In brief

Third Eye Blind to headline Yardfest

Chart-topping pop quartet Third Eye Blind has been tapped to headline this year’s edition of Yardfest — Harvard’s spring celebration taking place April 28. The group’s performance from the steps of Memorial Church will cap the afternoon event, which is scheduled to run from 5 to 8 p.m.

Presented by the College Events Board and the Harvard Concert Commission, Yardfest allows undergraduates to “take back the Yard” with barbecue-style food, music, rides, and games. The event is open to all Harvard undergraduates with a valid College ID.

Betsy Carpenter tribute set for Sally O’Brien’s

A benefit concert in tribute of Kennedy School of Government (KSG) staff member Betsy Carpenter will be held Sunday (April 15) from 4 to 8 p.m. at Sally O’Brien’s Bar and Grille (335 Somerville Ave. in Union Square). The event will honor Carpenter’s legacy while raising funds for the Betsy Carpenter Gift Fund (to provide transportation to chemotherapy patients in collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute).

Country-tinged rock acts Secondhand Rock and the Dave Sammarco Band are scheduled to perform. Admission is $10. Individuals unable to attend the concert but interested in making a donation may e-mail susankangnam@post.harvard.edu.

A member of the Information Technology Services Department at KSG, Carpenter also served as the Web master for the School, where she had worked since 2000. She passed away this past December after succumbing to colon cancer.

‘Orpheus X’ to mark A.R.T.’s return to Edinburgh Festival

The 2007 Edinburgh International Festival will include the European premiere of the American Repertory Theatre’s production of “Orpheus X,” a modern exploration of the Orpheus myth with music and text by Rinde Ecker, video by Denise Marika, and direction by artistic director Robert Woodruff. This is the second consecutive visit by the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) Company to the renowned festival.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be returning to Edinburgh for the second year running, and proud to be representing Boston at the most prestigious festival in the English-speaking world,” commented A.R.T. executive director Robert J. Orchard. “‘Orpheus X’ is a signature production for the A.R.T., and it’s wonderful that this great show continues to live on and to be seen by new audiences.”

The festival runs Aug. 10 through Sept. 2. The A.R.T. will stage performances of “Orpheus X” Aug. 25-29.