Serious names in New Orleans music, pianist and conductor of the visiting Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Christoph Eschenbach and Perth band Aerial Maps play live

Now is the heavy time for Portland. This Thursday, the fourth annual Fall Into Darkness festival of underground metal kicks off at Rotture and Branx.

Think of it as the musical equivalent of trail mix. Trail mix with a bite. Starting tonight, the Prospecto Musical Showcase and Sonic Experience will offer up a nutty mix of national and regional rock, funk, hip-hop, pop and boundary-pushing edgy stuff at three different downtown venues – The Intersection, The Pyramid Scheme, Founders Brewing Co.

As always, amid the big names making West Michigan tour stops at hefty venues such as Van Andel Arena, there are mega-tasty artists bubbling below the surface playing concerts in smaller venues around town.

New research reveals that, like their giant cousins, rocky planets are more likely to be found orbiting high metallicity stars. Furthermore, these planets are more plentiful around low mass stars. This could have important implications for the search for life outside of Earth.