MUSIC
Pop & Rock
GREAT SCOTT POP-UP Grungy Rhode Islanders GYMSHORTS, sweet-and-sour indie poppers The Benji’s, bummer-rock riders Eldridge Rodriguez, and Bon Savants’ Thom Moran make up the live-music portion of the beloved Allston club’s afternoon revival show, which is also scheduled to include comedy and a DJ set from the pill’s DJ Michael V. July 9, noon. Bellforge Arts Center, Medfield. bit.ly/BellforgeGreatScott
PALE WAVES These hard-charging British pop-punkers have overwhelming hooks and an irresistible spirit; their third album, “Unwanted,” which includes the zippy single “Lies,” comes out Aug. 12. They open for the shape-shifting Aussie pop outfit 5 Seconds of Summer, whose latest single, “Me Myself & I,” blends breezily strummed guitars with agonizing post-breakup regret. July 9, 7 p.m. Leader Bank Pavilion. 617-728-1600, livenation.com
Advertisement
RHETT MILLER The Old 97′s frontman drops in for a solo set. Will Dailey guests. July 9, 8 p.m. City Winery. 617-933-8047, citywinery.com/boston
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
TOBY WALKER This fingerstyle guitar player is a roots omnivore who is able to thrive in whatever genre he sees fit to pull into his orbit, be it blues, ragtime, country, vintage jazz, or bluegrass. July 9, 8 p.m. $18. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311, www.bullrunrestaurant.com
NEW BEDFORD FOLK FESTIVAL Another festival makes its return after a pandemic-enforced hiatus, and the weekend event is stuffed full of folk talent, with many of the performances and workshops presented under a thematic label. Peter Mulvey, Tom Rush, É.T.É., Catie Curtis, Roy Book Binder, RUNA, and Garnet Rogers are just a few of the acts on offer this year. July 9-10, 11 a.m. $40 single day, $50 weekend. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center and various locations (see website for details), New Bedford. 508-994-2900, www.newbedfordfolkfestival.com
FEMI KUTI & POSITIVE FORCE Kuti is of course the scion of towering Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and started his career under the tutelage of his father as a member of his band, but he has long been making his own mark as a guiding light of the music. In turn, his band, Positive Force, features the contributions of Femi’s son Made, an emerging force in his own right. July 13, 8:30 p.m. $35. The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 617-876-4275, www.globalartslive.org
Advertisement
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
STEVE LANTNER QUARTET Pianist Lantner’s seasoned unit, comprising some of Boston’s most adventurous improvisers, returns to live performance after a lengthy absence. With alto and soprano saxophonist Alan Chase, bassist Joe Morris, and drummer Luther Gray, all leaders in their own right. July 9, 7:45 p.m. $15-$20. The New School of Music, 25 Lowell St., Cambridge. www.creativemusicseries.com
THE NEW BLACK EAGLE JAZZ BAND Among the world’s finest traditional jazz groups, the long-running ensemble are masters of early New Orleans, 1920s Chicago, and 1930s small band jazz styles. And their rangy repertoire includes blues, rags, and spirituals to boot. July 10, 2 p.m. $20. Maudslay Arts Center, 95 Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport. www.maudslayartscenter.org
THE JIMMY VIVINO BAND WITH RONNIE EARL The versatile guitarist and bandleader, best known for his long association with Conan O’Brien, is deeply rooted in the blues and has played with just about anyone you can think of. For this gig, he’ll be joined by guitar ace Earl. July 13, 7:30 p.m. $25-$30. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311, www.bullrunrestaurant.com
Advertisement
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
TANGLEWOOD Music director Andris Nelsons gives the downbeat on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer season in the Berkshires this weekend, starting Friday night with works by Bernstein and Stravinsky (“Rite of Spring”) as well as Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Yuja Wang. Saturday night brings an all-American program with works by Ellington, Gershwin, Barber, and Carlos Simon. And the Sunday matinee will feature the American premiere of a new trumpet work by Helen Grime (performed by Hakan Hardenberger) alongside Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3. July 8-10. Lenox. 617-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
YELLOW BARN This small yet plucky Vermont festival embraces a spirit of perpetual exploration, as evidenced by this weekend’s season-opening concerts: Friday night brings works by Britten, Schumann, George Crumb, James MacMillan, Valentin Silvestrov, and Jörg Widmann. And on Saturday night, Messiaen’s epic “Quartet for the End of Time” anchors a program of works by Ives, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Gérard Pesson. July 8-9. Big Barn, Putney, Vt. 800-639-3819, www.yellowbarn.org
ASTON MAGNA The reliably satisfying period-instrument festival next sets its sights on chamber music by Bach, including excerpts from “Musical Offering.” With Daniel Stepner (violin), Peter Sykes (harpsichord), Andrea LeBlanc (baroque flute), and Laura Jeppesen (viola da gamba). July 9, 7 p.m. St. James Place, Great Barrington. 413-528-3595, astonmagna.org
JEREMY EICHLER
ARTS
Theater
STEPHANIE J. BLOCK A highly respected Broadway musical performer, Block won a Tony Award in 2019 for her portrayal of the title figure in “The Cher Show” and has done standout work in such productions as “Falsettos” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” She will perform in concert and talk with pianist and host Seth Rudetsky as part of the Broadway @ Town Hall series. Also on hand will be Sebastian Arcelus (”Madame Secretary,” “House of Cards”), who is married to Block. July 10. Town Hall, Provincetown. 800-838-3006, www.ptownarthouse.com
Advertisement
A WALK IN THE WOODS In Lee Blessing’s Cold War drama, which was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 1987, an American arms negotiator (Allyn Burrows) and his Soviet counterpart (Jonathan Epstein) decide to move their high-stakes conversations to a less formal setting, strolling through the woods near Geneva, Switzerland. Over the course of a year, a friendship develops between these two very different men. Directed by James Warwick. July 15-Sept. 4. Shakespeare & Company, Roman Garden Theatre, Lenox. 413-637-3353, www.shakespeare.org
ANNA IN THE TROPICS Two decades ago, Nilo Cruz won the Pulitzer Prize with this lyrical, life-imitating-art drama. It takes place in 1929 in a Cuban-American cigar factory in Tampa, where a charismatic lector (Alex Rodriguez) has been hired to read novels aloud to workers as they hand-roll cigars. Tensions rise as his reading of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” inspires the workers to examine their own lives and relationships. The cast also includes Wilson Jermaine Heredia (a 1996 Tony winner for his performance as Angel in “Rent”), Gilbert Cruz, Blanca Camacho, Alexis Cruz, Marina Pires, and Gabriela Saker. Directed by Elena Araoz. July 16-30. Barrington Stage Company, Boyd-Quinson Stage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org
Advertisement
DON AUCOIN
Dance
SUITE TALK Presented by beheard.world, this hourlong work combines dance, spoken word, and music to combat racism and promote inclusion. It’s part of the organization’s ongoing quest to promote dialogue leading to understanding, connection, and, ultimately, hope. The outdoor performance will be followed by a facilitated conversation. July 14, 7 p.m. Free. Copley Square. www.beheard.world
A.I.M. BY KYLE ABRAHAM Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival hosts the highly anticipated “An Untitled Love,” by the award-winning Abraham and his celebrated company. An ode to family, culture, and community, the work mines the choreographer’s personal and deep-rooted love of soul music and R&B via the songs of D’Angelo. July 13-17. $55-$85. Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket. www.jacobspillow.org
NOZAMA DANCE COLLECTIVE The Boston-based contemporary dance company presents “N2,” a free evening performance of all new works. The intimate concert of five world premieres by directors and members of the company also includes commentary by each of the works’ creators. July 9. Free with registration ($10 suggested donation). Mass Motion Dance Boston. https://nozamadancecollective.wordpress.com
NORTH ATLANTIC BALLET The company’s summer repertory performances feature new works from the 1:2 Choreography Lab by Ilya Vidrin and company artistic director Lucy Warren-Whitman, plus a work from last summer’s collaborative lab. Also on the program, “In the Mood” portrays travelers at a train station just after World War II and unfurls to the big band music of the era. July 10, 2 and 5 p.m. $25-$30. Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, Rockport. https://windhover.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
BARKLEY HENDRICKS: MY MECHANICAL SKETCHBOOK Best known for his graceful life-size portraiture ennobling Black American life, Hendricks had a less-seen parallel current to his artmaking that used photography in surprising and innovative ways. When Hendricks called it a “mechanical sketchbook,” he was barely exaggerating; this exhibition collects dozens of his photographs in concert with paintings and drawings that show an active, creative mind rarely at rest. It’s just one part of a Hendricks renaissance — the Brooklyn Museum is working on mounting a major career retrospective right now — that the artist, sadly, did not live to see; he died in 2017 at 72 just, it seemed, as his career was getting started. Through July 24. Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. 415 South St., Waltham. 781-736-3434, brandeis.edu/rose
REVIVAL: MATERIALS AND MONUMENTAL FORMS Since it opened in 2018, the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Watershed Annex across the harbor in East Boston has hosted monumental pieces by a single artist, some made for that very space. This show changes things up — having the Venice Biennale on its plate this spring probably had something to do with it — a group effort featuring sculptural works by El Anatsui, Madeline Hollander, Ibrahim Mahama, Karyn Olivier, Ebony G. Patterson, and Joe Wardwell. Still, the Watershed’s topical ethos remains intact: The show addresses creative reuse of cast-off materials in a world drowning in trash. Through Sept. 5. ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St., East Boston. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.com
ANDREW WYETH: LIFE AND DEATH The quintessential painter of 20th-century American rural life — “Christina’s World,” his 1948 painting of a woman crumpled in a field of long grass, is one of those few paintings instantly recognizable by almost anyone, anywhere — had an equal fascination with death, including his own. This is the first public presentation of recently rediscovered drawings that Wyeth made in the 1990s of his own funeral; the show couples those drawings with works by Duane Michals, Andy Warhol, and George Tooker, all of whom depicted their own passing, as a deeper look at the nature of artistic meditation on mortality. Through Oct. 16. Colby College Museum of Art, 5600 Mayflower Hill Drive, Waterville, Maine. 207-859-5600, www.colby.edu/museum
MURRAY WHYTE
DENSITY’S GLITCH In the digital world, a glitch is a rapid-fire error loop. Here, curators Angela Dufresne, Cash (Melissa) Ragona, and Andrew Woolbright turn it into a metaphor. A glitch might be a buildup of paint or a societal or personal stalemate — a point of density, friction, and resistance, which these 17 artists (all past FAWC fellows) approach as opportunity for contact and exploration. Through Aug. 28. Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Fine Arts Work Center, 24 Pearl St., Provincetown. 508-487-9960, https://fawc.org/hudson-d-walker-gallery
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
DREW DUNN On tour in Canada last year, the Boston comic availed himself of a cannabis store at a mall in Edmonton, and noted the hypocrisy of the US legal system. “It’s crazy to think that people are still in jail for weed in the United States and I’m just buying it at the mall, skipping around with a bag, ‘Let’s go to Orange Julius next!’” July 8-9, 8 p.m. $25. Off Cabot Comedy and Events, 9 Wallis St., Beverly. www.offcabot.org
RHYS DARBY New Zealander Darby is most recognizable to fans in the States from his work in TV on “Our Flag Means Death” and “Flight of the Conchords,” or in films such as “What We Do in the Shadows.” He’s celebrating 25 years in stand-up on his latest tour. July 9, 7 p.m. $35-$45. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur.com
THE KERFUFFLE This used to be a regular show at ImprovBoston, a mix of sketch and improv and what the creators call “undefinable comedy.” One of its originators, Jackie Arko, returns to host with Tess Varney under the Union Comedy banner. July 9, 9:30 p.m. $20. The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville. 617-628-4445, www.therockwell.org
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA A beloved classic that’s sure to charm your aspiring young princess (or inner theater kid), Rodgers + Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” features a timeless combo of fantasy escapism and real-world glamour. North Shore Music Theatre’s adaptation piles on the charm, starring beloved RuPaul’s Drag Race competitor Jujubee as the evil stepmother you’ll love to hate. Introduce your kids to the fairy tale that captivated Broadway — or just give yourself a chance to re-experience the magic once more. Through July 24. $63-$88. North Shore Music Theatre, 54 Dunham Road, Beverly. nsmt.org
LEAP LAB: FLOATING WETLANDS Got a kid who loves science and the outdoors? At MIT’s Leap Lab event, they’ll get a chance to explore the floating wetland on the Charles River through a microscope, learn to paint with algae, and compete in friendly engineering challenges with their peers. Register for free online and let your STEM-loving child nerd out to their heart’s content. July 9, 11 a.m-12:30 p.m. Free. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. eventbrite.com
STEWIE’S MAGIC HAT If you’re looking for a tried-and-true, hassle-free way to get your kids in a good mood, look no further than Good Hearted Entertainment’s “Stewie’s Magic Hat” this Saturday and Sunday. Accomplished puppeteer Honey Goodenough has toured the country with her shows and taught kids for years, so your children are sure to be in for a treat. Follow along as the lovable red-haired Stewie becomes a wizard’s apprentice and works to master a series of magical tasks — just make sure your kids don’t get too curious about how Stewie learned to talk. July 9-10, showtimes vary. $12.50. Puppet Showplace Theater, 32 Station St., Brookline. www.puppetshowplace.org
JOY ASHFORD
Digital Access
Home Delivery
Gift Subscriptions
Log In
Manage My Account
Customer Service
Help & FAQs
Staff List
Advertise
Newsletters
View the ePaper
Order Back Issues
News in Education
Search the Archives
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Terms of Purchase
Work at Boston Globe Media
