Daily Choices: What to do on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24 

Special: What are your New Year’s plans? The Persian New Year, that is – otherwise known as Nowruz. If you want to get in on this Persian party, stop by the Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave.) on Sunday for “Ode to Wine: A Program of Poetry, Art and Culture,” the gallery’s third annual Nowruz celebration. The day’s festivities include a presentation on the history of Nowruz by Rochester Institute of Technology professors Shahin Monshipour and Robert Dunbar; a lecture and poetry reading by Fatemeh Keshavarz of the Roshan Center for Persian Studies, and University of Rochester professor Emil Homerin; Persian dances from SUNY Geneseo’s Dance Ensemble; live music, guided gallery tours, and more. The party runs from 1 to 5 p.m., and is free, with a suggested donation of $5. Visit mag.rochester.edu for the day’s full schedule.

Music: Are you a little more country than rock and roll? Have a little Nashville in your blood? Then you don’t want to miss the Country Done Come to Town Tour, hitting Nashville’s (4853 W Henrietta Rd., nashvillesny.com) Saturday night. Artists include Shotgunn Wedding, Julie Dunlap & High Maintenance, Flint Creek, Double Cross, Quentin Harriger, Worthy Duncan, and Kentucky Moonshiners. The hootenanny kicks off at 9 p.m.

Dance: River Dance North Chicago, a jazz-based contemporary dance company from the Windy City, will whisk its way over to the Callahan Theater at Nazareth College (4245 East Ave.) for a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $45-60 and can be purchased at artscenter.naz.edu, where you can also find a full schedule of upcoming campus shows and events.

Music: Though none of its members can claim to have been born quite near the year that is the band’s namesake, that hasn’t stopped Manchester, England’s The 1975 from releasing three lauded EPs in quick succession since last summer. On the second EP, “Sex,” in particular, the quartet demonstrates the ability to alternate between sticky-sweet ballads and anthemic pop rock with utmost grace. With each new release’s new tweaks and progressions, and with a debut full length on the way, the band continues to excel at attention-grabbing pop music; a trend one can only hope continues. Joywave, Soviet Dolls, and The Branch Davidians fill out the bill for this local show. The show takes place Saturday, March 23, 9 p.m. at the Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave. $10-$12. 454-2966, bugjar.com.

Kids: Beatrix Potter, the British author of the beloved children’s classic “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” has been dead almost 80 years, so she won’t be holding any literary events these days. But you can get the next best thing when local actor and storyteller Gretchen Murray Sepik portrays Potter in a free Easter theater and literary event at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church (10 E. Park St., Albion, Orleans County) on Saturday. Potter’s performance and reading begins at 3 p.m., and will be followed by a complimentary English afternoon tea. Go to pullmanmemorial.org for more info and events.

Music: Sure, drummers might sit at the back of the band, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Saturday night you can join Bush Mango, The Mambo Kinds, and The Buddhahood in celebrating everything that is percussive instruments in The Night of the Drum at Harro East Ballroom (155 N. Chestnut St.). Music starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets run $20-$20.

Theater: Short attention span theatergoers, rejoice: You can see 30 new plays in just one evening at Photoplay, the latest conceptual art production from John Borek (of “Moose Murders” revival fame), at the MuCCC Theater (142 Atlantic Ave.) at 7 p.m. Sunday. The production will feature 30 new 90-second plays, all performed inside of a photo booth on the stage. The play – or plays, rather – are free, with a suggested donation. Go to muccc.org for more info and shows.

Music: Put those dancing feet to good use and join in at the 5th Annual CURE Dance Benefit at Templt B’rith Kodesh (2131 Elmwood Ave., tbk.org). Gap Mangione and the New Big Band will be performing, event starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $25.

Music: Famed author and pal-o-mine Charles Benoit once described the two schools of writing to me: plotting and plodding. The plotters lay it out ahead of time, the plodders discover as they go. Bill Frisell is a plodder, in this case with a Tele in lieu of a typewriter. I mean, how could he know where he was going with Beautiful Dreamers (his guitar/cello ensemble)? Frisell is prolific, having played guitar on more than 250 recordings. He has worked with masters like Elvin Jones and Ron Carter, and interpreted the music of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. Frisell as a performer is a minimalist, his back frequently to the audience. But if you clear a little head space for the cat, his plodding will take you places you’ve never gone. Bill Frisell plays Sunday, March 24, 7 p.m., at Water Street Music Hall, 204 N. Water St. $35-$55. waterstreetmusic.com.