MUSIC
Pop & Rock
DEFTONES This long-running Sacramento band is one of 21st-century rock’s bedrock artists because of its precise balance between mersh-rock’s pummeling charge, post-rock’s elliptical song structure, and shoegaze’s fuzzed-out beauty. Deftones’ two 2020 releases — the new album “Ohms” and the 20th-anniversary reissue of the heavy, and heavily influential, “White Pony” — are essential listening for anyone who feels like they’ve been experiencing a huge-riff deficit. May 13, 7 p.m. Agganis Arena. 800-745-3000, livenation.com
DRY CLEANING “New Long Leg,” this London post-punk outfit’s debut album, was one of 2021′s standout rock releases, full of jagged riffing, churning rhythms, and the fractured poetry of lead vocalist and lyricist Florence Cleopatra Shaw. “Unsmart Lady,” one of its best singles, brings femininity’s frustrations to its chaotic surface, while “More Big Birds” is Dry Cleaning’s pop song, with a jaunty bassline and glum, yet infectious, hook. With Oakland indie-rock true believers Fake Fruit. May 15, 8 p.m. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, Somerville. crystalballroomboston.com
MINT GREEN This Boston four-piece, whose debut full-length, “All Girls Go to Heaven,” comes out in June, pairs candy-sweet hooks with charmingly honest lyrics. May 19, 7:30 p.m. The Jungle, Somerville. 617-718-0204, thejunglemusicclub.com
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MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
ARLO MCKINLEY There’s a new music room in Worcester with plans to focus on booking country and Americana acts, and those plans bear early fruit Friday in Arlo McKinley, a rising voice specializing in hard-case confessions wrapped in an unvarnished country sound. May 13, 8 p.m. $15, $115. Off the Rails, 90 Commercial St., Worcester. 866-468-3399. www.ticketweb.com
JAYME STONE’S FOLKLIFE Inveterate collaborator Jayme Stone returns in the guise of one of his projects, wherein he gathers likeminded folks (Sunday, Elizabeth Ziman, Hannah Read, and Andrew Ryan) to deconstruct and reconstruct dusty field recordings collected by Alan Lomax and others. The foursome will also perform some modern material, including Stone’s own. May 15, 5 p.m. $24, $29. Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main St., Rockport. 978-546-7391. www.rockportmusic.org
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THE DEAD SOUTH To get a sense of what this acoustic outfit of Saskatchewaners is all about, consider their latest release, a twin-EP pack titled “Easy Listening for Jerks.” The first volume gathers a swatch of bluegrass classics, its companion volume several numbers from the likes of the Doors, System of a Down, and the Misfits, and all of them end up in places distinctly Dead South. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band opens. May 18, 8 p.m. $28. House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St. www.livenation.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
ARTURO SANDOVAL The Cuban trumpeter, pianist, and composer was first brought to the world’s attention under the wing of trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie. Now a US citizen, Sandoval remains among the most galvanizing players in jazz. May 13-14, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. $50. Scullers. 866-777-8932, www.scullersjazz.com
KEN SCHAPHORST QUARTET The Jazz All Ways Sunday Series continues with the composer, arranger, and longtime chair of NEC’s jazz studies department, most often heard at the helm of a big band, leading a more intimate ensemble. With Schaphorst playing trumpet and piano, tenor saxophonist Brian Levy, bassist Bob Nieske, and drummer Charlie Weller. May 15, 7 p.m. $10. Zuzu Music Room, 474 Mass. Ave, Cambridge. www.jazzboston.org/jazz-all-ways
DANIELE NICOLE The first female artist to win the Blues Music Award for bassist of the year, singer, instrumentalist, and Kansas City native Nicole has garnered comparisons to the likes of Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, and Etta James but remains her own woman. May 18, 8 p.m. $28-$31. Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan St., Fall River. 508-324-1926, www.narrowscenter.org
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KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
A FAR CRY “Sunset” promises music of memento mori with A Far Cry’s signature style, including Julius Eastman’s “Joy Boy”; a string arrangement of a motet by 16th-century Afro-Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano; and Ottorino Respighi’s “Il Tramonto” with mezzo-soprano Krista River. Students from Project STEP open the concert with a special performance at 7:30 p.m. May 13, 8 p.m. Jordan Hall. 617-553-4887, www.afarcry.org
WINSOR MUSIC This heady evening of chamber music culminates in Afghan composer Milad Yousufi narrating his own piece “Coming to America,” at the end of a journey that includes music by Bach, Philip Glass, and Israeli composer Osnat Netzer, with appearances by special guest pianist Simone Dinnerstein. May 14, 7 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookline. 781-863-2861, winsormusic.org
RECOVERED VOICES This free concert spotlights the rarely heard Gidéon Klein, Mieczysław Weinberg, Ilse Weber, and Hans Gál: four 20th-century Jewish composers who were either displaced or lost their lives under the Nazi regime in Europe. Presented in collaboration with Los Angeles’s Colburn School conservatory. May 15, 7 p.m. Harvard Memorial Church, Cambridge. memorialchurch.harvard.edu
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
SEA SICK A solo play about the impact of global climate change on the world’s oceans, written and performed by science journalist Alanna Mitchell, and inspired by Mitchell’s book of the same name. Directed by Franco Boni with Ravi Jain. Through May 22. ArtsEmerson. At Jackie Liebergott Black Box, Emerson Paramount Center. Tickets to in-person and virtual performances at 617-824-8400 or www.ArtsEmerson.org
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THE INHERITANCE Last year Matthew López became the first Latino playwright to win the Tony Award for best play with this epic, two-part drama. Young gay New Yorkers of the 21st century wrestle with the question of what they owe to the generation behind them — the one that suffered through the scourge of AIDS and governmental indifference — and to the generation ahead of them, who need to learn and understand their collective history. Asks one character: “If we can’t have a conversation with the past, what will be our future?” Directed by Paul Daigneault. Through June 11. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.SpeakEasyStage.com
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. For questions, e-mail boxoffice@companyone.org
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
JEAN APPOLON EXPRESSIONS The company’s new “Traka” (“troubles” in Haitian Kreyòl), fuses dance, an original text, and live music by Haitian Afrofuturist composer and Berklee professor Val Jeanty to examine the nature of trauma — from the historical and universal to the deeply personal. But the creators also aim to illuminate how the power of community and collective movement can offer pathways to healing. May 13-14. $36-$40. Global Arts Live at Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. www.icaboston.org
ALIVE DANCE COLLECTIVE The Boston-area dance group uses its upcoming concert “Bloom” to focus on the many ways nature connects us. The concert features eight live contemporary dance performances and two dance films. After the shows, audiences, artists, and staff of the Somerville Community Growing Center are invited to games and seed planting. May 14-15. $15-$20. Arts at the Armory, Somerville. www.alivedance.weebly.com
THE QUEEN OF NÖRI Presented by StoneWorks Productions and choreographed/directed by Holly Stone, this new theatrical dance experience combines story ballet and high fantasy to tell an original tale about dark magic, parenthood, and the perils of power when faced with the ultimate test. The production features an original score by Ian Guthrie. May 13-15. $35. Boston Center for the Arts. https://thequeenofnori.com/
WHEN AIR MEETS WATER IV For years, Ipswich Moving Company has been creating eye-catching aerial dances with performers suspended from the arches of the town’s Green Street Bridge. Last fall’s live nighttime performance, choreographed and directed by Janet Taisey Craft for three dancers, with original music by Chris Florio, was captured by filmmaker Anders Johnson. On Sunday, the company is presenting a free online premiere of the work followed by a post-screening conversation with the artists. May 15. Free with registration (donations appreciated). www.ipswichmovingco.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
MARTIN PARR: TIME AND PLACE Parr, maybe best known for his pictures of British working-class holiday spots and the sunburnt Brits who people them, always treads an uncomfortable line between objectification, affection, and farce. He’s been a towering figure in the field of street photography for decades, and this exhibition, with 135 pictures, is the first broad survey of his work in a US museum. Of special note are Parr’s pictures of Ireland over the past four decades, charting its rise from poor cousin to its British neighbor to economic powerhouse. Through June 5. McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, 2101 Commonwealth Ave. 617-552-8587, www.bc.edu/sites/artmuseum
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 elegiac Romanticism headlong into the turbulent era 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
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
HEART, MIRROR, CROWN: NEW WORK BY QUINN GORBUTT The New York-based artist builds things from found materials, paint, glue, and the like, and then photographs them. The artwork is the photograph: images that may look abstract, or three-dimensional, or painterly, that fool the eye. On view here, one of Gorbutt’s sculpture-like constructions, and several kaleidoscopic photographs, thrumming with rhythm and lush color. Through mid-June. Room 68, 377 Commercial St., Provincetown. www.room68online.com
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
SUNDAY FUNNY DAY A strong group of comics, led by Dan Crohn with Andrew Della Volpe, “Big D” Hullum, and Zenobia Del Mar, and other possible guests as this free show returns to the Anchor in Charlestown. May 15, 8 p.m. Free. The Anchor, 1 Shipyard Park, Charlestown. 617-286-2404, www.theanchorboston.com
STEPHEN LYNCH There is such sweetness in Lynch’s falsetto and gently lilting steel string guitar on songs like “My Old Heart,” the title track of his 2019 album, that you might not notice he’s singing about donating his back fat to someone who might need it and using his intestines as a jump rope. May 19, 7:30 p.m. $42. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-245-2900, www.crystalballroomboston.com
DUCK DUCK GOOFS Host Ryan Howe has found a new home for this Thursday night stand-up showcase downstairs at the Cantab. This week’s lineup includes Dan Boulger, Stevie Baek, Mary Spadaro, and Tony Sykowski. May 19, 8 p.m. $10. The Cantab Underground, 738 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-714-4278, www.thecantablounge.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
NEWTON FAMILY FUNFEST It’s going to be a hot one this weekend, and if you’re looking to spend your time outdoors you ought to stop by the Newton Family FunFEST. There will be carnival rides, arts & crafts, live music, and a performance of “The Dragon King” by the Tanglewood Marionettes. May 14-15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free, $8 for “The Dragon King.” Newton City Hall Grounds, 1000 Commonwealth Ave, Newton. newtonma.gov
7TH ANNUAL KITE FESTIVAL Start the beach season off kite, ha ha, with a day at Revere Beach’s Kite Festival. Aside from offering the opportunity to build, decorate, and fly your own kite, the festival features live music and appearances from professional kite-flyers. May 15, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Revere Beach, across from 410 Revere Beach Blvd, Revere. revere.org
MATT HEATON FAMILY SINGALONG Boston-area musician Matt Heaton brings you an outdoor concert of classic sing-alongs for the whole family. It’s never too early to add to your little one’s musical repertoire. May 18, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St., Newton. newtonfreelibrary.libcal.com
SAM TROTTENBERG