MUSIC
Pop & Rock
GORILLAZ Britpop hero Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett’s virtual band — whose forthcoming album “Cracker Island” is slated to contain cameos from Latin trap megastar Bad Bunny, witch-rock doyenne Stevie Nicks, and pop polymath Beck, among others — comes to town for an eye-popping, groove-heavy show. Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, tdgarden.com
DEMI LOVATO The latest album from this former teen idol finds her returning to heavy guitars and pummeling drums, a framing that suits her commanding wail and take-no-prisoners lyrical outlook well. Oct. 13, 8 p.m. MGM Music Hall at Fenway. crossroadspresents.com
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SNOOPER Over the past two-ish years, this Nashville band has released a flurry of speedy, delightfully weird art-punk with wobbly guitars and disaffected yet decisive vocals. A good chunk of their songs clock in under 90 seconds, so make sure to arrive early. Oct. 13, 10:30 p.m. The Lilypad, Cambridge. lilypadinman.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
BUTCHER, BAGLIO & ESTES What do you get when you bring together local stalwarts Jon Butcher, Sal Baglio, and Allen Estes? Some rock, some roots, a bit of blues and soul, and a whole lot of harmony, if “Gypsy Caravan,” the recorded results of their collaborative efforts, is any indication. They celebrate what they have wrought with Saturday’s CD-release show. Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $20, $35. Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington. 781-646-4849, www.regenttheatre.com
DEAD HORSES The name of this Milwaukee indie folk duo may evoke a certain grimness — it’s a tribute to a friend who died of an opioid overdose — but members Sarah Vos and Daniel Wolff maintain that the music they make “is about hope and joy, all while sharing an important message that you’re never alone in your battles.” They’re touring in support of new album “Brady Street.” Oct. 8, 10 p.m. $15. Atwood’s Tavern, 877 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-864-2792, www.atwoodstavern.com
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FLANNEL JAM The folks behind the Levitate festival are bringing their fall variant to three New England towns, including Marshfield this Saturday. Greensky Bluegrass, Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway, and Midnight North will perform, along with local representation from Whisky Treaty Roadshow, Aldous Collins & The Like Minded Folk, and Blacktop Strut. Oct. 8, 2 p.m. $79. Marshfield Fairgrounds, 140 Main St., Marshfield. www.levitateflanneljam.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
NIKI LUPARELLI The bawdy, boozy, bleach blonde chanteuse boasts a repertoire that ranges from Patsy Cline to Bowie and beyond. In her only piano bar gig until December, she’ll be accompanied by fabulous pianist Jim Rice. Oct. 8, 7 p.m. No cover, reservations recommended. The Napoleon Room, Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave. www.clubcafe.com
ADAM O’FARRILL’S STRANGER DAYS The Brooklyn-born trumpeter and composer is the scion of a Latin jazz dynasty, yet his music draws from the full range of his heritage, incorporating Afro-Cuban, Mexican, African American, European, and Jewish roots. A rising star as both a sideman and a leader, his Stranger Days quartet includes tenor saxophonist Xavier Del Castillo, bassist Walter Stinson, and brother Zack O’Farrill on drums. Oct. 9, 8 p.m. $20-$25. Hope Central Church, 85 Seavern Ave., Jamaica Plain. www.mandorlamusic.net
MYANNA RECORD RELEASE The soul-jazz multi-saxophonist celebrates her new album, “Divine Dysfunktion,” her fourth as a leader, which supports burning sax, guitar, and organ solos with a variety of deep grooves, from R&B to funk to Latin. Oct. 14, 8 p.m. $30-$45. Scullers, 400 Soldiers Field Road. 866-777-8932, www.scullersjazz.com
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KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA This weekend at Symphony Hall, violinist Jennifer Koh makes her BSO debut (replacing scheduled soloist Janine Jansen) in Bernstein’s “Serenade,” and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and boy soprano Linus Schafer-Goulthorpe join the orchestra for “Chichester Psalms.” Two works also get their first airings with the orchestra: American composer Elizabeth Ogonek’s “Starling Variations” and Shostakovich’s fervidly Soviet Symphony No. 3 for chorus and orchestra (Oct. 6-8). Next week, conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada makes his BSO debut as perennial guest Emanuel Ax takes a turn on the piano for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 (Oct. 13-15). Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY H+H opens its season with “The Glories of Bach,” mustering orchestra, chorus, and soloists under the baton of guest conductor Jonathan Cohen for three cantatas and one orchestral suite, plus a bonus helping of Buxtehude, the composer and organist whom a young Bach walked 250 miles to hear. Oct. 7 and 9. Symphony Hall. 617-266-3605, www.handelandhaydn.org
REQUIEM FOR THE ENSLAVED Carlos Simon’s powerful “Requiem for the Enslaved” receives its live world premiere in town. The concert-length piece memorializes and honors the 272 enslaved people who were sold to pay off the debts of Georgetown University, where Simon (a Black man) now teaches. Performed by Hub New Music, trumpeter Jared Bailey, and hip-hop artist Marco Pavé. Oct. 9, 1:30 p.m. Calderwood Hall. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-566-1401, www.gardnermuseum.org
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A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
LISTEN TO SIPU Maria Hendricks stars in this historical moving play as Sipu, an Indigenous woman who acts as a modern-day tour guide through Watertown’s Indigenous history, filling in some missing facts and correcting inaccuracies along the way. Presented as part of Watertown’s celebration of Indigenous People’s Day, “Listen to Sipu” was written by Mwalim*7 and is directed by Tara Moses. Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. Production by New Repertory Theatre. At First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St., Watertown.
JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE Reopening the newly renovated Huntington Theatre with a nod to history, the Huntington Theatre Company is producing the first August Wilson play it presented (back in 1986, starring Delroy Lindo and Angela Bassett) before going on to stage numerous other Wilson dramas. Directed by Lili-Anne Brown, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” centers on Herald Loomis (James Ricardo Milord), who arrives at a Pittsburgh boarding house with his young daughter in 1911, searching for the wife from whom he was separated when he was forced to work on a chain gang for seven years. Oct. 14-Nov.13. Huntington Theatre Company. At Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. 617-266-0800, www.Huntingtontheatre.org
HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING The complexities of faith, right-wing politics, and personal history collide in Will Arbery’s bracingly original, consistently compelling drama. A reunion of four Catholic conservatives — eventually joined by a fifth — turns into a polemical showdown in a Wyoming backyard. For at least a few of them, the unspoken goal is to see who has the right right stuff. Directed with finesse by Marianna Bassham, taking a break from her usual acting duties, and starring a top-notch quintet of Dayna Cousins, Nathan Malin, Jesse Hinson, Elise Piliponis, and Karen MacDonald. Through Oct. 8. SpeakEasy Stage Company. Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.speakeasystage.com
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ADA AND THE ENGINE Mishy Jacobson stars as Ada Lovelace, a 19th-century British mathematician (and the daughter of Lord Byron) who has been credited as the first computer programmer. In Jacobson’s vibrant, all-out performance, Ada comes across as a mind on fire. Debra Wise’s production of Lauren Gunderson’s drama costars Diego Arciniegas as mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage. While neither the play nor the production are without problems, “Ada and the Engine” is a generally solid addition to Gunderson’s body of work, much of which brings a feminist perspective to the stories of history’s visionary women. Through Oct. 23. Brit d’Arbeloff Women & Science Production presented by Central Square Theater. At Central Square Theater, Cambridge. 617-576-9278 ext. 1, www.CentralSquareTheater.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
KIMBERLEIGH A. HOLMAN: COMMON CIRCUS Imagine frying an egg as a circus-like spectacle. This new Boston Dancemakers Residency Showcase explores and highlights the kind of mundane tasks and rote, regularly repeated motions we engage in every day, and choreographer Holman and Luminarium Dance throw them into a three-ring environment for our reconsideration. Oct. 7-8. $25. Boston Center for the Arts. www.luminariumdance.org/events
THE CLICK Choreographer/curator Lonnie Stanton’s new “Emotive Land” is an augmented reality dance installation viewable along the Charles River to anyone with a smartphone or mobile device. The filmed site-specific performance project is a series of short dance vignettes on the resilience of nature, encouraging viewers to consider responsible stewardship of the land around us. Through Nov. 30. Free. Cambridge’s Kendall Square Canal District. Download the app at www.theclickboston.com/emotiveland.html
DANZA ORGÁNICA This one is not until next weekend, but the Martha’s Vineyard location might take some extra planning for non-residents — and it looks well worth the effort. The Boston-based dance theater company joins with Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal members for “Âs Nupumukâunean (We Still Dance). Four years in the making, the collaborative work uses dance, song, installation, and storytelling to highlight traditional and contemporary stories of the Aquinnah Wampanoag People. Oct. 15, 3 p.m. $10-$30. MV Performing Arts Center, Oak Bluffs. www.dancetheyard.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Art
TO BEGIN AGAIN: ARTISTS AND CHILDHOOD Whether you have them or not, kids are always and inevitably about one thing: the future. And for all the nurturing we provide them, whether in the close quarters of family or the broader societal context of the education system, the notion of childhood necessarily teeters between optimism and anxiety. This show takes that delicate balance on board with the understanding that childhood is the foundation on which all society is built, and the need to tip the balance in the right direction. Through Feb 26. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
NEW FORMATIONS A selection of contemporary photography, video, and painting, this show explores the human body in strenuous performance, whether in dance or athletic competition, revealing it to be an instrument as powerful, delicate, blunt, and nuanced as any in an artist’s repertoire. Paired with a collection of anonymous snapshots of what we now call “vernacular” photography — parades, impromptu dance parties, human pyramids on the beach — “New Formations” suggests a tool with limitless expressive potential. Through March 13. DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln. 617-542-7696, thetrustees.org/place/decordova
IMPRINTED: ILLUSTRATING RACE More than 100 illustrations and artifacts made for the public sphere, whether for advertising or editorial purposes, comprise this exhibition, which explores how mainstream representation of race has helped reinforce or counter stereotypes. It takes a long view, spanning pieces from the late 18th century right up to the present day. Through Oct. 30. Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Route 183, Stockbridge. 413-298-4100, www.nrm.org
MURRAY WHYTE
ANUKRITI: A TEMPLE FOR TIMELESS BEASTS Anukriti, a queer, transdisciplinary Indian artist, critiques the way traditional Hindu spaces and rituals police social norms, and reimagines them, bringing those who have been ostracized and erased to the forefront. Drawings and paintings elevate nonconforming figures to godhood. Oct. 8-Nov. 12. Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 551 Tremont St. https://bostonarts.org/1-1-exhibition-series/anukriti-a-temple-for-timeless-beasts/
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
PREACHER LAWSON “I know I’m getting older,” says the former “America’s Got Talent” finalist, “because when I was younger, people used to tell me all the time, ‘Don’t worry about it, Preacher, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.’ You know what they tell me now? ‘You still got time.’” Oct. 7, 7 p.m. $30. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. www.thewilbur.com
DAN CUMMINS The sometimes-dark comic doesn’t believe in coddling his kids. His daughter once drew something she insisted was a dog. “We have a dog right there,” he told her. “I want you to look at that dog, look at this, look at me, and say that with a straight face. That dog goes missing, guess who I’m not putting in charge of the posters?” Oct. 7-8, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $30. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. www.laughboston.com
SOUTH END COMEDY SHOW Wet Cat Comedy presents this showcase show in an arts space featuring Tooky Kavanagh, Dan Boulger, Izzy Da Rosa, Isabel Levin, Joe Fenti, and Monica Carroll. Oct. 9, 7 p.m. $20. Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont St. www.eventbrite.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
MAD LOVE FESTIVAL This family-friendly Hingham rock music festival was founded in honor of the late local rocker Dave Jodka, who would sign off notes to his wife, Kathleen, with the words “mad love.” This year’s lineup features New England rock ’n’ roll acts like Coyote Island, Gracie Grace & All The Goodboys, and The Quins; all proceeds from the event go to the Dave Jodka Scholarship for Future Rockers program for young musicians. Oct. 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $10-100. South Shore Conservatory, 1 Conservatory Drive, Hingham. madlovemusicfestival.org
NATIONAL FOSSIL DAY: MORE THAN DINOSAURS To celebrate National Fossil Day, Harvard will host members of two prestigious paleontology labs to talk about what fossils can teach us about evolution and what projects the researchers are working on. Young paleontologists, don’t be intimidated — the website reassures that the table-top presentations are “for all ages” (they’ll also have presenters who speak Spanish). Oct. 8, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Free with museum admission. Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge. hmsc.harvard.edu
CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY AT LOCAL MUSEUMS To mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day over the weekend, local museums including the MFA, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Discovery Museum in Acton will be hosting special events including free admission (at the MFA and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, with tickets), interactive craft workshops, and dance, music, and more from local Indigenous artists. Oct. 10, times vary. See museum websites for details.
JOY ASHFORD