MUSICAL CORNUCOPIA
Monday, November 14
Taylor Swift meets a hip-hopped Elvis Presley and Charles Mingus mingles with Charles Ives at America? America! The concert is by the New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation program, which blends jazz, classical, and other music forms. Students, faculty, and special guests will perform 17 vocal and instrumental pieces, among them Earl Robinson's beloved 10-minute patriotic oratorio, Ballad for Americans, and an improvised version of The Star-Spangled Banner. At Jordan Hall. 7:30 p.m. Free. 617-585-1260; necmusic.edu/event/15951
BALLET WITH BITE
Tuesday, November 15
Gothic beauty and beastliness come to Worcester, thanks to Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Dracula, choreographer Mark Godden's 1998 resetting of the classic Bram Stoker novel. The Winnipeg Ballet, North America's longest continuously operating company, performs at the Hanover Theatre. The recorded score is drawn from Mahler's symphonies 1, 2, and 9. Tickets $39 to $59, students and youth $25. 7:30 p.m. 877-571-7469; thehanovertheatre.org/rwb
EATING HISTORY
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Wednesday, November 16
History is all around us in Boston, in the form of storied sites and artifacts, but what about in the food we eat? Urban planner and historian James C. O'Connell has chronicled more than two centuries of food trends in Boston restaurants and what they tell us about our culture in his new book, Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History. He delves into this delicious subject, tracing the route from formal dining to today's brasseries, bistros, and brewpubs, at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. Free. 6 p.m. bpl.org
LIGHT IT UP
Starting Saturday, November 19
The opening day of Blink!, the festive light and sound show at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, culminates in the lighting of what's touted as the tallest holiday tree in the Northeast. The fun starts at 3 p.m. with performances, leading to 8 p.m.'s Holiday Spectacular with samplings from Boston favorites, including Livingston Taylor and Boston Ballet's Nutcracker. After the light show, Mayor Marty Walsh will flip the switch for the towering tree. Multiple light and sound shows continue nightly from November 20 through January 1. Free. faneuilhallmarketplace.com
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STOOLIE NATION, UNITE!
Saturday, November 19
It's bro-time at the Wilbur, as the hilarious (if foulmouthed) gang behind Barstool Sports' KFC Radio podcast presents Couch by Couchwest, a spinoff of their 2015 live show Couchella. All three of the KFC Radio personalities, New York's KFC, Chicago's Big Cat, and Boston's Feitelberg, will show up on stage to dish on sports, life, and their favorite — and oddest — interactions with fans, a.k.a. "stoolies," of their humor and sports show. Will there be burritos? For sure not. Tickets $39.50. 7 p.m. thewilbur.com
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