Music is a common theme this week, which is nice to know, isn’t it, Memphis? And the sounds of other balls – not the dribbling kind – will take the stage again as the Memphis Open gets into swing and the University of Memphis throws its first real pitch of the 2017 season. Check out this week's list of need-to-know happenings...

Jody Stephens and Adam Hill have played on and produced some iconic recordings. Jody, of course, was the drummer for Big Star, and Adam is a producer/engineer at Ardent Studios, where Jody is also the business development director. Two guys, in other words, who know a thing or two about the music business and will be talking about audio recording and its history in Memphis this week at Crosstown Arts, 430 N. Cleveland St.
The talk – moderated by musician and Electrophonic Studios owner Scott Bomar – is the latest installment of SoundOff, a quarterly forum presented by Crosstown Arts in collaboration with The Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy.
The event is free and open to the public, includes free food and drinks, and doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the program starting at 7 p.m.

Speaking of music, Memphis is also getting a British invasion redux this week. Four lads from Liverpool. Why, it can only be – a Beatles tribute band, of course.
They’re The Mersey Beatles, and they’re shaking their moptops Saturday at the Halloran Centre, at 225 S. Main St. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
All of the band members were born in the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, and they used to be the resident band at the Cavern Club, the venue where the Beatles got their start. John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird has even reportedly described the group as the most “authentic” tribute band she’s heard.

Clayborn Temple and IRIS Orchestra are celebrating Black History Month with a concert titled “Celebrating the Past: Creating a Future” Saturday at 2 p.m. at Clayborn Temple, 294 Hernando St.
This intergenerational, community-building concert celebrates the music and memories of the civil rights movement, and it’s free to attend.

Professional tennis returns to The Racquet Club with the Memphis Open presented by ServiceMaster. Singles and doubles matches will be held from Monday through Sunday, when champions will be crowned. The field includes the top-ranked American on tour, John Isner, and young Taylor Fritz, who reached the finals of last year’s Memphis Open. For a complete schedule and ticket information, visit.

The Memphis Grizzlies play their last game before the NBA All-Star break on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at FedExForum against the New Orleans Pelicans. While Marc Gasol’s teammates get a vacation after that, he’ll be representing the team as a member of the Western Conference squad. The All-Star Game airs 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT.

With last week’s state of the city and state of the county speeches by Mayors Jim Strickland and Mark Luttrell respectively and still some time before the budget presentations. we find ourselves this week in what might be regarded as a kind of All-Star break in local government. No City Council or County Commission meetings, although the commission has committee sessions Wednesday and a couple of Downtown Memphis Commission related boards are meeting.
Otherwise much of the action is in Nashville at the Tennessee Legislature.

Germantown is going pirate at week’s end as the Opera Memphis production of “The Pirates of Penzance” opens at the Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter Road, with performances Friday through Sunday.
High notes on the high seas, you might say … or not.
Along with the show, Opera Memphis is partnering with a group called Mid-South Buccaneers for a Pirate Fest Saturday afternoon from 2 p.m. 5 p.m. at GPAC.
The Buccaneers, which bill themselves as Memphis’ premier pirate crew, put on their pirate gear for charitable and community events around town, which sounds like a lot of fun even if it doesn’t involve a ship.
The free afternoon features live music from the Bluff City Barnacles as well as pirate games, art activities, stories and probably eye-patch wearing and walking the plank.

The University of Memphis baseball team opens its season with a weekend series vs. the University of Tennessee at FedExPark. Friday’s game starts at 4 p.m., Saturday’s first pitch is 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 1 p.m. For ticket information, visit www.gotigersgo.com.

HopeWorks is hosting its ninth annual Morning of Hope Breakfast Saturday at Esplanade Banquet and Conference Center, 901 Cordova Station. The breakfast, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., will feature three speakers from HopeWorks’ board of directors: B. Chris Simpson, Eric Gentry and Bob Turner.
Funds raised will go toward $750,000 capital campaign HopeWorks kicked off in December to purchase and renovate a building on Summer Ave.

Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South’s largest fundraiser, the Bowlin' on the River Bowl-a-thon, is returning for its 32nd year.
This year’s bowl-a-thon is taking place over the next two weekends (Feb. 18-19 and Feb. 25-26) at two participating bowling alleys: Winchester Bowl, 3703 S. Mendenhall Road, and Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes, 1576 S. White Station Road. Teams of five are asked to raise a minimum of $350, with all the money going to JA.
Each year, dozens of organizations and thousands of bowlers participate. If you want to be one of them, contact Cody Fletcher at 901-507-2068 or cfletcher@jamemphis.org to reserve a lane.

The Daily News staff compiles The Week Ahead for you, our readers, every week. You'll receive it as part of our Monday online edition. Email associate editor Kate Simone at ksimone@memphisdailynews.com if you have items for consideration.