The week ahead: Mellencamp, Beer Month

RALEIGH, N.C. — A look at events to help get you through the workweek.

Matt Kearney, Parachute and Judah and the Lion play Cats Cradle tonight. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Get ready for that Easter dinner with a class at Southern Season in Chapel Hill. North Carolina farmers and entrepreneurs Jamie DeMent and Richard Holcomb, who own Coon Rock Farm, Bella Bean Organics, Heirloom Provisions and Piedmont Restaurant, will share some family and farmhouse Easter recipes. The class starts at 6 p.m. and is $45 per person.

John Mellencamp plays DPAC tonight. Tickets start at $45.

More live music: Pop-punk band The Ataris play The Pour House in Raleigh. Tickets start at $12.

North Carolina Beer Month kicks off with Cask on Fools at Crank Arm Brewing. The event, which starts at 3 p.m., will feature 23 breweries and casks. A portion of proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the NC Brewers Guild.

Head to Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill for a Meet the Maker event featuring Mystery Brewing's Erik Lars Myers, author of North Carolina Craft Beer & Breweries, and six of North Carolina’s most celebrated brewers for dynamic conversation about the craft brewery movement and more. Enjoy beer tastings from all six breweries with specially selected heavy d'oeuvre's from Top of the Hill. Tickets are $55.

The Firestarters pop-up dining series at Death & Taxes and Bridge Club in downtown Raleigh kicks off tonight with guest chef Sean Brock. Tickets start at $175.

Raleigh Little Theatre's production of "Sleeping Beauty" opens tonight. Tickets are $17 for adults and teens and $11 for children ages 12 and younger.

Celtic Woman brings its 10th anniversary show to the DPAC Friday night. This musical experience features traditional Irish standards, classical favorites and contemporary pop songs. Tickets start at $47.