MUSIC
Pop & Rock
AMYTHYST KIAH “Wary + Strange,” the latest album by this guitarist, songwriter, and member of the string band supergroup Our Native Daughters, explodes ideas of American music in thrilling ways, with songs that revel in joy and crumble in heartbreak with vitality and exquisite playing. Oct. 29, 8 p.m. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, Somerville. crystalballroomboston.com
ONCE UPON A VERY GRCB HALLOWEEN After a year off, Boston venues are teeming with Halloween shows where artists “dress up” like influences and peers for cover sets. This benefit for Girls Rock Campaign Boston will feature local musicians transforming into acts like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Paramore, Alex Lahey, and Dinah Washington. Oct. 31, 2 p.m. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, Somerville. crystalballroomboston.com
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CHLOE MORIONDO This 19-year-old bedroom-pop sensation from Michigan keeps the flame of pop-punk alive with big chords and emotion-wracked lyrics. With the TikTok-beloved hip-pop shapeshifter Ashnikko. Nov. 1-2, 6:30 p.m. (doors). Paradise Rock Club. 617-562-8800, crossroadspresents.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
A STRANGER THINGS HALLOWEEN Local roots-pop outfit Noble Dust puts on their fourth annual Halloween show with a trip back to the 1980s for musical and bad fashion choices. This year they’re joined by Rachel Summer and Hazel Royer, who will pay tribute to the hardscrabble folk-bluegrass of Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerard, with Maxfield Anderson channeling David Grisman’s mandolin playing in accompaniment. Oct. 31, 7 p.m. $16. The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville. 617-776-6896, www.burren.com
S.G. GOODMAN On her bracing debut, “Old Time Feeling,” this born-and-raised rural Kentuckian uses a gritty version of roots rock to articulate her perspective on what ails us, with a particular focus on what the Drive-By Trucker’s Patterson Hood once referred to as “the duality of the Southern Thing.” Nov. 2, 8 p.m. $10. The Press Room, 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, N.H. 603-431-5186, www.pressroomnh.com
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CHUCK PROPHET AND THE MISSION EXPRESS One of the great underappreciated gems of roots music broadly understood, Prophet wends his way to the East Coast from his San Francisco home along with his band to give us a first live listen to pandemic release “The Land That Time Forgot.” Nov. 4, 8 p.m. $30. Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan St., Fall River. 508-323-1926, www.narrowscenter.org
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
WILLIE J. LAWS BAND The locally based guitarist, songwriter, and singer hails from the Gulf coast of Texas, and his deeply funky blues is rooted in that region’s rich musical soil, incorporating soul, country, rock ‘n’ roll, and Afro-Caribbean influences. Oct. 30, 6-9 p.m. No cover. The Porch Southern Fare & Juke Joint, 175 Rivers Edge Drive, Medford. 781-874-9357, www.theporchsouthern.com
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER & BILL CHARLAP Two Grammy-winning jazz masters, sassy singer Bridgewater and piano poet Charlap, join forces for a sublime, swinging evening of standards by the likes of Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Michel Legrand, and more. Oct. 30, 8 and 10 p.m. $40-$55. Scullers, 400 Soldiers Field Road. 866-777-8932, www.scullersjazz.com
PANDELIS KARAYORGIS TRIO: A TRIBUTE TO HASAAN, MONK & HOPE Marvelous pianist Karayorgis and his longtime, powerhouse rhythm section — bassist Nate McBride and drummer Luther Gray — will play music by individualistic composers and pianists Hasaan Ibn Ali, Thelonious Monk, and Elmo Hope. The program will include compositions from Hasaan’s lost album “Metaphysics,” recorded in 1965 but unreleased until 2021. Nov. 2, 10:15 p.m. $10. Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com
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KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA BSO youth and family concerts conductor Thomas Wilkins leads a subscription program that will appeal to all ages as electric bassist Victor Wooten takes the spotlight in his own concerto for electric bass and orchestra, “La Lección Tres” (Oct. 29-31). Next week, guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk leads the orchestra as pianist Beatrice Rana makes her highly anticipated BSO debut (Nov. 4-6). Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
NEWTON NEW PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA This Metro Boston orchestra kicks off its season by featuring some hometown talent in Keila Wakao, the 15-year-old violinist from Newton who took top honors in the junior category at the 2021 Menuhin Competition. Jorge Soto conducts. Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 31, 3 p.m. Newton North High School. 617-527-9717, www.newphil.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
HADESTOWN From its origins as a community-theater piece in Vermont to a concept album to a full-fledged Broadway musical, “Hadestown” has had a circuitous journey that led to eight Tony Awards in 2019, including Best Musical. Anais Mitchell, who grew up on a sheep farm in Vermont, wrote the music, lyrics, and book for this folk- and jazz-infused retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, entwined with the tale of King Hades and his restless wife Persephone. Developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin. Nov. 2-14. Presented by Broadway In Boston at Citizens Bank Opera House. www.BroadwayInBoston.com
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BLKS Three Black women in their 20s who are trying to cope with romantic and career challenges embark on a freewheeling night on the town after one of them experiences a health scare. This play by Aziza Barnes is directed by Tonasia Jones and features Shanelle Chloe Villegas, Thomika Marie Bridwell, and Kelsey Fonise. Oct. 29-Nov. 20. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.SpeakEasyStage.com
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Richard O’Brien’s cult classic musical about a mad scientist, a naive engaged couple, and an artificially created Adonis is directed by David Lucey, with music direction by Mindy Cimini. Featuring Peter Mill as Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter, Christina Jones as Janet, Ryan Norton as Brad, and Jack Manning as Rocky Horror. Through Nov. 6. Presented by Moonbox Productions. At pop-up theater at 25 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Tickets at https://bit.ly/ROCKYTKTS
DON AUCOIN
Dance
BOSTON BALLET While the company won’t be doing live performances in the Opera House until “The Nutcracker” ushers in the holidays, dancers and choreographers are busy filming brand new works around the city as part of a four-program virtual season. First up is “restART,” a celebratory collection of works designed to showcase the power of dance to lift the spirit, and it includes a premiere for the full company filmed on Boston Common. Oct 28-Nov. 7, $140 subscription price for the full season. www.bostonballet.org
CONTINUUM DANCE PROJECT As part of the closing weekend of Art at the Eustis Estate, the company performs “Looking Back with 2020 Vision,” staged to interact with the estate’s sculpture exhibit of the same name. (Tickets are $25 and include admission to the Milton mansion and grounds.) The vignettes are adapted from the larger dance work “Crossing: Stories of Immigration,” a cross-disciplinary exploration choreographed by Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan, which will be presented that night at Boston’s Pao Arts Center. Oct. 30, $10 suggested donation. Pao Arts Center. https://continuumdance.org/events/
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CONTRADICTIONS + CASUAL SELF LOATHING Admit it, just the title makes you laugh and clench a little at the same time. Kimberleigh Holman’s new work for Luminarium Dance explores some of the baggage and social awkwardness we carry around on this trip called life, specifically zeroing in on the female experience and how what mortifies us can also help us grow. Nov. 5-6, $20-$25. Motherbrook Arts & Community Center, Dedham. www.luminariumdance.org
Visual Arts
DIEDRICK BRACKENS AND KATHERINE BRADFORD The Carpenter Center at Harvard returned from its 18-month COVID-19 hiatus at the end of last month with a serendipitous flourish: Painter Katherine Bradford, one of the two artists feature in its re-inaugural exhibition, had just been named the 2021 winner of the annual $35,000 Rappaport Prize a month before. The prize helps pique interest in the show, which shouldn’t need it: Bradford’s work is a natural pair with Brackens’s intricate textile pieces, both of them radiating oblique, seductive mystery. Through Dec. 23. The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-496-5387, carpenter.center
MIT LIST VISUAL ARTS CENTER Also ending its COVID exile very recently — Oct. 22 — the List Center reopened after a year and a half closure with three new exhibitions: Andrew Norman Wilson’s two video pieces “Impersonator” (2021) and “Kodak” (2019); Sreshta Rit Premnath’s sculpture show “Grave/Grove”; and, in this era of stops and starts as we lurch from lockdown to reopening, the serendipitously named “Begin Again, Again,” by the pioneering video artist Leslie Thornton. Wilson through Jan. 9; Premnash and Thornton through Feb. 13. MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Cambridge. 617-253-4680, listart.mit.edu
DEVOUR THE LAND: WAR AND AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE 1970 In Harvard Art Museums’ first feature exhibition open in person since the pandemic shutdowns of March 2020 — the building reopened for the first time on Sept. 4 — the always-timely subject of the military imprint on American life is the subject around which some 160 photographs are displayed. Through Jan. 16. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. www.harvardartmuseums.org
MURRAY WHYTE
HOME COOKING Poet and critic John Yau curated this potluck of an exhibition, inviting Asian and Asian-American artists to bring food-related paintings, ceramics, drawings, and more to the table. The show inevitably reflects this moment, addressing the recent spike of hate crimes against Asians along with issues of identity and assimilation, home, family, and cultural traditions. Through Dec. 5. LaiSun Keane, 460 Harrison Ave. 978-495-6697, www.laisunkeane.com
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
LENNY CLARKE When he’s not doing battle with legendary horror villain Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills,” Clarke can often be found upholding his own legend in Boston comedy at his home base, Giggles in Saugus. Oct. 29-30, 7:30 p.m. $30. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway, Saugus. 781-233-9950, www.princerestaurant.com
COMEDY HALLOWEEN PARTY Jay Whittaker, featured comic at Saturday’s edition of the Comedy Party, was once frazzled working security for an event by trying to avoid getting shot by a guy in a minivan who pulled a gun. “I lose all street cred after that,” he says. “If I live to tell the story, [it’s] like, ‘You’re that one dude that got shot by the dude on his way to soccer practice.’ That’s not gangsta at all.” With Alex Giampapa and Janelle Draper. Oct. 30, 7 p.m. $20. The Worthen Attic, 141 Worthen St., Lowell. www.comedy-party.com
CARMEN LYNCH To get a sense of Lynch’s humor before she heads to Hideout Comedy at the White Bull, viewers can check out her highly entertaining Instagram account. Added bonus, sometimes she’ll even teach you Spanish. Nov. 4 at 8 p.m., Nov. 5-6 at 7:30 p.m. $20. The White Bull Tavern, 1 Union St. 617-681-4600, www.thewhitebulltavern.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
BOO IN THE BARNYARD Celebrate the last few days of October in costume with themed arts and crafts, pumpkin bowling, a special scavenger hunt, and yard games. Pre-registration is required. Oct. 29, noon. $12 child member, $20 nonmember child. Chestnut Hill Farm, Chestnut Hill Road, Southborough. thetrustees.org
HALLOWEEN HULLABALOO Join in the fun on Halloween at Discovery Museum and discover a handful of spooks along the way. Play a few rounds of Pumpkin Putt Putt and other outdoor games, all while showing off your best costume. Some outdoor activities will be weather-dependent. Oct. 30-31. Free with admission. Discovery Museum, 177 Main St, Acton. discoveryacton.org
BROOKLINE DOG DAY Take a break from holiday festivities to celebrate the pooches in your life. Guests can enter their fluffy friends in a costume contest, play with other dogs, and see demonstrations of special talents and skills. Oct. 31, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $10-$20. Brookline Avenue Playground, 575 Brookline Ave. eventbrite.com
PUMPKIN SMASH! Instead of throwing your pumpkins in the trash, smash them! In an effort to have a more green Halloween, Codman Community Farms is feeding pumpkin bits to their pigs to compost them and leave less waste. Families must bring their own pumpkins and remove all stickers, paint, candles, and plastic decorations. Nov. 3, 2-4 p.m. Free. Codman Community Farms, 58 Codman Road, Lincoln. mothersoutfront.org
RIANA BUCHMAN