MUSIC
Pop & Rock
OWEN Mike Kinsella, whose work with bands like Cap’n Jazz and American Football laid the groundwork for the feelings-forward, noise-heavy rock subgenre emo, strips his songs to their bones and puts the focus on his knotty poetry and wrenching vocals. Aug. 28, 7 p.m. Brighton Music Hall. 617-779-0140, crossroadspresents.com
THE ROOTS The versatile, virtuosic Philadelphia hip-hop crew, also known as the house band for NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” headlines; earlier this year, their groundbreaking major-label debut, “Do You Want More?!!!??!,” was rereleased in deluxe form. Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. (doors). House of Blues. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
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TORRES “Thirstier,” the latest album from Mackenzie Scott, is a thrilling demolition of rock music’s boundaries, with Scott’s powerful wail chronicling longing as guitars thrash and shudder. Aug. 31, 8 p.m. Sonia, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, mideastoffers.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk & World
RORY MAKEM A Sunday afternoon show with a man who has carried on the musical lineage of the Makem family in traditional Irish folk for more than three decades, playing with his famous father, Tommy; in various aggregations with his own brothers and the Spain brothers; with Donal Clancy (another son of a famous father); and as a solo act. Aug. 29, 3 p.m. (outside show). $20. The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville. 617-776-6896, www.burren.com
NIKKI LANE/BRENT COBB This co-headlining affair — tagged the “Soapbox Derby” tour after a song on Brent Cobb’s most recent release, “Keep ‘Em on They Toes,” that features Nikki Lane guesting on vocals — brings together an alternative country yin/yang pair with the spitfire sass of Lane and the laid-back demeanor of Cobb. Andrew Combs also performs. Aug. 30, 8 p.m. $25. The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
CHARLIE MARIE The Providence singer-songwriter, whose “Ramble On” is one of the finer country records of the year (“I wanted the record to sound like if Patsy Cline and Dwight Yoakam had a child,” she says), plays this new venue located in the wilds of Central Massachusetts. Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m. $10. Sanctuary, 82 Main St., Maynard. 978-933-1476, www.sanctuarymaynard.com
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STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
THE GRAND SLAM! JAZZ TRIO Brookline Music School’s Feel Good Fridays presents a concert featuring the music of Charlie Christian, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, and more. With versatile bassist Justin Meyer, guitarist Eric Baldwin, and vibraphonist Rich Greenblatt. Aug. 27, 7 p.m. Free. Healthworks Tent in Coolidge Corner, 15 Babcock St., Brookline. www.bmsmusic.org/calendar
FORBES GRAHAM TRIO Creative Music Series presents trumpeter Graham — a master of extended techniques who also incorporates electronics — with adventurous and erudite bassist Jacob William, and longtime Boston treasure, returning from his current roost in New York, drummer Yedidyah Syd Smart. Aug. 28, 8 p.m. $10. Arts at the Armory (mezzanine level), 191 Highland Ave, Somerville. www.creativemusicseries.com
26th ANNUAL NORTH RIVER BLUES FESTIVAL The latest edition of this dog days blues bash showcases, among many others, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Damon Fowler & Friends, and Racky Thomas Band (Saturday); Bobby Rush, Diane Blue All Star Band with Toni Lynn Washington, and The Love Dogs (Sunday). Aug. 28-29, noon-8 p.m. $12. Marshfield Fair, Route 3A Main St., Marshfield. 781-834-6629, www.rhythmroomentertainment.com/north-river-blues-festival.html
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Special guest conductor Marin Alsop leads the Handel and Haydn Orchestra and Chorus in an outdoor performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, featuring poet Tracy K. Smith’s new lyrics for the famous “Ode to Joy.” Free and open to all. Aug 27. 7 p.m. Rain date Aug. 28. DCR Hatch Shell, Charles River Esplanade. www.handelandhaydn.org
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BOSTON LYRIC OPERA / CASTLE OF OUR SKINS In this collaboration between Boston’s largest opera company and the local Black art collective, BLO’s “Street Stage” truck rolls up to the deCordova museum’s sculpture garden to present “Misodzi Yamarimba,” an original work by Zimbabwean composer Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa-Nzou Mambano. Free with museum admission; pre-registration required. Aug. 28. 4 p.m. deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln. www.castleskins.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
THE ARBORETUM EXPERIENCE A “self-guided journey” through the Arnold Arboretum that features audio plays, pop-up performances, and guided, interactive movement maps. Created by a team that includes director Summer L. Williams, choreographer Jill Johnson, playwright Kirsten Greenidge, and musician Tim Hall. American Repertory Theater and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Free and unticketed. Information at 617-547-8300, www.americanrepertorytheater.org/ArboretumExperience
ROMEO AND JULIET Shakespeare’s tragedy of the star-crossed lovers will be staged throughout Chelsea’s downtown in an outdoors, site-specific, bilingual adaptation, directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Aug. 28. A collaboration by Apollinaire Theatre Company and Teatro Chelsea, in partnership with the city of Chelsea. No tickets required, but information or updates in case of rain at 617-887-2336 or www.apollinairetheatre.com
NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN Christina Ham’s play imagines a conversation-with-music between the great singer-songwriter and civil rights activist Nina Simone and three Black women. Simone will be portrayed by Felicia Curry. Also in the cast: Darlesia Cearcy, Najah Hetsberger, and Sasha Hutchings. Directed by Gerry McIntyre. Through Sept. 5. Berkshire Theatre Group. Performances are indoors on the Larry Vaber Stage in the Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge. 413-997-4444, www.berkshiretheatregroup.org
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DINDIN The always inventive playwright-actress Brenda Withers joins Jonathan Fielding, Stacy Fischer, and Robert Kropf in the cast for the premiere of her drama, which is described as “a meditation on predators, prey, and the insatiable appetite of a killer instinct,” revealed at a dinner among an affluent couple and a pair of single friends where tensions escalate. Through Sept. 5. Harbor Stage Company, Wellfleet. 508-514-1763, www.harborstage.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
MICHAEL TRUSNOVEC AND COMPANY Windhover presents the company in a promising program titled “Legacy: Looking Forward and Glancing Backward.” The full-evening concert features new choreography as well as works by Margie and Chris Gillis, Martha Graham, and Paul Taylor, for whose company Trusnovec was a dazzling soloist for more than two decades. Aug. 27-28, $34. Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, Rockport. www.windhover.org
JUMATATU M. POE The choreographer/performer and collaborator Jerome Donte Beachman present a roving performance around the Jacob’s Pillow grounds that draws from their series “Let ‘im Move You.” Their highly researched work explores and highlights rhythms and patterns distilled from a high-stepping dance style popularized at historically Black colleges. Wear comfortable shoes! Aug. 26-28, $25. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Leir Outdoor Stage, Becket. www.jacobspillow.org
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JENNA POLLACK The choreographer/dance educator and seven collaborators representing a range of media close out The Yard’s 49th season with a work-in-progress showing of their latest project. A reflective “experiential performance,” the work mines the rich history of the venerable Martha’s Vineyard dance institution, from its architecture to personal recollections and aspirations. Aug. 27-28, $5-$30. The Yard, Chilmark. www.dancetheyard.org
Update: The DrumatiX performances included in last week’s The Ticket have been rescheduled to 11 am on Aug. 28-29 in Salem. Visit www.drumatixdance.com for info.
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
TITIAN: WOMEN, MYTH AND POWER After a protracted jaunt across the pond, “The Rape of Europa” is home, and not alone. The Gardner Museum’s keystone masterwork, the last of Titian’s six “poesie” paintings made for King Philip II of Spain in the mid-16th century, has been on tour (to the National Gallery in London and the Museo del Prado in Madrid) with its counterparts for more than two years. The Gardner now plays host to what’s likely the event of the year for American fans of Renaissance art: the reunification of the poesie paintings for the first time in more than four centuries, with Boston the only U.S. city to host it. Through Jan. 2. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-566-1401, www.isgm.org
ROSE ART MUSEUM After shutting down in the pandemic’s early stages, the Rose became one of the first of its university-gallery peers to reopen to the public in June. It has jumped back to life with a pair of new exhibitions: the self-explanatory “re: collections, Six Decades at the Rose Art Museum” and “Frida Kahlo: POSE,” a show of the artist’s paintings, drawings, and photographs through a lens of her gender-fluid self-imaginings. “POSE” on view through Dec. 19; “re: collections” ongoing. Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham. 781-736-3434, www.brandeis.edu/rose
VIRGIL ABLOH: FIGURES OF SPEECH The first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to the American artist and designer intersects with the close but often parallel worlds of art, music, design, architecture, and fashion. The show captures this polymath, currently the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear lines, at mid-career. Through Sept. 26. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
MURRAY WHYTE
DOUBLE TROUBLE Imagine there’s another you, one you have no control over — a doppelganger, an evil twin. Artists Sonia Almeida, Bianca Beck, Sascha Braunig, Lucy Kim, and Joiri Minaya use doubles to shake up notions of self and other and to invite viewers to see themselves anew. Through Sept. 17. Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, 522 Congress St., Portland, Maine. 800-639-4808, www.meca.edu/about/institute-of-contemporary-art/currently-on-view/
CATE McQUAID
THE ACTON BIG-FOOT Looming large on the grounds of Contemporary Arts International, also known as YV Art Museum, is Viktor Lois’s “The Acton Big-Foot.” The steel sculpture, standing 23 feet tall and weighing 7.5 tons, is available for viewing starting Aug. 29. In addition, the museum opens its indoor main hall and galleries to the public with the opportunity to meet artists from its Stone Carving Symposium and see their work in progress at 2 p.m. $10 for adults, $5 for children under 10. Contemporary Arts International, Acton. contemporaryartsinternational.org
THERE IS NO BEAUTY WITHOUT COLOR Guests are greeted by streams of color upon entering PROVA! Brockton’s community space: Polymer strands hang from an overhead grid spanning 15 feet. Visual artist Tyler Knowlton uses a mixture of tablecloths, shower curtains, and sheet goods to create the streamers as part of the interactive installation, which represents the 437 Brockton lives lost due to COVID-19. Each life is represented by a bright heart woven into PROVA! Brockton’s garden. Aside from its colorful components, the installation changes with the wind, blending movement and texture to influence its appearance. Visitors can enter through Sept. 3. Free. PROVA! Brockton, Former BAT terminal, 25 Crescent St, Brockton. youmeandcolor.com
RIANA BUCHMAN
EVENTS
Comedy
BOSTON COMEDY BLOWOUT It’s a multi-generational outdoor smorgasbord of Boston stand-up at the Melody Tent, featuring Steve Sweeney, Christine Hurley, Will Noonan, Corey Rodrigues, Jimmy Dunn, and Jimmy Cash. Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. $32-$42. Cape Cod Melody Tent, 4 West Main St., Hyannis. 508-775-5630, www.melodytent.org
MYQ KAPLAN Cunning wordsmith Kaplan, who released his best stand-up album yet in 2020 with “A.K.A.,” returns to Boston to play The Comedy Studio’s summer home at Vera’s for two late-night shows. With Jaylene Tran and Tina Friml. Aug. 27-28, 10 p.m. $20. Vera’s, 70 Union Square, Somerville. 617-661-6507, www.thecomedystudio.com
SANDRA BERNHARD: MADNESS AND MAYHEM The veteran comic and actor returns to live performing with her brand of double-barreled cabaret, a mix of stand-up and music with personal stories from her considerable history at the center, under the show title she was using pre-pandemic. Sept. 2, 8 p.m. $55-$75. City Winery, 80 Beverly St. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery/boston.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
STEVENS-COOLIDGE SUMMER PICNIC CONCERT Wind down with the last summer concert of this series featuring Terrafunk, a female-led band mixing the sounds of funk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. Lawn chairs are welcome, and pre-registration is required. Aug. 27, 5 p.m. $12 member adult, $20 non member adult, children free. Stevens-Coolidge House and Garden, 153 Chickering Road, North Andover. thetrustees.org
MONSTER JAMS Bring your tiny monster truck enthusiasts to this thrilling show to witness unbelievable stunts and rival battles between vehicles. Guests are recommended to bring noise-canceling headphones for children. Aug. 28, 7 p.m. Tickets vary based on seating; $30-$175. Gillette Stadium, 1 Patriot Place, Foxborough. facebook.com
ICE CREAM SOCIAL The last few days of summer are here, and what better way to celebrate than with a scoop of ice cream? In addition, families can enjoy bouncy houses, cotton candy, music, and giveaways. Face masks are required and guests must maintain social distancing. Aug. 29, noon. Free. Reverend Loesch Family Park, 20 Wainwright St. eventbrite.com
ILLUMINATE THE HARBOR Light up one more hot summer night on the waterfront with this fireworks show. The first ever Chalk the Walk takes place the same night, with chalk murals drawn by local artists; guests have the opportunity to leave their mark as well. The top three recommended viewing spots for fireworks includes Fan Pier in the Seaport, Christopher Columbus Park, and Piers Park in East Boston. Sept. 2, 8 p.m. Free. Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Atlantic Avenue. eventbrite.com
RIANA BUCHMAN