Book: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro is a master of wrenching existential excavations, both human (The Remains of the Day) and artificial (Never Let Me Go). His eighth novel is set in a dystopian near future, when AI has become a striking simulacrum of humanity. Klara, the book’s narrator, is an AF, or artificial friend, to Josie, a teenager with a mysterious illness. Ishiguro imbues Klara with all the hallmarks of sentience—the ability to love and feel loss and loneliness—in the process creating a character so real she’ll break your heart and stay in your consciousness for a long, long time. –Genevie Durano

Display: Bellagio Conservatory's Springtime Celebrations

You don’t need to leave Las Vegas to see a world full of flowers. View homages to England’s Chelsea Flower Show, Holland’s Keukenhof Festival, Washington D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Festival and Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival by visiting the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens’ new seasonal display, “Springtime Celebrations Around the World.” It features a large windmill, Thai regal umbrellas, a butterfly greenhouse and 30,000 flowers and plants, including 12 cherry blossom trees. Through May 22, free, social distancing in place. –C. Moon Reed

Show: Savannah Smith at the Vegas Room

You might recognize the striking Savannah Smith and her versatile voice from her role fronting The Moonshiners, who brings vintage swing vibes to modern pop hits. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg for the musical chameleon and UNLV grad. Smith will dabble in soul, rock, jazz, country and folk during her three-night run of dinner shows at the Vegas Room, the intimate venue that has quickly become an ideal showcase for local artists like this one whose name you need to know. March 25-27, 6:30 p.m., $85, thevegasroom.com. –Brock Radke

Film: Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, the Academy Award-nominated writers of Bridesmaids, take a committed swing at slapstick comedy with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Wiig and Mumolo play a pair of sincere, lovable goofballs who go on an impulsive Florida Keys vacation only to be ensnared in a James Bond-like world-domination plot hatched by one Sharon Gordon Fisherman (also Wiig). Sweet, irreverent and frankly bizarre, Barb and Star is likely to become a cult favorite. Rentable through Amazon, Google & iTunes. –Geoff Carter

Music: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Way Down in the Rust Bucket

Only those lucky enough to have witnessed Neil Young with this Crazy Horse lineup—drummer Ralph Molina, guitarist “Poncho” Sampedro and bassist Billy Talbot—can truly comprehend the waves of fuzzed-out sound the four musicians sent out from the stage. This unearthed, two-and-a-half-hour recording—a November 1990 concert at the 800-cap Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California, as the band prepared for its legendary Ragged Glory tour—won’t blow back your hair in quite the same way, but the soaring versions of “Love to Burn,” “Like a Hurricane,” “Cortez the Killer” and many more (plus some Las Vegas banter) are the next best thing to building a time machine. –Spencer Patterson