FILM | Short & Sweet - Special Late Night Edition
Originaly launched in London, England, "Short & Sweet" is a weekly film 'festival', sharing the best in international "short films, music videos and short animations". Part of their 'curatorial' mandate is to mix underground, upcoming, and established talent, and to stay far away from any zone that might be considered 'tame', where content is concerned. This is a must-attend for any film or culture buff, and it's very exciting to see TO as one of the first cities on Short & Sweet's 'expansion list'.
No One Writes To The Colonel (460 College Street) 9PM FREE/PWYC

MUSIC | Jessica Lea Mayfield
Ohio's Jessica Lea Mayfield has been making waves across the US since her 2008 release, "With Blasphemy So Heartfelt". Her sound can be described as souful, and plaintive, drawing on the "lonesome" sound of the country school, with rock sensibilities as well. She was discovered by Dan Auberbach of The Black Keys, who produced her first album. She also made a guest appearance on The Black Keys' album, "Attack & Release". Pitchfork Media, and Blurt Magazine have both sung Mayfield's praises, and big fest appearances, such as Bonnaroo in 2009, and various tours with the likes of Cake, The Black Keys, Jay Farrar, and others have helped spread her name.
The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) 8PM $18

MUSIC | NOMEANSNO + Metz
Vancouver-based innovators, NoMeansNo play Lee's tonight. This group has a devout following both across the continent, and in Europe, and have been doing their thing since the tail end of the 'first wave' of Punk rock, which is where this band's roots are firmly planted. That isn't the whole story, however, as these guys were among the earliest to fuse the energy, edge, and sonics of punk with the chops, complexity and spontaneity of jazz improvisation. They are also credited as progenitors of "math rock". Definitely worth checking out! Metz opens the show.
Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West) 8PM $23

LITERATURE | Rowers Pub Reading Series
This event is a favourite among writers and literary enthusiasts in TO, and takes place the first Monday of every month. It's a great place to catch both established and emerging talent reading from their own works. The April edition features the talents of George Elliott Clarke, Shaena Lambert, and Roy Miki. It also doesn't hurt that this reading series takes place in a great pub. Cheers!
Harbord House (150 Harbord Street) 7:30PM FREE

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

• Toronto Silent Film Festival & Toronto Theatre Organ Society presents
• Fashion Farewell C Lounge Mondays

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by alvin.ang in the blogTO Flickr pool.