Productions’ presentation of The Bald Soprano at Plays & Players Theater. But if you care to, you can watch it many times during that 24-hour period.

The Bald Soprano, penned by Eugene Ionesco, is a one-hour metaphysical romp. Directions at the end of the final act call for the performers to do it all over again, from the very beginning, with actors changing roles for the next go ‘round.

Brat takes those directions to heart, repeating the show, over and over, for 24 hours straight. There are no breaks. For real.

The set-up makes this absurdist play about British social manners, or lack thereof, even more preposterous. Each show is different, even though the lines are exactly the same. You never know how an actor will deal with fatigue, or boredom, and therein lies the fun.

Brat has done this 24-hour marathon before, and every time it’s a hit. Tickets are sold in two-hour slots (so you can see the actors switch roles back to back), and also allow for admittance to other shows, space permitting.

If you want to take a break between viewings, you can head upstairs to a bar where they’ll also have additional absurdist events.

Get tickets online.

Brat Productions’ The 24-Hour Bald Soprano
Where: Plays & Players Theater, 1714 Delancey Place
When: February 24–25
Cost: $20, $224 VIP Party
More info: www.bratproductions.org

This Saturday, February 25, show your support for Reading Terminal Market at its annual fundraiser, “Valentine to the Market.” You’ll be treated to dining, dancing, drinks, two stages of live entertainment and appearances by famous Philly guests. Tickets are available for an additional $175 for a special VIP pre-party event starting at 7 p.m. featuring cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a celeb chef cook-off. This year marks Reading Terminal’s 120th Anniversary, so join your fellow food enthusiasts as they help to keep this phenomenal space running for another 120 years. [Valentine to the Market]

Get your Mardi Gras on tonight at The Franklin with specially crafted New Orleans-style cocktails. (Photo by Doug Keith courtesy The Franklin)

Like New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras is one of those festive occasions when one is, shall we say, expected to imbibe a bit.

So in true New Orleans fashion, where the celebration has a long-standing history, Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., deemed one of the best bars in the country by Esquire Magazine and the Huffington Post (among others), is offering a Mardi Gras cocktail menu full of concoctions generally swigged only in Louisiana.

Drinks such as Pimm’s Cup, typically found in oyster bars throughout NoLa, will be included on this special menu. So will pick-me-ups like Sazerac, often considered America’s oldest cocktail, as well as a Roffignac, a traditional 19th-Century highball.

Of course, no Mardi Gras-themed bar menu would be complete without the Vieux Carré, a favorite at New Orleans’ famed Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.

Each of these Big Easy-inspired cocktails is only $10.

Like they say in New Orleans, “Laissez le bon temps roulé!” Or in Philly-speak, “Let the good times roll!”

Mardi Gras-Inspired Cocktail Menu at The Franklin
When: February 21
Where: 112 S. 18th Street
Cost: $10/drink
More info: www.thefranklinbar.com

Our month-long “29 Nights of Dates” promotion is still going strong, a sweet giveaway-a-day throughout February for couples to enjoy the City of Brotherly Love at its loveliest.

We’re teasing each week’s series of giveaways every Monday.

Check out a sampling of what you could win throughout this week (in scrambled order, to keep an element of surprise), simply by entering on the Visit Philly Facebook page:

• Up, Up & Away: There may be no better way to take in the natural beauty of Southeastern PA than with a champagne toast and a sunrise or sunset hot air balloon courtesy of The United States Hot Air Balloon Team. Continue your scenic
day with a drive on Bucks County’s River Road, then head to dinner at the 18th-century Black Bass Hotel followed by a stay at the Bridgeton House B&B.

• Fancy-Pants Plans: Dress the part for your deliciously upscale dinner at Lacroix. In addition to French-influenced fusion cuisine, you’ll enjoy a picturesque view of Rittenhouse Square outside. Afterwards, order up an expertly mixed cocktail at hotspot Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

• Domestic Goddess: Savor Iron Chef Jose Garces’ take on American farm-to-table cuisine at JG Domestic. Then enjoy a night in at University City’s boutique-y Hilton Inn at Penn, where breakfast for two is on the house and an in-room massage is optional.

29 Nights of Dates Contest [Visit Philly Facebook]

The President’s House on Independence Mall tells the story of the inhabitants of the first Executive Mansion: Presidents George Washington and John Adams; where better to celebrate President's Day in Philadelphia? (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

When it comes to historical holidays, there’s nowhere better to celebrate than Philadelphia.

The paths to understanding American history all converge in Philadelphia, at places like the President’s House, above, an open-air site on Independence Mall, home to Presidents George Washington and John Adams while Philadelphia served as the young nation’s capital; Independence Hall, birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; and the National Constitution Center, the country’s only institution dedicated to the document.

Check out our mini-guide to what’s going on in Philadelphia for President’s Day today:

• The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation: open to the public 24 hours a day.

• Foodways of Washington’s Time at the Mercer Museum Log House: noon-4 p.m. Celebrate President’s Day with foodways historian Susan Plaisted as she prepares, cooks and interprets some of the favorite fare of our first president in the Mercer Museum’s Log House. Learn about Washington’s favorite breakfast: mush cakes with butter and honey. Help prepare the breakfast by grinding corn in a quern.

• Family Presidents’ Day Weekend in Historic Philadelphia: Times vary. Enjoy chocolate-making at the Betsy Ross House, kids’ crafts at the Liberty 360 Show in the PECO Theater, Presidential Stories by Once Upon A Nation and more. Full details here.

• The Franklin Institute Celebrates President’s Day Weekend: Activities include train rides, papermaking using pulp made from recycled office paper, eye dissections of a real cow’s eye and sheep’s heart dissection. Take part in some chilling science with liquid nitrogen at the Liquid Air Show. Plus, the Giant Mysterious Dinosaurs exhibition is open specially late with last entry at 5 p.m. today.

• President’s Day Weekend at the NCC: Chat up a couple of our most famous leaders, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, who’ll be at the center in person. There will be fun activities where kids can create presidential masks, hats, campaign buttons and even a model White House. Take a Presidential Tour of the center, get the inside scoop on what childhood was like for Washington and Lincoln and much more.

• Adventure Aquarium’s Cabin Fever promotion: In honor of the holiday, get special $15 admission to the aquarium. “Cabin Fever” weekend falls just in time for guests to catch one last glimpse of Mighty Mike. The Aquarium’s 800 pound, 14-foot-long American Alligator is the largest alligator on exhibit outside of Florida, and is soon to make his way back home in the sunshine state at the end of February.

• Dine on a presidents-themed menu at City Tavern: Celebrate the holiday with Chef Walter Staib, the only chef to have cooked in the homes of the first five presidents! The special menu includes New England Clam Chowder, a New England favorite attributed to John Adams; Chocolate Mousse Cake, adapted from the recipe in Martha Washington’s own cookbook, and more.

• Independence Hall: Visit the newly cleaned Independence Hall, removed of its scaffolding with a special Mayor Nutter-led ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday. Free, walk-up tickets are available for pickup at the Independence Visitor Center.

• Tour The Battleship New Jersey: Battleship New Jersey is America’s largest and most decorated battleship. President Ronald Reagan, as part of his “Modern Navy” initiative, stood on the deck of the USS New Jersey and re-commissioned her back into duty in 1982. The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial will be specially open for guided and audio tours on President’s Day, Monday, February 20, from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (they’re normally just available Saturdays and Sundays).

Celebrate National Margarita Day at Jose Garces' popular University City spot Distrito. (Photo courtesy Distrito)

On the rocks, with salt, frozen, however you like it, everyone enjoys a good margarita or five (no judgement here).

Wednesday, February 22 is National Margarita Day, and Distrito, the modern Mexi restaurant and bar in University City, is giving us reason to toss our sombreros with half-price margaritas from 4-7 p.m. Can we get an “Arriba!” over here?

In addition to Distrito’s six signatures like Jefe (Don Julio reposado with Combier and lime), sippers can choose from 50 of the bar’s blanco and reposado varieties for classic margaritas.

In between gulps and refills, guests are also invited to indulge in the happy hour food menu (PDF) with options like guacamole $5, enchilada de pollo $6 and tacos de mahi mahi $7.

National Margarita Day at Distrito
Where: 3945 Chestnut Street
When: Wednesday, February 22, 4-7 p.m.
Cost: Pay as you go
More info: www.distritorestaurant.com

Philly Fashion Week returns to NoLibs’ Crane Arts building next week for its seventh season.

Presented by FBH — The Agency, a Philadelphia-based talent and modeling agency, the three-day affair showcases local and national fashion designers with an invite-only, black-tie affair on February 23, and public, ticketed runway shows held on February 24 and February 25.

Friday’s Premiere Runway Show features ready-to-wear with designs by Keiki Myrtice, Mariel Rojo, local designers Irina Sigal and Pretty Pretty Rebel, and more.

The “week” culminates in Saturday’s Final Couture Runway Show, which showcases more designers and typically draws a larger crowd. This season’s participants include UArts/Drexel grad Autumn Kietponglert of Autumnlin Design, local designer Carmelita Couture, plus bridal gowns by Philly’s Veronica Couture.

Get tickets online.

The 7th Annual Philly Fashion Week
When: Black Tie Affair (Invite Only), February 23; Premiere Runway Show, February 24, 7.-10 p.m.; Final Couture Runway Show, February 25, 7-10 p.m.
Where: Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American Street
Cost: $40 per runway show
More info: www.phillyfashionweek.org