MEET THE FOLKIES
In the upcoming Coen brothers film “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the filmmakers visit the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s. The fictional singer-songwriter Davis is based on real-life Villager Dave Van Ronk. Just as the filmmakers helped bring back old-timey music with their film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” the new film is sure to spark a resurgence of folk. Sunday at Town Hall, the Coens and T Bone Burnett, the music man behind both films’ soundtracks, will present “Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of ‘Inside Llewyn Davis.’ ”
The roster of performers playing tunes from the film, and their own work, includes Joan Baez (an original folkie from that time and place), the Avett Brothers, the Punch Brothers, Marcus Mumford, Patti Smith, Jack White and Gillian Welch. “Inside” star Oscar Isaac and some of his co-stars will also perform.
7:30 p.m. at 123 W. 43rd St.; 212-997-1003. Tickets, $50 and up (a portion goes to the National Recording Preservation Foundation). — Billy Heller
MAGRITTE-INGS
Hovering eyes and floating hats, clouds shaped like a woman’s torso, high heels filled with hair. Freud would have had a field day analyzing René Magritte’s paintings, and so will you — which is why MoMA’s “Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary” promises to be the No. 1 blockbuster of a very busy fall. Opening Sunday, this show covers the early years (1926-38) of the Belgian surrealist, whose later works, including a green apple and big eye, were appropriated by everyone from the Beatles to CBS. Among the 80 or so works here are cut-and-paste collages that probably inspired “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”; a cabinet of curiosities including a paint-slathered Venus de Milo and a (sculpted) piece of Brie, and works — like those heels filled with hair — from private collections. An eye-popping good show! 11 W. 53rd St.; moma.org. — Barbara Hoffman
FRANCE ON
Despite its name, the Taste of France event in Bryant Park isn’t only about eating and drinking. Lit types can meet bestselling novelist Marc Levy, while music fans can listen to Met Opera singers, including Paulo Szot and Isabel Leonard, perform songs en français.
But the big fun involves eating and boozing at the 120 booths. Make sure to check out the Armagnac croustade demo — this dessert from Gascony requires devilishly thin, hand-pulled dough.
And then there’s the ginormous Le Grand Wine Tasting. “To have 100 wines from 10 French regions on offer has never been done in America before,” says Ariane Daguin, Taste of France’s vice chair and the founder of local fine-meats purveyor D’Artagnan. Good thing few New Yorkers have to drive home.
Entrance is free; chef tasting and drinks require paid tickets (various prices). Sixth Avenue at 41st Street, Saturday and Sunday starting 11 a.m; tasteoffrance.com. — Elisabeth Vincentelli
STICK IT TO SANDY
During the 1970s, the New York Rangers practiced in Long Beach. As such, many of the team’s alumni were eager to help when the town ice rink was damaged by Hurricane Sandy and turned into a staging center to distribute supplies. Saturday, the refurbished rink will reopen with help from the seaside town’s one-time VIPs. “I lived in Long Beach when I was playing,” says Rangers legend Ron Greschner. “I loved it there. Everyone is pitching in to get it back and running.” The retired defenseman will hit the ice with former teammates, such as Ron Duguay, Stéphane Matteau and Brian Mullen, starting at 3 p.m., when they host a family skate, then a free clinic. At 6, the icemen will play an exhibition game against cops, firemen and first responders.
Game tickets, $15 (proceeds benefit Long Beach recovery). 150 West Bay Drive, Long Beach; newyorkrangers.com/assist. — Kirsten Fleming
OH, BROTHERS
John Landis’ “The Blues Brothers” was something new and unusual for Hollywood when it came out in 1980 — a feature-length chase comedy punctuated by musical numbers. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, reprising their title characters from “Saturday Night Live,’’ try to save the Chicago orphanage where they were raised from closing. Amid the hilarious vehicular chaos, there are wonderful musical performances by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway and many others. Including a climactic cameo by Steven Spielberg, “The Blues Brothers’’ is opening the fall season Friday at 8 p.m. at Loew’s Jersey, a restored 1929 movie palace in Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ. Info: loewsjersey.org. — Lou Lumenick