MUSIC
Pop & Rock
LUKE BRYAN Once a hip-shaking, Lady Gaga-covering member of the 2010s “bro country” vanguard, now an “American Idol” judge whose midtempo twang is still defined by affable optimism, Bryan returns to New England in support of his latest album, 2020′s course-staying “Born Here Live Here Die Here.” July 10, 7 p.m. Xfinity Center, Mansfield. 800-745-3000, livenation.com
GRACE GIVERTZ The local folk singer continues her busy July with a pair of shows; her new track “Papa” spins family history and protest music into a searing statement made even more potent by her forceful voice. July 10, 10 a.m. First Church in Jamaica Plain. More info at thejpflea.com. Also July 11, 2 p.m. Looney Tunes Allston. More info at instagram.com/looneytunesallston
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DEADMAU5 The mouse-headed DJ and producer comes to town in between two collaborative releases: “Hypnocurrency,” a synth-spangled cut featuring “dark techno” producer REZZ, and “When the Summer Dies,” a joint effort with the indie-electro singer-songwriter Lights. July 15, 9 p.m. Big Night Live. 617-896-5222, bignightlive.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk & World
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW They’ve been at it for 20 years now, and it shows: Mining folk, blues, old-time, fiddle tunes, and whatever other forms of American vernacular music they fancied and infusing it all with ferocious rock ‘n’ roll spirit, this string band has developed into a roots music juggernaut. July 9, 8 p.m. $38. Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, N.H. 866-448-7849, www.ticketmaster.com
KERRI POWERS Powers dropped out of sight for a while last decade for domestic reasons, but when she returned, she did so with a bang with her 2018 release “Starseeds,” a marvelous tour through stinging blues, sweeping Americana, and plaintive, country-tinged folk. July 10, 1 p.m. (outdoor show). No cover; donations encouraged. Magical Moon Farm, 575 Summer St., Marshfield. 781-837-1618, www.magicalmoon.org
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ANNA TIVEL The Portland, Ore., singer-songwriter crosses the continent to play this Harvard Square date. She’s just released a new record, “Blue World,” that consists of songs from her previous releases, now piano-centered and reimagined in ways “sparse and strange, isolated and alive.” July 14, 8 p.m. $25. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679, www.passim.org
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
TIM RAY TRIO FEATURING TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & JOHN LOCKWOOD Cambridge Jazz Foundation presents versatile pianist, composer, and arranger Ray, perhaps best known for his stint as Tony Bennett’s pianist and musical director, celebrating the release of his latest CD, “Excursions & Adventures” in the august company of Grammy Award-winning drummer-composer Carrington and ubiquitous first-call bassist Lockwood. July 10, 6:30 p.m. Free (donations encouraged). Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge. www.cambridgejazzfoundation.org
ANA POPOVIC The Belgrade-born blues singer, songwriter, and smoking Strat player has been nominated for numerous Blues Music Awards, appeared on the covers of Vintage Guitar and Guitar Player, and was the sole female guitarist featured in the “Experience Hendrix” tour alongside such legends as Buddy Guy and Bootsy Collins. July 10, 8 p.m. Tickets $32-$36. The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick. 508-647-0097, www.natickarts.org
JOHN DALTON’S SPHERES OF INFLUENCE Mandorla Music, in collaboration with the Eustis Estate, showcases up-and-coming Boston-based jazz drummer and composer Dalton with his trio including guitarist Jim Robitaille and bassist John Sullivan, performing intricate and introspective originals as well as standards in a free outdoor concert. July 15, 6:30 p.m. Free, reservations recommended (donations encouraged). The Eustis Estate, 1424 Canton Ave., Milton. 617-994-6600, my.historicnewengland.org/11513/12930
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KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
YELLOW BARN The doors to the Big Barn swing open this weekend for two concerts, kicking off the eclectic chamber music festival. On the program: everything from Bach and Mozart favorites to 20th-century deep cuts to a North American premiere by Toshio Hosokawa. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination required to attend. Putney, Vt. July 9 and 10. www.yellowbarn.org
TANGLEWOOD At long last, the Berkshire Hills come alive with the sound of Beethoven, as the BSO is back at the Koussevitzky Music Shed after the long silence of the pandemic. Chamber orchestra The Knights opens up the weekend with a program of music by Gershwin, Ravel, Vijay Iyer, and Mary Lou Williams (July 9). Andris Nelsons and the BSO take the stage for an all-Beethoven opening night bash featuring Emanuel Ax (July 10). Then pack a picnic lunch (and an umbrella) for the first Sunday afternoon show of the summer, with violinist Baiba Skride storming the Sibelius Violin Concerto (July 11). Tanglewood, Lenox. www.bso.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
ELEANOR The extravagantly talented Harriet Harris, a Tony Award winner for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” who played Bebe the unscrupulous agent on “Frasier,” will portray first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in a solo play by Mark St. Germain (“Freud’s Last Session,” “The Best of Enemies,” “Becoming Dr. Ruth”). Directed by Henry Stram. July 16-Aug. 7. Barrington Stage Company. At Boyd-Quinson Stage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org
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LISTEN TO SIPU An outdoor exploration of Watertown’s Indigenous history, “Listen to Sipu” is scripted by Morgan (Mwalim) J. Peters and led by actors Maria Hendricks (as Sipu) and Grace Wagner (as “Tour Guide”). Directed by Jaime Carrillo, it is the second work in the Watertown Historical Moving Plays series, following last fall’s “The Charles W. Lenox Experience.” Through July 11. A collaboration by New Repertory Theatre, the Pigsgusset Initiative, the Historical Society of Watertown, and the Watertown Free Library. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org
CHESTER BAILEY In the title role of this probing, multilayered World War II drama by Joseph Dougherty, Ephraim Birney delivers an extraordinary performance, haunting and moving in equal measure. Horribly injured in a shipyard attack, Chester refuses to accept what has happened to him, and the task of a psychiatrist assigned to the case — played by Ephraim’s father, the exemplary Reed Birney — is to lead Chester out of the alternate reality constructed by the patient. It’s a task whose validity the doctor begins to question. Directed by Ron Lagomarsino. Through July 9. Barrington Stage Company. At Boyd-Quinson Stage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, barringstonstageco.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
BALLET HISPÁNICO The renowned 51-year-old Latinx troupe, a perennial Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival favorite, returns to Becket with a program that celebrates five decades of dance. The outdoor concert features Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Tiburones,” Vicente Nebrada’s “Batucada Fantástica,” and “18+1” by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. July 14-18, $45. Leir Outdoor Stage, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-9919, jacobspillow.org
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VALETANGO COMPANY Award winning choreographer Valeria Solomonoff brings her latest tango production to the outdoor stage at Windhover Center for the Performing Arts. Called “Trust Me. Trust Me Not,” the show explores the dynamics of trust and the balance of power in relationships. July 11 and 13. $34. Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, Rockport. 978-546-3611, www.windhover.org
RAPHAEL XAVIER The Philadelphia-based dancer has been pushing and exploring breaking (breakdance) not just as a physical art form but as a kind of social movement. He returns to The Yard with “XAVIER’S: The Musician and The Mover,” a collaborative project with dancers, saxophonist, bassist, pianist, and percussionist to highlight freestyle and improvisation traditions in both breaking and jazz. July 10, 6 p.m. $5-$30. Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs. 508-645-9662, www.dancetheyard.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
NEW LIGHT: ENCOUNTERS AND CONNECTIONS A museum-wide intervention, “New Light” pairs 21 historical artworks, some millennia old, with contemporary pieces by Boston-area artists like Lavaughn Jenkins, Alison Croney Moses, Eben Haines, Stephen Hamilton, and Tomashi Jackson, to name a few. Through Feb. 6. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
IN AMERICAN WATERS In American art, few motifs transcend the boundaries of era, practice, culture, and history like the perpetual indifference of the sea. A byway of global commerce and colonialism, a dividing line between old and new world, and a well of dark mystery, the inscrutability of oceans has always and continues to generate powerful work by a gamut of artists. A brief roll call for this exhibition bears that out: Georgia O’Keeffe, Amy Sherald, Hale Woodruff, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Valerie Hegarty, and Stuart Davis. Through Oct. 3. Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.org
MURRAY WHYTE
LAYERED TIME: ALLISON MARIA RODRIGUEZ — ONCE IN A LIFETIME In 2019, the artist was volunteering in Costa Rica, helping leatherback sea turtles, when a juvenile blue whale was stranded and died on a local beach. Both creatures are endangered. With footage of the whale’s body and the turtle hatchlings, this video installation observes the high-stakes life cycles of endangered animals and addresses the connection among all beings. Through Aug. 6. MW Productions/SPOKE, 840 Summer St. 617-315-7318, www.mwponline.org
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
JAMIE LOFTUS The Brockton native has a way of seeing things the way no one else does, both in her stand-up and her numerous podcasts, the latest of which is “Aack Cast,” a reexamination of the “Cathy” comic strip as pointed satire. She’ll be doing all-new material when she returns home to play Hideout Comedy at the White Bull. July 9-10, 7:30 p.m. $20. The White Bull Tavern, 1 Union St., Boston. 617-681-4600, www.thewhitebulltavern.com
LENNY CLARKE AND KENNY ROGERSON An interesting mix of Boston veteran comics at Giggles — Clarke headlines Friday with Rogerson and Johnny Pizzi in support, and Rogerson headlines Saturday with Pizzi and Jason Merrill. July 9-10, 8:30 p.m. $25-$30. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway, Saugus. 781-233-9950, www.princerestaurant.com
PHOEBE ROBINSON One half of the “Dope Queens” duo, Robinson is conquering every form of media these days. She will kick off her own publishing imprint this fall with a new collection of essays called “Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes.” She debuted a new half-hour show on Comedy Central in April called “Doing the Most.” And she will be honing new material for an HBO Max stand-up special at Laugh Boston. July 9-10, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $25. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St., Boston. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
PARENTS NIGHT OUT — LEGO PARTY Leave the Legos to the kids and take a night to enjoy some R&R or head out on the town. Premier Martial Arts is hosting a Lego Party to give hard-working parents a break and fuel kids’ creativity to build whatever they imagine. Sibling discounts are offered. July 10, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. $25. Premier Martial Arts Norton, 175 Mansfield Ave., Suite 19, Norton. eventbrite.com
VINTAGE BASEBALL Show your friends and family how baseball was played in the olden days as teams of the Essex Base Ball Association see what it’s like to step up to bat using 1860s rules. Weather permitting, all seating is on the grass field, and fans must remain socially distanced throughout the game. July 11, noon-3:30 p.m. $5 per person, children 5 and under are free. Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, 5 Little’s Lane, Newbury. historicnewengland.org
STUFFED ANIMAL SLEEPOVER Ever wonder what kind of pajamas a teddy bear wears? At the Somerville Public Library, families can drop off their cuddly friends in the morning and follow their shenanigans at night on the library’s social media. July 13, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave., Somerville. somervillepubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com
BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATION Dig those berets out of the closet and prepare to celebrate La Fête Nationale. At La Voile, they are offering board games, French story time, face painting, and more to keep the festivities going all evening. July 14, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. $65, children 12 and under are free. La Voile Brookline, 1627 Beacon St., Brookline. frenchculturalcenter.org
RIANA BUCHMAN