MUSIC
Pop, Folk & World
PASSIM CAMPFIRE FESTIVAL Gather round Passim’s virtual campfire all through Labor Day weekend, for four evenings of performances by folk acts and singer-songwriters from far and near. Sept. 4-7. www.passim.org
TANK AND THE BANGAS The merry band of New Orleans soul rebels perform for a virtual audience from the stage of legendary local venue Tipitina’s. Tickets $12. Sept. 5, 9 p.m. https://nugs.tv
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH WEEKLY SHOW Red Sox organist Josh Kantor has gone back to work, serenading an empty ballpark — but he’s still streaming ballpark organ request specials from his living room once a week on Mondays. Sept. 7, 3 p.m. www.facebook.com/7thinningstretch2020
ZOË MADONNA
Classical
MET STREAMS In case you missed them live or in earlier HD transmissions, this weekend brings free encore streams of two worthwhile productions: the Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” (with Eric Owens and Angel Blue in the title roles, Sept. 4 and 5) and Thomas Adès’s “The Tempest” (Sept. 6). BSO fans who know Adès primarily for his orchestral works, presented in the context of his role as the orchestra’s artist partner, will likely appreciate this chance to see his formidable operatic gifts in full bloom. www.metopera.org
JEREMY EICHLER
ARTS
Theater
STONO The dynamic Step Afrika! troupe presents the virtual world premiere of a performance piece co-commissioned by ArtsEmerson and inspired by the Stono Rebellion, a 1739 revolt by enslaved Africans that began near the Stono River in South Carolina. The premiere of “Stono” will be followed by a live panel discussion that will include, among others, C. Brian Williams, founder and executive director of Step Afrika! The panel will examine the relevance of the Stono Rebellion to the kind of structural inequities that remain part of our contemporary social landscape. Sept. 9, at 8 p.m. www.artsemerson.org. Event is free with registration, though guests are encouraged to donate to Step Afrika! at https://sforce.co/36jSh7K.
THE BATTLE NOT BEGUN Jack Beatty’s play revolves around the 1938 meeting between Adolf Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that resulted in the infamous Munich Agreement, which permitted Germany to annex the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia and emboldened Hitler. A collaboration between Gloucester Stage Company and Punctuate4 Productions, “The Battle Not Begun” features Ken Bolden as Hitler and Malcolm Stuart Ingram as Chamberlain, with direction by Myriam Cyr. Free. Through Sept. 6. https://gloucesterstage.com/battle-not-begun/
THE B-SIDE: NEGRO FOLKLORE FROM TEXAS STATE PRISONS Boston theatergoers got a chance earlier this year to see Eric Berryman’s electric performance as a young Malcolm X in ArtsEmerson’s world premiere of Will Power’s “Detroit Red” at the Paramount Center. In 2017, Berryman starred in New York in a Wooster Group production of “The B-Side: Negro Folklore From Texas State Prisons.” Subtitled “A Record Album Interpretation,” the work was conceived by Berryman and inspired by a 1965 LP of spirituals, blues, work songs, and spoken-word toasts that were recorded live by Black inmates. Through Sept. 14, free, at www.thewoostergroup.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL This would have been the time of year the renowned circus troupe would be settled in for a stay in Boston, charming area audiences with a new production full of its trademark blend of daredevil acrobatics, whimsy, and eye-popping artistry. Alas. … But until finances and pandemic restrictions are sorted out, the company has been posting a terrific series of specials on its website, from behind-the-scenes glimpses to hourlong specials with excerpts from their popular shows. www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
HYUNDAI COMMISSION: KARA WALKER You can put your two feet in front of real things inside plenty of New England museums these days. But online, the world is yours. So have a look at American artist Kara Walker’s recent commission at the Tate Modern in London, a fully functioning statuary fountain replete with her trademark colonial nightmares — the triangular trade of slavery between the UK, Africa, and the US, and the dark waters that brought them forth. The piece is on view until Nov. 9, so your chances of seeing it in person are slim (given the US’s global pandemic pariah status). Online, it’s on forever. www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/hyundai-commission-kara-walker
MURRAY WHYTE
THE GREAT EMPTY: MASKED PORTRAITS IN THE TIME OF CORONA After plague and flood, four pop-up shows celebrate SoWA’s season opening this year. In this one, Gary Duehr’s dystopian black-and-white street portraits are shot with an infrared filter. Contrasts are stark; people and leaves glow against dark skies. The images have the half-toned graininess of old newspapers — as if the existential terrors of mid-20th-century America have come home to roost. Sept. 4-13. Pop-up at the InFusion Art Glass space, 460C Harrison Ave. www.garyduehr.com/people#/the-great-empty
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
PURE VIRTUAL STANDUP This intriguing lineup features Judah Friedlander (“30 Rock” regular and self-proclaimed “World Champion”), Josh Gondelman (former Boston comic, writer and producer on “Desus & Mero,” host of the “Make My Day” podcast), and New York City comic Dave Kinney. Donations help keep Brooklyn’s Eastville Comedy Club afloat. Sept. 4, 9 p.m. Donation requested. eastvillecomedy.com
44TH ANNUAL TOLMAN TELETHON ZOOM PARTY It’s not quite a proper telethon, but Boston comedians Dan Crohn, Shelley Gruenberg, and Amy Rubin will help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association through the Tolman Telethon’s “Zoom Party” stand-up show. Sept. 6, 8 p.m. Donations encouraged. www.tolmantelethon.com
THE BOOB TUBE Niki Luparelli hosts this virtual variety show at the Comedy Studio with stand-up from Cher Lynn, Amber Autry, and Reid Clark, and videos from Poise N’ Envy, Jonathan Tilson, Dan Hall, Jeff Scott, and Anthony Scibelli. Sept. 10, 8 p.m. Free. www.thecomedystudio.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
FOR YOUNG BOOK-LOVERS The Boston Public Library invites children entering grades K through 3 and their families to a virtual Family Book Club, where they can discover new chapter books and take part in book-inspired games and crafts. To sign up and receive a link to the Zoom room, e-mail librarians Patty and Rebecca at rfox@bpl.org. The next gathering of the monthly event takes place Sept. 12 at 4-4:45 p.m. Free. bpl.bibliocommons.com/events