fb-pixelBoston-area to do list - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
events

Boston-area to do list

Liberto Peiro

PICK OF THE DAY

The muffin man

Any food reference is music to our ears, so we’re hungry for salsamuffin, the music style and phrase coined by Sergent Garcia. This Paris-based songwriter and instrumentalist combines salsa, reggae, hip-hop, and jazz, and will serve it up with his Cumbiamuffin All Stars band. May 2 at 7:30 p.m. $25. 21+. Johnny D’s, 17 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville.
617-876-4275. www.worldmusic.org

WEDNESDAY

May Day music A great way to celebrate anything is with food, beverages, and music. All three are available at the Revels “Spring Pub Sing” where the audience joins forces with Revels music director George Emlen in a raising of voices, forks, and glasses. Join the May Day festivities for supper (6-7 p.m.) and songs. 6-9 p.m. $15. Doyle’s Café, 3484 Washington St., Jamaica Plain. 617-972-8300, ext. 31. www.revels.org

Ladies and gentlemen When you hear tracks from “Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies,” the new Volbeat album, do they remind you of those great spaghetti westerns? According to singer/guitarist and founder of the Danish metal band: “Half of the album tracks will take you into the world of outlaw gunslinger stories sometime in the 1800s. Some of the characters are true legends, while others are fiction. The listener will hear inspiration from old classic spaghetti western movies . . .” 8 p.m. $29.50, $45. House of Blues, 15 Lans­downe St., Boston. 800-745-3000. www.livenation.com

From mom, with love Our mother continues to teach us to be thoughtful, gracious, and to never put the ketchup bottle on the table. In “What My Mother Gave Me,” 31 women contributed essays about gifts from their moms. Join editor Elizabeth Benedict and others at a panel discussion. 7 p.m. Free. Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge. 617-491-2220. www.portersquarebooks.com

Here’s looking at you There’s so much more to a portrait than meets the eye (or eyes). When you look at works on view by Glenn Szegedy and Janet Wolohanat at “About Face: Compelling Portraits,” think about how portraits can be used as a documentary, for propaganda, to show beauty, to comment on social issues, and more. Wed hours 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (through June 1; reception May 4
2-4 p.m.). Free. The Brush Art Gallery & Studios, 256 Market St., Lowell. 978-459-7819. www.thebrush.org

THURSDAY

As the world turns There are thousands of maps and almost 700 atlases from the 15th to 21st centuries in the Boston Athenaeum collection. Set your GPS for Beacon Street and spend your lunch break with associate director and curator of maps John Lannon at “Highlights From the Athenaeum’s Cartographic Collections.” May 2 at noon. Free. Boston Athenaeum, 10½ Beacon St., Boston. 617-720-7641. www.bostonathenaeum.org

They belong Dan Navarro and Clarence Bucaro share the bill at Club Passim. From the latter you’ll get “uplifting Americana” by a Brooklyn singer-songwriter/guitarist who covers life, love, family, and relationships. The former penned “We Belong” for Pat Benatar and has been a singer and voice actor for movies, TV, and commercials. May 2 at 8 p.m. $15. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org