MUSIC
Pop & Rock
WALE: UNDER A BLUE MOON TOUR Last year, this Washington, D.C.-born MC released “Folarin II,” a spiritual sequel to his 2012 mixtape “Folarin” that includes cameos from the likes of Jamie Foxx, J. Cole, and Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockton. Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
KACEY MUSGRAVES “star-crossed,” the latest album from this Nashville rebel turned pop heroine, turns the idea of the divorce album inside out with incisive lyrics and gently psychedelic touches. Jan. 27, 8 p.m. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, tdgarden.com
BUILT TO SPILL The Doug Martsch-led trio kicks off its 2022 tour (currently scheduled to arrive at House of Blues for two nights in April) with a livestreamed show from The Crocodile in Seattle. Their latest album was a 2020 tribute to the late singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston; recent setlists have included cuts from their staggering 1997 full-length, “Perfect from Now On,” and other early releases. Jan. 28, 12:30 a.m. builttospill.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
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Folk, World & Country
THE WEATHER STATION/SAM AMIDON Canadian singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, who performs as the Weather Station, is less folky than she used to be, but still folky enough to be here. Her latest, “Ignorance,” was one of 2021′s finest albums. She’ll be preceded by Sam Amidon, who remains as folky as ever. Jan. 26, 8 p.m. $20. Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave. www.livenation.com
CORY BRANAN Branan’s last studio album came out five years ago, and like everyone else, the maker of what he labels “weird American music” hasn’t been touring for the past year plus, but he’s been keeping busy assembling “Quarantunes” — downloadable collections of unreleased covers, originals, and home and studio recordings. Jan. 27, 7 p.m. $20. The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville. 617-776-6896, www.burren.com
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JAKE XERXES FUSSELL Fussell is touring in support of his fourth album, “Good and Green Again,” which represents something new for the folk singer: To this point, he’s been known for his explorations and interpretations of traditional material, but his new one finds him singing and playing his own songs, and venturing into new sonic territory as well. Jan. 27, 8 p.m. $20. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679, www.passim.org
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
LASZLO GARDONY TRIO The acclaimed pianist’s compositions and improvisations range from elegant ruminations to ebullient grooves. His top-flight rhythm section comprises understandably ubiquitous bassist John Lockwood and piquant percussionist Yoron Israel. Jan. 21, 6 p.m. $25. Spire Center, 25½ Court St., Plymouth. www.spirecenter.org
HARVEY DIAMOND TRIO Marvelous pianist and local treasure Diamond was among the last students of the great jazz guru Lennie Tristano. His masterful playing seamlessly marries the cerebral and soulful. Jan. 23, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. No cover, reservations recommended. The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-441-2116, www.themadmonkfish.com
KEB’ MO’ BAND A direct, expressive singer and songwriter who’s equally adept on acoustic, electric, and slide guitar, the multiple Grammy winner, renowned for his contemporary take on Delta blues and American roots music, has collaborated with everyone from Taj Mahal to Bonnie Raitt. Jan. 26-27, 8 p.m. $75-$120. City Winery, 80 Beverly St. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA This week at the BSO, conductor Elim Chan makes her debut with a program featuring soloist Igor Levit in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 alongside music by Tchaikovsky and Brian Raphael Nabors (Jan. 22). Next week, BSO artistic partner Thomas Ades shares the stage with pianist Kirill Gerstein, always a good forecast for fireworks — the program will include Adès’s own BSO-commissioned Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which was written especially for Gerstein and premiered in 2019. (Jan. 27-29) Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
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BOSTON SYMPHONY CHAMBER PLAYERS Soprano Sophia Burgos and baritone John Brancy join the BSO’s finest for the world premiere of Michael Gandolfi’s “Where can I go from your spirit?”; the program also includes Bartók’s “Contrasts” with guest pianist Vivian Choi, and Dvořák’s String Quintet in G. Jan. 23, 3 p.m. Jordan Hall. www.bso.org
WINTERREISE Baritone Benjamin Appl makes his Celebrity Series debut alongside pianist James Baillieu in this livestreamed performance of Schubert’s desolate and seasonally appropriate “Winterreise.” Jan. 26, 8 p.m. Viewable on demand until Feb. 1. www.celebrityseries.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
MR. PARENT In the premiere of a deep-from-the-heart solo show, Maurice Emmanuel Parent explores his experiences as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools, a five-year stint that coincided with Parent’s efforts to build his acting career. “Mr. Parent” adds up to a moving, sometimes funny account of what it takes to be a teacher, what it takes to fulfill your ambitions in the theater, and, ultimately, what it takes build a life. Conceived with and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. Written by Melinda Lopez with Parent. Through Feb. 6. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
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WITNESS In 1939, more than 900 Jewish passengers fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the St. Louis were denied entry to Cuba, the United States, and Canada. From that shameful episode, director Igor Golyak builds an examination of antisemitism and Jewish migration in response to persecution. Golyak brings his abundant visual imagination to bear, utilizing a blend of live performance, film, audio, and green-screen technology. Online production only. Through Jan. 23. Presented by Arlekin Players Theatre’s (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab. Tickets at www.zerogravity.art or 617-942-0022. Hosted on zerogravity.art.
DON AUCOIN
Dance
BOLSHOI BALLET IN CINEMA On Sunday, theaters all around the country, including nearly a dozen in the Boston area, will screen a film of the legendary Russian company performing George Balanchine’s masterpiece “Jewels.” The three-act plotless ballet, inspired by the jewelry designs of Claude Arpels, is set to music by three composers Balanchine thought revealed the essence of each gem — Fauré (“Emeralds”), Stravinsky (“Rubies”), and Tchaikovsky (“Diamonds”). Jan. 23, $18-$22. www.bolshoiballetincinema.com/tickets
DEMO One of the most compelling offerings on the Kennedy Center’s Digital Stage, a treasure trove of free performing arts videos, is the mini-documentary “Im/perfection.” It chronicles the making in two blistering days of Damian Woetzel’s “DEMO.” It’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse of the multi-part work, created with choreographer Pam Tanowitz and a fabulous cast of performers, ranging from classical ballerina Patricia Delgado to Memphis jooker Lil Buck, with Brooklyn Rider providing live music. Free on demand. www.kennedy-center.org/digitalstage
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KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
TATTOOS IN JAPANESE PRINTS The Museum of Fine Arts has an outstanding collection of ukiyo-e prints from the 18th and 19th centuries. They’re on view here in their context as inspiration for a couple of generations of contemporary tattoo artists, but body art doesn’t have to be your bag to enjoy it: The gallery is filled with the lushly precise prints, making them almost entirely the main event. Through Feb. 20. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
JOEL MEYEROWITZ: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION There’s no more Cape Cod-y photograph than Meyerowitz’s “Ballston Beach, Truro, 1976,” of a lifeguard slouching in his chair and seen from behind, the blousy red arms of his windbreaker billowing in the onshore breeze. Meyerowitz, one of the masters of American street photography, spent plenty of time on the Cape, and now his pictures of it will, too: The Provincetown Art Association and Museum was the recent recipient of a donated trove of 201 of those photographs, 80 of which it now has on view. They’re a tease and a promise, here in the depths of winter, of warm summer days to come. Through May 1. Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial St., Provincetown. 508-487-1750, paam.org
STEEL, STRING, SPIT BITE: SELECTIONS FROM THE LEWITT COLLECTION The best artists are almost always the best art viewers — and if they can afford it, collectors, too. Sol LeWitt could, and was all of the above, which makes showing his collection, as the New Britain Museum of American Art will do through March, an instructive view not only into his mind but American art itself. LeWitt, the originator of Minimal and then Conceptual art, was a generator of innovative, disciplined thinking about his field with few peers. But his collection — more than 4,000 works — spanned every media and showed a lively affection both for artists with whom he might have shared a sensibility (Jessica Stockholder, Adrian Piper) and those with whom you’d assume he had none (Shirin Neshat, Lynda Benglis). Through March 18. New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St., New Britain, Conn. 860-229-0257, www.nbmaa.org
MURRAY WHYTE
RAAFAT MAJZOUB: GROUNDS “Power structures decide what you think is real,” writes Majzoub, a Lebanese writer, architect, artist, and film director. His work suggests that consensus reality, like fiction, can be revised, and that participating in that revision is an act of agency. In this interactive exhibition, which the gallery presents as “a living book chapter,” viewers may add their stories to his ongoing novel, “The Perfumed Garden: An Autobiography of Another Arab World.” Through Feb. 20. Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 551 Tremont St. https://bostonarts.org/
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
CHAD DANIELS Daniels isn’t a political comic, and in his 2021 special, “Twelfth Night,” he says he’s not smart enough to change your mind on issues like climate change. “But I will say, if you’ve ever used the phrase, ‘There can’t be global warming ‘cause it’s cold outside,’ I hope your parents staple your address to your backpack.” Jan. 21-22, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $35. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
CHRIS REDD: WHY AM I LIKE THIS? The “Saturday Night Live” and “Kenan” star says the secret to a long relationship is being “cunningly petty” with each other. “You know your relationship is in good standing if ya’ll can fight in the morning and still go out that same day ‘cause you already bought tickets,” he says. “And that is love.” Jan. 23, 7 p.m. $27. Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-245-2900, www.crystalballroomboston.com
THE SECOND CITY REMIX As an institution, Second City has been churning out sketch comedy since 1959. This show will draw on that history of sketches, and add some improv and music from the current touring cast. Jan. 23, 7 p.m. $25. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
THE UGLY DUCKLING AT PLAYTIME THEATER There’s nothing like the theater! Sing along with your little one to this interactive adaptation of a classic children’s tale. Jan. 22, 10:30 a.m. $5. Concord Youth Theatre, 53 Church St., Concord. concordyouththeatre.org
BOSTON BALLET SCHOOL OPEN STUDIO WEEK Is your child interested in ballet? The Boston Ballet School invites you to sample a class at either the Boston or Newton studio. Jan. 23-29. $20. Boston Studio, 19 Clarendon St.; Newton Studio, 153 Needham St., Newton. bostonballet.org
MARY ELLEN WELCH GREENWAY STROLL: WINTER FITNESS SERIES It may be winter but there’s still plenty of opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Stroll down the beautiful Greenway this Saturday afternoon. Jan. 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. East Boston Greenway. thetrustees.org
SAM TROTTENBERG