Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

• Thrive Mahoning Valley and the City of YOUngstown are planning a free Cinco de Mayo celebration in downtown Youngstown on Sunday.

The event will run from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Phelps Street Gateway. Offerings will include a cultural exhibit by Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana de Youngstown Ohio, dance by Azteca Guadalupana, music by Mariachi Santa Cecilia and DJ Tito, a grito (scream) contest, face painting, arts and crafts vendors and children’s activities provided by OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology and Oak Hill Collaborative.

Food vendors will be on site serving up authentic flavors and some downtown restaurants will be open.

The festival will save the best for last with two sets of music by Youngstown band The Labra Brothers from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Labras announced last week that the band will get a second opportunity to open for Los Lobos when it returns to the Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland on June 16. Adrian Labra described Los Lobos as “childhood heroes” when the band got to open for them in 2023.

That show sold out well in advance, and there’s no reason to suspect this show will be any different. I suggest getting tickets soon.

I saw my first Los Lobos show in 1984, I think, at Peabody’s Down Under in Cleveland in support of “Will the Wolf Survive?” I’m probably in double figures now and never have seen a bad Los Lobos show … or a bad Labra Brothers show for that matter.

• Live Nation’s annual Concert Week promotion starts Wednesday.

Discounted tickets for more than 5,000 shows nationwide will be available through May 14 for $25, including all fees. T-Mobile customers and Rakuten members will get access a day earlier, starting on Tuesday.

No, concertgoers won’t find $25 tickets for the Rolling Stones or many of the year’s hottest-selling tours nor will they get front row seats, but it still will provide substantial savings over current prices.

The full list of available shows and venues won’t be released until next week, but at least some dates on the Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival will be included, according to the press release. Joining him at Blossom Music Center on Sept. 12 will be Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp. The cost of a lawn ticket for that show currently is $67. A $25 ticket would be about 60% off, even more if that $67 cost doesn’t include fees.

Some Blossom and Pavilion at Star Lake concerts are sure to be on the list, and in the past some Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre dates promoted by Live Nation have been included as well.

• It’s always a shock when you hear a local reference in an unexpected place.

Tuesday evening I was watching the brand new episode of David Letterman’s Netflix interview series “My Next Guest …” featuring comedian John Mulaney.

Letterman was telling Mulaney he was amazed while watching him perform at an arena in Biloxi, Mississippi, where Mulaney did about 15 minutes of off-the-cuff material on the town.

Mulaney said it’s not always easy to do that, but one shortcut for a comedian is that every city thinks they drink the most.

“You can always open with, `Yeah, I used to get (messed) up, but I don’t need to tell you about that in Youngstown.'”

Hey, I wouldn’t call it flattering, but at least it wasn’t a mob reference.

But it made me wonder — that’s a line that could work with just about any city. Why Youngstown?

He certainly hasn’t played here since he became one of the most successful standup comedians working today. I checked with Funny Farm Comedy Club owner Dave Robich, who said Mulaney never worked for him early in his career either.

So, hey John, come pay us a visit. I’m sure we can provide at least as much inspiration as Biloxi.