MUSIC
Pop, Folk & World
VOTE READY This musical partnership with voter outreach organization HeadCount features virtual performances by a potpourri of pop and rock acts including Ava Max, Fitz and the Tantrums, and All Time Low. Voter registration or confirmation of voter registration required to watch. Oct. 2, 8 p.m. www.headcount.org/voteready
SUZANNE VEGA The singer-songwriter and poet of the everyday celebrates recent release “An Evening of New York Songs and Stories” with a full band set streamed live from the Blue Note Jazz Club. Presented in partnership with multiple independent venues and promoters around the United States and Europe, including Cambridge’s Club Passim. Oct. 7, 9 p.m. www.passim.org
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HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS The title says it all — bluegrass may be the main event but it’s hardly the only dish on offer at this Nashville-based festival-gone-virtual, which boasts an enviable lineup including the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, country-soul rising star Yola, and the Black Banjo Reclamation Project. Oct. 3, 5 p.m. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com
ZOË MADONNA
Classical
STREAMING MESSIAEN For classical fans, the silver lining of the pandemic closures has been access to a vastly expanded range of events that they could never have attended otherwise. Like this one, presented by the Houston-based Dacamera ensemble: trailblazing pianists Sarah Rothenberg and Marilyn Nonken perform Olivier Messiaen’s “Visions de l’Amen,” a bracingly imaginative and radically optimistic masterwork for two pianos, written in 1943 after the composer emerged from a prisoner-of-war camp. This performance also features lighting design by Jennifer Tipton. Oct 3, 8 p.m. Free stream but registration is required. dacamera.com
JEREMY EICHLER
ARTS
Theater
THE CHARLES W. LENOX EXPERIENCE Though Ken Green’s solo play is set in the 19th century, it has the ongoing struggles of the 21st century very much on its mind. Kadahj Bennett brings breadth and depth to his portrayal of Lenox, a Black barber in Watertown who served in the Civil War with the storied 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. As Bennett leads patrons on a one-hour stroll around Watertown Square, Lenox’s first-person narrative outwardly resembles one of those tourist-friendly guided expeditions. But this is no anodyne history tour. Embedded throughout “The Charles W. Lenox Experience” are pointed reminders of how little the nation had done to deserve the service of Black soldiers — and how little it appreciated their sacrifice once they had helped to save it. Copresented by New Repertory Theatre, the Watertown Free Public Library, and the Historical Society of Watertown. At Watertown Square. Through Nov. 8. $20. www.newrep.org/productions/lenox-experience
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ELEANOR The gifted Harriet Harris, perhaps best known as the scheming agent Bebe Glazer on “Frasier" and currently a cast member in Ryan Murphy’s “Ratched,” portrays Eleanor Roosevelt in this virtual reading of a solo play by Mark St. Germain (”Freud’s Last Session," “Becoming Dr. Ruth”). Filmed in September without an audience at Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, it is directed by Henry Stram. Oct. 3-4. $15. ci.ovationtix.com/34860/production/1031014
DON AUCOIN
Dance
PAIRING V: FORAGE IN THE PARK Continuum Dance’s latest interactive food and dance event goes virtual, with a newly created video filmed at Larz Anderson Park. The online event features a screening of the 15-minute video “Forage in the Park” as well as a virtual meet and greet with the collaborators and artists. However, to complete the immersive experience, viewers will need to assemble their own bounty of “forageable foods.” Participants also will get a link to a special 3-D video section filmed in 360 VR for a different visual effect. Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. Registration required. continuumdance.org/events/
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KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
RAGNAR KJARTANSSON: THE VISITORS The ICA brings this piece, an old favorite from its permanent collection, out of storage as a kind of salve for our perpetually anxious times. (The ICA said the move is a direct response to its followers’ advocacy on social media.) This is the 2012 piece that helped make Kjartansson’s reputation: a nine-channel video work that situates a gang of friends playing music inside and outside a 43-room mansion set in a snowy mountain range. Its absurdity is outweighed only by the sincerity of its emotional core — a balance, in my mind, to which Kjartansson hasn’t paid enough attention since. Through Aug. 15, 2021. 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
MURRAY WHYTE
OUT OF THE FRAY In this online show, artists use the American flag — a loaded symbol — to chart the gulf between our national ideals and our national realities. Curator Judith Tolnick Champa begins with seminal 20th-century works by Robert Frank, Jasper Johns, and Faith Ringgold. Then, contemporary artists explore issues of social justice and the tattered state of the republic. Presented by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Through Jan. 31. watson.brown.edu/events/2020/out-fray
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CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
THE COMEDY STUDIO: VIRTUALLY THE SAME A fine mix of comic styles, Boston comics, and familiar faces who have moved on are featured in this Zoom show. Kathe Farris, Corey Manning, Pamela Ross, and Sabrina Wu on Friday; Mark Gallagher, Andy Haynes, Kristy Kielbasinski, Janet McNamara, and Jenny Zigrino on Saturday; and Zigrino, Amber Autrey, Peter Bowers, Dan Crohn, and Terence Pennington on Sunday. Oct. 2-4. 8 p.m. $10-$12. www.thecomedystudio.com
LENNY CLARKE Nothing can keep Clarke from a stand-up stage. He suffered a stroke in July and was back up within a couple of weeks. He’ll be on his home turf in person at Giggles with Frank Santorelli and Johnny Pizzi. Oct. 2-3, 8:30 p.m. $30 (available in tables of four, six, and 10). Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 781-233-9950, www.princerestaurant.com/giggles-events
MYQ KAPLAN’S BIRTHDAY SHOW Kaplan has a lot to celebrate, including the day of his birth and his current campaign to get his comedy album “A.K.A.” nominated for a Grammy, but with Josh Gondelman also on the bill, this virtual show could easily be called “Nice Guys From Boston Comedy.” Also including Liz Glazer. Oct. 7, 11:30 p.m. $10-$30. www.nowherecomedyclub.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
SPOOKY KOOKY KIDS MAGIC SHOW Join Nickelodeon award winner Mike Bent Saturday for 45 minutes of bone-chilling, magic fun. Not only will you and your kids get to enjoy his wonderfully funny show, you’ll even get to learn a few magic tricks of your own. The show will be held on Zoom with tickets available for purchase online. Saturdays in October from 2:30-3:15 p.m. $20. thesalemmagicshow.com
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TALES FROM THE SHED Jazz up your Saturday morning with the folks over at Chickenshed NYC, an inclusive theater company, who are bringing their iconic “Tales From the Shed” show to your computer screen. The show is aimed for children 5 and younger, who will get the opportunity to sing and dance along with the group’s famous puppets. The show begins at 10 a.m., but viewers can join 15 minutes before for pre-show activities. Tickets must be bought in advance. Oct. 3, 10 a.m. $15. www.chickenshed.org.uk/nyc
PUMPKINS FOR PEDIATRICS Head to Concord this weekend to pick your own pumpkin at Verrill Farm. The pumpkins are $12 apiece, regardless of size and weight, and all proceeds will be donated to the Pediatric Unit at Emerson Hospital. There will also be fall-themed photo-ops for the photographers in your crew. Oct. 3 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Reserve your pumpkin picking timeslot at www.verrillfarm.ticketleap.com