Mixtape Atlanta

Bacon's Back

This Saturday, March 30, Atlanta's annual BaconFest returns to Dad's Garage parking lot in Inman Park. Endulge in beer, bands, and -of course- bacon from 1-6pm. This event always sells out so make sure you get your tickets ahead of time. Buy advanced tickets here.

Last year, Mr. Bacon himself (KEVIN BACON!) even stopped by to enjoy this event. Although it is unlikely he will make another appearance, each Bacon Fest is a memorable one. Check out past years coverage of BaconFest from Mixtape Atlanta- here.

500 Songs for Kids 2013

Mark your calendar; April and May just got a lot more hectic. 500 Songs for Kids returns for its seventh year this Spring; however, this music marathon will be a little different this year. Instead of taking over Smith's Olde Bar for ten straight days, Georgia's biggest charity event is taking over ALL of Atlanta for five weekends straight. Although Smith's will host the opening and closing weekends, other venues include The Loft, The Earl, and Red Clay Theatre in Duluth.

Another change to the 500 Songs setup is that instead of one umbrella theme, each venue (and sometimes night) will have it's own theme ranging from Best Soundtrack Songs to Greatest Songs from Georgia Artists. As always all proceeds will benefit Songs for Kids Foundation, which brings musicians to children's hospitals and special needs camps across the country.

Check out the full lineup of venues and music themes below. Stay tuned to Mixtape Atlanta for more 500 Songs for Kids updates.

AFF: Sound & Vision

Once upon a time in the 1980s music videos dominated MTV, and on Wednesday the union of music and video are colliding again at The Goat Farm for Sound & Vision. Sound & Vision is an official Atlanta Film Festival event featuring live music from Gringo Star, Dog Bite, PLS PLS, Cute Boots, and more. In addition to the live music performances, there will be a music video competition and installations from artists Micah Stansell, Romy Maloon, Lana Vogestad, and Jane Garver. To make sure all the senses are covered at this event, food trucks including Good Food Truck, Yumbi, King of Pops, and more will also be set up.

The event starts at 6PM and admission is $10.

2013 Atlanta Film Festival

Today marks the start of the 37th Annual Atlanta Film Festival running from March 15- 24. The 10-day movie marathon starts with the opening night showing of Mud at The Plaza Theatre. Mud tells the gritty tale of two teenagers who help a fugitive evade the law in a quest to help him find his true love. The film stars Matthew McConaughy, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, and Georgia native Ray McKinnon, who is scheduled to be in attendance tonight.

The Plaza Theatre and 7 Stages serve as the two main screening venues for this year's festival with past host Landmark Art Cinema noticeably absent.

With screenings, parties, and seminars filling up most cinephiles calendars for the next week, the Atlanta Film Festival will celebrate their closing night picture- The Spectacular Now- on Saturday March 23 at The Plaza. Filmed mostly in Athens, Georgia, Spectacular stars Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, and Kyle Chandler. It has been one of the most buzzed about film's from this year's Sundance Film Festival, so be sure to catch this film and join the conversation early.

To view the entire list of featured films & events, and to buy tickets, visit AtlantaFilmFestival.com.