Atiq Rahimi’s second film, The Passion Stone, explores the meetings and divergences of duty and love in an almost folkloric fashion. The director was present for the first showing of the film at the San Francisco Film Festival on Monday. The film is based on the book of the same name, which Rahimi also wrote. Before the screening, he talked a bit about the syngué sabour (patience stone) that lies at the heart of the film. According to Persian myth, this mystical stone sometimes appears to individuals who are burdened. They tell their worries to the stone, unburdening their hearts in full. One day, the stone simply shatters. As it falls out of existence, so do the burdens and worries of the individual who has confided in the stone.

As soon as he learned that no one was injured and that the vehicles involved suffered no major damage, Klein called to let me know that he’d be late, but that he was definitely on his way. A minor fender-bender wasn’t going to stop Klein from talking about the festival that he has a big hand in organizing.

Only in its sixth year of existence, the festival is one of the best-kept secrets of the small festival circuit – a secret that Klein and his fellow organizers hope goes public. With the lineup that the festival features this year, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. From nationally touring outfits like alt-rockers Deer Tick and populist singer-songwriter Joe Pug to Athens-local fare like the Corduroy Road and the Darnell Boys, this year’s festival features some of the best acts associated with Americana from all over the United States. For a mere $50, festival-goers can purchase wristbands that allow them to attend several shows at participating venues from April 25 to April 28 in the Classic City. Tickets to individual shows associated with the festival can also be purchased through the venues hosting the performances.

Two descriptive terms that come to mind when considering Laura Mvula’s music would be majestic or regal. On stage, Mvula carried herself gracefully, despite any nervousness she confessed to feeling when performing in front of press and music industry professionals for the first time in New York at an intimate venue. As she noted, she knew “who is in the room”. But the Columbia Record execs wanted to celebrate her forthcoming (in the US on May 14) album Sing to the Moon and to continue build the domestic buzz she’s had going since her SXSW dates. They also took the opportunity to celebrate her birthday too, presenting her with a cake after the band sang “Happy Birthday”.

Mvula was giving in return, performing about ten songs for the crowd with a live band behind her. From the moment “Let Me Fall” began, the audience was transfixed on Mvula so self-possessed she was . The truest beauty came a couple of songs in with the title track “Sing to the Moon”. The light instrumentation made it seem almost like a Sufjan Stevens song but formidable percussion gave it the heft and lofted the song to majestic heights. The simple lyrics “Sing to the moon / and the stars will shine” were imbued with such rich energy that you don’t doubt that Mvula sings the truth. “Green Garden” drew the audience to join in with its hand-claps, and seemed to recall Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” in a small way, but was fully formed and mature enough to stand on its own. For her final song, Mvula covered Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” drawing some huge applause. At one point, she welcomed the audience to “sing along” with the warning to not “show me up”. But its doubtful anyone in the room could show up such a pristine and lovely voice.

Caveman launched the night at Webster Hall with their first hit “Thankful”. The lilting tune off their debut album Coco Beware found its way onto the music scene a few years ago, but it seems to express exactly how the band is feeling these days. Their self-titled sophomore album is out, gaining traction in the indie world and beyond, as they put the finishing touches on a well-received tour. Singer Matt Iwanusa showered the audience with thanks between songs, even describing them electric, and gave a shout out to his father for making the drive to see the show. Plus the group on stage clearly demonstrated an appreciation of each other’s talents, as they organically weaved through a set list of old and new songs. The band’s wall of sound, featuring saturated layers of guitar reverb, keyboards and percussion, opened up and let loose, while a black grid on the back wall projected colorful graphic patterns to play off the beams of saturated color and strobe lights.

In the heart of Times Square, tourists and fans alike came out to see Shuggie Otis perform a very funky set at BB King’s. The virtuoso blues rock guitarist shot to fame in the early ‘70s but his success tapered out quickly back then. In the generation or two since his last album, Inspiration Information Otis has been rather quiet, but in the past week, with the re-release of that album, he has booked several sold out shows. Starting in Chicago before three nights in New York, then with stops in major coastal cities and a Europe tour this year, Otis is back and in high demand with buzz beginning to build for the album re-release at the end of last year. Check out the photos below and read the perfect score review of that album on PopMatters. If that doesn’t encourage you to see or hear Otis, then maybe sharing some other knowledgeable musical folks’ thoughts (from the press release) about this talented artist will.