MUSIC
Pop & Rock
DAVE One of the UK’s leading hip-hop figures, this Mercury Prize-winning South London MC has released two albums that braid pointed political commentary with thrilling wordplay, including 2021′s “We’re All Alone in This Together.” May 6, 6:30 p.m. House of Blues Boston. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
HATCHIE The Australian bedroom-fuzz singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam comes to town in support of her latest full-length, “Giving the World Away.” May 6, 8 p.m. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, Somerville. crystalballroomboston.com
WEDNESDAY This Asheville five-piece melds Americana twang with multilayered distortion to thrilling effect. Their latest release, “Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ‘em Up,” is a collection of covers that opens with their pedal-enhanced reinvention of Gary Stewart’s honky-tonk classic “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)” and includes their interpretations of tracks by alt-country pioneer Vic Chesnutt, skronk-rock scientists Medicine, and arena-gaze masters Smashing Pumpkins. They open for the candy-sweet Chicago power-pop act Beach Bunny. May 12, 7 p.m. House of Blues Boston. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
MAURA JOHNSTON
Advertisement
Folk, World & Country
SHAWN COLVIN Colvin comes to town on what she’s dubbed the “Steady on 32nd Anniversary Tour.” That’s not an anniversary you typically mark; the guess here is that the pandemic laid waste to plans for a 30th anniversary affair. No matter; the 1989 album has stood the test of time as one of her finest efforts, and she’s celebrating that fact by performing it front to back in acoustic mode. May 7, 8 p.m. $39.50-$69.50. The Cabot, 286 Cabot St., Beverly. 800-653-8000, www.ticketmaster.com
ERIK KOSKINEN/JEFFREY FOUCAULT A twin bill of like-minded makers of roots music of some intensity. The show offers a chance to see Minnesota-based Erik Koskinen, who doesn’t come through these parts that often, along with a more familiar presence in Jeffrey Foucault. Koskinen opens the show, then plays guitar in Foucault’s band. May 7, 8 p.m. $15-$25. City Winery, 80 Beverly St. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
Advertisement
JONAH TOLCHIN On his forthcoming fifth release, “Lava Lamp,” Tolchin gets a little more rock ‘n’ roll with his gritty folk-blues. The record also includes a Tom Petty cover (“Grew Up Fast”), for which it automatically receives bonus points. May 11, 8:30 p.m. $12. Atwood’s Tavern, 877 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-864-2792, www.atwoodstavern.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
IT MUST BE NOW! Dr. Frederick Harris Jr.’s IMBN! Initiative presents a massive music and multimedia event featuring works exploring themes of racial and social justice by leading jazz artists Terri Lyne Carrington, Braxton Cook, and Sean Jones — with visual contributions by noted artist and filmmaker Mickalene Thomas. May 7, 8 p.m. $5-$20. Kresge Auditorium, 48 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. arts.mit.edu/projects/it-must-be-now
JOHNNY HOY & THE BLUEFISH The Martha’s Vineyard-based blues four-piece led by hot harmonica player and vocalist Hoy ranks among the region’s best roots outfits. May 7, 8 p.m. $25. Spire Center, 25½ Court St., Plymouth. 508-746-4488, www.spirecenter.org
POINT01 PERCENT PRESENTS … QUARTET + TRIO Two ensembles made up of some of the area’s most adventurous improvisers. First up, the fearsome foursome of saxophonist Tony Malaby, trombonist Jeb Bishop, guitarist Rotem Eylam, and drummer Eric Rosenthal. Then the triumvirate of pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, drummer Luther Gray, and ‘bonist Bishop again as the sole repeater. May 10, 7:30 p.m. $10. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com
Advertisement
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA The BPYO rounds out its season with a benefit concert for Kyiv-based Bright Kids Charity’s No Child Forgotten program, which helps Ukrainian children with disabilities access necessary medical care amid Russia’s invasion of the country. Conductor Benjamin Zander leads the orchestra in a program of Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev, featuring New England Conservatory professor of piano Alexander Korsantia as soloist in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. May 6, 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 617-236-0999, www.bostonphil.org
BRAHMS’S BIRTHDAY Pianist Lois Shapiro and violinist/composer Francine Trester celebrate Brahms’s birthday with a benefit performance for Birthday Wishes, an organization providing birthday parties for homeless children. The program features all three of Brahms’s sonatas for violin and piano as well as a new piece by Trester, “Treasury Notes,” inspired by Brahms’s youthful notebook. May 7, 8 p.m. Lilypad, Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com
SHEKU AND ISATA KANNEH-MASON Two of seven musical siblings based in England, cellist Sheku and pianist Isata pair up for a much-anticipated program of sonatas for cello and piano featuring Beethoven, Shostakovich, Britten, and the often overlooked English composer Frank Bridge. Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston. May 7, 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 617-482-2595, www.celebrityseries.org
BOSTON CAMERATA Camerata music director emeritus Joel Cohen celebrates his 80th birthday with the American premiere of “Douce Dame Jolie: Guillaume de Machaut’s Last Affair,” which tells the story in music and verse of the composer’s romance with the young poet Péronne d’Armentière. May 7, 8 p.m. First Church in Boston. www.bostoncamerata.org
Advertisement
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA Ramona Lisa Alexander excels as a Black mother whose grief propels her on a journey into comic-book-style fantasy after her 14-year-old son is killed by police. The ineradicable ache of a mother’s loss comes through with devastating force, and so, too, does playwright Inda Craig-Galván’s anger at the conditions that allow such losses to keep happening. Skillfully directed by Monica White Ndounou. Through May 21. Company One Theatre in collaboration with American Repertory Theater, Boston Public Library, and Boston Comics in Color Festival. At Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library. www.companyone.org. E-mail questions to boxoffice@companyone.org.
OUR DAUGHTERS, LIKE PILLARS Kirsten Greenidge dives deep into matters of home and family in her emotionally complex, ambitious, and frequently absorbing group portrait of a Black family from Boston spending an eventful vacation together in New Hampshire. The play furnishes a reminder that family life is something we experience singly, as well as together; it’s a story we tell in the first-person singular, not just in the plural. Directed by Kimberly Senior. Through May 8. Huntington Theatre Company. At Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Digital access to filmed performance available until May 22. Tickets to in-person performances and to filmed performance at 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
DON’T EAT THE MANGOS In this play by Ricardo Pérez González, described as an allegory for the “abusive paternalistic relationship” the US has with Puerto Rico, secrets are revealed as three sisters living outside of San Juan cope with their ailing parents and a “legacy of family trauma, identity, and claiming one’s place in the world.” Directed by Mariela López-Ponce. Through May 15. Coproduction by Apollinaire Theatre Company and Teatro Chelsea. At Chelsea Theatre Works, Chelsea. 617-887-2336, www.apollinairetheatre.com
Advertisement
DON AUCOIN
Dance
LET’S DANCE BOSTON Put on your dancing shoes. The city’s largest free participatory dance event invites movers, shakers, watchers, and listeners to five days of dance to live music. Each night/day is a different dance style — East Coast Swing, Mambo, West Coast Swing, Salsa, and the joyful Indian folk dance Garba. Each outdoor event starts with a mini lesson by professional teachers followed by open dancing. All ages, no experience necessary. May 11-15, free. Rose Kennedy Greenway near Rowes Wharf. www.celebrityseries.org
RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW This perennial favorite in its new anniversary production was scheduled for two years ago, but COVID got in the way. With promising new visuals and costumes, revamped music, plus additional choreography, the extravaganza sails into Boston (a favorite cast destination) for eight performances. May 10-15, $25-$135. Boch Center Wang Theatre. www.bochcenter.org
CELTIC ILLUSION Described as “David Copperfield meets Riverdance,” this Australian “Riverdance”-inspired show blends Irish dance with spectacle and magic. Creator/director/lead dancer Anthony Street headlines an international cast of talented steppers in a showcase intended to take contemporary Irish dance into new realms. May 7, $33.50-$63.50. Boch Center Shubert Theatre. www.bochcenter.org
ISLAND MOVING COMPANY The Newport-based contemporary dance company’s spring concert, “Resonant Visions,” features work from the repertory, including Nicolo Fonte’s seminal “Where We Left Off,” plus two new works created especially for the company. Former Garth Fagan Dance member Tristian Griffin’s “The Missing Peace” explores finding the balance between individuality and community. Colin Connor’s new work to Beethoven piano variations played live commemorates the legacy of the company’s founding artistic director, Miki Ohlsen. May 6-7, $20-$58. McCulloch Center for the Arts, Barrington, R.I. http://islandmovingco.org/
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
TURNER’S MODERN WORLD Joseph Mallord William Turner — or J.M.W., to you — was less a British artist of the romantic era than he was a fiery experimentalist whose audacious work blazed a path from serene romanticism headlong into the turbulent realm of modern art. Any Turner exhibition is almost inevitably a thrill ride; this one, with more than 100 paintings and drawings centered on the artist’s pivotal role as a bridge between eras, is more than most. Through July 10. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
A PLACE FOR ME: FIGURATIVE PAINTING NOW The obituary for figurative painting has been written so many times in the past 100 years it’s tempting to consider any exhibition of it to be something of a séance. The truth is quite the opposite: Despite the decades-long shunning by art world cognoscenti of such millennia-old forms as portraiture and landscape painting, it never went away, and in the last 20 years in particular has gone through an ebullient renaissance. This show makes a case yet again that should hardly need to be made: that human hands pushing paint to portray human beings is as elemental to our species’ culture as walking and breathing. Through Sept. 5. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, icaboston.org
MILTON AVERY An under-heralded American painter of the mid-20th century, Avery was overshadowed by the country’s obsession with the dominant narrative of abstract expressionism, many of whose key figures — Mark Rothko, anyone? — looked up to him as a mentor and an inspiration. Avery’s works, often reduced to simple form and filled with vibrant color, are a master class in composition, balance, and subtle subversion of traditional figure painting. This show, with 60 key works, organized by the Royal Academy of Art in London, is the first major survey in more than 30 years and represents a real homecoming, too: Avery grew up just outside Hartford and made his first, formative attempts at art making in the surrounding Connecticut landscape. Through June 5. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. 600 Main St., Hartford. 860-278-2670, www.thewadsworth.org
MURRAY WHYTE
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER Anastasiia Zazuliak, a Ukrainian photographer living in Poland, and New Hampshire photographer Patrick Patterson spent a week in March at the Polish/Ukrainian border witnessing Ukrainian refugees pour into Poland after the Russian military invaded Ukraine: exhausted mothers and children, family members waiting to be reunited. This exhibition is their first dispatch; they intend to return and document more of the ongoing refugee crisis. Through May 29. 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, N.H. www.3sarts.org/gallery
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
TAYLOR, THE NEXT JEDI: THE LAUGHTER STRIKES BACK Fans can’t seem to agree whether most of the new “Star Wars” movies are good or not, so Improv Asylum is giving you the power to create the story yourself with this new improv-ed show from a galaxy far, far away (or technically, Watertown). May 6 at 7:30 p.m., May 7 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and May 8 at 2 p.m. $29. The Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. 617-263-6887, www.improvasylum.com
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC As Daniel Radcliffe films his take on Yankovic for an upcoming biopic, the legendary musical parodist hits the road for a massive tour with a massive name — “The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour.” May 6-7, 8 p.m. $60-$100. The Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St., Medford. www.chevaliertheatre.com
GOOD LUCK COMEDY Jeff Smith and Sam Ike host this moving monthly comedy and music show, which lands at the Rockwell this week with New York comedians Electra Telesford and Nora Yahya, with a musical assist from the band Sacklunch! May 7, 9:30 p.m. $20. The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville. www.therockwell.org
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
PATHWAYS TO WELLBEING HEALTH FAIR It’s never too early to start living healthy, nor is it too late. This event, brought to you by Community Art Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Conquering CHD Massachusetts, includes sessions on nutritional cooking, yoga, and teen health. Plus, bring home some lunch courtesy of Anna’s Taqueria. May 7, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Community Art Center, 119 Windsor St., Cambridge. eventbrite.com
TECH KITCHEN: 3D MODELING & DESIGN WITH SOLIDWORKS APPS FOR KIDS Together with web-based design software SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids, the Boston Children’s Museum presents an introductory design workshop where kids will get to construct a digital, 3-D object of their own. May 8, 2-4 p.m. $20. Boston Children’s Museum, 308 Congress St. bostonchildrensmuseum.org
THE FIELD OF DAFFODILS AT NEW ENGLAND BOTANIC GARDEN AT TOWER HILL Now is the perfect time to see the more-than-25,000-strong Field of Daffodils at the New England Botanic Garden. Peak viewing began in late April and ends early next week, so act fast. Through mid-May, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, $8 for children 4-12, free for members and children under 3. New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive, Boylston. nebg.org
SAM TROTTENBERG